For the 3rd time the Monsoon stereo in our 2002 Passat lost power. It was ,apparently, replaced the 2nd time. I was able to reset the fuse and the radio came back on.
Is this a good fix or is it just temporary work-around with a critical failure waiting to happen ? Is there a better solution, short of selling and buying a Honda ?
Steve in Arlington, VA
Absolutely NOT! Fuses don't blow in a properly working electrical system.
Something like a fire comes to mind.
Sure; find somebody who knows what they're doing to find the fault in the electrical system. If it's blowing one particular fuse, it shouldn't be TOO hard to find, although automobile electrical systems can be really strange.
By saying reset the fuse, I think he means that he pulls the fuse and puts it back in and then the radio works OK. There was some discussion here about a dead radio problem in Passats back in 2002, and the solution was (Ithink) to replace the radio or reprogram it.
Several months ago my wife told me the Monsoon system was dead in our (her) 2002 Passat so I pulled the fuse (which wasn't blown) an put it back in. The tape deck made some loading/unloading sounds and the Monsoon was back to life - although all the radio stations had to be reset. It's been fine ever since. I just took the Passat to the dealer this week for its 20000 mile service and I told the (new) service advisor about this incident (and about how I recalled some sort of 2002 Passat radio problem) and she just blew it off...said she'd been working there since June and hadn't heard anything about a Passat radio problem. So I'm not sure whether she alerted the mechanic to check it or not. The only dark spot in an otherwise overall excellent dealer (Quality Volkswagen of Tuscaloosa Alabama) experience ever since we bought the car in April 2002. I assumed that dealer service departments would jump at the chance to do a simple warranty replacement and charge VWOA for it. Perhaps not.
Bill snipped-for-privacy@cvm.msstate.edu
78 Rabbit...10/77 - 4/02 82 Convertibles(s)...since 93 95 Golf GL...since 11/99 02 Passat 1.8T Tip GLS...since 4/02 (Remove the CAT to email me)
That's quite different; certainly sounds like the radio (or something related to it).
This reminds me of the problem my sister has with her leased Cadillac something-or-other. The radio will simply stop working from time to time, but calling OnStar will reset something and it will work for "a while". If it stops, calling OnStar again will reset it again. The OnStar audio comes through the radio.
The fuse was not bad, I simply pulled it out and put it back in. Apparently, this is a common problem. The first time it happened my wife took it in and they pulled the radio and "did something and put it back in". The second time they said that they replaced it, of course I insisted since it happened before.
QUESTION ... Are there any service bulletins on this problem ?
Two bad radios in a row should mean a design or manufacturing problem.
I don't have a Monsoon in my 2002 Passat but rather the standard-issue radio/CD/tape player. It went dead within the first year of ownership, and my dealer replaced the entire unit, commenting that some of the radios in this model had a known problem.
The replacement unit has worked fine so far.
Get a new radio as it's still under warranty.
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