Re: $200 in labor, $7 in parts - What would YOU do?

Not sure where you live but it looks like the labor rate is $99 per hour which might be in line with the others in your area. I would think diagnosis and repair time should be about 1.5 hours so it's really not that far out of whack. Next time before saying "go and fix it" have the dealer call you first before doing the repairs. We have independent repair shops purchase that same sensor and charge $30 as their price to the customer!

My 2001 Golf TDI had the same CEL cause. It's not something you need to rush to fix unless your temperature gauge shows the engine getting dangerously hot, or the check engine light blinks continuously.

Where do you live? There must be someone nearby who is handy and can help replace this for less money. A friend helped with mine and it took about 30 minutes.

Around here, we also have flat rate, but that is only what the customer gets charged, and on some jobs that does note apply.

Around here a mechanic could be an "independent contractor" and he could be paid as you appear to suggest. However if the employer sets his hours and has the right to tell him when and on what days he will work, he is an employee and must be paid for every hour he is required/allowed to be on location. It is possible (I believe) to have a multi level rate of pay, one for standby time and another for time when actually working or a bonus for jobs based on the flat rate.

You can diagnose this problem with a Bentley manual and a multimeter if you know what you're doing, and I am not an engineer or a mechanic. And no, I didn't call around and pick a bunch of mechanic's brains first. I am just a nerdy girl who can ready a bunch of manuals and read the messages on this news group and do a google search.

I'd just pay for the diagnosis and change it myself. Why bother paying someone else to remove and reinstall lego (no offence woodchuck, I know the job requires talent)

Thanks for everyone's input on this topic. I don't feel quite so bad anymore. Though I don't doubt my ability to possibly replace an errant coolant sensor, and maybe even in less than two hours, I do doubt my own ability to diagnose said bad coolant sensor in the first place.

My dealer in Chicago charges $99 to perform the diagnostic. That $99 goes towards the work if the work is approved to be done by the dealer. So it wouldn't have made much sense for me to take the car back after the diagnosis and replace the part myself. My time is worth more to me than that, other things I'd rather be doing.

So at the end of the day, I'll sleep!

Thanks,

Larry

This coolant temperature sensor is a common failure on Passats. The sensor takes 15 min to replace.

Any decent VW technician should know this problem.

The sensor is located between the firewall and the rear of the engine on the coolant pipe. They come in different "colors" green and "blue" mostly. If I remember correctly the green is like $6 and the blue is ~$20 (?). The sensor has 2 chanels, one goes to the ECU another one to the instrument cluster. If the ECU chanel goes you get the MIL. If the instrument cluster goes there will be no MIL, but your coolant temperature meter will go wild. You need the sensor, the o-ring and a bit of antifreze to top it off afterwards to do the job. It basically needs to be unhooked from the pipe and replaced. Obviously the engine should be cold. That's all there is to it.

Resetting the MIL is a one minute job with a VW tool or VAG-COM software.

I don't understand suggesting there should be a relationship between labor and parts cost. It's pretty simple to install four expensive tires. Should the labor be more to bring it line with the tires? I get free installation of a $500 radio because it is so simple. On the other hand, we spent nearly $7,000 fixing a built in tiled shower because the $10 drain pipe cracked.

Maybe think of it this way: $14 (2 hrs min wage) to replace the sensor and $186 to know it was a sensor, which sensor and how to replace it.