So I purchased a 99 New Beetle a little while ago and it was running great until the check engine light came on, which ever since, the car engine sounds and feels like it is skipping and it takes longer than usual to shift gears (it is an automatic).
I brought it back to the dealer immediately and they supposedly brought the car to an authorized Volkswagen dealership because the dealer I purchased the car from is just your average, used car dealership and does not have experienced Volkswagen service people. The mechanic at my dealership told me the problem had something to do with the vacuuming something or other (I can't remember exactly, sorry!) and said the light wasn't on anymore and the skipping was gone.
The next day, you guessed it, the same stuff happened except the engine light never came on. I planned to bring it back to the dealer again after the holidays because I figured it could wait because the engine light never did come on again.....theres more!!! keep reading...
2006-12-25 19:12:10 · 6 answers · asked by nooneimportant 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Volkswagen
The skipping since the car had been "fixed" has been getting worse. I just remembered that when you first turn the ignition all the indicator lights will turn on briefly to show you that everything is working properly and then shut off if there isn't a problem with the car. So I went to turn the car on and the check engine light doesnt come on when I turn the ignition meaning the bulb was either burned out, which i seriously doubt since it was working just fine when it first came on OR someone is screwing me over and took the bulb out so I wouldnt bring it back to get fixed. Man will they get an earful tomorrow, but has anyone else experienced something similar to this...?????? ANYTHING??? Does anyone have experience with the problem (skipping sound) that is happening with the car?? Any help is welcome!! Thanks
2006-12-25 19:18:41 · update #1
The first thing I would do in not to go back to the "Stealership". Yes you paid them money to fix something they didn't. If you go in there accussing them of removing a light, it will be hard to prove as they probably won't let you be there when they take the dash off as customer's are usually not allowed in the repair area. (Wow, what a run on sentence, huh?!). The will state they will look at it and you will have to wait. They can say anything, and will to prove it wasn't anything they did.
If you are up to the challenge, remove the cover to the dash controls and look at the bulb where the check engine light is. If it's missing, they removed it. If it's burnt, it's not their fault. It should only be a couple of screws to remove it and then turn on the car and look.
Now, on to the issue of the car not running right - You can take it back, but be prepared to pay more money for additional diagnostics. They will try to get as much money out of you as they can! As you stated, you don't know the exact issue and they love when people don't comprehend what they say. They could tell you it's a vacuum tube from the transmission to the air cleaner that's clogged and you need to pay for a cleaning, new hose, & a new air filter, plus labor and it will cost $300! This is an example of something that sounds plausable, but in reality, what I described is pure BS. Air filters have nothing to do with the transmission. It's how they word it and your actual knowledge to know if it's true or not. I would avoid the Stealership from now on. I AM NOT SAYING YOU ARE STUPID, ITS JUST NOT YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE AND YOU EXPECT PROFESSIONALISM AND HONESTY.
There are plenty of reputable VW shops that are indepedent of VW and do a great, if not excellent, job. They are dependant on your satisfaction and your return business, and your "word of mouth" advertising. I always find someone local who has treated me right. I have lived in Mass, Mich, Quebec, Illinois, and PA. There are plenty of these shops. I would look at
www.vwvortex.com
www.thesamba.com
for feedback from others on shops local to you. If not, post a question about shops you have found to see what others think.
Good luck and e-mail me if you have any questions on how to remove the cover to check the light.
2006-12-26 04:15:58 · answer #1 · answered by Joe S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok well here is my opinion. i am an ase cert tech and also a vw cert tech and have been working at the vw dealer for many years.
the misfires you are speaking about are most likely caused by a cracked ignition coil (very common problem on vw's). the car needs to see the same problem a few times before it will turn the light on. as for the light not lighting when the car is started is a diffrent problem, i really dont think that someone could have removed the bulb because the insterment cluster on your car is a sealed unit and it uses leds not bulbs. i would reccomend that you bring the car to the local vw dealer yourself and have the car scanned and then take the bill to the used car dealer you bought the car from.
2006-12-26 09:50:41 · answer #2 · answered by vw tech 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Simple advice but not cheap advice. Take your car to a Volkswagen dealer or an independent shop that specializes in VW. Even if some fool removed the check engine light (report them if they did) the engine computer will still give codes based on the problem. Pay the shop one hour of labor ($75?) to scan your vehicle for codes. I love VWs and I recently bought one but they are expensive to keep up. Make sure you fix it before another problem pops up.
A great VW site is www.vwvortex.com
2006-12-25 23:31:18 · answer #3 · answered by e e 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My 99 bug (automatic) isn't slipping or popping out of gear, but there seems to be a longer than usual delay in accelerating when I've been slowing down to stop, then speed back up. Like if I'm coming to stop at a red light, I am braking, but not at a complete stop yet, the light changes green, so I let off the brake and press the accelerator, it feels like it's taking time to get back into gear; like a gear has to catch. At other times it seems like it revs quite high before it actually switches gear. It doesn't usually shift into 3rd until right at 40 mph & the engine revving sounds like it should have shifted already. Anybody else have these type issues or know if this is normal for this year?
2016-03-29 06:50:50 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with e e on this one. Take it to the local VW dealer yourself and have the car scanned.
What the used car dealer did by removing the check engine light is illegal. In California, you could report them to the Department of Motor Vehicles and an investigation would be started into their illegal actions. If they seem to have anyone working on repairing cars on the used car lot, you also could report them to the Bureau of Automotive Repair and they would investigate them to make sure that they are repairing cars properly and that they are licensed to be working on cars at their site.
These guys seem to be very shady and I would be leery of anything else they said about your car as well.
2006-12-26 04:18:22 · answer #5 · answered by glxtasy 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
alot of atuo stores with scan it for free, like autozone but ,check around for prices, autozone want $140 for spark plug wires, vw dealer $65 shipped to me, mass senser, autozone $120, vw dealer $62 shipped to me, so look around
coils may be covered by dealer, check regaurdless of miles
2006-12-28 17:33:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋