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Well gently caress.... My lawyer buddy talked me out of stopping payment, etc. and he's probably right.... but my bloodlust is still strong. I think I'm going to take the old Cat. Conv., put it in the backyard and beat it with a sledgehammer until I feel better. "Lawyer Friend" said I am probably out of luck. And what he said made sense. Since I went to "VW #1" and they said that it could be the MAF & the Cat. Conv. back in March, what "Money Pit Garage" did is probably justified. And I said but it still doesn't work, and "VW #2" said on the 12th what they thought it needed and "Money Pit Garage" hasn't done that. "Lawyer Friend" said that I might have a case for anything that they have done from the 12th to now, based on "VW #2" recommendation, and why that hasn't been done. But maybe it's just the fact that "Money Pit Garage" isn't comfortable doing that and doesn't want to take the risk. If I stop payment on the credit card, it will probably go to court and not only will I have to pay the $1743, because that at the very least will be justified by "VW #1" report, but I'd have to pay for the "EPC re-coding", and even the new fuel filter they just put on yesterday because it was a cost incurred by them in an attempt to solve my problem. No matter how late and wrong that attempt was. And in court they could say that they had a mechanic work on it every day for an hour or two per day. And then I would be getting sued for a lot more than $1743. Oh well... I'm glad I talked to him because now I'll go in there tonight and hopefully remain calm. I'm still going to let them know I'm not happy at all. It just seems strange that I have to pay for "any attempt to fix", just like I would an "actual fix". "Well sir, we didn't actually fix your engine problem, but our research shows that blue cars have the least amount of engine problems so what we did do was paint your car blue. That will be $10,000."
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Nov 30, 2010 22:13
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Complain to BBB, get your car out of there, learn an expensive lesson about choosing shops and getting a second opinion before authorizing any work.
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Nov 30, 2010 23:05
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:Well gently caress.... My lawyer buddy talked me out of stopping payment, etc. and he's probably right.... but my bloodlust is still strong. I think I'm going to take the old Cat. Conv., put it in the backyard and beat it with a sledgehammer until I feel better. As much as I hate paying dealership costs, this is one of the reasons I still go. At least if they try to dick you around like this shop did, you can go to VWOA and usually get someone to at least talk to you about the issue. Sucks either way though.
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Dec 1, 2010 01:17
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Autism Sundae posted:Complain to BBB, get your car out of there, learn an expensive lesson about choosing shops and getting a second opinion before authorizing any work. *** THIS IS PROBABLY A BUNCH OF CRAP YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT *** *** THIS IS ALOT OF BORING BACKSTORY ABOUT HOW I GOT TO THIS POINT *** I have learned this expensive lesson many times. In fact that's how I ended up where I did. I have one mechanic that I trust. He did the tune up. But when it gets into computer type stuff he doesn't want involved at all. He's the kind of guy that can listen to a car and tell you what's wrong, and he trusts his own experience more than a code pulled from a computer. He does pull codes, but it's really more to confirm what he already knows. Me and my whole extended family have gone there for well over 20 years. He's great, quick, and cheap, and has actually done quite a bit of free work for us too. Without notice we can just pull in and say, "Why is my car making this noise, etc?" And he'll stop what he is doing, diagnose the problem, give me an estimate, and usually have it fixed in a day. My girlfriend used to have a Tracker that for some reason produced quite a bit of break dust which would build up and cause her brakes to make terrible noise. She would stop in there, he'd lift it, blow the brake dust out, and send her on her way. It took about 10 min. and he never charged her. We have had to force him to take money from us many times. Come to think about it, he is probably the reason I am never happy with anyone elses service. Anyway, "VW #0" is an hour away and the dealer I actually bought the car from. My car was a Demo car with 6000 miles on it. I've taken my car there 3 or 4 times, and they never did exactly what they promised. For example, when I bought the car the ash tray cover was broke, no big deal. I didn't even really care, but I thought hey it's a free fix why not. They said "We'll order it now and then when you come for your first free oil change we'll pop it on there. It will take no time." So when the time comes I drive the hour for my free oil change and install of a new ash tray cover. Well, they never ordered it. They had what they promised in my records, but the part never got ordered. They order the part & call me a week later or so. I ask "can you have the part sent to a closer dealership so I don't have to drive an hour?" Nope can't do that. So now out of the principle of the thing I drive dowm there and they fix it. There are other problems with "VW #0, along the same lines, but seriously if I explained everything, I'd be here all day. Having said gently caress those "VW #0" guys, I go to "VW# 0.5", which is probably 45 minutes away. I can't remember what was being fixed I think it was a recall of some sensor. I drop it off in the morning, they say it will be done by 3pm that day. About 2pm I call to make sure it will be ready. Oh yes sir no problem. I leave work early, get there at 3pm. I wait awhile, and start asking questions, "He's finishing it up now, sir.". I get the "He's finishing it up now, sir.", answer for the next 3 hours. It's going on 6pm now and I notice employees are begining to leave. I ask again about my car. The service manager says, "It's taken longer then I thought, it's not going to be ready today, but I've already ordered you a rental car and it's on it's way." Then the service manager leaves, goes home I assume. It's 6:45pm by the time the old run down Ford Focus shows up. Now into the picture comes "VW #1", about 30 miles away. This place is destine to become my arch enemy. Way, way too many issues with this garage to list. I seriously almost came to blows with their service manager one time. It was in there for some reason, maybe just an oil change, and I told them to go ahead and do the full blown 150,000 mile tune-up or what ever. Well as soon as I get it back I get problems. I look under the hood and can tell the spark plug wires aren't new. I had never heard of a "tune-up" where you don't install new spark plug wires, especially if it was some full blown give the entire car a detailed looking over type thing. I call the service guy and say, "Did I just pay you guys $500 dollars to change the oil and top off the window fluid?" He says that replacing spark plug wires is NEVER part of a Volswagen tune up. I drive in there the next morning pissed the gently caress off. We are literally screaming in each others faces, I finally had had enough. EDIT: THIS ^^^ IS NOT THE TIME I NEEDED IT TOWED FROM VW, THIS AND THE FOLLOWING ARE NOT THE SAME OCCASSION LIKE MY ORIGINAL POST IMPLIED. :EDIT For some reason I had to have it towed from VW to a different garage to lesson the damage I might cause driving it. I get them to shuttle me to work. Which by the way seems like a great service until you realize you are one of five people in the car, and you get dropped off last and an hour late for work. So I call a tow truck, to pick it up the next day off "VW #1"'s lot. Toe truck gets to "VW #1", and can't find my car. I say, "Well, ask that jerk Service Manager, he'll know where it is." The toe trucker driver says, "I already did and he has no idea what I'm talking about." I drive all the way back to "VW #1", find the toe truck and find my car, and it gets towed to a differnt garage, (G #1). While fixing my car "G #1" needs to order a part from Volkswagen, and he just happens to call "VW #1" to get the part. He orders the part by number... they send him the wrong one. When he calls to say they made a mistake, he gets treated like poo poo. This happens a few times. He even faxed "VW #1" a diagram and circled the part he needed. They still sent him the wrong part. Finally, he gets the correct part, and fixes my car. The guy at "G #1", advised me to write a letter to corprate. He said if you do write a complaint letter I will co-sign on everything, because, (and I quote) "Those guys are the biggest "professional" assholes I have ever had to deal with." I never wrote the letter because I was just mentally exhausted from the fighting. I said I would never go to any VW Service ever again, and even though I love the car itself, I will never buy another VW because of the terrible service I get from them. Now I did break that "No VW Service" rule with my current problems by going to "VW #2", but I was treated fine there, even though they didn't fix my car. "Money Pit Garage" is not a member of the BBB, I checked. I could still probably report them to the BBB, but what good would it do? My Grandpa recommended this current garage I'm at. If you can't trust Grandpa who can you trust? Now after typing that book... I will continue below with what happened last night because the fun just never stops. FrankeeFrankFrank fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Dec 1, 2010 |
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Dec 1, 2010 16:17
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So last night I pick up my car. For the first time ever Corey admitted that the car ran terrible for him. He drove it around noon yesterday, in some pretty bad rain, and drove it for an hour and 15 minutes until the check engine light came on. He went back to his garage did the diagnostic, and got a "misfire on cylinder six", and that's it. He said this is the second time he had got this and both times it had been raining. So... he concludes that "the moisture in the air" is causing the misfire on 6. Really makes no loving sense to me because the plug and wire can't get physically wet so how the moisture in the air is causing a misfire I will never know. He took me back in the garage, and did the diagnostic again in front of me, "misfire on cylinder six". And sure enough that was all it showed. I asked if he tried switching out the plug and wire just as a test to see if that was it. He said no because he knew I had recently gotten new plugs and wires and he didn't want to disturb someone else's work, and that I should go back to the guy that did the tun up and have him look at it. WTF? Fine... just let me leave before I get pissed off. Corey pulls my car out of the garage, parks it and hands me the keys. Why oh why didn't I think to have him test drive it again with me in the car? I drive my truck home and walk back to the garage in a misting cold rain. Pretty nasty weather actually. So my car was sitting out in the weather maybe an hour. I get in the car, start it, it idles for 10 seconds and quits... EPC light, and Anti-slip light both come on. I laugh..., what else can I do? I start it again, no error lights at all, but I kind of have to rev it for awhile to keep it from stalling again. I drive 40' from where it was parked to the street. I stop before pulling out on the street to set my trip counter so I will know how long I drive before loving up. (Corey swears he has driven it for days with no codes, where as I can't go 30 miles without it loving up for me.) I turn left pulling out onto the street and don't even get the car completely straightened out before, boom... nothing... car quits and stops dead just as before, EPC and anti-slip lights on. Luckily there wasn't a Semi-truck coming at me at 80 mph. I can't bring myself to laugh this time. I start it again... no codes, but it is stuttering pretty bad in stop and go traffic. I finally make it to a road i can open it up on a little. I probably did 60 mph for 1 1/2 miles. It actually felt ok. I thought it's driving good and i have no codes! Maybe it's finally fixed. I drive to my mom's house and park the car outside. When I go to leave an hour later the rain is now snow. I start the car fine, everything is still great. I get 1/2 mile away... and the Check Engine light comes on and stays on, even though it felt fine... no stutter. Trip counter reads 8.5 miles... 8.5 miles from the time I left the garage til I got the Check Engine light. I get home and park in the garage. This morning the Check Engine light is still on, but the car ran well all the way into work, 17 miles, again in a rainy snowy mix. I guess I will take it back to "VW #2" again in the near future. FrankeeFrankFrank fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Dec 1, 2010 |
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Dec 1, 2010 16:21
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:It was in there for some reason, maybe just an oil change, and I told them to go ahead and do the full blown 150,000 mile tune-up or what ever. This right here is the problem. If you treat work orders like "whatever" then you will end up with $500 tuneup bills. Usually you would ask what's included in the tuneup, you get an estimate, and if you agree with the quote you sign it. You do not give your car over to the shop with basically an authorization to do anything they want, because it will never work out well unless your insurance is paying or you know the shop really well. Dealerships in general (not all, but seems like most of them) don't value their customers, simply because they get so much business. They will try to squeeze more money out of you, or if the repair is done under warranty they will try to go the other way and minimize their workload. They have very little interest in keeping you satisfied. On the plus side, they do have great technicians who know what they're doing. They also have bad techs and bad service reps, and every visit seems to be a coin toss as to which ones you'll get to deal with. Chain auto shops like Midas, Meineke, or Jiffy Lube are almost always poo poo, because they work on all cars and as a result don't know much about any of them. They will try to sell you stuff you don't need, and they will probably break something. Finding a good shop is unfortunately very difficult, and sadly you have to treat every new shop you go to as potentially dishonest, kind of like when you walk into a dealership to buy a car. It sucks because they are supposed to be helping people. Autism Monday fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Dec 1, 2010 |
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Dec 1, 2010 17:56
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Autism Sundae posted:This right here is the problem. If you treat work orders like "whatever" then you will end up with $500 tuneup bills. Usually you would ask what's included in the tuneup, you get an estimate, and if you agree with the quote you sign it. You do not give your car over to the shop with basically an authorization to do anything they want, because it will never work out well unless your insurance is paying or you know the shop really well. Well I just said "whatever" because I don't remember exactly what the situation was, because it was like 5 years ago, and I'm not even sure if it was the 150,000 mile mark. It was actually probably 100,000 miles since it was that long ago. I'm not sure about the $500 price either but I'm pretty sure it was between $300 and $500. I remember reading what all was involved in the deal at the time, and I deciding to go ahead with it because it was do, and I thought a little preventive maintenance now would save me from getting hosed later. Silly me, it just meant I'd get hosed twice. Now I do remember I took it in for an $75.00 oil change. They said something to the effect of, "You are only 1000 miles short of your recommended 100,000 mile super deluxe service, do you just want to go ahead and do it now?" He showed me the list of things they go over... oil change, tune-up, new air filter, top off fluids, I think they may have replaced a belt or two also, and I think they swept out the interior, too. It was like $1000 worth of stuff individually, or so they said. So I told them to go ahead, thinking the car probably did need all that stuff. And since it's already in the shop for the oil change, and it's already creating a hassle, 30 miles away, shuttle car to work etc. I might as well kill two birds with one stone, rather than wait a month and have to go through this again. So when I take my perfectly fine running car into the shop for an oil change, and they talk me into getting the 100,000 mile service, the last thing I expect to see the day after I pick it up is a trouble light. So right from the jump I'm pissed off. I look under the hood and notice the old spark plug wires still on the car. Now in my 39 years on the planet, and growing up on a farm, I'm no mechanic, but I have been around engines and those who work on engines plenty. At no time have I ever heard of a "tune-up" that didn't include new wires. I mean what constitutes a "tune-up" on a fuel injected engine? No carburetor to clean and adjust.... they didn't replace the wires.... so is a "tune-up" just new plugs to them? I honestly still don't know. After getting into it with the guy over the phone because of the fact that the car I left them with that was perfectly fine yesterday, is now apparently broke, and I apparently paid them $500 to break it. And the spark wires weren't replaced, and when I asked why, he says, "Volkswagen never replaces spark plug wires as part of a tune-up". I ask why not. He says, "It's just not part of our policy." Ok, that's my ignorance I guess. But..... When you hire someone to wash your car, do you ever think to ask if that includes soap? So what I was trying to avoid in the first place... i.e. another trip to the shop... happens the very next day. I'll give you one guess what the trouble light was indicating.... go ahead... guess...... That's right, one of the spark plug wires was bad. Just hilarious right? But it gets better... they would replace that one spark plug wire for the low, low price of $28.00. This is about the time I black out in rage and get nose to nose with the service manager. He is pissed off because he can't seem to understand why I'm so irate. He took the whole thing like I should be honored to have the privilege of them working on my car. I finally refused to talk to him anymore, and demanded I talk to someone else. The actual head mechanic comes out. I tell him the deal. He says they don't have any new spark plug wires anywhere in the garage. Really? Are you loving kidding me? So after driving 30 miles out of my way, missing more work, and fighting for an hour... I "win" a used spark plug wire they found laying around in the back, and the car ran fine with no engine light. And now after thinking about it... this time ^^^ ISN'T the time I had to get it towed from VW, like I previously posted. So this actually happened before I totally gave up on VW Service, and I know that time, the towing thing, was the last straw. Man, I must have really block that one out of my mind. Anyway, I never go to chain mechanics. I only go to independent garages. I just need to find an independent garage that is a little more advanced than my old tune-up guy. This past month has allowed me to scratch one more garage off the short list.
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Dec 1, 2010 20:26
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What state was this in? :\ I need to start looking for a mechanic that I can go wahwah at.
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Dec 2, 2010 02:01
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:Well I just said "whatever" because I don't remember exactly what the situation was, because it was like 5 years ago, and I'm not even sure if it was the 150,000 mile mark. It was actually probably 100,000 miles since it was that long ago. I'm not sure about the $500 price either but I'm pretty sure it was between $300 and $500. I remember reading what all was involved in the deal at the time, and I deciding to go ahead with it because it was do, and I thought a little preventive maintenance now would save me from getting hosed later. Silly me, it just meant I'd get hosed twice. Honestly, I don't even know what to say to you after such a bad experience. All I can say is that we're not all like that and I'm sorry you had to deal with such a shitstorm - especially at the dealerships you've had been to. Are you in the USA?
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Dec 2, 2010 02:02
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:Now I do remember I took it in for an $75.00 oil change. They said something to the effect of, "You are only 1000 miles short of your recommended 100,000 mile super deluxe service, do you just want to go ahead and do it now?" He showed me the list of things they go over... oil change, tune-up, new air filter, top off fluids, I think they may have replaced a belt or two also, and I think they swept out the interior, too. It was like $1000 worth of stuff individually, or so they said. You see what I'm talking about, right? They sold you all kinds of poo poo that you didn't need and you don't remember what it was. Sure, it was five years ago, but they gave you an itemized list of stuff and you remember topping off fluids, replacing spark plugs, and sweeping out interior. Even if they changed the belts, that's nowhere near $1K worth of stuff unless you own a Bentley. I mean, if someone said "hey your car needs $1K worth of work and we'll give it to you for $500" my first instinct would be to go over the list and get a quote from some other place. It's your responsibility to keep track of what they promise and what they deliver. Spark plug wires were not on that estimate and you signed off on it? You aren't getting new wires.
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Dec 2, 2010 02:50
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Autism Sundae posted:You see what I'm talking about, right? They sold you all kinds of poo poo that you didn't need and you don't remember what it was. Sure, it was five years ago, but they gave you an itemized list of stuff and you remember topping off fluids, replacing spark plugs, and sweeping out interior. Even if they changed the belts, that's nowhere near $1K worth of stuff unless you own a Bentley. I mean, if someone said "hey your car needs $1K worth of work and we'll give it to you for $500" my first instinct would be to go over the list and get a quote from some other place. I understand what your saying, I really do. Now the price is important to me no doubt, but honestly the hassle is what I try to avoid most. So if I pay alittle extra for convenience fine.... but it always seems I pay extra and it ends up being more of a hassle instead of less. Now I already had my car in there for an oil change. I could have looked their offer over, took my car home after the oil change, called and compared a bunch of different places, etc. And then probably taken right back to the same spot. And it wasn't so much the price I was complaining about, but the fact their tune-up didn't include spark plug wires. Especially since they apparently damaged one of the wires while replacing the plugs, AND then wanting me to pay them for a new one. I think you may be taking me way too literally. When I said, "What did you do change the oil and top off fluids for $500?" That was sarcasm. Like I said, when I hear "tune up", to me that means, or meant, new spark plug wires included. I don't think I should have to be so vigilant that I would need to ask, "Does this "tune up" include new plugs, or just cleaning the old ones?
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Dec 2, 2010 15:18
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Dr. Jackal posted:What state was this in? :\ I need to start looking for a mechanic that I can go wahwah at. Ohio USA
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Dec 2, 2010 15:19
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my1999gsr posted:Honestly, I don't even know what to say to you after such a bad experience. All I can say is that we're not all like that and I'm sorry you had to deal with such a shitstorm - especially at the dealerships you've had been to. Are you in the USA? I have now been to 4 different VW dealership service garages, and each has gotten progressivly worse as far as customer service goes, until this last one. The last place, I have only gone to once, and I nearly passed out when they had the perfect opportunity to screw me and they didn't. I'll probably go back there soon. But the good news is although I still have a check engine light, the car is running better than it has in a year. It still feels a touch underpowered, but it isn't stuttering at all, just a tad slow to react.
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Dec 2, 2010 15:31
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I need some plastic floormats for my 2011 A4 - where is the best place to get some? I would assume going to Audi would be crazy expensive. Thanks, I hope this is the right place to ask.
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Dec 4, 2010 05:03
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:Now I already had my car in there for an oil change. I could have looked their offer over, took my car home after the oil change, called and compared a bunch of different places, etc. And then probably taken right back to the same spot. And it wasn't so much the price I was complaining about, but the fact their tune-up didn't include spark plug wires. There aren't any $500 tune-ups. A shop can sell you one, but a tune-up usually means new plugs, checking fluids, visual inspection, cap and rotor and/or PCV valve if needed. poo poo, a $30 oil change place will do most of this (except plugs and cap/rotor) for free with an oil change. Changing plugs and checking wires (they aren't always replaced during tune-ups, since wires usually last quite a while - my Acura had original wires for 160K miles and they were fine, but they do need to be checked) is not expensive, even at shop rates. Even assuming half of the price for this magical tune-up is labor (very unlikely, but whatever), your parts would cost $250. That's for some oil, cap and rotor, oil filter, spark plugs, and wires (weel, no wires in your case). I'd love to see your shop's actual invoice for that tune-up because it seems obvious that you got ripped off.
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Dec 4, 2010 07:46
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Encountered the first problem on my 2009 Rabbit. During normal operation the lock/unlock switch on the driver and passenger front doors work as follows. When unlocked, no light is on. When locked, the "lock" indicator is illuminated. Recently I just noticed that when unlocked, the drivers side lock indicator flashes erratically but the passenger side is fine.  Going to take it in to get checked out, since I loving hate electrical glitches.
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Dec 4, 2010 08:10
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Does anyone know the common reason for the MKIII gauge cluster failures? Mine just quit working  I hope its just bad solder joints.
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Dec 4, 2010 21:08
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dietcokefiend posted:Encountered the first problem on my 2009 Rabbit. During normal operation the lock/unlock switch on the driver and passenger front doors work as follows. When unlocked, no light is on. When locked, the "lock" indicator is illuminated. Recently I just noticed that when unlocked, the drivers side lock indicator flashes erratically but the passenger side is fine. Does your alarm chirp when you arm it with the remote?
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Dec 4, 2010 21:45
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Kylie Sven Opossum posted:Does anyone know the common reason for the MKIII gauge cluster failures? Mine just quit working It's usually bad solder joints. Sometimes it's a case of poor connections at the plug for the cluster too.
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Dec 4, 2010 21:46
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my1999gsr posted:It's usually bad solder joints. Sometimes it's a case of poor connections at the plug for the cluster too. Thanks, I'll check those out.
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Dec 4, 2010 21:54
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Autism Sundae posted:There aren't any $500 tune-ups. A shop can sell you one, but a tune-up usually means new plugs, checking fluids, visual inspection, cap and rotor and/or PCV valve if needed. poo poo, a $30 oil change place will do most of this (except plugs and cap/rotor) for free with an oil change. Changing plugs and checking wires (they aren't always replaced during tune-ups, since wires usually last quite a while - my Acura had original wires for 160K miles and they were fine, but they do need to be checked) is not expensive, even at shop rates. We have a couple of tune-ups that cost in the $500 (tax incl.) range. For that you get: Alignment check Headlight alignment Pollen filter Fuel filter (on diesels) Air filter Spark plugs (on gas cars) Full synth. oil and filter change Fluid top-ups Wheel rotation and balance Light check Hinges, locks, sunroof lube Exhaust inspection Coolant protection check Battery test Brake inspection and measurement Road test That's the biggest inspection/tune-up we have. Most aren't that comprehensive but if you total up the cost of the parts and time you can see how it can get expensive. Having said that, yeah, I doubt the tune up that FFF got was as complete as the one I listed.
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Dec 4, 2010 21:57
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my1999gsr posted:Does your alarm chirp when you arm it with the remote? Yup and just to be clear, this isnt the red blinking light. This is the orange lock/unlock indicator on the button itself.
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Dec 4, 2010 21:57
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dietcokefiend posted:Yup and just to be clear, this isnt the red blinking light. This is the orange lock/unlock indicator on the button itself. Interesting. The most common problem with the A5-style cars has been very poor door latches and when they go bad it can lead to all kinds of problems related to lock and alarm function. There's also been quite a few instances of fautly door wiring harnesses that cause problems like yours too. If your car were in my shop, I'd be looking for faults logged in the convenience system but it's harder to diagnose your exact problem without a little more info.
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Dec 4, 2010 22:03
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Well... after getting my car back and having a couple of rough days, about Wednesday everything seemed to just magically start working great. Is there a kind of "break-in" time for a new cat. conv. or something? But... Yesterday in a pretty bad snow storm I leave my mom's house and immediately I can feel something is wrong. Feels like a flat tire. I pull over and yep it's a flat. I pump up the tire and get it back to my mom's. Pull it in the barn, and pump it up some more. I take another vehicle to run some errands, and come back an hour later and the tire is still holding air. I back out of the barn and there is coolant all over the floor where I had it parked. I know the guy at the garage topped off the coolant before, maybe he just over filled it and I just hadn't noticed in leaking before now. Wishful thinking. I get my car home and it's leaking coolant badly still. I let it sit for awhile and then when I go to leave I get the "STOP Check Coolant" message. So..... Now I fear my water pump is shot. I believe in karma and I either did something really bad to someone recently without realizing it, or I'm about to win the lottery.
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Dec 6, 2010 14:54
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:Ohio USA What part of Ohio? I'm a member of a regional VW forum that draws from the Dayton/Cincinnati area, and could probably point you to a reputable shop if you're nearby. ck299906 (at) ohio (dot) edu is my email, if you'd like to keep this off the forums.
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Dec 6, 2010 15:47
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82Daion posted:What part of Ohio? I'm a member of a regional VW forum that draws from the Dayton/Cincinnati area, and could probably point you to a reputable shop if you're nearby. ck299906 (at) ohio (dot) edu is my email, if you'd like to keep this off the forums. Thanks, but no thanks.
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Dec 7, 2010 17:39
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Water pump it is. And I've gotten quotes ranging from $388 to $670. I also just learned on line that it is normal to change the water pump out when you change out the serpentine belt. I changed the serpentine belt out as preventative maintenance in, I'll say, June or there abouts. No one mentions the water pump to me. Maybe they don't know, I don't know. About two months later a bearing goes out on the serpentine belt tensioner... shreds my new serpentine belt. New tensioner, new belt, etc. sets me back about $400 I think. No mention of the water pump. Again maybe they just don't know to check it, maybe they did and it was fine. Now the water pump goes a couple of days after I get it back from the shop that has had it for a month jerking me around with the MAF, Cat. Conv., throttle, etc. That garage tops off the coolant while I was there. This leaves me to wonder did he know the water pump was bad and he was just tired of fighting with me over the other stuff, that he just wanted me out of sight out of mind ASAP. But it doesn't matter.... I guess... I'm going to have put about $3000.00 worth of stuff into this car this year not counting normal oil changes and the like. I think this is the last thing I'm doing. Time to drive it til it dies.
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Dec 7, 2010 17:57
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:Water pump it is. And I've gotten quotes ranging from $388 to $670. Your car doesn't use the serpentine belt to drive the water pump - it's driven by the timing belt which is a very different thing. It's sort of difficult to know for sure if a water pump is failing - they may have a slight overheating issue but until the pump mechanically fails or it starts leaking coolant it's very difficult to confirm. One way is to remove the pump and inspect it which isn't a quick or easy job on your vehicle.
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Dec 8, 2010 03:16
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Frankees car is a VR6.
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Dec 8, 2010 03:38
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Kylie Sven Opossum posted:Frankees car is a lemon.
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Dec 8, 2010 03:39
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my1999gsr posted:Your car doesn't use the serpentine belt to drive the water pump - it's driven by the timing belt which is a very different thing. It's sort of difficult to know for sure if a water pump is failing - they may have a slight overheating issue but until the pump mechanically fails or it starts leaking coolant it's very difficult to confirm. One way is to remove the pump and inspect it which isn't a quick or easy job on your vehicle. The belt that got shredded is on the left front of the engine, as you stand at the front of the car looking at the engine. It is a belt that is grooved on both sides. The garage that replaced it originally called it the serpentine belt. The garage that put the new tensioner on called it a serpentine belt as well. They also said it ran the altenator, water pump, and power steering. I was also told that the water pump going bad and leaking onto the belt could be a reason for the belt to fail or slip, which is why the belt and the water pump are usually replaced together at the same time.
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Dec 8, 2010 14:28
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 Location of the belt.  I believe this is a correct diagram for my engine. VVV OK cool. VVV FrankeeFrankFrank fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Dec 8, 2010 |
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Dec 8, 2010 14:39
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It is, I think my1999gsr was thinking that your car was a 4 cylinder and in that case it would have a timing belt driven water pump.
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Dec 8, 2010 14:48
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Hey guys, I found a 98 A4 Quattro for sale on Craigslist that I was going to go check out tonight. 135k, new brakes, rotors, thermostat, water pump and "all the belts". Leather, heated seats, traction control, etc.   Is there anything that I need to watch out for that isn't obvious? Ask about the timing belt, definitely, etc. I talked the woman selling it down to 3k. Thoughts? mediaphage fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Dec 8, 2010 |
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Dec 8, 2010 20:52
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FrankeeFrankFrank posted:Water pump it is. And I've gotten quotes ranging from $388 to $670. I changed the water pump myself on my '01 GTI VR6 before I sold it and it's usually done at the time the timing chain and components are replaced. I changed it because it was leaking and used a Graf pump with a metal impeller. It wasn't a bad job but you do have to jack the engine up quite a bit (at least the way I did it) and that can be a little unnerving if you've never done it before. Took me a couple hours to do.
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Dec 8, 2010 22:49
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Kylie Sven Opossum posted:It is, I think my1999gsr was thinking that your car was a 4 cylinder and in that case it would have a timing belt driven water pump. Dang, yeah. I was thinking it was a 1.8T. Sorry Frank! For the most part my information is still correct - if the pump was working correctly and not leaking when the serpentine belt was done previously there really wasn't any reason to replace it. my1999gsr fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Dec 9, 2010 |
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Dec 9, 2010 00:02
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mediaphage posted:Hey guys, I found a 98 A4 Quattro for sale on Craigslist that I was going to go check out tonight. Look at all the output seals on the axles and prop shaft - they love to leak fluid, especially in a vehicle of that age. Look closely at the brake flex lines too - they tend to dry-crack. Have a close look at the front suspension upper links - they've long been a weak point so check for play in them or listen closely when you go over bumps. What engine is in it?
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Dec 9, 2010 00:06
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my1999gsr posted:Look at all the output seals on the axles and prop shaft - they love to leak fluid, especially in a vehicle of that age. Look closely at the brake flex lines too - they tend to dry-crack. Have a close look at the front suspension upper links - they've long been a weak point so check for play in them or listen closely when you go over bumps. What engine is in it? The V6 2.8. Edit: Haha someone came in and offered more, so I guess the point is moot. 
mediaphage fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Dec 9, 2010 |
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Dec 9, 2010 00:16
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mediaphage posted:The V6 2.8. I hear the V6 ones aren't too bad but I had a 97 1.8t and it was the shittiest, costliest car I've ever owned so you got lucky. Quattro was super fun in the snow though (those times when it would start below 50 degrees).
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Dec 9, 2010 02:49
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Kylie Sven Opossum posted:I hear the V6 ones aren't too bad but I had a 97 1.8t and it was the shittiest, costliest car I've ever owned so you got lucky. Quattro was super fun in the snow though (those times when it would start below 50 degrees). I had a '96 2.8 quattro and it was an excellent car.
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Dec 9, 2010 03:42
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