Hello all. Now it's out of VAG warranty.... time for me to take some more things into my own hands.... Car is a 2007 GTI, 19K on it. Manual. It's been flashing up for the last 18 months or so with an engine management light fault - first it will flash on and off for say 4 times then go off, then do it again a couple of days later and stay on. Each and every time it's checked, it's the same fault, misfire on all 4 cylinders at the same time. To me, that tells me it's not a coil pack, as it's all 4, and it's nothing to do with spark plugs, for the same reason. There are no symptoms (no hesitation, splutter, kicking or even a drop in mpg (car easily turns 40mpg plus on a motorway run and is showing over 32mpg overall)) and it does it intermittently with no odds whether it's under load or not and at anything from 1400rpm to 5500rpm. The car is my wife's day to day, and she really doesn't hammer it.... but is terrified by warning lights flashing up, let alone staying on. Does anyone have any ideas what it may be causing this - is it going to be ECU related, MAF or anything else expensive ish - or cheap like a DV ? Would an EGR cleanout help ? All VW have done is repeatedly clear the fault and say it's fine..... as they are likely to start charging me for diagnostics now, should I just get an OBD2 reader and just clear them myself - if that is worthwhile, which one would you buy ..... I don't service myself and ideally, one that covers more than just VW would be ideal, but clearly, if there is a VW one which is much better...... She loves it and won't change it as she likes the fact it will pull in just about any gear from any speed and is virtually impossible to stall - the perfect learner car apparently.... I love it because it does everything it should do and more and doesn't stick out when you do it... Thank you in advance.
If the problem has been ongoing for the last 18months and you have been taking it back to the dealers if there is any major problem relating to that fault in the near future then they should contact vw to see about a contribution towards the cost of the repair or the repair being covered in full. Are there any particular occasions where the light generally comes on? for example, fuel level, vehicle temp, weather conditions etc. Has the engine ecu ever been reflashed with newer software since you have reported the fault? If you have no misfire symptons that would be the first place I would start
Aboslutely (re if a major fault starts). I have no problem at all in dealing with that - the records are there at VW (I insisted they made notes). At the moment though, all they are able to do is say they can't find a problem and whilst it's not manifesting itself in anything, they just reset the lights. It has done it when warm, cold, warming up, coolish ambient temps (but never summer), on Shell, BP, higher grade fuel, supermarket, the lot. As far as I am aware it's never been flashed...... I was thinking that this is probably some form of mixture monitoring issue, so had a good check round the air filter and whether it has leaks etc in it - nothing. VW were getting a bit grumpy last time I got them to do the reset again, so I'd rather avoid them in future and I suspect that they aren't doing much other than just a reset anyway. So, I thought, if I could trace it or ID it and it's a simple swap a part or clean it, I'll do it - and failing which, I may as well get myself an OBD reader to do my own resets.... - less hassle. The only modifications or plug ins done have been cruise (1 day old) and an MFD2 - now removed as it was rubbish. Each time, done by a proper VW specialist with the right computer tech.
It should of been resolved while in warranty, with 19K on the clock there will still be contubustion on the vehicle the light must of come up for a reason, just clearing it doesn't fix the issue!!! any idea of the fualt stored in there?? sounds like a soft missfire on idle from your description
As for the stored fault, it's always the same.... misfire on all 4 cylinders at the same time and same revs..... it doesn't matter what gear it's in or what load it's under. I can try to get the detailed code next time I have it cleared, but it really does not manifest itself in any physical symptoms - the only inkling of a fault is the light. It should have been fixed under warranty, you're right, but I don't know how much experience you have had in VW main dealers - as a point of reference, I have only had to have a car in a body shop three times in the last decade - of whatever brand, each time it has been for body damage done by a VW dealer whilst the vehicle was in for a service..... (all different dealers too). And that's without leaving my car with all of the air filters and gubbins disconnected so it stalled the second you tried to change gear - great when your wife is driving on a winding country lane and you lose PAS. I am afraid that I don't hold them in the highest regard, but I am trying to get over my conceptions.
sorry, by same revs I mean all 4 cylinders at the same revs, not the same revs each time it goes wrong - that differs a lot - anything from barely tickover to towards the red line, but it's always all 4 at the same time.
