# 1998 VW Passat **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** volkswagen, passat\ **Created:** [October 22, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452 "2009-10-22T15:09:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![trickydick69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb9ed0/32.png) [@trickydick69](https://community.cartalk.com/u/trickydick69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/1 "2009-10-22T15:09:42Z")
My daughter’s car has now developed a stall when she comes to a stop and disengages the clutch. The car has 107K miles. The dealer says she needs a new “throttle body??” This car has individual fuel injectors so why does it have a throttle body. Can you help!!! ---
**Author:** ![trickydick69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb9ed0/32.png) [@trickydick69](https://community.cartalk.com/u/trickydick69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/2 "2009-10-22T15:14:07Z")
Oh yes, forgot to mention that the engine is the 2.8L V6!! ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/3 "2009-10-22T15:18:56Z")
Most all FI engines (except a few BMWs) have a throttle body. That is the butterfly valve that regulates the amount of air getting into the engine. You may be remembering the ‘trottle body injectors’ used on GM cars (and others) in years gone by. The Passat may need a new TB, but I’d sure want them to have cleaned it, and checked for other problems, first. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/4 "2009-10-22T15:21:35Z")
Which engine is in the vehicle? VW used throttle body injection on many models back then. Is the ‘check engine light’ (CEL) on? VW’s do one thing very well: Complain about a bad or dirty throttle body via the CEL! Is this the only time it stalls… when disengaging the clutch? ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/5 "2009-10-22T15:22:45Z")
It has a throttle body so that the correct amount of air can be metered into the engine. When throttle bodies become gummed up, they no longer work smoothly and tend to produce hesitation, uneven throttle response, and possibly stalling. That being said, there is no reason to take an 11 year old car to a dealership, especially a VW dealership! In most communities there is at least one independent VW specialist nearby, simply because the level of customer dissatisfaction with VW service departments is so high. It is even possible that an indy VW specialist will just clean the throttle body, rather than replacing it. And, even if he does believe that it is worn sufficiently to warrant replacement, he will charge far less than those guys at the dealership. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/6 "2009-10-22T15:28:43Z")
I don’t think VW used TBI. My '83 had multi-port injection. Here’s a pic of the VR6, you can see a couple of port injectors (the top of the throttle body is slightly visible at the rear of the engine): [http://media.corrado-club.ca/media/VR6.jpg](http://media.corrado-club.ca/media/VR6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![trickydick69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb9ed0/32.png) [@trickydick69](https://community.cartalk.com/u/trickydick69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/7 "2009-10-22T20:33:17Z")
As I stated after I placed this post, it is the 2.8L V6. No the CEL has not come on. The dealer has “cleaned” the throttle plate (aka body) to no avail and wants $1,000 to replace it!!! Yikes!!! Does anyone know if there is an anti-stall device that could be causing this? Most GM’s have this, but I’m not sure on VW. I do see some sort of vacuum device that looks like it has linkage to the throttle. ---
**Author:** ![trickydick69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb9ed0/32.png) [@trickydick69](https://community.cartalk.com/u/trickydick69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/8 "2009-10-22T20:37:15Z")
I agree, but my daughter seems to think that only VW dealers can work on VW’s!! The throttle plate (aka body, I never call a plate a body as that is so misleading!) was cleaned by the dealer to no avail. The stalling is still occuring whenever she lets up on the accelerator. The normal idle is around 1,000 to 1,100 RPM. The engine will drop to around 500-600 and then if she doesn’t press the pedal, it will stall. I answered another post that the check engine light is not coming on. ---
**Author:** ![trickydick69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb9ed0/32.png) [@trickydick69](https://community.cartalk.com/u/trickydick69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/9 "2009-10-22T20:38:11Z")
The dealer cleaned the throttle plate, but to no avail. They want $1,000 to install a new one!! Yikes!!! ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/10 "2009-10-22T20:53:57Z")
Use the Cartalk mechanic finder [http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html](http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html) , find her a good VW mechanic. Dealers are to be avoided on something like this. And it is a bit confusing: the throttle plate is the part that moves, the throttle body include the plate and the housing around it. Often it’s the body that wears (pivots, seating areas, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![trickydick69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb9ed0/32.png) [@trickydick69](https://community.cartalk.com/u/trickydick69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/11 "2009-10-22T21:25:02Z")
I guess I am a bit confused. I would call it a throttle assembly, not a throttle body as the latter connotes something entirely different to me!!! Oh, well I guess I need to conform to the German engineering terminology! I will check out that URL you provided!! Thanks!! ---
**Author:** ![trickydick69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb9ed0/32.png) [@trickydick69](https://community.cartalk.com/u/trickydick69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/12 "2009-10-22T21:43:59Z")
I went to your recommended web site and found several mechanics that should please my daughter! Thanks much!! ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-vw-passat/38452/13 "2009-10-22T21:47:03Z")
Good luck - and tell her to ask the mechanic what’s wrong, instead of asking them to replace the throttle body - it could be something else instead of (and cheaper than) the throttle body.