Help! 2000 VW Beetle that stalls when I stop @ the top or bottom of a hill. Brake in, want to stop completely so I put the clutch in & with the engine @ ~1000rpm the rpm immediately drops to 0 & engine dies. turns over fine- but I’m worried the clutch is going. My German mechanic can’t find any error codes that indicate any problem with the clutch, idle, transmission etc etc. Anyone have any similar experiences? Thx!
Does it do the same thing on a flat surface? Can you reproduce this on a steep driveway.
I dont know about you, but if a mechanic is looking just for Codes I would get rid of him right away and try to find an experienced hand who can do some basic elbow grease testing. And I dont care if he cannot speak Deutsche.
I too am confused about the inference to the top or bottom of a hill as being relevant to the problem. Can you explain further?
The clutch won’t throw a code.
Is it your suspicion that the brakes are causing the engine to die as well as stopping the car when you stop the car in gear? Does the car also die if you put the tranny in neutral during the braking process? If it stops without killing the engine in that configuration, then it’s possible that the clutch linkage from the pedal to the release bearing isn’t functioning properly and the clutch isn’t disengaging properly when you push the pedal in.
If you have mechanical linkage, it may be an adjustment needed, if you have a hydraulic clutch, which I suspect, then you may have a leak in the master or slave cylinder and it isn’t holding pressure. It’s possible that you have a slow leak internal to the master or slave cylinder. That might enable you to shift normally but pass fluid at a rate that would allow the pressure plate to rengage the clutch when you hold the pedal in for any amount of time, thus causing the brakes to stop the engine as well as the car. With a leak of this type the fluid would remain in the system, so you wouldn’t lose fluid or see a puddle develop. Also, shifting could continue to seem normal when you shift but the problem occur when holding the pedal in for any amount of time.
Try putting the shifter in neutral when you stop and see if the engine still stops. Also, with the car stopped, put the shifter in first, hold the clutch pedal in, then wait and see if the clutch slowly engages with the pedal pushed in. Post here with the results.
By the way, I agree with the suggestion to try another mechanic.