earlier this year i purchased a VW Passat after returning from my most recent and final deployment to Iraq. A few months after purchasing it my car would not start when i initially tried to start it. I thought that maybe the engine was flooding but in fact oil was fouling my spark plugs from a leak i had no idea about. Thank god i found out. It lead me to also find out that my axles were near failure, steering column was about as loose as i could be, and a variety of other problems. I fixed everything but my Catalytic converter which i was told could wait.
Last week while leaving work my car had almost no exceleration and seemed to stutter and jerk as i tried to make it excelerate. after about six 6 seconds it finally got the juice it needed. I drove a bit and shifted into neutral as i pulled up to a red light and my rpms drop drop drop…to zero and my car stalls while rolling. Confused i start my car back up and keep driving…shift into neutral again and it happens again. Every time. What could be causing this? is it my catalytic converter or is it something else?
Providing any info at all about your car may help in guessing.
Year, mileage, any Check Engine Light on, etc, engine and model, etc.
The stalling at idle MAY be a defective or dirty Idle Air Control valve.
Your first step is getting the codes pulled. AutoZone, Advance Auto, Checkers, etc. will do this for you free. Post any results back here for discussion.
This problem might possibly be related to this business about the spark plugs being fouled with oil. What’s up with that and how was that problem (a leak???) allegedly fixed?
If this engine was dumping oil into the combustion chambers (by rings, valve seals, turbo seals, whatever) then it’s possible the converter was ruined by oil being emitted into the converter over the long term.
It is a 2000 V6 with about 83,000 miles. The check engine light is on and when the car reaches about 2,500 rpm for the first time after starting the car, it beeps “emissions workshop” at me. I pulled the codes and it said p0455 evaporation (large leak detected).
Thanks for the heads up for the free pulling locations. A local dealer wanted like 50 bucks to pull the codes for me which i laughed at when i pulled the codes at the collision center i work at now and found out how simple it is to do…and that the diagnostic computer doesn’t cost much more than they were wanting to charge me.
According to the shop that ‘fixed’ my car the first time. the hosing was almost completely dry rotted and a split in the hosing had caused the fouling. The hosing and plugs were supposedly replaced and now i’m playing a guessing game.
Out of curiosity i had heard that volkswagen covers the repair/replacement of any faulty hardware dealing with emmissions up to a certain mileage and/or age of the vehichle. Does anyone happen to know if this information is correct and if so what the criteria are in this mater?
Thanks Again,
A
“Out of curiosity i had heard that volkswagen covers the repair/replacement of any faulty hardware dealing with emmissions up to a certain mileage and/or age of the vehichle. Does anyone happen to know if this information is correct and if so what the criteria are in this mater?”
The answer to your question is sitting in your glove compartment. In the Warranty booklet, refer to the Federal Emissions Warranty (one of several warranties on your car). This will tell you what VW and every other manufacturer is required to cover, and for how many miles/months.
Nice work. Part of the evaporative emission system is a purge system that allows the fumes in the charcoal canister to be drawn into the car’s intake system and burned with the fuel. It sounds like you may have a leak in that plumbing allowing air to be drawn in.
Thanks a million for your military service.
I would love to review my Warranty Booklet…if i had recieved one from the dealer when i purchased my car. But i will definitely ask a DIFFERENT dealer if they have any information that might be able to help. I have sworn off the establishment that sold me my car after many…arguements we shared, one of which they called me and the auto shop where i took my car for work ‘liars looking to capitalize on the hard work of others,’ after offered nothing in assistance after i found out that the vehichle they sold me likely never should have passed state inspection in the first place…but thats another story. If anyone in VIRGINIA is looking to buy a car stay away from POMOCO…at least if you expect customer service and honesty. thank you vdc
The dealer HAS to charge a fee for this service. Their business model is far different than a parts house such as AutoZone. The service dept. overhead is a killer and if scanning was free this means the mechanics are working for free also. (The flat rate system is used; a tech does not get paid a set hourly wage.)
Unless a car maker has a chronic problem, and only in certain cases, the only long lived warranty on any car in regards to emissions is 8 years/80k miles and this only applies to major items like converters, ECMs, etc. Everything else is 24k for the most part.
The oil on the spark plugs would concern me. Greatly.
If the car were mine I would run a compression or leakdown test on it and see if there is a piston ring problem. If there is, then it’s time for some serious thought about this car.
Glad you’re back from Iraq in one piece. My son-in-law came back about 2 years ago and 2 brothers (friends of my sons) are now back after 2 tours each. One had 2 in Iraq and the other had one Iraq and one Afghanistan; former was mechanized (chain gun on a Bradley, neat) and the latter was Rangers.
Ahhh okay that explains much. I found a tech that is friends with one of the guys i work with who wants to talk a look at it and work on it as side work. I’ll print this out…just in case. Tell your son in law and sons friends welcome back for me. Had an interesting time a few times in Al Anbar and got some help from some some bradley crews…most marines won’t admit it face to face…but the help was much appreciated. Thanks again for the info