Underneath protector/check engine lt

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Greetings.



My '99 Passat V6 has been pretty good lately. However, I have two new concerns.



1- The plastic underside protector shield has come off. I will probably replace it, but is it a necessity?



2- A few days after my check engine light came on, I noticed 2 or 3 times when it would not start right away. Is this a coincidence, or could the two be related?



Thanks.

2

  1. The underside protector is a splash shield. Don’t drive through any puddles until it is replaced or you will have electrical problems.

  2. It is NOT a coincidence. The check engine light is notifying you of a problem. It is like a litle girl raising her hand to go to the bathroom, or so I read somewhere.

Anyway, you need to have the diagnostics scanned to find the problem. Some auto parts chains such as AutoZone and Advance Auto do this for free. Write down the code(s) and report them to us.

3

The plastic pan helps in a number of ways. While the car is not likely be damaged, it is a very good idea to replace it. I suggest you may want to consider this an opportunity to upgrade it to a metal pan that will offer much more protection, especially if you live in snow country. Try Google on Panzer Plate. I plan on replacing mine before this winter.

4

Sorry, I fogot to add:

That CEL (check engine light) is just a kid in class waving her hand trying to get you attention because she has the answer.(Steve almost got it right :slight_smile: You need to have the codes read. Some places will read them for FREE. Try Autozone or Advanced Auto Parts. Get the exact code not just their translation into English and post it back here. It likely will have a format like P1234.

5

Thanks for quick responses, especially re the chk eng lt, but I am more interested in knowing if any problem indicated could cause occasional unusual starting.

6

It’s probably related the CEL. But, to fix it, we need to know the codes.