I have an 03 VW Jetta with about 48,600 miles. For the past six months I have been having many problems with it. It intermittently dies while idling and the headlights, taillights, and all interior lights flicker. Sometimes when I turn on the stereo, I will hear what sounds like a vacuum leak coming from the engine. If I turn off the stereo, the sound will stop. Every time it does this, the car will die the next time it is idling. Sometimes when it dies it will honk (with its locking honk, not the horn honk) which can be very embarrassing when it does this as the light turns green and there is someone in front of me. The clock and trip meter randomly reset when I turn off the engine and my locks will lock and unlock while driving and idling. I have taken it in to be worked on 8 times, but no one can find any problems. I have replaced the spark plugs and coil, but this did not solve the problem. Besides these problems I really love the car and cannot afford to replace it! Please help!!
Sounds to me like there’s a bad electrical connection somewhere important, such as a major battery cable or ground connection, or a bad connection in the under-hood fuse box.
Where have you been taking the car and what has been done to try to fix it? Have you taken it to the same place eight times?
Have you had any trouble with the battery going dead?
There is one computer that controls all (most) of that stuff. I suspect that the computer or wiring (including ground) for it could be the problem.
The first place I took it to performed a check on machine, computer functions, and codes and data, but found nothing. The second time I took it there they said the oxygen was flat lining which meant there was something wrong with the catalytic converter. They advised me to take it to the dealership because the catalytic converter was still under warranty. I took it to the dealership and the only problems they could find were with the #1 and 4 coils. They replaced the coils, but it did not fix the problems. I’ve taken it to the dealership six times, but they say they can’t find any problems because it doesn’t act up for them. I’ve also had the battery tested twice at Auto Zone, but it shows no signs of problems either.