VW rant

[ae708]

2 Sundays ago my wife, kid and I drove from Summerville to the N.Charleston Home Depot. We went in her Passat. When we got there the doors wouldn't lock with her remote. I thought maybe the battery was dead so I tried mine....no joy. I called AAA and had them tow it to the VW dealership since we were only about 2 miles away. I go there on Monday morning and talk to the service writer. I said that the way things were acting on the car that there must be a blown fuse somewhere. They said that it would cost me $86 for an hours diagnostic. Pretty high I thought but I didn't have much choice. After about 50 minutes he called me over and said that they couldn't communicate with the ECM using their computers or whatever they use. I asked "Is the ECM protected by a fuse... did you check it if it is?" They said they had to do a "pin test" and I needed to authorize another hour.... $86 bucks. So I figured that if the ECM was bad that my extended warranty would cover it all. When the second hour was almost up they said that they still hadn't found the problem. I said that I was NOT going to play "86 bucks an hour" with them all day long. They said that they'd charge me no more.... they just wanted to find the problem. I said I think I'd check all the fuses if I were a VW mechanic. WElllll... around 4:30 in the afternoon they called me and said, all proud of themselves, We found your problem.... and showed me a fuse for the ECM. Needless to say I went ballistic... all to no avail. I talked to the service manager, service writer, mechanic (yeah right.. mechanic my a$$. Anyway... to end this long rant... it ended up costing me 2 hours of diagnostics which the warranty didn't cover because they don't cover fuses. If the ECM had been bad then I would have been ok. Man, I never saw such incompetence at a dealership in my life. You can bet that I'll never go back to Stokes VW in Charleston for ANYTHING.. and probably won't buy another VW either..... $47 for windshield wipers for this POS. I'll go back to Toyota next time which hopefully won't be too much longer. Sorry about the length of this post but it still eats at me even after 2 weeks.... Volkswagen... phooie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dolluper]

Re: VW rant

First check is usually fuses,so buy yourself a 10 dollar test light and test it yourself before going to a dealer for a fuse problem.Live and learn I guess

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: VW rant

If you thought it might have been a fuse and you knew the extended warranty would not cover it, why then did you not check the fuses?<br /><br />Just a thought as I sit here with my cup of coffee.

 

[ae708]

Re: VW rant

I have a test light. I tested all the fuses that I could find in the fuse panel. The fuse that was blown was totally hidden beneath 2 panels under the hood. I'm not totally stupid people... I checked every fuse that I could find. I'm glad that you all are so perfect ... live and learn I guess

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: VW rant

Originally posted by ae708:<br /> I have a test light. I tested all the fuses that I could find in the fuse panel. The fuse that was blown was totally hidden beneath 2 panels under the hood. I'm not totally stupid people... I checked every fuse that I could find. I'm glad that you all are so perfect ... live and learn I guess

Did you get out the owner's manual and search for hidden fuses? <br />j/k don't get in a tissy.<br /><br />One thing for sure now though, you know where it is.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: VW rant

An honest dealership would not have charged you anything.<br /><br />Dont forget, that fuse blew for a reason. I suggest you keep some spare fuses so you can drive it back to the dealer when it blows again.<br /><br />Ken

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: VW rant

A couple of winters ago my service van lost the brake light circuit. When this circuit goes, it won't let you take it out of park. I knew the fuse was blown and why. So I took my wire cutters and snipped off the 4 pin flat connector that was totally covered in road salt. I was going by PEP boys and thought I would have them change the fuse since I didn't have one. I told them that the trailer light connector was shorted. I even showed them that it was the problem. After 3 hours and $150 they said they replaced the fuse but couldn't find the problem. Goes to show you how much people actually listen. I carry extra fuses and a tire plugging kit now all the time.<br /><br />Want something done right, do it yourself! If your able?

 

[DJ]

Re: VW rant

Yep, FUSES BLOW FOR A REASON. You have deeper troubles.<br /><br />I feel for you on your awful dealer experience.

 

[ae708]

Re: VW rant

I found a German guy close-by who has a garage for German cars only. I took it to him and paid him 35 bucks to run a total check... codes and visual on the car. He didn't find any other codes and couldn't see a reason that it had blown. He did say that if it blew again to bring it back and he wouldn't charge me again to check the problem. Maybe I've found an honest mechanic.... I sure hope so. He was also appalled at the way the dealership had acted when I told him the story.

 

[DJ]

Re: VW rant

ae,<br /><br />I go back to my original statement.<br /><br /> Yep, FUSES BLOW FOR A REASON, you have deeper troubles. <br /><br />You wrote:<br /><br />

I took it to him and paid him 35 bucks to run a total check... codes and visual on the car. He didn't find any other codes and couldn't see a reason that it had blown.

The labor rate is NOT indicative of KNOWLEDGE. Actually, it works the other way.<br /><br />This is NOT something to play with. This issue could burn the car down.<br /><br />Whomever, you decide to go with, this situation requires extensive disassembly and "wiggle testing".<br /><br />You have a short, until you find it, you're driving a potential inferno.

 

[ae708]

Re: VW rant

So the POS burns down...good. Then I can replace it with a Toyota.

 

[DJ]

Re: VW rant

ae,<br /><br />I thought you bought "foreign" to avoid all of this? <br /><br />And, you think a Japanese dealer is your savior? Or, the product, for that matter??<br /><br />Doesn't work that way.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: VW rant

DJ, Come on now, you are smart enough to know as long as he replaces the fuse with the right size, its not going to burn. That is the sole purpose of the fuse. Geeesh. I could understand the concern if he said he bypassed it.<br /><br />I do agree that there still maybe an underlying problem.

 

[DJ]

Re: VW rant

SS,<br /><br />Yea, you're right. Wrap it in tin foil and wait for the inferno.<br /><br />That solves everything. <br /><br />Fuses don't "just blow".<br /><br />I stand by that statement. Been there, done that, my experience tells me the truth. With pain.

 

[jsfinn]

Re: VW rant

I had a VW a while back. It was a fun little car, but I don't think I'd buy another one because of the same problem. The dealerships gouge you every chance they get.<br /><br />I had a problem with mine where it wouldn't start. It would crank all day but never turn over. Everything as far as I could tell was fine.<br /><br />There are 3 dealerships near by. I had it towed to the one that could look at it the fastest. They had it for nearly 2 weeks and around $1,000 to replace the computer. I spitting mad that they had it so long.<br /><br />The car had a 10 year power train warranty.<br /><br />After 6 years and 70,000 miles, the transmission started to slip. I took it to the dealership to have them fix it. They had the car for 2 or 3 days and told me the fluid was low (sealed system that you can't check yourself - requires special tool). So, they charged me to fill the fluid and a loaner car. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, it slipped. Man, I was mad..took it right back in and gave them the keys back. They replaced the transmission and gave me my money back for the loaner and the fluid. Why couldn't they just fix it right the first time?<br /><br />Overall, I think VW's are good cars...I haven't found a good dealership yet though.

 

[txswinner]

Re: VW rant

Buy American when possible, where have we gotten the foreign is better syndrome.

 

[txswinner]

Re: VW rant

Oh yeah Canada and Mexico are in America.

 

[JRJ]

Re: VW rant

ae708, you'll like the Toyota and I hope your VW treats you better in the meantime.

 

[keelhauled]

Re: VW rant

I had a VW.<br /><br />Now I don't.<br /><br />I loved it while I had it.<br /><br />So did the service department.<br /><br />I don't think it was a poor quality automobile, but the parts and service were outrageous. It had a lot of hard miles. Service costs pushed it out the door.

 

[Copespitter]

Re: VW rant

My Brother is a service writer for a Ford dealership. <br />He doesn't know squat about cars. His job is to get as much money out of the customer as possible. If he doesn't make his quota he will eventually get fired.<br />He had a fuse story the other day. <br />He said a Ford truck came in and the electric windows wouldn't go up. <br />The mechanic diagnosed it as a bad computer. The new part would cost the owner $1100.<br />The owners of the truck were from out of town so they had to stay in a hotel for 2 or 3 days until the part arrived.<br />The new part was delivered and the mechanic installed it. Windows still wouldn't go up. <br />Checked the fuses and it was a blown fuse.<br />Of course the dealership didn't say a word about it. <br />Luckily the people purchased an extended warranty when they bought the truck but he said it still cost them around $300 for the work.<br />They were probably out $500 for a 50 cent fuse.<br /><br />He also said one of the mechanics owns a motorcycle and the guy was doing an oil change on it at his home.<br />The Mechanic calls my brother up and said he seized the motor on his motorcycle during the oil change and asked him if he would come over and help him tear it apart.<br />My Brother gets over there and they disassemble it to where they could turn the motor over with a socket. The motor turns. <br />The mechanic says I guess its not seized after all. My Brother tells him to check the battery.<br />Turns out the battery was dead and when the guy tried to start it the starter must have dragged and stopped so the guy diagnoses it as a seized motor.<br />This guy is a certified Ford mechanic!!!!!!!<br /><br />I told my Brother that is just STUPID of the mechanic to think that he could seize a motor by just changing the oil.<br />He said the guy dumped some gas into the piston via the spark plug hole and that is why he thought it was seized.<br />Even with the gas theory its still just as STUPID.