Hey guys, how are you doing? I just bought myself an '01 GTI. The car is pretty good shape. Its a 5 speed, and has 72k on the clock. The exterior is in very good condition, and the interior is very good as well. The engine makes a good amount of power and the transmission feels very smooth. The car looks to have been lowered and has a magnaflow exhaust on it. As far as I know, thats everything that has been done to the car.

Now the few questions I have...
Sometimes, when I start the car, it'll run rough for litterally 5 seconds, and smooth out to a perfect idle never running rough again, but the check engine light will turn on. The code read at AutoZone said that its a cylinder misfire... plugs maybe? Or do plugs not send an error code?

Today, riding on the highway, I noticed a slight grinding sound coming from the left front of the vehicle. When the wheel is even slightly turned left it gets just a little bit louder, but still not very loud at all. When turned right, the sound completeley dissapears. Not sure what it could be.

Anyway, thats about all I have. Any and all help and info is greatly appreciated.

-PV2 Brett Lenoble
US Army active

 

Your car starts unusual because your cylinders are missfireing. Your engine light is also on cause of your cylinders. You need to replace your spark plugs and your ignition coil. You can go to the dealer and ask for those. Or if you are a performance guy, you should look for aftermarket ones. The rattling noise that comes from the left right is mainly one piece of metal hitting another piece. you need to punch the front area of your car and see if you hear the rattling. if you do, then investigate (probably your side fender) but if you dont, then contact the previous owner (Maybe it got something to do with the lowerig of your car).

 

well i have a 1.8t in my car, it did the same thing, but the problem was that my timing belt tensioner was bad. so i did a timing belt and waterpump on my car, not a fun job at all, but it fixed the problem. well anyways considering your car has 72k on it, and if the timing belt wasnt done yet, that is a good possibilty. i wouldnt wait for 100k to get that done either. i pulled my waterpump and it was very brittle and parts of the impeller were gone.
also about the noice, it could be a wheel bearing,but i may be wrong.

 

Thanks for the info. A few things. I bought the car from a dealer, and the engine light was on. They told me that I would have the car in 2 days, guaranteed. 4 days later, they hadnt touched it, and were giving me a whole bunch of nonsense on how they did, and it needed some parts. I was like, okay, whats it need then? They had no idea because they didnt touch the car. So, I took it anyway being I have the car under a bumber to bumber warranty thinking that I'll bring it to AutoZone and have them run the code, like I said, turned out to be an engine misfire. I took the engine cover off to note any obvious problems, and sure enough, the number 2 wire was hanging off of the plug, so, I put it back on, and the car was running great. They reset the code, and a few starts later, it lit back up, I looked at the wire again, sure enough, it was nearly off. I need new wires i'm sure. I'm sure a whole tune up would be a good idea, so, thats what I'll do. The problem is I cant seem to find wires anywhere. Do I need to get them from volkswagen? Another thing, I went to fill the vehicle with gas and it overflows, but the gauge still reads low, i'm sure the air cannot be displaced in the tank, is there a vent hose that could be clogged? Easy fix? Anyway, thanks for the help.


PV2 Brett Lenoble
US Army active

 

Always do a tune-up when you first get a car, never trust anyone's word. Timing belt, if not done, needs to be done soon. The grinding you speak of could be the plastic cover rubbing the wheel, wheel bearing, or something else having to do with wheel. Just check it out, no worries, until it gets worse. Misfire problems usually occur with plugs and wires, the coil does go bad, but more often it usually holds up. Change plugs and wires, if the problem stays, then change the coil, which is a $400 part, so start saving. My advice to you, get yourself a couple Eurotuner mags, great info, and you can order anything you need right out of the magazine. Also, Autozone can order the plugs, but they are like $200 or more. These cars aren't cheap to work on, but they hold up. Any questions, or guidance you need don't hesitate to ask.

 

Thanks for the info. I changed the plugs, and no more misfire from what I understand. Looked like the stock plugs too. I honestly will have to wait for the timing belt to break because my car is covered under warranty, and being that I am a Soldier, I have neither the time or the money to do it myself.

 

If it's under warranty, a dealership should do it for free then. UNLESS, it's an aftermarket warranty a used dealership sold you with the car, then you're screwed cause don't cover sh$t.

 

Okay. I found out a few things. One is that VW recommends replacement of the timing belt at 105k as per my owners manual. Therefore if it was to break, I should be covered under warranty because although the timing belt is a maintenance item, its not due until 105k. What are your thoughts? If it says 105, should I wait until 90 or 95? I know that these belts break without warning, but, it seems as though I should be okay. Anyway, tomorrow i'll have the VW dealer run a service report, although i'm sure the timing belt has not been replaced. Thanks guys.


-Brett

 

many of these belts break around 80k man. honestly, for 200 bucks and 3 hours of work, i would invest in it as this is an interference motor. if it breaks, you are going to be rebuilding it. no warranty i have ever had would cover timing belts. not even my VW's. its a moving part and they will get out of fixing it. I promise you.

as far as the fuel, drop the tank. see whats up. i would deff. invest time in my ride before it blew man, your looking at upwards of 1,500US to replace the things that snap with the belt. 200 or 1500. your call = D

also, mjm autohaus has the kits for 174.99 for the tensioner and belt, also included is the "roller". im going to do water pump soon, im at 130k so its deff time. autozone may be getting me that part =D

good luck and happy tuning