Friends do not let friends buy Volkswagons

[The Other Andy]

Back in 2006 or so, when looking for a new car I happened to test drive a Jetta. I believe it was a 2000. Sales lady drove it over from their Dodge dealer next door. As she handed me the keys she said "You're probably not going to like this."

She was right. It was a dog, barely able to get out of its own way. None of the power windows worked either.

We finally got back to the dealership. I stepped out of the car and waited. And waited. I looked down to see what she was still doing in the car, and she held up the door handle that had broken off in her hand.

I've driven other Volkswagens, and liked them. That experience along with stories from friends and owners whos cars I serviced (worked in a tire/oil change shop for some time) scare me away.

I think if VW's weren't so ridiculously expensive their problems would be more acceptable.

[Frank Lee]

Substandard product + premium pricing = VW.

[user removed]

I think there is an evolution in car companies. They start out with a drive to get the customer happy (early VW), then they evolve into something else and ride their reputation. The question is where are they now?

The Koreans seem to be coming on strongly, but will they continue to improve their product inevery way, or do they start playing more defensively and stagnate.

TCO on the Sentra is dropping daily as an average, waiting for the oil level to drop 50% on the scale, then I'll change it, probably another 3k miles. $1k plus less than 4 cents a mile at 23 years age and 182k miles. Insurance twenty bucks a month.

[Frank Lee]

I think there is an evolution in car companies.

For sure. The original guys, for example Soichiro Honda or Ferdinand Porsche, were experts at what they did, and they had a vision and something to prove. Excellence was key.

Fast forward to when they are gone... who replaced 'em? Useless money-chasing execs who think in terms of "product" and how to maximize their looting of the corporate treasure.

[vrmouseyd15b]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

For sure. The original guys, for example Soichiro Honda or Ferdinand Porsche, were experts at what they did, and they had a vision and something to prove. Excellence was key.

Fast forward to when they are gone... who replaced 'em? Useless money-chasing execs who think in terms of "product" and how to maximize their looting of the corporate treasure.

Same thing happened to Wendy's after Dave Thomas died. What the heck ever happened to the .99 cent menu?

Next they are going to start serving round burgers. Dave Thomas would never cut corners. But little Wendy will. And she's all grown up now. .

Look at how the Hondas got heavier and ate more gas after Mr Honda passed. High mpgs are the trend now, but the economy pushed in that direction. Japanese car companies, like many other unrelated companies, lost their sense of direction once the original visionary died. Just like Frank Lee and Old Mechanic noted. The next generations care less and less. It's not their baby, it's a source of income. Let greed take over and ride the "gravy train" till the last stop.
It's sad, but it seems to happen all too often. .

Thanks,
Victor

[gone-ot]

Two word answer as to *why* the change between founder's quality and today's quality: Stock/share holders.

[some_other_dave]

Quality comes and quality goes. I remember that there was a while when VWs were absolute crap (anyone remember the "self-machining transmission"?), and then they got good again. And more recently, bad again. The new ones may be better, but I don't have a lot of exposure to new VWs...

There are also good and bad examples of every car. I know of some Toyotas that were horrible money-pits, while others just keep going and going.

It's all fine and dandy to wail about the money-grubbing accountants who run auto makers, but making money is how the companies stay in business. There are thousands of Porsche "faithful" who were almost ready to commit murder when they found out that Porsche was building an SUV, for instance, but it's by far the best-selling thing they offer.

History is full of people with cool engineering ideas who never got to get them out to the general public. (Preston Tucker, for an example from the automotive world.) For a company to survive, they have to sell things, and make a profit. IIRC, Triumph Sports Cars was absorbed by BL because they lost money with every car they sold...

-soD

[redpoint5]

Worked on my friend's 2002 VW Golf today in an attempt to resolve a sporadic misfire/stumble at acceleration. There doesn't appear to be any pattern to when the symptom appears.

I found a hole in what I believe is the PCV hose. It goes from the oil filler back to the air intake, post filter. There was a light amount of white foam around the oil fill opening, indicating some water had been introduced.

I cleaned the exterior of the hose with brake cleaner and wrapped electrical tape around it just to seal the leak until the replacement part comes in.

Is this leak what is likely causing the misfire? Prior to finding the leak, I sprayed the coil and plug wires with water while in a dark garage looking for sparks/misfires, and found none.

I'm having my friend replace this hose and then perform an oil change. The spark plugs foul too from this issue, so I might have him clean those up again. Any other recommendations?

[user removed]

Too many unanswered questions.

That much condensation:
Head gasket
Thermostat
very short haul driving

Fouled plugs, apparently multiple times but no check enngine light!

Clean injectors, determine why it is running rich without CEL

Low coolant temperature, open loop?

Need more info.


regards
mech

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Too many unanswered questions.

That much condensation:
Head gasket
Thermostat
very short haul driving

Fouled plugs, apparently multiple times but no check enngine light!

Clean injectors, determine why it is running rich without CEL

Low coolant temperature, open loop?

Need more info.


regards
mech

I was tired when I posted this and left out a bunch of info...

There is a CEL with codes P0303 and P0304 (misfire). I believe I watched engine temp about a month ago and found it wasn't rising much above 140 degrees F. Thermostat could certainly be malfunctioning. Or, could running rich prevent the engine from coming up to temp in 1hr of driving?

Initially I was worried about the head gasket, but the coolant levels are not changing. Maybe water or condensation got in through the thumb-sized hole in the PCV hose?

This is where the part is located:


And approximately the same sized hole and location:


I'd think the car would run lean since it's pulling in air from the PCV downstream of the MAF sensor. Or does the PCV always have fresh air (not exhaust gas) to begin with?

Would the PCV valve close off flow if it detects a leak in the hose?

I'm thinking all this is unrelated to the misfire. The plugs and wires have been replaced, but not the coil pack.