Another reason for over heating

748 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Naviseyer, 4 d ago

Naviseyer

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

Can the computer or any other electronic component make the car appear to over heat ?

2002 v6 all wheel . Everything has been good no problems to speak of .

Yesterday I got the triangle with exclamation inside and the tranny started banging into gear .
I made it to work .At lunch time I come out to take a look see if I can figure out what’s going on.. The light is no longer on and the car is shifting normal …way home everything normal no light no hard shift nothing at all.

‘’Today on my way to work the brakes warning light was jumping on and off . Parking break was all the way down . Pulled the parking break and it seemed to work fine …2 minutes later I look again and the temp was almost in the red . It’s about 20 degree in NYC today and I was on the highway moving at 60/70 mph on the highway . Anyway I pull to the shoulder shut the car open the hood it doesn’t appear to be overheating , no smell, no steam anywhere , no sounds of coolant Escaping the system . I wait a little bit start the car the temp is at the 1/2 mark which is where it normally sits .

I decide to try and get off the highway . Less then .5 miles or 30secs and it’s back approaching the redline . I jump off the first exit throw it in neutral and shut the engine . I coast as far as possible .
one more start and coast and I manage to park it in the marina . I jumped in a cab and got to work .
‘I’m going to go pick the car up tonight and try to make it home .

im just at a loss . I just had the inspection done on Monday .. The car has been running great for a while … just in case it helps … 2002 6cyl all wheel … maybe 95k miles . I picked it up roughly 2 years ago at 75k … I have done the waterpump/timing belt /alternator/starter/fuel pump/ rotor brakes all around … I drove the car to New Orleans this summer … no problem going or coming ..
nothing leading up to yesterday or today besides car getting inspection .

So is there a way to know if the car is truly overheating or if it’s a false reading on the display ?

can the garage have left something unplugged or half plugged that may cause these odd issues the last few days ?

I am truly stumped.. I just need to get the car back home but don’t want to cause worse trouble for myself .

As always thanks in advance for any ideas or insite you can share …

best

ive

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4zfed

· #2 · 4 mo ago

I would caution you to never ignore the temp gauge on the dash. I haven't ever heard of one giving a false reading.

I have heard of transmission overheating causing engine overheating because the tranny cooler is integrated with the engine radiator and the added heat can overwhelm the system. So it is interesting that you did notice the shifting issue at the same time, even though the trans seems fine now.

Have you verified that the electric fan on the radiator is operating?

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Naviseyer

Discussion Starter · #3 · 4 mo ago

No I haven’t verified anything. I was able to pick it up tonight and get it home without any overheating. It stood in the middle like normal but I did have the brake warning light popping on and off.

it just doesn’t make any sense to me. But as soon as it warms up a little I will get out there and figure it out …

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Tomvw

· #4 · 4 mo ago

It could be a faulty CTS or its wiring.
With VCDS you can check what the CTS is sending to the gauge and what it is sending to the ECU.

I expect the brake light problem would be a separate issue.
A VCDS scan would be a good place to start.

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AndreasPassat

· #5 · 4 mo ago

I would check into all suggestions made so far. That brake warning though has me thinking maybe an ABS failure which does cause some instrument gauge weirdness.
A scan would reveal a lot right now.

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ylwagon

· #6 · 4 mo ago

4zfed said:
I would caution you to never ignore the temp gauge on the dash. I haven't ever heard of one giving a false reading.

I wouldn't rule it out. That dual-sensor unit is known to fail. The ECU temp sensor in it has the consequential effect because it affects the fuel mixture. The gauge sensor might also be wrong, but the gauge has such a wide dead-band (centers the gauge anywhere within the "normal" range) that it would often not be noticeable.

4zfed said:
I have heard of transmission overheating causing engine overheating because the tranny cooler is integrated with the engine radiator and the added heat can overwhelm the system.

I don't think that's likely, especially in 20F weather. The only way that the transmission could drastically overheat its fluid is by severe clutch slipping. And remember that any heat coming from the transmission is due to energy provided by the the engine- and the cooling system is designed to handle that at full throttle.

4zfed said:
So it is interesting that you did notice the shifting issue at the same time, even though the trans seems fine now. Have you verified that the electric fan on the radiator is operating?

Scan the TCM to search for a reason why the transmission acted like that. And noticing whether the radiator fan was running is a good idea.

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Naviseyer

Discussion Starter · #7 · 9 d ago

So after the car sitting for all these months I finally got it to my mechanic.
According to him the water is leaking from behind the second or back plastic cover of timing belt . He aid not the water pump which was done 2021. He said it’s possibly a freeze plug that rusted out or the head gasket but he isn’t thinking head gasket …

So I’m back to not being sure what to do .. i think at this point I’m going to get rid of the car . Its a real shame . I’m disappointed..

Anyone here have a motor schematic for the 6cyl ? I would like to get an idea if I could figure out what’s wrong 100 percent . If it’s just a plug I think I would fix it but if its the head gasket or a cracked block I wouldn’t . I just don’t want to spend the money on labor to find out it’s a major problem .

‘’I am pretty friendly with my mechanic . The way he explained it he would have to pull everything apart to know for sure . So it would be the same labor as doing the timing belt .
He is going to leave it on the lift so I can take a look on Monday .

Anyone have any ideas or tricks to be able to figure this out without having to pull the car apart? I know it’s wishful thinking … Anyway as always thanks everyone this has been a great source of knowledge the last few years . I think I’m going American or Japanese on the next one ..

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Naviseyer

Discussion Starter · #8 · 9 d ago

Naviseyer said:
So after the car sitting for all these months I finally got it to my mechanic.
According to him the water is leaking from behind the second or back plastic cover of timing belt . He aid not the water pump which was done 2021. He said it’s possibly a freeze plug that rusted out or the head gasket but he isn’t thinking head gasket …

So I’m back to not being sure what to do .. i think at this point I’m going to get rid of the car . Its a real shame . I’m disappointed..

Anyone here have a motor schematic for the 6cyl ? I would like to get an idea if I could figure out what’s wrong 100 percent . If it’s just a plug I think I would fix it but if its the head gasket or a cracked block I wouldn’t . I just don’t want to spend the money on labor to find out it’s a major problem .

‘’I am pretty friendly with my mechanic . The way he explained it he would have to pull everything apart to know for sure . So it would be the same labor as doing the timing belt .
He is going to leave it on the lift so I can take a look on Monday .

Anyone have any ideas or tricks to be able to figure this out without having to pull the car apart? I know it’s wishful thinking … Anyway as always thanks everyone this has been a great source of knowledge the last few years . I think I’m going American or Japanese on the next one ..

. I didn’t realize that I never updated this from the original incident . Well I managed to get the car home and left it sitting for a few weeks . One of the days we had nice weather I went out to see if I could get an idea of what was going on . The reservoir was bone dry . At this point the car had been sitting a few weeks . Anyway I put some coolant in and it is immediately coming out from the front of the motor passenger side . I couldn’t really tell where it was coming from so again I just left it alone. A few weeks later I bring it to a shop 3 blocks from home . Hoping its something like the lower hose . He put the car on the lift and tells me it’s leaking from behind the timing plate cover and he thinks it would be my water pump but couldn’t tell me for sure without pulling it apart . I thank him and pay him his lift fee choosing to wait and bring it to my normal mechanic that specializes in Audi and VW . He has done all the work since I purchased the car . Anyway car sits another 2 months before finances allow me to get the car towed to him . Car sit by him about a week . I just got the call from him today . Which is the write up above . Thanks everyone for taking the time . I do appreciate it .
‘

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Hirnbeiss

· #9 · 8 d ago

This sounds most likely like the thermostat housing.

Thermostat housing coolant leak

Hi everyone, Recently did timing belt, thermostat, water pump, tensioner seals/pads, valve cover gaskets, etc. (the whole shebang) and have developed a coolant leak on the passenger side. It is dripping down from above and behind the alternator onto the oil pan and then onto the ground. I am...

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Naviseyer

Discussion Starter · #10 · 8 d ago

Hirnbeiss said:
Thermostat housing coolant leak

Hi everyone, Recently did timing belt, thermostat, water pump, tensioner seals/pads, valve cover gaskets, etc. (the whole shebang) and have developed a coolant leak on the passenger side. It is dripping down from above and behind the alternator onto the oil pan and then onto the ground. I am...

www.passatworld.com

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I did the Timing belt and water pump in the beg of 2021. The coolant pours out as fast as you add it to the reservoir. I will have my first opportunity to take a look while the cars on the lift tomorrow . My mechanic thinks it’s a freeze plug . He described it coming out from behind the back cover for the timing belt . I have been trying to find a schematic Of the engine so I can see what the possibilities are . The way the Mech explains it no matter what it is I’m looking at the same labor as the timing belt job because that’s where it’s leaking from so to know for sure he has to pull it apart . I am Just not sure I want to stick more money into this car . I thought I got a great deal on the car it’s super clean and had low mileage 75k when I purchased . But since the beginning It has either been an odd problem that solves itself when something else necessary is done . Like the car going into limp mode until I changed battery and alternator. Then just high cost of maintenance waterpump, timing belt, tuneup valve gaskets .

problem is I was looking yesterday even the used market prices has gotten nuts . Only car your finding For under 10k has over 100k miles usually closer to the 200k mark . Anything over 10k I gotta finance and the insurance in nyc is nuts , Im almost 50 male clean license since I am 17 no accidents or moving violations and I’m paying almost 4K a year for the lowest basic liability. So I can only imagine what full coverage is going to look like . Well thanks for letting me rant . Any ideas on what an As-is price would be fair in this market 2002 v6 all wheel 92k miles still very clean or should I take the 500 cash from the junk yard .

I really enjoyed being a part of this community and learned a boat load just reading through the forums .

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4zfed

· #11 · 8 d ago

Definitely worth more than $500 as a junker. I would say if the body and interior are in good condition, you should be able to get $1,500 -$1,800 with full disclosure of the leak.

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Naviseyer

Discussion Starter · #12 · 4 d ago

So i posted it here for 1250... With a full disclosure , I also hope anyone interested take a look at my previous post . Since this is my first VW I basically dated every thing from the very beginning.. I was offered 880 from brain car i guess for them to part it out i posted it there for 1500 . I was offered from 260 to 550 from a few other websites but i really think it would be a shame to let this car get parted out . If someone works on cars has the tools this would be a real shame just to junk ... In my opinion anyway . I took some pics and posted them so first 1250 here gets it if 1500 offer comes in from brain car i will let them have it if not i will wait till next week sometime and i am going to take best offer from any one of the websites so far 880 from brain car . Anyway just wanted to thank everyone here i doubt I'm getting another VW so i may not be here any longer but this community was very helpful and i appreciate it . so thanks again everyone and good luck . .

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