Is the Heater core flush successful

217 Views 7 Replies 2 Participants Last post by VAGguy, 8 d ago

Sheepadoodles

Discussion Starter · 9 d ago

2013 Passat TDI SEL
Recently, while out of town, my coolant idiot light came on followed shortly by the red check it now light. Drove into the nearest city to the dealership and were told we needed to flush and replace the Heater Core, EGR and Catalyst for a total of $5,000.
I asked them to just flush & replace the Heater Core. Drove home with no issues. This is the very 1st time this has happened.
Is this something that I should have done all 3 and is this a recurring issue with the TDI?
Thanks so much for your input.

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VAGguy

· #2 · 9 d ago

Did they say what was wrong with those items? Where there any other symptoms besides the light coming on?

The coolant light usually only comes on when low, which means you had a leak. EGR and catalyst are exhaust and unrelated the coolant. Any issues with the car currently?

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Sheepadoodles

Discussion Starter · #3 · 9 d ago

VAGguy said:
Did they say what was wrong with those items? Where there any other symptoms besides the light coming on?

The coolant light usually only comes on when low, which means you had a leak. EGR and catalyst are exhaust and unrelated the coolant. Any issues with the car currently?

The only problem was the light. No leaks found. When the coolant cap was removed it bubbled up. After filling, left it running with no issues. Drove it 25 miles and it came back on. Their diagnosis was: heater core clogged and EGR cooler could also be causing the fault P2457. The reason for the catalyst was because when they removed the EGR the catalyst almost always broke. It's running great now. Is this a recurring issue with the TDI engine?

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VAGguy

· #4 · 9 d ago

Not specifically a TDI issue, but a B7 issue with the heater core. It is my understanding that if the core clogs, it also interrupts flow to the EGR cooler and then sets that light on the TDI.

Luckily the heater core is easy to replace

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Sheepadoodles

Discussion Starter · #5 · 9 d ago

VAGguy said:
Not specifically a TDI issue, but a B7 issue with the heater core. It is my understanding that if the core clogs, it also interrupts flow to the EGR cooler and then sets that light on the TDI.

Luckily the heater core is easy to replace

So, did I make right decision to not replace the EGR? We did flush the system and replace the heater core. Don't mean to sound stupid but, what is B7?

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VAGguy

· #6 · 9 d ago

Sheepadoodles said:
So, did I make right decision to not replace the EGR? We did flush the system and replace the heater core. Don't mean to sound stupid but, what is B7?

I would have done the same. Replace only what is broken, currently.

B7 is the 7th generation of the Passat "B" chassis. Technically, NMS (New Midsize Sedan) named by VW for the US B7 Passat (2012-2019ish), which is a different platform than the rest of world B7 model.

Volkswagen Passat - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I have a B5.5 Wagon. A facelift of the B5 gen. They named it the B5.5.

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Sheepadoodles

Discussion Starter · #7 · 9 d ago

VAGguy said:
I would have done the same. Replace only what is broken, currently.

B7 is the 7th generation of the Passat "B" chassis. Technically, NMS (New Midsize Sedan) named by VW for the US B7 Passat (2012-2019ish), which is a different platform than the rest of world B7 model.

Volkswagen Passat - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I have a B5.5 Wagon. A facelift of the B5 gen. They named it the B5.5.

Thank you so much.
Sorry but, 1 more question. It appears this is a recurring issue with the B7. Would it be advisable to flush the system on a regular basis, maybe every 50,000 miles?
Thanks again for your input.

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VAGguy

· #8 · 8 d ago

That would be sound reasoning. I would go with that.

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