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Rough idle, not alot of power

1.4K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  dublove  
#1 ·
First post here - thanks in advance for any help you are able to give me. Its much appreciated.

I have a 2000 Passat which for the longest time has had problems when accelerating. It only really happens when you are accelerating from rest (such as at a stop sign) and it only seems to happen soon after you start the car. When you push on the gas, its like there's nothing there. The car might go ahead a little bit but it will accelerate hardly at all. After about 1 second the car "catches" (i don't know how else to describe it) and then things are fine. This has happened since I owned the car (bought used 4 years ago). The previous owner didn't use synthetic oil (somebody told me you are supposed to with this car) and I heard that could be the cause. I'm not sure.

Recently, my car has been idling very roughly sometimes. Its becoming more and more frequent, I'd say. Sometimes when I start the car it will seem like its going to die - stuttering and such. If I switch into gear and try to drive sometimes it gets better but often it keep stuttering - I usually just turn off the car and restart it and the problem is gone. Also, when driving and I stop at a stoplight, occasionally the car will idle very roughly - the rpm gauge bounces up and down a little bit, probably 100 -150 rpm range or so every second. Curious thing is that when I start driving again everything seems fine. ALSO, if I switch the car into neutral instead of keeping it in drive, it stops the rough idling.

*whew* sorry for the long post. Anybody know what is going on with my car? suggestions / questions / thoughts / comments?
 
#2 ·
Check all of your vacuum hoses. What engine, how many miles? When was the last time a general tune-up (plugs, thottle body clean, fuel filter, air filter) was done? Any Check engine light?
 
#3 ·
Get the car scanned for trouble codes (try autozone or the like) and post the codes in this thread. Sounds like you may be getting some misfiring. Potential causes are ignition system components, vacuum leaks or faulty sensors.

scan for codes
write them all down
clear the codes
post the codes in this thread
then we can continue from there
 
#4 ·
Not sure what engine - how do I find that out?

Just over 100,000 miles. I had the car at a VW dealer in december because they were fixing something with the electronics, and I think that's the last time any work has been done on the car. There is a check engine light on (emissions workshop). Its been on almost the whole time I've had the car though, I was told that it wasn't anything to worry about.
 
#5 ·
count the cylinders, is it a V6 or 4cyl? Your CEL is probably from a bad secondary air injection pump. It helps improve emissions on startup by adding oxygen to the exhaust to heat the catylitic convertor up so it can do its' job. At this mileage you should have the timing belt changed if not already done.

Where are you located? maybe someone local can help.
 
#7 ·
Take it to autozone and get it scanned. Give us the codes. They usually start with a P0 something.....P0300/P0301 etc. P1124 something.
 
#8 ·
My 98 Passat used to do that to me and I hated it! Hubby and son changed all the vaccum hoses because they were all old and crackly. After that she ran like a dream. That would be the cheapest plan A.
 
#9 ·
Probably an ATW like mine. I have issues, but nothing like yours. The rough idle could be related, or it might be separate... Hitting the gas and having nothing really happen could be a number of things. Perhaps the electronic throttle isn't reacting as much as you think? Turning it off and on could be resetting things.

And not having Synth isn't the end of the World... if the previous owner allowed for heat up and cool down periods on the turbo, and changed it frequently...

I'd also have a compression check done on the cylinders.