Alrighty.
All ABS control units were not created equally. One in particular, from one specific supplier, is apparently not too safe. We were seeing these go bad before they came out with the recall; they were the only ones we were having any kind of problems at all with.
So when you do this check, you are going to be looking for ONE part number from ONE supplier.
This is for 2001 and 2002's only, Golf/Jetta/New Beetles. It is not TOO likely that any Jetta wagon will have this recall apply to it, but it should still be checked.
If you have a Vag-Com, the easiest thing to do first is hook up to the car, get into the brake electronics diagnostics (group 3), and look at the part number for the ABS control unit.
If the part number is 1C0 907 379C, then you MAY have a bad unit. If it is ANYTHING else, yours is good and you are finished checking. If it is the 1C0 907 379C number, you must now check the supplier code.
If you have the part number listed above and must now check the supplier code, or do not have a Vag-Com type device, the next thing you will have to do is pull the oval-shaped rubber plug for the ABS sensor wire from the fender liner of the DRIVER'S FRONT wheel.
***BE CAREFUL doing this. There is NOT a foot of extra wire on the other side of that plug, meaning that you can NOT just jerk it out of there with the wire following it out. There is only about an inch of extra wire on the inside; the best thing you can do is jimmy the plug out of the hole with a broad, blunt tool. I personally use a huge pair of bent-nose needle nose, but for some reason I am aparently the oddball in my shop for this and so you don't necessarily have to do it this way. The plug itself is a part of the ABS wire and therefore the wire will move with the plug-the wire does NOT slide around through a hole in the plug like you might think.
You have been duely warned. If you jab a hole in your ABS sensor wire, don't expect VW to buy you a new one.
Once you get the plug out, grab your flashlight and look through the hole. You will be looking at the backside of the ABS control unit, which is bolted to the ABS pump and fluid distribution block under the hood. There will be some numbers, and they will be upside down.
You are looking for 0321.3 (upside down, of course). If you used your Vag-Com, got the part number I listed above, AND 0321.3, your control unit will be replaced by VW. If it is not 0321.3, yours is fine.
Folks without a Vag-Com should just look for the 0321.3 supplier code. Even though they won't know their ABS control unit part number, they will at least know that it is VERY likely that the part number is the bad one (assuming they got the 0321.3 supplier code) and should definately take the car in.
Once VW verifies what you just did, they will replace the ABS control unit. One secondary benefit of this is you get about 3/4 of a brake flush for free.
There you go.
