Anyone else have a NOX sensor go bad?

Well our fuel economy seems normal so I'm not overly worried.

Autozone will scan and give you some codes that may tell you, the average joe, nothing about the problem. At least at a dealership they can give you something more specific than "P2201"

Gunther, your NOx sensor that failed at 33k, why was that refused coverage under you 36k bumper-to-bumper warranty?

Justinw303 said:

Gunther, your NOx sensor that failed at 33k, why was that refused coverage under you 36k bumper-to-bumper warranty?

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Probably because it is considered part of the emissions system which the warranty does not include.

251 said:

Probably because it is considered part of the emissions system which the warranty does not include.

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The factory 3 year/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty doesn't include emissions components? First I've heard of this.

Philth said:

The factory 3 year/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty doesn't include emissions components? First I've heard of this.

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I had both my exhaust valve and NOx sensor go at about 33K miles, valve went first followed shortly by the sensor. The dealer refused to cover either under warranty.

IXLR8 said:

I had both my exhaust valve and NOx sensor go at about 33K miles, valve went first followed shortly by the sensor. The dealer refused to cover either under warranty.

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The same exhaust flap that was extended to 120K miles, or are you talking about something else? Something doesn't seem right.

Iradlac said:

This past week I got a check engine light (the car is at 46K). I pulled the engine code (using a OBI reader) it was P2201 – NOX sensor. I called the VW dealership and asked them if they have any Technical Bulletins against this issue. They told me to bring the car in to be looked at since the code could be something else…… anyway, thinking that this is an emission problem (and will be covered by warranty) I brought the car in for “diagnostics” and was willingly to risk paying the 100$ diagnostic fee.. After their “investigation” - SURPRISE it is the P2201 code =The NOX sensor. Part = 530$ + 100$ labor – THIS IS ON TOP OF THE 100$ diagnostic fee. And NO, they do not cover it under the warranty. On top of it, they pulled an additional engine code P06C500 that tells me that one of the Glow Plugs is gone bad…. Part = 130$ and 70$ for labor.
I refused their SERVICE, paid them the diagnostic fee 100$ (109$ after tax) and left the STEALership with my heart broken.
I will try to call the VW of North America and argue that the NOX sensor should be covered under the emission warranty. will keep you updated on how this goes.
My Car had the ECM software updated a year ago. apparently the updated SW had the updated NOX limits.... at least this is what the Dealership claims.

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GOOD NEWs, the VW of North America will cover the P2201 - NOX sensor and the P06C5 - glow plugs 100% parts and labor. All of the sudden I love my VW Passat TDI again!!!!!! Cudos to VW of North America.
(not sure if i'll be able to recover my $$ I paid for the diagnostics)

Iradlac, what was your process for getting the part replaced for free? We are at 53k and if VW is willing to cover it I'd like get it in there before I roll over too many miles.

Philth said:

The same exhaust flap that was extended to 120K miles, or are you talking about something else? Something doesn't seem right.

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Yes it was the same. But VW didn't change the warranty until after I changed it myself and now VW won't reimburse me.

IXLR8 said:

Yes it was the same. But VW didn't change the warranty until after I changed it myself and now VW won't reimburse me.

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That sucks dude. They won't reimburse you because you did it yourself?

Philth said:

That sucks dude. They won't reimburse you because you did it yourself?

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Basically yes, I don't have a recipe showing parts and labor from a qualified shop, whatever defines a 'qualified' shop.

Change of tack

I've been clearing the fault code since I bought the car in May of 15.

I used my dealer credit to purchase a NoX sensor, and I have it sitting here to install.

After reading this thread, since my last post on it, I see that Iradlac has broken new ground on having VWUSA cough it up for the repair.

I had written a letter and mailed it last week to their office in VA, but after reading IXLR8 tale of woe, I think I know what their response will be.

This AM the CEL came on again. I thing I'm going to take it to my local dealer (with a print out of my Ross Tech VCDS scan) and see where that gets me.

Should I call VW USA first, or start a fight with the service adviser?

If I can get them to replace it at the dealer, I can always Ebay the sensor I bought.

What do you guys think, how do I should I open this can of worms. I really don't need a $1k bill from the dealer that VW isn't going to eat, especially since I know I can change it out myself. But I would like to get VW to do what they should do anyway.

Thanks

@MB2VW Mine was also replaced by the dealer on the emissions warranty (within 80k). No questions asked. I would talk to your service advisor about this and ask him to check on the status under emissions warranty.

My next call would be to VW of America. I would have been frustrated to replace a NOx sensor for $1K simply so that it can emit over 40 times the legal limit of NOx set by the EPA.

Justinw303 said:

Iradlac, what was your process for getting the part replaced for free? We are at 53k and if VW is willing to cover it I'd like get it in there before I roll over too many miles.

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See my post #88. It has the web link to write VW. It took about a week for the first reply but I got approval pretty quickly after that. The reason for it being rejected in the first place was I was past the 3 year mark of ownership. I hope you get your problem resolved!!!

Iradlac said:

GOOD NEWs, the VW of North America will cover the P2201 - NOX sensor and the P06C5 - glow plugs 100% parts and labor. All of the sudden I love my VW Passat TDI again!!!!!! Cudos to VW of North America.
(not sure if i'll be able to recover my $$ I paid for the diagnostics)

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What you are saying is that in your particular case these repairs are being covered, right? I have seen no indication that this is part of any warranty extension or general coverage extension (a la the turbo) that VW is doing. If you have anything in writing on that, I'd save it.

IXLR8 said:

Yes it was the same. But VW didn't change the warranty until after I changed it myself and now VW won't reimburse me.

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This is the first I have heard -at least explicitly- that there has been a warranty change on the NOx sensor. Do you have any documentation or a link on that, please?

Justinw303 said:

Iradlac, what was your process for getting the part replaced for free? We are at 53k and if VW is willing to cover it I'd like get it in there before I roll over too many miles.

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Just called the VW of North America and told them that I'm disappointed that my car has a check engine light on after 46k miles. Also, argued that the NOx should be covered by the emission warranty since is part of the emission system. It didn't take long to get them sold on it.

Iradlac said:

Just called the VW of North America and told them that I'm disappointed that my car has a check engine light on after 46k miles. Also, argued that the NOx should be covered by the emission warranty since is part of the emission system. It didn't take long to get them sold on it.

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The lady on the phone told me that she would escalate my case to the regional service manager. The next day, the service manager (or representative) left a voice mail saying that they will cover the parts/labor.
Forgot to mentioned that the first time I called the VWoA they asked me if the car was always serviced at the dealer, and if I financed my car through VW. (I said yes to both). I guess they want to keep the "loyal" customers.... They did not cover the "diagnostic" fee. I still can't believe they charge one hor of labor to investigate the code they pull for the engine light.....

I decided the hell with it, as I didn't have the time or patience to deal with VWUSA and the dealer on the Nox Sensor issue.

So last Sunday, I installed the sensor I ordered. I'll post back if the code pops up again. Hopefully it won't.

Thanks for all the support!

Well I have the nox. Code...will be cleaning it today and resetting the codes and will
Update the progress...
From what I have read today...seems to be a very common issue,,and seem to be related to all "deiselgate"
related cars...
Im pretty sure I read that once the engine gets to a certain point the ecu tells the nox sensor to "stop" doing its sensing...I dunno maybe not...
So could this continued "on and off" sensing be what is causing the sensor to go bad?
I'm sure the soot is a contributing factor.

Edit::::
As of now the cleaning hasn't done anything...where is the best place to buy this sensor?

Well after driving for about 20 miles...the 200 miles countdown has disappeared...
Is that a good sign? I'm hoping it is...
The engine light is still on,,,hoping it will go out too..
Any thoughts? Just didn't think the countdown would disappear, but the cel stay on...

Ohhh
I have a 2012 passat sel pre...
Has 102,000 miles.
At this stage I've owned it for 4 months,,and love it...
But was hoping not to have to start wrenching on it already.

Well here we go again I fought with VW last week over the heater core, this week it the nox sensor.

Friday wife got a 2200 code so I pulled the sensor, it was actually clean but I sprayed it down anyway. Drove the car 300 plus mile over the weekend and thought everything would be ok.

Monday she goes to work everything seems good, Tuesday she gets the 200 mile count down even though the urea tank is at 77%, and now another check engine light for 2200, 2209, and 20ee. Man this is getting frustrating!

Haha sounds like the wife keeps breaking it...haha just playin..
Cars can be frustrating...
I was just hoping I didn't have to mess with mine so soon....

Ok so I have the same thing happen to me. The only thing I haven't found is the location of the sensor itself. Can someone elaborate on that.

I'm gonna try the oven cleaner/distilled water combo before spending some $$$. I've also written VW.ca to see if there is anything they can do about it since it's "related" to the diesel scandal.

Guy

they give out because they're overworked.

Got the 200 mile warning today. Drove about 40 miles and it still says I have 200 miles left. Going to clean the sensor when the car cools down.

I am half tempted to to buy a rawtek exhaust/Malone tune and delete all the emissions stuff. The cars seem fairly reliable except for the emissions equipment. Considering the cost of the emissions stuff...seems it might be worth it in the long run. Not to mention a bit of extra power and MPG is nice. Not like it was conforming to EPA standards anyway. LOL.

GuyGuy said:

Ok so I have the same thing happen to me. The only thing I haven't found is the location of the sensor itself. Can someone elaborate on that.

Guy

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Guy, If you haven't found it yet, it is in the exhaust pipe about 1ft (0.3m) downstream of the exhaust valve/flap.

NOx Sensor just went bad on a 2012 Passat with 76,000 miles on it.The dealer has to order parts. Dealer told me that VW told them the TDI scandal will be resolved by the end of the month. They will hold the car until then.

There are gonna hold the car for a SENSOR???? For over two weeks? Hope you have a loaner!

BPofMD said:

There are gonna hold the car for a SENSOR???? For over two weeks? Hope you have a loaner!

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The part is going to take a week to come in. I have an older 3rd car I am going to drive.

I don't plan on keeping the TDI after the resolution of the scandal.