'06 Jetta Engine Stalling

[Dennis T]

Hi Everyone. I hope someone can point me in right direction. I've had this jetta for abt 6months now. Other than a few minor hiccups it has run beautifully. Recently it would occasionally sputter a bit around 80kmph but then clear up. Sometimes, taking off from a stop, you'd hit the gas but there'd be nothing there and it would stall but start right back up. Now, it has progressed to where instead of sputtering at higher speed, it smokes, pings, rattles and loses power till it dies. Sometimes it clears up after sitting for a few minutes but definitely not reliable. Anybody ever run into this before?

 

[oilhammer]

OBD works, start there.

Also, the fuel filter schedule is every other service. They are not kidding. Neglected fuel filters on PD engines cause all sorts of strange things.

 

[Dennis T]

Thank You "O.H." I haven't done a thing to this car since I got it so I reckon I should start there. Just hoping I don't have a blown turbo seal or something.

 

[oilhammer]

What platform/engine do you have? There were two completely different 2006 Jettas for Canada. The A5 sedan with the BRM engine and the A4 wagon with the BEW engine.

 

[Dennis T]

Jeez, you know what, I don't have a clue. I'll have to go check and get back to you on that. I've driven mostly chev & gm all my life. I picked up this jetta for the fuel savings. I'm a licensed car truck and coach mechanic but this is all new to me.

 

[oilhammer]

You don't know the difference between a sedan and a station wagon???

 

[Dennis T]

Didn't know what you meant sedan/wagon. LOL. I reckon it's a sedan. For some reason I can't picture a VW station wagon. I'll have to search images to see what a vw jetta station wagon looks like.

 

[oilhammer]

So it is an A5, with a BRM engine. All kinds of things can go wrong with those related to bad engine harnesses. In any event, you still need to ask the car if it can help. OnBoard Diagnostics. OBD.

This is an A4 station wagon:

This is an A5 sedan:

Both could be 2006 Jettas. They look nothing alike, and share hardly any parts.

 

[Dennis T]

Yeah, thanks. Maybe it's just me but I haven't noticed and vw stn wagons here in ontario. Now that I seen one I'll probably see them all the time now. Gotta head off to work now but I'll get out my scanner later and see what we got. The harness issue could be a good lead to because it does some other weird things like a marker light staying on or sometimes the sunroof opens on its own. Thanks for the advice. TTYL.

 

[TurboABA]

It's just you.... there's lots of Wagons in Ontario.

 

[oilhammer]

I was gonna say, they were SO popular there that Volkswagen continued selling them for another whole model year, so somebody up there was buying them!

 

[Dennis T]

Thanks very much to tdi forum members for the advice on engine stalling. I replaced fuel filter. So easy and reasonably priced I got greedy and replaced air filter too. Good thing too because as filthy as fuel filter was, air filter was way worse. Totally full of crap and cracked to the point contaminants were getting through. Engine runs good again. Kinda gutless at first (I figure was just air pockets in fuel) but cleared up after abt. 80km. I never would have thought a plugged filter could cause so much calamity. So, thanks again y'all.

 

[TurboABA]

Choke yourself and try sprinting..... it's similar to what happens to an engine if it can't breathe or get fuel and you ask it to make power.

 

[Dennis T]

I guess my car had "auto erotic issues". LOL
Seriously, I've had clogged fuel filters and/or ran out of gas before (usually GM) but nothing ever acted like this jetta. Man, smoking, pinging, lurching. I thought for sure my turbo seal or timing chain were pooched. Scanner comes up P2564(turbo boost control) and P0404 (egr). Could have been triggered by the fuel issue. I'll put a few miles on and recheck. Thank You everyone for the input.

 

[Dennis T]

Next conquest will be to try to get steering assist yellow warning icon to go out.

 

[TurboABA]

Toss that generic scanner into your toolbox and keep it for whatever else you family drives.... invest in a proper VCDS interface if you intend to be able to diagnose and\or fix your VAG going forward.

 

[Dennis T]

Hmm, that sounds like a complicated, expensive venture. I'm used to just banging rocks together. I will research this thing of which you speak. Thank You.

 

[TurboABA]

You've chosen the wrong vehicle to drive if you want to continue being a caveman.
Interface
It will quickly pay for itself.... especially if you're trying to deal with steering assist issues "blindly".

Ross-Tech: VCDS

www.ross-tech.com

 

[Mozambiquer]

Was the air filter dirty from the intake side? As in black soot on the clean side of the filter?