2012 Passat DSG - engine died this weekend shortly after start up

[Papachristou]

2012 Passat DSG - engine died shortly after start up. added repair invoice

Car info: 2012 Passat DSG with approx 18,000 miiles on it. Dealer serviced car. It had about half a tank of fuel in it when it died. We usually let the fuel light come on before fueling it up.
We had just pulled out of a parking lot from lunch on saturday, drove 20' to the stop light and were sitting there idling when it died. I think it made a slight clatter from the engine area as it died. I tried to start it back up to no avail. I think it clattered for a split second again then it just turned over and i got out to push it across the intersection. Luckily i had just purchased 10 large bags of miracle gro garden soil, mulch and compost at lowes earlier in the day so i got to unload all that as we called Roadside. People walking by were shocked and staring as i kept pulling bag after bag out of the trunk!
The good news is the dealer CANNOT FIND OUR CAR this morning. They've been looking for it since 7am. The tow company said they left it on the side street next to the dealer WITH THE KEYS IN IT! Hopefully it turns up not stolen. ANd of course they wont give my wife a loaner without having the car so she is sitting there. Ill have to start calling VOA pretty soon if it isnt found.
Looking at the tow receipt closely, he also scribbled that the car had scratches on the front and rear bumper which it did not, so let that be a warning to look at the paperwork closely, he never mentioned to me that he wrote that on there.
Im guessing fuel pump went out... Any other thoughts?
Im fairly mechanically adept having completed the TB service on my last jetta TDI, my a4 along with a GTRS big turbo, FMIC, stasis suspension, clutch, differential brakes etc. I didnt have my vag com with me so i couldnt see if it had a fault code. Ive never purchased a new car with a warranty so this felt kind of weird not knowing what was wrong with the car.

 

[Ramairetransam]

in for an update on this one

 

[jetlagmech]

your title says "DSG failure" but the description your talking about possible HPFP failure.

good luck on the dealer finding your car..........I would think the tow company is liable until the car is accepted by someone but of course everyone involved will argue its not their responsibility. I would get VOA involved immediatly since the tow company choice was their call. And tell the dealer to get the police involved now unless their taking responsibility.

 

[Dirtracr95]

your title says "DSG failure" but the description your talking about possible HPFP failure.

good luck on the dealer finding your car..........I would think the tow company is liable until the car is accepted by someone but of course everyone involved will argue its not their responsibility. I would get VOA involved immediatly since the tow company choice was their call. And tell the dealer to get the police involved now unless their taking responsibility.

This. You need to put the pressure on.

 

[Papachristou]

jetlagmech, thank you, i re-read the title and see how it could be interpreted as "dsg died", i meant to give info on the car type so i edited that to clarify. It was the engine that died while idling at at a stoplight.

Good news! the dealer found the car, the tow company had dumped it on a sidestreet next to the dealer and left the keys sitting in the drivers seat. It's a miracle it wasnt stolen. It has tinted windows so maybe that helped. They are getting in it the shop right now.

Ill post an update on the cause and fix when i hear from them which may be a day or two.

 

[psd1]

jetlagmech, thank you, i re-read the title and see how it could be interpreted as "dsg died", i meant to give info on the car type so i edited that to clarify. It was the engine that died while idling at at a stoplight.

Good news! the dealer found the car, the tow company had dumped it on a sidestreet next to the dealer and left the keys sitting in the drivers seat. It's a miracle it wasnt stolen. It has tinted windows so maybe that helped. They are getting in it the shop right now.

Ill post an update on the cause and fix when i hear from them which may be a day or two.

Tough to steal a car that won't run. Hope you get it sorted quickly and a little more pain free.

 

[Papachristou]

Tough to steal a car that won't run. Hope you get it sorted quickly and a little more pain free.

I live in memphis... people here will steal anything, working or not !

 

[Salsaman06]

jetlagmech, thank you, i re-read the title and see how it could be interpreted as "dsg died", i meant to give info on the car type so i edited that to clarify. It was the engine that died while idling at at a stoplight.....

You didn't actually change the title of the thread. I thought it was about a DSG failure as well. (you actually put a title on your specific post, which has nothing to do with the thread title.)

Anyway, hope all works out well for you. I am very interested in what actually went wrong. Thanks.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

I fixed the thread title for you.

You might want to talk to your insurance company and have them talk to the company that towed your car and left the keys in it.

 

[powerfool]

I fixed the thread title for you.

You might want to talk to your insurance company and have them talk to the company that towed your car and left the keys in it.

Yeah, just because it isn't running is NOT a good reason. Someone could have been a d-bag and just took the keys... they could have slashed up the interior.... they could have towed it away elsewhere and parted it or attempted to fix it themselves. Ridiculous.

 

[no-blue-screen]

All I can say is wow. Glad they found the car. In for an update on cause of the no start.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

All I can say is wow. Glad they found the car. In for an update on cause of the no start.

Oops, I misread what the OP said. I read "the dealer found it on the side street with the keys in it" as "the dealer couldn't find it and the tow company said they left it on the side street with the keys in it."

Strike my previous comment about calling insurance.

 

[Papachristou]

I fixed the thread title for you.

You might want to talk to your insurance company and have them talk to the company that towed your car and left the keys in it.

thanks! i had actually typed the whole **** post out and accidentally clicked some little button on the side of my mouse which took the webpage back so i had to RETYPE the whole thing lol. I was kind of perturbed and in a hurry after that.

Yeah, just because it isn't running is NOT a good reason. Someone could have been a d-bag and just took the keys... they could have slashed up the interior.... they could have towed it away elsewhere and parted it or attempted to fix it themselves. Ridiculous.

yes exactly. Unfortunately, it was the VOA roadside that towed it. Even they have little control over what company is dispatched. I did call them back and they said they stopped payment on the tow vendor's check.


Ill definitely keep everyone posted. I had high expectations for this little car. It was just strange because i havent fueled it in 300 miles or so (still around a half tank) and we were just idling at the stop light. Never good when a diesel dies like that.

 

[powerfool]

Be careful with them cancelling a check on the tow... they record your VIN and may attempt to put a lien on your car. Of course, VW probably just said that... they are likely still paying.

 

[Papachristou]

Well, we finally heard back from the dealer. Dead fuel pump. It's ordered and should arrive next week. Is there anything else i need to ask for or be aware of that might be a future issue from a blown fuel pump? Could it have sent any shrapnel into the lines or engine?

Update:

Got a minute to call the dealer myself. Nice guy who was happy to take the time to explain it to me. He said he would expect to see more HPFP failures in the summer. He also said he hasn't replaced a turbo on a TDI in about a year which sounds like good news. He said he wants to replace everything possible on the car so he ordered:

HPFP (believes design is updated, who knows)
Fuel filter and new housing
new injectors
in tank fuel pump
fuel rail

He said they will flush the fuel lines under the car several times in an effort purge every possible piece of metal. Sounds like he knows what it needs and said he asked his manager for approval to replace these extra parts. Total bill would be about $3400 if it wasnt under warranty he said.

 

[jrm]

does your state use bio diesel, its thought that B2 or B5 helps the HPFP live a long happy life

 

[VeeDubTDI]

$3400 seems like a deal... it used to be $8000 or so, IIRC.

 

[no-blue-screen]

3400 is a good deal....sorry to hear its the hpfp and glad to hear you will be fixed up soon though.

 

[ptdip]

$3400 seems like a deal... it used to be $8000 or so, IIRC.

LOL, and a big one at that in so many ways.

 

[Nebelwerfer]

I believe that's two HPFPs so far.

 

[vw_norm]

does your state use bio diesel, its thought that B2 or B5 helps the HPFP live a long happy life

Agreed, based on a report I read on this. So much so that 3 fillups ago I've started adding 1 qt B100 to each fillup. Since I normally refill at the warning light, that's generally around 15-16 gallons petro diesel, giving a B1.7 - B1.6 mix, give or take. Monitoring oil levels and will be doing the 30K service in 1700 miles as well as UOA sample to determine if there are any deleterious effects. the biodiesel is manufactured locally at a new 5MG/yr facility. The lubricity report is here: Biodiesel Lubricity

 

[Papachristou]

We just have regular diesel here in Memphis. Car is supposed to be ready Wednesday. I'll scan the service receipt when I get it

 

[Papachristou]

Ok, we just got the car back today. Of course, it was on empty. We called VOA and they are mailing us a $50 visa card.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_y2poGjBe-tRk8wRFp2dGRMV00/edit?usp=sharing

This is the link for the repair invoice. It ended up totalling $5300.

I noticed they checked the diesel, found metal contaminates in it.

The pump was $1320, injectors were $360 each, fuel dist was $612. There are quite a few pipes and lines they noted as replaced too.


Is there any concern of cylinder wall scoring or damage to the exhaust side turbine you think? I was considering calling VOA and asking for an extended warranty on the fuel system, engine and turbo because of potential metal particles.

 

[powerfool]

Yikes! Good thing it was covered. So what are their thoughts on the source?

We just picked up our new Passat this evening and I picked up the extended warranty from my dealer just in case (150k mile powertrain warranty, not sure if that is standard).

 

[tadawson]

The metal should not have passed through the injectors, thus being contained in the fuel system. Based on that, I can't imagine cylinder or turbo being affected at all.

- Tim

 

[Papachristou]

The metal should not have passed through the injectors, thus being contained in the fuel system. Based on that, I can't imagine cylinder or turbo being affected at all.

- Tim

Good info Tim, thanks. Yes, i forgot how small the injectors are on a diesel. That definitely gives me some relief. I may email VW anyway. Worst that can happen is they say no. Maybe ill get lucky and have an extended powertrain warranty for free.

 

[2004_Passat]

I just saw this thread. This experience is nearly identical to what I'm going through. Same city (Memphis), same dealer, even same service guy. They should be getting good at replacing HPFP's...

 

[2004_Passat]

I believe that's two HPFPs so far.

And I guess mine's the third.

 

[Bobmws]

And here I was thinking about not continuing my Optilube dosage when this gallon is empty.......

 

[HBRD_KLR]

Same thing here. IL biodiesel crap. The total was little over 7k. They fixed it no questions asked. They also flushed the fuel tank couple of times. No problem since but I did switch from biodiesel to D2, I only fill up bio when i ultimately have to.