Another heater core?

[spepin]

The may have updated the ECU while the car was getting the core.

Ugh -- it had already received the dieselgate "fix" (bought as a CPO last year). Anybody know what changes might have been made over the past couple of years, if any?

 

[Mcbee104]

Know someone here was changing their coolant annually to prevent heater core from clogging up but it still clogged up. Most of us have to deal with freezing temps in winter so increasing ratio of water to coolant isn't really a solution. You're in Michigan so I know you get the cold - I'm by the Indiana/Michigan line. I'd stick with 50-50 coolant.

A tune should take care of the clogging (or at least minimize the regens/clogging) from what I've read here. I'm just waiting for the extended emissions warranty to run out as it has come in handy for a couple of issues already.

Without a tune best advice is to avoid short trips if possible. Worst thing one can do is turn engine off in mid-regen. Best to have engine get up to normal operating temp and run it on the highway on a regular basis. I have a 70 mile round trip commute and can plan on when a regen occurs as I monitor my soot levels via Polar-FIS. I've found the regens are consistent and predictable with the CVCA which wasn't the case with the 2014 CKRA that I previously owned. I have another vehicle I use for short trips in town so I save my Passat for the commuting and long trips.

Wish these CVCA engines/emissions system were like the ALH cars but they're not. Life is too short to worry about this.

One other thing - if you start losing heat get the heater core changed soon as possible! Mine failed on a road trip. I was able to get to my destination but hardly any heat. Unfortunately it was 600 miles to home - made it a third of the way but due to the clogging the hot coolant got backed up on the inlet side of the radiator (clogging restricts the flow of coolant) which then melted a hole in a plastic fitting! Dealer #1 replaced fitting but did not change the heater core - said it would get me home which was not the case. Only got 175 miles down the road and another melted hole. Dealer #2 did same thing as #1 and again said it'd get me home. OK, 30 miles up the road - same thing again! Dealer #3 changed the fitting and the heater core - finally was able to get home. Yes, first two dealers just replaced the failed part (melted plastic fitting) without figuring out what caused that to happen which was the clogged heater core. So don't delay in replacing a failing heater core otherwise you're bound to have the experience I did.

How do I kno or find out when a regen occurs? I have a 2014 Passat tdi and just blew rod threw my blow. When I got to the side of the rode there was engine coolant all over my engine bay. My car is mostly used for short trips back n forth to work across town. But at this particular time I was on a long drive jumped on the highway from a back rode and was rappedly accelating up to high way speed and it blew a rod threw the block. The car has 60k miles on it now. But after reading this post I do remember towards the end of our winter here the heat just wasent getting as hott as it used to when I 1st got the car and it took longer for the heat to in the car to get hott. The car was at normal operating temp when I started the rapid acceleration

 

[Tom in PT]

If your engine just threw a rod you have a lot more issues to be concerned with than when regen occurs . . . . VW should supply you with a new engine if you had the Emissions fix done on your 2014. Read up on the extended warranty that came with the fix and call a local VW dealer to make arrangements.

To answer your question, unless you are monitoring exhaust gas temp. with an app on your phone, the way to know is to hear the cooling fans running when you are idling or after you shut off the engine. They will run for a few minutes after shut off. Lots of threads on this topic, do some searching and learn all about it.

 

[06bluebeetletdi]

Be very careful with the polar fis, if the car every acts odd, ie won’t respond to the remote at all or won’t start, disconnect the polar fis immediately. My polar fis caused my car to loose all communications and stop moving as well as lighting up the dashboard. Luckily it did it where I could roll backward into the parking lot at work, the rest of my commute is highway at 55-70 mph and could have been catastrophic.

 

[spepin]

Be very careful with the polar fis, if the car every acts odd, ie won’t respond to the remote at all or won’t start, disconnect the polar fis immediately. My polar fis caused my car to loose all communications and stop moving as well as lighting up the dashboard. Luckily it did it where I could roll backward into the parking lot at work, the rest of my commute is highway at 55-70 mph and could have been catastrophic.

Thanks for the caution -- is this a problem that was apparent right away, or did it do it one day out of the blue? Did you ever find out the cause? This is the only time I've heard of any problems with it.

 

[06bluebeetletdi]

I had it about 18 months, first incident (acting strange with the key) was on a Saturday. Catastrophic failure was thursday of the next week. Scanned the car, several lost communication faults covering all major systems of the vehicle. Removed the polar fis and a friend and I drove it several times over the next 10 days with no issue, reconnected the polar, no start and no communication faults again. It’s been 10 months with no issues. Returned the polar to the company in Spain, never heard from them again, that was july 2020.

 

[spepin]

I had it about 18 months, first incident (acting strange with the key) was on a Saturday. Catastrophic failure was thursday of the next week. Scanned the car, several lost communication faults covering all major systems of the vehicle. Removed the polar fis and a friend and I drove it several times over the next 10 days with no issue, reconnected the polar, no start and no communication faults again. It’s been 10 months with no issues. Returned the polar to the company in Spain, never heard from them again, that was july 2020.

Thanks for the head's-up...

 

[spepin]

And it happened again. Dealer replaced my heater core at 55,300, and now, during a vacation trip, CEL came on again at 66,120. Checked codes and found that the dreaded P2457 is back, combined with no heat at the dash vents. Luckily it's warm weather, so no heat needed, and I'm on my way home with about 350 miles to go tomorrow. I'll contact the dealer and schedule a return visit. Luckily, this one will be under dealer repair warranty, so no deductible. On the first replacement, I noticed the WO showed "drain and refill" for the coolant, not a flush as the TSB dictates. I warned them at that time that the problem would probably reoccur, and here we are.

 

[Tom in PT]

You need a good flush (or preferably several) to get all the debris clogging the cooling system out of it, the dealer should know that. When mine clogged the VW dealer in Bremerton WA actually flushed it three times and since then (about 18,000 miles and 3 years) the system is working properly.

 

[740GLE]

Amazing that 18K is worthy of bragging of longevity of the coolant system.

So glad VW bought back our 2012 in 2017 with 80K on the clock.

 

[Tom in PT]

^ Its so sad . . . . . Silly me, I stupidly had faith VW would honor its warranties and the the bugs were worked out after umpteen million miles/hours of testing before the fix was announced. My car only had 26,000 miles on it when the fix came out, so I thought - what could go wrong, the car is almost new, and they are paying me over $7,000 if I keep it, and fuel economy is only supposed to take a 1 mpg hit! [palm hits forehead]

 

[oilhammer]

Only one way to fix that issue forever I think.

 

[akjdouglass]

Only one way to fix that issue forever I think.

And $7000 makes it an easy decision to do just that.

 

[spepin]

Dealer confirmed -- another heater core (initially they said it might be DPF since they had two other cars there same week with same codes need DPF). I reminded them that the last time it was done, the repair order only stated "drain & refill" for the coolant, and not flush, although the TSB states a proper flush is required, otherwise the problem will return. Service rep told me that when I inquired about it last time, the tech told her that he did the flush, but then she also told me that he's no longer working there (gee, I wonder why). She said the tech currently working on it is performing multiple flushes by the book. I also had a couple intermittent codes that correlate to issues that I've seen come and go -- there was a B108C code for intermittent left temperature flap (actuator stuck), and B1094 for the left position sensor (open or short to plus) that correlated to feeling the dash air go from cold to warm for 5-6 seconds, then back to cold. Another for intermittent short on the GPS antenna cable (007) that seems to correlate to intermittent drop-outs of my satellite radio (when not around buildings or something else that would block the signal). There was one more intermittent code (B1050) for a radio overtemp, but I attributed that to our recent drive through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas so didn't complain about that. However, the dealer seems to think that the antenna cable short code is related to overheating in the radio -- I told them to look at the time stamp of the freeze frame data when the problems occurred, and they'd see that the intermittent short did not occur anywhere near the time that the radio showed overtemp (4/9/21 vs 6/13/21). I don't see the two related.

 

[klburton22]

I haven't looked at this thread in almost a year, it's been a very busy year for me. So just an update, I haven't had to replace a heater core this year which I am very happy about. The car has been running great, I have 103K miles on it. But this maybe the last month I own the car. I put a deposit down on a 2021 Toyota 4Runner and it should be in sometime this month, the plan is to trade in the Passat on the 4Runner. The Passat has been a good car but I've just haven't been able to fall in love with VW. Once I get the 4Runner, that will be my wife's car and I will be driving her Volvo XC70. I have been a Volvo guy for many years and probably always will be.

 

[superdavis78]

I’m struggling to get the pipes connected The removal and installation isn’t bad at all. Just can’t finish it up because the pipes won’t seat!!!

 

[bustNfuel]

It's that time of year. Driving home last night, temps in the 50s so I turned on the heat. 140 degree air from the left vent, 65F degrees from the center vents, and 55F from the far right vent. Heater core was replaced at 58k back on January of 2017 by my local dealership's service department, where I bought my Passat CPO back in June of 2015. Car has 97k on it now.

I have the VOA paperwork showing the warranty extension that applies to the CKRA TDi Passats, but the next available service appointment is over two weeks away. I'm not going to risk driving it like this due to potential associated issues, so I'm thankful I have my trusty 2014 RAM 2500 Cummins.

Also had a Check Engine light with code P205B that's hopefully covered on the emissions extended warranty.

 

[Lex Tdi]

oilhammer is right... one fix and your done with this issue (and LOTS of other ones). I'm at 215,000 miles on my "permanently fixed" passat and the last 80k i literally havent had any issues other than an alternator. It reminds me of my alh's, you just drive and don't have any headaches or worries about what might come up about shut down or heater cores clogging, i dont have a warranty and have fewer worries about driving long distances than when it was under one.

 

[calimustang]

ok now the time has come. no heat on the floor. only heat is on the top defrost vent/dash vents only blows hot as it should. heater core or motor flap being stuck?

 

[Tom in PT]

If you have it set on vents, and passenger side cold, driver side hot, you have a plugged heater core.

If both vent sides hot, but nothing but cold going to the lower vents, when you have the controls set to send heat to the footwells, I think you have a blend door/motor flap stuck. Not that uncommon with these cars. There may be some pics or videos on how to get at them.

 

[calimustang]

yep I solved it today. it was stuck on upper vents to defrost vents only. nothing on the floors. had it fixed by a simple reset. now its toasty warm on the floors. we are happy. will post it up on how to reset.

 

[Penst8grad]

Just had the 2nd heatercore done in 8 months/14k miles by the dealer. 45mpg is nice but when my wife has no heat, not so nice. If momma isn't happy nobody is happy.

Thinking the 15 Passat's time with us is coming to a close soon and without TDI there really is nothing drawing me to another VW product.

 

[Lightflyer1]

I have only owned them for the tdi. I would buy something else if I had to have a gas vehicle.

 

[DivineChaos]

Yep, it'll keep doing it, too. You can "fix" it forever, if you want.

Yeah. All my equipment fell off. No check engine light either.

 

[bustNfuel]

It's that time of year. Driving home last night, temps in the 50s so I turned on the heat. 140 degree air from the left vent, 65F degrees from the center vents, and 55F from the far right vent. Heater core was replaced at 58k back on January of 2017 by my local dealership's service department, where I bought my Passat CPO back in June of 2015. Car has 97k on it now.

I have the VOA paperwork showing the warranty extension that applies to the CKRA TDi Passats, but the next available service appointment is over two weeks away. I'm not going to risk driving it like this due to potential associated issues, so I'm thankful I have my trusty 2014 RAM 2500 Cummins.

Also had a Check Engine light with code P205B that's hopefully covered on the emissions extended warranty.

My heater core was plugged again. Replaced this week by my local VW service department, Leith VW of Cary NC.

It was replaced under the VW extended warranty, along with my AdBlue Heater, which was throwing a CEL. Thankfully it too was under the VWOA extended warranty.

 

[calimustang]

My heater core was plugged again. Replaced this week by my local VW service department, Leith VW of Cary NC.

It was replaced under the VW extended warranty, along with my AdBlue Heater, which was throwing a CEL. Thankfully it too was under the VWOA extended warranty.

going to plan on deleting?

 

[Skimax]

So is the extended heater core warranty for a 2015 as well? 41K and never so much as a check engine light. This has been one of the most reliable cars we've ever owned. What about a coolant flush Oil Hammer? I'd do the delete but I doubt if it would pass the NH emissions test.

 

[bustNfuel]

going to plan on deleting?

I may if I keep it long enough for the extended warranties and Dieselgate extensions expire. For now it's nice having a car that's about to roll 100k miles that drives great, looks great, and is fun to drive. And rarely sees a fuel pump compared to my other vehicles.

 

[calimustang]

yep CKRA can be stupid reliable once deleted. those updated emission programming are hard on the CKRA turbo and such. been seeing far too many turbo failures across the board, left and right.

 

[x1800MODMY360x]

yep CKRA can be stupid reliable once deleted. those updated emission programming are hard on the CKRA turbo and such. been seeing far too many turbo failures across the board, left and right.

It's crazy that all new diesels turbo's don't die from DPF Regen, even me going to 75MPH on a freeway the EGT don't go past 860F but Regen can shoot up to 1200-1300F for a long period of time.