MAF Replacement at 35K & 9 months

jhtanstaaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2000
Location
Simsbury, CT USA
So, my car gives me the "I'm not a turbo anymore" performance and lights up the CEL. I take it to my kindly dealer who figures out that the ECU is telling him the MAF is bad & the EGR is reading low. OK I says to him, fix it...well maybe we can do it tomorrow, or the day after, surely not later than the middle of the week & would you like to rent a replacement car because yours is not safe to drive. (True story, Danbury VW in Danbury CT)

No thank you says I. Instead I call Mitchell VW in Canton CT who says bring it in & we'll look at it in the morning. Sure enough they do & it's the MAF. Nice guy calls & says the good news is we know what the problem is. Bad news is the part's not here & it's $450 to replace it. But, here's a phone # at VWoA to call & your VIN #. Tell them you're not happy and maybe they'll do something for you to cut the cost. After all even though it's got 35K on it, it's only 9 months old.

I call the nice lady at VWoA who has no idea at all what a MAF sensor is but agrees that perhaps there is something VW could do. She's to get back to me Monday with their answer. Meantime, Mitchell's gets the part from another dealer in NY and it's fixed and ready to go (well before Danbury would have even looked at it!).

So now I wait for VWoA's answer. But, there are some threads here indicating that the MAF is covered by the emissions warranty. (In addition to the normal emissions stuff, I have the NE Emissions "package".) Does anyone have a definitive answer to whether the MAF is covered under the emissions package?

Thanks


------------------
Jim
CUM CATAPULTAE PROSCRIPTAE ERUNT TUM SOLI PROSCRIPTI CATAPULTAS HABEBUNT.
(When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults....)
 

jhtanstaaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2000
Location
Simsbury, CT USA
OK, my car's back & I'm happy. I'll be happier on Monday when I call the dealer & tell him to give me my $450 back (they were closed when I picked it up).

Here's the real scoop on the MAF sensor & U.S. emissions warranty for a 2000 Jetta TDI. Book 1.2 contains the warranty info for the car. Page 14 starts the section on emissions warranties. For anyone in California there is an extended emissions warranty that covers things the Federal one doesn't. For those of us in the northeast (buyers of the NE Emissions Package at $100) we should be covered by the California warranty. The reason for the "should" is that the book only specifically states that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and State of Vermont have adopted warranty requirements that are identical to California. There's no specific mention of CT or the NE Emissions Package.

What's also noteworthy is that the warranty states that "the owner of a vehicle certified for sale and registered in California, Massachusetts and Vermont...". Note the "registered" requirement. I suspect I'll have to fight over whether Connecticut is included due to the requirement I get the NE emissions package. Legally they could take the position that although I bought the package, its warranty provisions don't apply as I'm not registered in Mass or Vermont.

Assuming they honor the warranty :) then pg 21 & 22 become critical. Under the California (& Mass/VT/ possibly NE?) warranty there are 12 specified parts covered for either 3yrs/50,000mi or 7yrs/70,000mi. For TDIs 3 items (MAF Sensor, Secondary Air Injection Pump, Throttle Valve Control Unit) are covered under the 3/50 not the 7/70 (see pg 22 of your manual).

So the bottom line is that for CA/MA/VT drivers at least, the MAF is covered for 3yrs/50,000miles---NOT 7/70 or 8/80 as noted elsewhere in various threads here. I'll post next week as to whether the purchase of the NE Emissions Package "Option" grants CT drivers with the same warranty.
 

jhtanstaaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2000
Location
Simsbury, CT USA
Here's the official VWoA scoop on the MAF sensor & coverage under emissions warranty past 24mos/24K ---> except in California, VT, and MA there AIN'T NONE!

Buyers of the Northeast Emissions Package did not get anything unless they live & register the car in MA or VT. The rest of the Northeast gets "improved emissions" but no additional coverage --- 'cause (per VWoA) "the states haven't gottent their act together to require it" so VWoA doesn't extend the warranty for people in CT/RI/NH/NY/ME.

Bad news aside, I pointed out that this was outrageous & the nice VWoA lady coughed up reimbursement for parts & labor.
 

jhtanstaaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2000
Location
Simsbury, CT USA
Guess what folks? --- I'm at 39,952 & 344 days old & my Check Engine light comes on and yes indeedy acceleration is gone!

So off it goes to the dealer (fortunately I've already got an appt for the 40K timing belt change) where they tell me --- yep, it's the MAF sensor AGAIN! Hey, I got almost 5K miles on this last one! Boy Howdy!

This time, they think it's because lots of sand got sucked into the air filter. Now of course the sensor is covered under the parts warranty so they'll fix it. But, it's not likely to last any longer 'cause I've got all that crap in the plumbing. They can clean it out by taking the whole thing apart but that's gonna cost me $800.

"Why" says I, "didn't you find that last time?" To which VW says "there wasn't any sand there last time."

So, would I like it fixed? No, I'd like the sand to stay there, screw up another MAF, cause me to lose acceleration somewhere critical someday, perhaps suck it into the turbo...sure, let's leave it....Of course I want it fixed!

Now, a) it's been really snowy & hence sandy around CT this year, but b) it gets snowy in winter, wouldn't this be a design flaw? Why's the filter letting sand blow past? Dealer guy agrees -- this is the 2nd time he's had to do this on a 2000 Jetta TDI this year.

So, being the nice guy at the dealership though, he's already called the VW district level to get them to pay for it (he figured I'd be pissed so he wanted to be able to tell me something good). I'm awaiting word on that. Somedays the joy just keeps on spilling all over me.
 
O

oly

Guest
jhtanstaaf,

Your posts will make this problem easier for me to deal with if happens to me, thanks!
 

valois

Banned
Joined
Jan 11, 2000
Do you use the stock airfilter? Are you chipped? How can the sand have any affect on the MAF if the airfilter is in place, it is supposed to stop it. Did the temperature change dramatically on you just prior to failure?
 

jhtanstaaf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2000
Location
Simsbury, CT USA
Val: yep it's all stock so far. The dealer says the air filter failed & let sand get sucked in the air plumbing -- all the way back to the turbo. No sudden temp changes or anything. Just a brief drop in power and then a check engine light accompanied by no more turbo boost (30 seconds to 20mph from a cold start!). They ended up taking the whole system apart, including the turbo, and cleaned everything (which makes it a much more sprightly car btw). Something on the order of 12.5 hours of labor!

What I really liked were the options presented: just replace the MAF for free (under the 1yr parts warranty for the one replaced 6 weeks ago) and wait for it to fail again...REPEAT

or

Pay for cleaning the system out so the new one doesn't fail.

When dealing with VWoA I pointed out that this was a crappy choice they forced me into & that in fact they were far better off paying for the cleaning 'cause a)I haven't been killed yet when acceleration died as I pulled into traffic & a truck nails my 10mph butt, b)they'll keep paying for those MAF replacements, and c)they'll have to pay for a new turbo when it coughs up dead. So by paying the dealer 850 now, they save 2-3 thousand over the next year.

Isn't it great when you have options? <G>
 
M

mickey

Guest
Factory air filter caused the problem? Sounds like they owe you a new filter and a new MAF.

-mickey
 

vegasdzl

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2001
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
06 NB DSG
Failed air filter? What about the snow screen which is OEM? Sand can't get past that as long as it wasn't clogged with snow or debris(bypass).
 

weedeater

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 17, 2001
Location
Reston, VA
TDI
Jetta, 2001, Baltic Green
Air filter failed? how the hell does that happen? something ripped a hole in it? And where did all that sand go if not in the combustion chamber?

Is it possible that there is a hole/break between the air filter box and the MAF?

I seem to remember on a thread hereabouts that there is an 800 number for a Gov agency interested in tracking all these MAF failures. But I can't remember the agency (part of DOT, could be NTSB...?).
 

valois

Banned
Joined
Jan 11, 2000
I believe I would want a borescope picture of the cylinder chamber, complete, and I mean complete documentation, and possibly a new engine. It would depend on how the combustion chambers looked, at the very least a compression check, if any one cylinder was off at all, I would want a new engine.
 

rgoetz

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 14, 1999
Location
NJ
TDI
None currently
Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I can't help saying "Yea Vermont!"

Of course, I can't imagine VW will cover under warranty a de-screened MAF, (which I have).
 
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