Strange problem

[VW Convert]

I’ve experienced a strange fault on a handful of occasions in the 2 ½ years I’ve owned the Jetta and it happened again this morning.

Under acceleration from low speeds (tight roundabout or give way sign for example) using about half throttle i.e. not enough to kick DSG down to 1st gear, the engine momentarily cuts out, the car slows then the engine fires again and I accelerate normally. I’ve noticed this usually occurs on cool mornings when the car has been running for about 15 – 20 minutes.

This morning it occurred again only this time the engine cut out completely, I rolled to a stop and tried to restart, the engine cranked over but would not fire. I switched the ignition off, waited 3 or 4 seconds turned the key, she fired up again and drove off with no further problems.

Fuel tank was ¾ full, running BP 98 Octane fuel, engine temp normal, car has 55,000 KM and is serviced as per schedule.

Anyone experienced anything like this?


Cheers

George

[anthony_VWJET]

I’ve experienced a strange fault on a handful of occasions in the 2 ½ years I’ve owned the Jetta and it happened again this morning.

Under acceleration from low speeds (tight roundabout or give way sign for example) using about half throttle i.e. not enough to kick DSG down to 1st gear, the engine momentarily cuts out, the car slows then the engine fires again and I accelerate normally. I’ve noticed this usually occurs on cool mornings when the car has been running for about 15 – 20 minutes.

This morning it occurred again only this time the engine cut out completely, I rolled to a stop and tried to restart, the engine cranked over but would not fire. I switched the ignition off, waited 3 or 4 seconds turned the key, she fired up again and drove off with no further problems.

Fuel tank was ¾ full, running BP 98 Octane fuel, engine temp normal, car has 55,000 KM and is serviced as per schedule.

Anyone experienced anything like this?


Cheers

George

Im replying in fear that a problem may arise if i say... no, I havent experienced this problem... yet.

I'm guessing it could be a problem with a sensor?

Though I've been recently noticing that my engine has been rattling a tad more then usual... my guess is im low on oil. Waiting for pay day to top up...

[Russ59]

Hi George,

I have heard of similar issues with other cars and I think from memory it was something to do with either an ignition or a fuel injection relay, something like that

I had a similar issue myself a few years back with a V6 Ford Telstar I owned, on a few occasions after giving it a bit of stick it would suddenly just cut out. I had to pull over to the side of the road and wait for about a minute before it would start again. This problem went undiagnosed for some time until by chance a friend of my brother in law who had owned a car the same informed us the issue would be associated with the distributor, he was right, they had a silicone sealed electronic circuit board inside the distributor and the silicone had been prone to cracking over a period of time due to heat, once it had a crack in it moisture got in and started to eat into the circuitry and would cause it to short out, put in a reconditioned dizzy ($500 worth ) and the problem was resolved. I don't think this would necessarily be your problem, but it's a consideration I guess, especially if the issue remains after testing everything else

[Dubdabest]

Once I was in a hurry so started the engine (morning cold start) then within 2-3 secs selected the DSG gear in and drove off but then within 5 secs later the engine stalled and I was stuck on the up-ramp of the apt building carpark so I had no choice to put in N and reversed back down.

I tried to re-start the engine a few times but failed... but after about 10mins waiting and trying to re-start again, the engine fired normally like nothing happened.

At the time I must have thought that I drove away without letting the engine to warm up a bit and settle with its rev (like a bad start in Window that you just have to re-start your comp) so I didn't think too much of it afterward, and have no problem ever since because now I always warm up engine for at least a minute.

Edit: I remembered last year there was a recall of fuel pump on 2.0 TFSI / Golf GTI engine so maybe related to fuel supply?

[Greg Roles]

Perhaps newer cars are different, but an abrupt cut usually means no spark, whereas starving from fuel is usually the cough cough splutter routine. My vote is an ignition problem, and I'd suggest a trip to a friendly dealer for a thorough checkover.

[VW Convert]

Perhaps newer cars are different, but an abrupt cut usually means no spark, whereas starving from fuel is usually the cough cough splutter routine. My vote is an ignition problem, and I'd suggest a trip to a friendly dealer for a thorough checkover.

That's my line of thought too Greg, it's very abrupt, as if someone switched the ignition off, no spluttering whatsoever. I thought it interesting that it would crank over and not start but would start after switching off for a few seconds, almost as if something had tripped and had to be reset.

Cheers

George

[Greg Roles]

Mate I'd get onto every possible other VW forum you can, USA too, and see if you can find other TSFI owners having similar problems. I remember Ford had a similar problem with the BA V8's, and mine did it too. Turned out to be a faulty throttle module, and people found the ignition loom ran over a sharp edge on the block, and it was eventually cutting through wires!

It's very unsettling to have a car that you know can cut out at any time, I was glad when it got diagnosed and fixed!

[gregozedobe]

I agree that it sounds like an electrical problem, but it could also be an electrical problem that causes the fuel injection to suddenly cease injecting fuel (like on over-run down a steep hill where zero fuel is being injected).

I has a secret kill switch on a previous car that disabled the fuel injection, and it cut the motor dead, just like switching the ignition off.

Could be worth seeing if any fault codes have been stored on the ECU - that might point towards the problem area.

[VW Convert]

I agree that it sounds like an electrical problem, but it could also be an electrical problem that causes the fuel injection to suddenly cease injecting fuel (like on over-run down a steep hill where zero fuel is being injected).

I has a secret kill switch on a previous car that disabled the fuel injection, and it cut the motor dead, just like switching the ignition off.

Could be worth seeing if any fault codes have been stored on the ECU - that might point towards the problem area.

I asked the dealer to check that out last service, they came back with the standard reply that there were no fault codes.

Question, does anybody normally get a printout of fault codes that are found when their car is serviced by a dealer?

Cheers

George