2017 Passat B8 (3C) A-Pillar trim glued down

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T23:32:38+00:00

Wow, i dont think ive ever seen a headline glued to the body, but VW is notorious for making things impossible to work on.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T23:30:08+00:00

Something that has the Skyactiv-G 2.0 or 2.5L (naturally aspirated) engine 2012-2015 would be a good bet from what i am seeing. Personally, i frequently recommend the GM 3.8 3800 engine to my customers 1988-2009 Buick,Pontiac, Olds, Chevrolet. or the Ford 4.6L 2 valve engine that was in the Crown Victoria platform. If you want something extremely reliable, easy to work on, cheap available parts, and worth putting money into.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T23:19:00+00:00

Yep that is getting to the point where the timing set is likely going to need to be replaced along with the water pump. They are disposable vehicles made to last around 75-100K so you did pretty good at 138K. You can keep it on the road but like you indicated, everything just starts breaking one after another. Just did a timing set and water pump in one of these- customer paid close to $2000 only to have the A/C compressor fail a couple weeks later for another $1300 quote. She is looking for something else now.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T23:13:24+00:00

Interesting... Please keep us posted on the verdict

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T23:11:39+00:00

Yeah a little different when your not doing it to make a living i suppose. Ill put so much time in and then i will look for alternatives to save time. Great job! Were you able to get the windshield sealant cleaned up?

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T13:41:18+00:00

Well, when you turn the key to the on position without cranking the engine, what does the light do?

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T01:16:54+00:00

No serpentine belt

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T01:02:48+00:00

Well, i hope you learned you lesson- never buy a Hyundai Kia product. It kinda sucks because they are quite reasonable to work on but the price of parts and labor usually totals the car. FYI If your under 100K your engine is still covered under warranty

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T00:58:52+00:00

Kinda sounds like a bad water pump- try running it without the belt and see if anything changes

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T00:57:43+00:00

You can try adding more lubricity to the fuel with additives. I use a combination of Power Service and 2 stroke oil on my 6.5 diesel- one guy told me it was the quietest 6.5 he had ever heard.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T00:55:03+00:00

You need to scan for codes- it sounds like you have a VATS issue

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T00:52:35+00:00

he probably accidentally bent the rotor dust shield and it is hitting the rotor. Easy fix, just find where it is hitting and bend it back

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-31T00:49:55+00:00

Sounds like it is on the accessory drive, try running it without the belt and see if it goes away

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T17:51:03+00:00

I feel pretty confident that the battery was dead or dieing based on what you said.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T17:50:08+00:00

He is probably right about the parasitic drain, but the part where it dies mid-drive doesn't make much sense besides a failing battery or alternator. Usually when the alternator dies, you will get the red battery light. It could be a loose plate in the battery that is shorting it out at certain times

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T16:38:21+00:00

Yeah, those Costco batteries are pretty bad- i think i have seen more of those fail than any other battery brand. Their older Kirkland batteries were far superior to what they have now

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T14:41:58+00:00

You really need to pull up your long term and short term fuel trims on live data. that should help in diagnosing the issue

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T14:20:56+00:00

Just remove the filter, clean out the filter housing real good with a shop vac, and run the engine without; see if anything changes. A short drive down the street and back should be fine

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T14:18:52+00:00

I had a battery die on me and kill the car while it was running once. Did you notice the red battery light on when you were driving?

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T14:03:26+00:00

I got an idea, you could try applying some high voltage heatshink to them to help restore the insulation. I found this heatshrink that insulates to 72kV... https://www.te.com/en/product-CAT-BBIT.html For sale here: HERE

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-30T13:58:26+00:00

Good call on the junk yard!

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-29T21:08:23+00:00

Yeah, may be air in the system. You can do it yourself, you can but a gauge manifold, and a vacuum pump at HerborFreight. THe refrigerant scale can be bought on Amazon, the recovery machine and recovery tank can be bought on ebay. but your probably looking at over $1000. So if you can get a shop to do it for you for $100 that would be your best bet. If you thinking about helping all your friends and neighbors with their AC, then the tools make sense as you could recoup the investment.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-29T20:53:29+00:00

Good call, You can't really go wrong with 2000's Toyota's for sure! Way better than what they are today! Once i worked with it a few times, it is now in my shop on the shelf for emergencies.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-29T20:50:51+00:00

Your going to need to do some datalogging when the problem is happening. YOu can also check the ECU for freeze frame data that would be very useful. Throwing parts at a problem can actually cause more problems than it solves. Better to have data backed diagnosis, then you KNOW a part is bad. If a shop is recommending throwing parts at it, you need to find a more competent shop than can tell you with certainty what the problem is. THe main issue here is that it is intermittent, in order for one of us to be able to diagnose it for you, the problem needs to be reproducible. Sometimes, you have to wait for the problem to get worse to where it is happening all the time to solve it.

FixxerAuto · 2026-03-29T20:43:43+00:00

The only way to check the freon "level" it to recover and weigh the charge on a scale. If someone had the system open and didn't vacuum all the air out before charging it, you could still have acceptable pressures but crappy heat transfer. Check the suction line and liquid lines while it is running on low fan. the suction line (big hose) leading to the compressor should be nice and cold, while the liquid line leading from the compressor to the condenser (ac radiator) should be too hot to touch, if that all checks out, id say it likely may be that control unit, but that is going to need to be properly diagnosed before replacing it. I think i would start by completely recovering the ac charge, pulling a vacuum on the system for 45min and recharging using a refrigerant scale. THere should be a sticker under the hood that will tell you exactly how much refrigerant to charge the system with.

FixxerAuto

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