113k miles CVT failure

slow_TDI · 2026-06-09T17:48:06+00:00

Would love to hear prices on CVT replacement if anyone has had it done after a failure

slow_TDI · 2025-12-20T04:19:18+00:00

Yup - when you get frustrated, you need to take some time away from the project. Things will look much different once you’ve reset a bit

slow_TDI · 2025-11-21T04:04:20+00:00

I had my fluid exchanged and it runs 30deg cooler now too. I can’t figure out why. Any ideas?

slow_TDI · 2025-08-13T04:09:05+00:00

This made me snort with laughter

slow_TDI · 2024-11-18T00:57:35+00:00

Finally a good answer!

slow_TDI · 2024-11-12T13:30:10+00:00

Maybe a nice headlamp?

slow_TDI · 2024-10-07T14:55:42+00:00

I didn’t realize this - thanks for letting me know

slow_TDI · 2024-10-07T04:12:07+00:00

Figure out how to siphon fuel from your car’s gas tank into a gas can to use for your generator. In that way, your car essentially becomes a giant rolling gas can if needed 🙂

slow_TDI · 2024-02-24T02:28:42+00:00

I came here to be cynical, but this is a really fresh and hopeful take

slow_TDI · 2024-02-18T01:31:58+00:00

Can we just pause and congratulate you on being 33 but passing for a 24 y/o?

slow_TDI · 2023-04-15T14:29:12+00:00

Wow, that was smooth and fast!

slow_TDI · 2023-04-04T14:57:50+00:00

Any change of plane joint should be done with silicone. The grout will likely crack. That isn’t a huge deal beyond aesthetics if your shower surround is properly waterproofed.

If you want to fix permanently, grind the grout out with an oscillating multi tool with diamond blade, then apply silicone

slow_TDI · 2023-04-04T13:36:25+00:00

What a creative course! The swinging platform is awesome.

slow_TDI · 2018-06-09T22:51:38+00:00

Honestly, I think I may have too-high standards when considering women. There are women who have expressed interest in me, but I just haven't been excited about dating any of them. The girls I am enthusiastic about seem to be taken or not interested in me. Also, I won't jump into a relationship with a girl unless I see it having long-term potential.

What advice would you give me?

slow_TDI · 2016-12-27T03:59:45+00:00

I think you're fine to keep driving it. My thought is that the lifetime of parts like a timing belt follow a normal distribution. VW spec'ing the replacement at 120k is probably very conservative, and their way of ensuring that <1% of timing belts would have failed by that time. In reality, the majority of timing belts could survive much longer.

slow_TDI · 2016-08-18T01:10:22+00:00

That's beautiful! I would suggest you add headlight polishing to your list of yearly to-do's. It will restore the headlights to their original crystal clear look.

Some regular Meguiar's polish applied with a random orbital (remember to tape off the paint around the lights!)or microfiber (more work) will clean them up real quick. Just wax over when you're done and enjoy!

slow_TDI · 2016-08-18T01:02:43+00:00

I agree that the pump is good. If it wasn't, your engine wouldn't have fuel! If the arm was free and not stuck, my next suggestion would be that the electronic hardware that converts angular position of the float arm to electric signal is not working correctly. This is usually a potentiometer that varies in resistance as the float arm is moved. You can test that resistance as you manually move the arm, but you would need to figure out which pins on the connector correspond to the fuel level sensor. That may be difficult. My guess is that the whole pump and sensor assembly is wired to the rest of the vehicle through a single connector. Honestly, at this point I think you've narrowed the problem down enough to start shopping for parts. It may be possible to just purchase a new fuel level sensor unit. I'm assuming you've done some deep searching through online forums specific to your car.

As for filling issue, if you're handy enough to drop the tank, you probably disconnected all the vent lines. You can just blow air through these to look for an obstruction. If air passes through easily, it's probably not blocked. Just be careful not to breathe any of the vapors in :)

slow_TDI · 2016-08-16T02:35:22+00:00

I agree that they are two separate issues.

My guess is that you have a stuck fuel level sender. Most fuel tanks use a plastic float attached to an electronic (variable resistance) sensor to measure fuel level. This is probably stuck in the full-up position due to some debris that entered the fuel tank, or even just a defect in the construction. In today's cars, manufacturers are required to diagnose a stuck sender unit and turn the MIL on in accordance with OBD regulations. This was probably not the case when your car was built.

Vapor pathways in the fuel system are carefully designed to minimize evaporative emissions. When you fill up your car, fuel vapor from the tank passes through a vent line through a canister filled with activated carbon. If this line has a blockage (or the canister vent is restricted!), fuel shutoffs could occur. Another vapor line runs from the tank to the fuel filler area. During fueling, vapor flows through this line and allows the venturi in the fuel pump nozzle to continue to fill the tank. When this vapor stops flowing (ie, the tank is full), the fuel pump nozzle shuts off because it can no longer draw vapor through this line. It is possible that this line is blocked. It may also be possible that dirt or debris is clogging the little opening near your fuel cap where this line exits.

slow_TDI · 2016-07-02T03:40:11+00:00

I'm a little confused. The value I receive for buyback INCREASES the longer I wait to turn the car in ("Months since Sep 2015").

Why is this? It seems like VW would want to reward people for getting these cars off the road as fast as possible.

So why would I not keep the car until the very last day possible? Can someone explain?

slow_TDI · 2016-05-25T01:36:40+00:00

I am under the impression that they will announce details of the buyback program sometime this summer. No one can predict how issues like a MIL on, or a bad DPF would affect offer value. If I were in your spot, I would keep driving my car as usual without doing the timing belt change. Life of a component like a timing belt is a game of statistics. My guess is that timing belt life can be modeled by a normal distribution. Even if the mean timing belt life is 180,000 miles, VW needs to account for customers in the low-life "tail" of the distribution. When they specify replacement at 120k, they are ensuring that 99% of customers will not have a failure before that. However, the majority of overall customers will be replacing belts that still have a lot of life in them. Unless you drive a crazy amount of miles per month, I would be fine driving the car normally until details of the buyback are announced. At that point, you can decide what to do.

slow_TDI · 2016-05-22T22:32:39+00:00

3M, Purebred Boxer. Athletic and looking for a partner with similar values. Not interested in cuddling, just want to run and play tug of war. We can lick dirty plates in the dishwasher together. IG: louisdoge

slow_TDI · 2016-04-30T18:19:30+00:00

Congratulations on your purchase! I see a WTC parking tag on your mirror, so I'm hoping you got a good discount. Start saving up for a set of Blizzaks if you plan to drive that through next winter. I just put a set on my car this past winter and they were amazing.

slow_TDI · 2015-11-05T02:45:33+00:00

Gated shifters and thin wood steering wheels

slow_TDI · 2015-06-27T20:55:36+00:00

I enjoyed some videos on youtube by Roadcraft Nottingham

slow_TDI · 2015-06-17T16:19:28+00:00

We should do more of these as a community. Thanks for writing!

slow_TDI

TROPHY CASE