2001 Jetta VR6 MIL Light

We have had some problems with our 2001 VR6 VW Jetta. The car died at a
stoplight and it took three tries and some gas to get it started again.
>From that point, the Malfunction Indicator Light flashed for about six
miles of highway driving (at about 70 mph). I pulled off the first exit
and the MIL quit flashing and shone steady from then on. I checked the
oil which seems to be fine. Drove it the remaining 16 miles to work,
the light on steady the whole time. We just had the oil changed last
week too if that has anything to do with problem here. Any idea what
the problem is or if it is safe to drive?
Also, while i am posting here. We have also noticed squeaking sounds
coming from the front left and right wheels when we go over bumps. I
am assuming it is shocks or struts or something that maybe need
replacing. Is this the case and is there any way of getting rid of the
noises they make aside from replacing the shocks/strus or is that my
only option?
Thanks for all of the help.

Just an update. We brought the car to autozone to have them tell us
the error code and they said that it was cylinder 4 had missfired so no
big deal. They reset the code and we started driving it again and all
seemed fine. When leaving work that day the light came back on and the
car was running ruff (light vibration and lack of power that it used to
have) and something still seems wrong. The person at autozone said
that it could have been bad gas. Could this still be the case? Any
help would be appreciated. thanks.

On 2005-08-16, > wrote:
> Just an update. We brought the car to autozone to have them tell us
> the error code and they said that it was cylinder 4 had missfired so no
> big deal. They reset the code and we started driving it again and all
> seemed fine. When leaving work that day the light came back on and the
> car was running ruff (light vibration and lack of power that it used to
> have) and something still seems wrong. The person at autozone said
> that it could have been bad gas. Could this still be the case? Any
> help would be appreciated. thanks.

A friend of mine had a similar problem with his Jetta. I asked him what
gas he was using and he said regular. Looking in his manual it clearly
calls for 91 or higher. It also says that on the fuel door. He said,
"yeah, I knew that...but come on, that doesn't really matter, does it?"

The VR6 engines need premium fuel, so use that. It's possible that you
purchased fuel labeled as 91 octane but was actually midgrade. This is
unlikely to cause a problem, but if you bought from the same place a few
times, the knock sensors could have detected premature firing and
adjusted the timing accordingly.

I try to buy from larger fuel companies because you generally know what
you are getting. Chevron, Shell, BP, Exxon....or whatever the labels
are in your area. Citgo is one to avoid as is Marathon. QuikTrip is ok
if you live in area they operate in. Believe it or not, QT is a top
tier fuel despite being marketed as a cheap gas.

--
David Cantrell >

Thanks for the response.
If it is bad fuel would finishing off the current tank filled with
regular fuel and then trying premium do any harm? We have only had
the car for around 4 months or so and had been using reqular gas in it
without issues or so we thought. Can you tell me what it means when
the check engine light flashes. I see a number of people saying that
as long as your check engine or MIL light does not flash. What happens
or what does that mean when it flashes?
Thanks for the help.

On 2005-08-16, > wrote:
> Thanks for the response.
> If it is bad fuel would finishing off the current tank filled with
> regular fuel and then trying premium do any harm? We have only had
> the car for around 4 months or so and had been using reqular gas in it
> without issues or so we thought.

Go ahead and finish the tank of regular. There's not a lot you can do
now except switch to premium and go from there. If you've been running
regular fuel in the VR6 for 4 months, it's likely the knock sensors
adjusted things and your switch to premium will cause things to switch
back. This will most likely result in cylinder misfire recordings in
the onboard computer. After a few tanks of premium, you should be fine
again.

> Can you tell me what it means when
> the check engine light flashes. I see a number of people saying that
> as long as your check engine or MIL light does not flash. What happens
> or what does that mean when it flashes?

Usually the simple explanation is correct. When you say flashing do you
mean the light blinks or does it flicker? Some models are capable of
dumping the OBD error codes by blinking the MIL. But if it's a flicker,
it's probably just an electrical short.

Blinking the error codes is not something that the car will do on its
own, so I'm going to say it's probably a short. If there are error
codes, the light comes on. It only turns off when you erase the codes.
It's a pretty simple indicator.

> Thanks for the help.

No problem. One request: when you followup, keep the original thread
in the message so the context is easy to follow. I hate to play USENET
police, but sometimes people just aren't aware. There are a lot of FAQs
online that discuss accepted USENET etiquette.

--
David Cantrell >

That is what we will try. I appreciate your input. I suppose we will
have to have the MIL reset so it turns off or will it just shut off
when the problem resolves itself?
The light would come on steady for a short period of like 5 minutes and
then go steady again. It didn't seem consistent.
I will try and remember to post back the results of the premium fuel
try. Thanks again.

On 2005-08-16, > wrote:
> That is what we will try. I appreciate your input. I suppose we will
> have to have the MIL reset so it turns off or will it just shut off
> when the problem resolves itself?

If an error code is recorded, it has to be cleared for the light to go
out. Some conditions are checked by the onboard computer system and if
normalcy (heh) returns, it will remove the code. And some codes are
recorded at boot time and then removed when you start the car again.

Cylinder misfire error codes will have to be cleared for the light to go
out. If you live in the metro Atlanta, GA area, I can help you with
this. I have a VAG-COM interface.

> The light would come on steady for a short period of like 5 minutes and
> then go steady again. It didn't seem consistent.

Are you sure it's the MIL? It's possible that a warning is triggering
the light on and off.

> I will try and remember to post back the results of the premium fuel
> try. Thanks again.

Good luck.

Also, you forgot to keep the message thread intact. Please do this as
it makes following usenet threads much easier. I suppose it could be
your news client doing this, but I'm not sure. I know some web gateways
for usenet really screw with your reply. The Netscape and Mozilla
readers (Netscape Mail & News, Mozilla Thunderbird) work fine as do
Pine, slrn, tin and many others.

--
David Cantrell >

Thanks again for the response.
Unfortunately I am not in the Atlanta area but I appreciate the offer.

MIL, isn't that the same thing as the check engine light? I must
apologize as I don't know much about this sort of thing if you haven't
been able to already tell.
What do you mean keep the thread intact? Do you mean include the
original response in my response? If that is the case, i can
copy/paste it into my response and respond accordingly if that would be
easier?
I am using google groups to browse/respond so I am not sure if that is
the reason or not?

In rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled, wrote:

>What do you mean keep the thread intact? Do you mean include the
>original response in my response? If that is the case, i can
>copy/paste it into my response and respond accordingly if that would be
>easier?

When you said "That is what we will try.", you should quote at least
what "that" is that you are referring to.

I think "keep the thread intact" was not good wording, in that I
don't think he wanted to encourage you to quote portions that are
not relevant to your follow-on.

>I am using google groups to browse/respond so I am not sure if that is
>the reason or not?


I doubt that using good regular would cause the symptoms you
described earlier. However if you just wanted to raise the octane of
the fuel in your tank, it is OK to top the tank off with
super-premium. The resulting octane of the mix will be somewhere in
between.

While I don't have any useful troubleshooting info to offer, I doubt
that your symptoms are caused by fuel. Not impossible, but IMHO not
likely.

On 2005-08-16, > wrote:
> MIL, isn't that the same thing as the check engine light? I must
> apologize as I don't know much about this sort of thing if you haven't
> been able to already tell.

MIL == check engine light. Yes.

Sometimes people see warning lamps come on and off and think it's the
check engine light. It may be another light (like the ESP indicator in
my VW only comes on when ESP is in use). Just trying to rule out the
simple things.

> What do you mean keep the thread intact? Do you mean include the
> original response in my response? If that is the case, i can
> copy/paste it into my response and respond accordingly if that would be
> easier?
> I am using google groups to browse/respond so I am not sure if that is
> the reason or not?

Google Groups is most likely the problem here. *sigh*

Like I said, I hate to play Usenet police, but it's just difficult to
follow a thread for a few days if previous content is removed. The web
gateways for Usenet don't really make this easy.

A good newsreader will paste the message in your editor when you tell it
you want to followup. You can then reply under the text as you would a
typical email. Unfortunately this trend seems to have died off as more
and more people use web email frontends.

Let me see if I can find some good links for usenet etiquette. I know
this is entirely off-topic for this group, but bear with me...

I can't seem to find any good ones anymore. Here's one:

http://tgos.org/newbie/rules.html

The guidelines I wish people would follow:

1) Use text only (not HTML formatting).
2) Markup for bold and italics are done with old-style typesetting
marks (*bold* and _underline_).
3) Place your reply under the sentences you are repsonding to.
Whatever you are replying to should be prefixed with some sort
of quote character (typically '> '). See my messages for examples.
4) Keep your lines under 80 characters.
5) Be brief.

And of course you can see I've broken my last one here. The guidelines
are to promote maximum readability across all platforms and so that
threads make sense when people refer to them years later (through Google
Groups, no less).

--
David Cantrell >