I have a 99 VW Cabrio that has been in the shop more than I choose to
admit. It now has 99k miles on it and is acting very strangely.

At first I thought it was the emergency brake because when it started
getting really cold out, the brake would seem to stay on for about 15
to 20 minutes or so. If I tried to drive it, the back wheels
sometimes locked up and the emergency hand brake was unusually easy to
pull up and down (there was no resistance as there usually is). Then,
on a few very cold days it needed to be jump started in order to start
up.

Finally, it would not take a jump and I went out and bought a battery
and installed it. The car started right up and responded very well
but I noticed immediately when I drove it that it was idling funny.
For example, when I am at a stop light, the needle goes up and down on
the RPMs. It sometimes stalls out now when I take a hard turn and
always feels like it is not idling correctly.

I brought it to the dealership and they told me (after a $95 estimate)
that I need to replace the throttle body (a $1,000 repair) before they
could tell me what ELSE might be wrong with it. I took the car home
and have been dealing with it since then, praying daily that it won’t
die on me.

My problem is this: When I called the shop I sometimes take my car to,
they had no idea what VW meant by a "new throttle body". They said
it might need to be cleaned but they weren’t familiar with replacing
one. So, I figured they might just be idiots.

Anyway, the air conditioning stopped working at the end of last summer
and I haven’t even dealt with that at all (not even an estimate)
because I couldn’t afford it after getting the check engine light to
go off so it would pass inspection.

This car has been an endless source of problems; however if it is
fix-able and WORTH fixing, I would be willing to do it. I am just so
uncomfortable with these problems because I really have no clue as to
what is going on and what I might be able to do to fix it. I also
couldn’t get a straight answer from the guy at the VW shop as to how
long it might be before the car just stops running. Every day, I
seriously hope to God that it does not just sputter out.

I would looove some advice or any information at all that people may
have to offer. This car has been sucking me dry!

Thank you anyone in advance!!!

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meggliz wrote:
<snip>

<snip>

There are stories about VW's needing to "re-learn" the idle settings
after the battery has been disconnected. Perhaps your are lucky enough
that this is your problem.

Attached to the throttle body is the throttle position sensor (TPS). If
it is broken, erratic idle is a common symptom. I have seen service
manuals (though not VW) where they claim that the TPS can not be
replaced by itself, as it is riveted to the throttle body. That usually
does not stop hobby mechanics from replacing the TPS, but the dealer
might not want to go that route if they can follow the book and sell you
an entire throttle body. I would like to emphasize that I am speculating
here, I do not have specific knowledge about the replacability of
throttle position sensors in '99 Cabrios

On Mar 5, 1:29 am, meggliz <n... (AT) 000 (DOT) com> wrote:

Looks like a couple of things are going on, so none of the following
is meant as either judgement or criticism, please do not take it as
such.

1. You are "out of love" with your vehicle. In and of itself, this is
often fatal.
2. You are not terribly handy, and need your vehicle to be a turn-key-
and-go device.
3. (Wild speculation here) You cannot remember off-hand the last time
the fuel & air filters were changed (see # 2 above).

Randolph is correct in that if the battery goes-to-dead and/or was
replaced without a memory-holding device plugged in the memory in the
CPU will be wiped and the vehicle has to 'start over'. My mechanic
states that this takes between 500 and 1000 miles and at least a dozen
starts and stops to accomplish. I have also heard half-to-twice that
from others.

If I am correct in my speculation for #3, I would do the following:
Run a can of Techron (or equal) through the system, and run the tank
down to near-empty (when the light comes on is good enough).
Immediately replace the fuel and air filters and see what happens.

As to the hand-brake, you do not mention your climate, but try to get
that adjusted, the cables lubricated and made reliable. Despite rumors
to the contrary, it takes _a lot_ to get these cables to seize, mostly
starting with not using the parking brake *every day - every time*.

I am not going to speculate on throttle-body repairs, other than it is
something I would try before forking over $1000. It is my
understanding of the beasts that if the car generally runs properly,
the system is generally working properly. Limp Home Mode is pretty
obvious. Back-in-the-day when the TPS was easily adjustable on FI VWs,
the 'hunting' mode you describe was usually cured by a slight
adjustment. So, Randolph may be right on there as well.

In the words of John Muir (take from Francis of Assisi): Come to terms
with your ass, for it bears you.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 06:29:06 GMT, meggliz <none (AT) 000 (DOT) com> wrote:

E.B. cables are suseptible to gravel /sand /salt ( put on the roads during
the frozen months) hittng them and this can cause cracks in the rubber
coating around the cable close to the wheels. Rust then can grow easily
under the rubber coating and soon make the inner cable bind.
Check for cracks in both cables..

Takes a few miles for the computer to relearn things. How long ago
was the battery installed?

Ouch! ? because they could not fix your car over the phone?

It could be you have a vacuum leak. Check all the vacuum lines
visually and with a listening devise.

It won't fix itself so if you want a/c ......


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