Weird vibration leads to flashing CEL

[Murry101]

I leased my 2012 Passat SE 2.5 Manual in March and I have been happy with it overall; however, the car has some strange behavior. Sometimes, under hard acceleration while the clutch is partially engaged a strong vibration comes from the engine bay accompanied by a flashing check engine light that turns solid after about 10 seconds. The vibration feels similar to but not exactly like ABS brakes. I took it to the dealer, took a technician on a test drive, reproduced the event for him, and left it in their hands for a day or two. The check engine light code was for an engine misfire. They told me to contact them if it happened again. It has happened a few times ( I need to take it back).

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I would like to know if I have a defect or if there is a design flaw in one of the systems.

[BudPytko]

Just take it back.... they never should have given it back to you unrepaired. Seems like a LOT of VW dealers just don't want to do warranty repairs.

[But Officer....]

Just take it back.... they never should have given it back to you unrepaired. Seems like a LOT of VW dealers just don't want to do warranty repairs.

Agreed. This is another example of how at times it appears that VW's dealer network is not up to the challenge presented by VOA's aspirations of becoming a major player here in the US. It seems that although VW has evidently made strides in quality control and reliability, visits to a dealer are not terribly uncommon. How that experience is handled can often determine who will buy another car of the same brand. If VW wants its' conquest sales (particularly those coming from Honda and Toyota) to become more than a singles sales event, their dealers should step it up sooner rather than later.

[Murry101]

I am definitely taking it back but, I'm concerned that I will get response similar to the last one I got-not really helpful or practical to continually go to the dealer to clear CEL. I really want to know if anyone else has this problem too.

My enthusiasm for this car is waning after this and my previous issue. The car had less than 1500 miles on it when I pulled into my driveway one evening after work to get the mail and couold not get the car into gear. Retaining clip for the shift linkage had popped off. I called Volkswagen Roadside assistance and scheduled a tow for the next morning. Luckily, the operator knew that the 2012 Passat does not have a tow hook and needed a tow truck with a wheel bar. Unfortunately they sent six flatbeads over the course of nine hours before they sent the right kind of tow rig. I got a notice that Volkswagen changed/revised their protocol as a result of my experience. DOesn't matter to me I have and will use AAA+ from now on. Apologies for the slight rant...losing patience with Volkwagen.....

[Das Schnurrbart]

I am definitely taking it back but, I'm concerned that I will get response similar to the last one I got-not really helpful or practical to continually go to the dealer to clear CEL. I really want to know if anyone else has this problem too.

My enthusiasm for this car is waning after this and my previous issue. The car had less than 1500 miles on it when I pulled into my driveway one evening after work to get the mail and couold not get the car into gear. Retaining clip for the shift linkage had popped off. I called Volkswagen Roadside assistance and scheduled a tow for the next morning. Luckily, the operator knew that the 2012 Passat does not have a tow hook and needed a tow truck with a wheel bar. Unfortunately they sent six flatbeads over the course of nine hours before they sent the right kind of tow rig. I got a notice that Volkswagen changed/revised their protocol as a result of my experience. DOesn't matter to me I have and will use AAA+ from now on. Apologies for the slight rant...losing patience with Volkwagen.....

Sorry for your pain. Try a different dealer (if possible) if the first one isn't helpful and start keeping paperwork for lemon law purposes. I have actually found the smaller dealers to be more helpful. The larger fast track dealers could take or leave your business. I hope this gets corrected for you.

[Murry101]

I did get a reasonable answer after I was briefly blamed for my car's behavior. A technician called me at work and told me that the error code was for a multiple cylinder misfire-no surprise there. He then rattled off some other readings: throttle position 89%, 1rst gear, 4700 rpm, and 34.7 mph. In his mind I had over revved the engine and the car "couldn't take it". Seriously??? After a few minutes going back and forth with this person I told him to call me back when he had a legitimate explanantion. An hour later he called back after discussing my problem with some tech guy from Volkwagen USA, with a plausible answer-hallelujah. They think the regular gas, which is what the owner's manual recommends, is to blame. They told me to use 91+ and see if the problem goes away after at least 3 tankfuls. Easy fix if it works although, I am not best pleased with the notion of having to pay $4.20/gallon.

Something still bothers me though, shouldn't the computer compensate by retarding the timing. My coworker has a Jetta 1.8T (two generations ago) and he uses 87 octane without issue....

[mknieri]

Bad gas? You don't happen to live in the Chicagoland area and fill up at BP?

[Murry101]

Bad gas? You don't happen to live in the Chicagoland area and fill up at BP?

No..I live in southern NH. WHy do you ask? Did you have a similar issue?

[mknieri]

No..I live in southern NH. WHy do you ask? Did you have a similar issue?

End of Aug, this happened...(snippet from the Chicago Tribune article)

A 50,000-barrel batch of contaminated fuel from a BP refinery in Northwest Indiana has fouled countless cars in as many as four states since last week.
Roughly 2.1 million gallons of gasoline have been recalled by BP's Whiting refinery after hundreds of reports of hard-starting and stalling vehicles from motorists flooded Northwest Indiana repair shops the past few days.



While the problem is centered in Lake County, Ind., BP executives said the fuel has made its way across state lines into Illinois and Wisconsin, with unconfirmed reports that stations in southwest Michigan may also be affected.

Even non-BP stations, like the Costco in Merrillville, IN were affected. Also lots of people driving through the 80/94 corridor traveling via the interstate who stopped and got gas had problems.

[Murry101]

Well, I follow the previous advice my local dealer gave me and only use 93 octane from a name brand fuel company (Mobil) but, the weird vibration still occurs-albeit less frequently. So, I took the car back to the dealer and asked them to check out the car again. They hooked it up to their diagnostic computer and were able to "see" the "bad" combustion when the throttle was wide open. I pushed the service rep and asked him what he meant by bad combustion. I asked him what metrics they had to qualify and quantify combustion as the culprit. He was unable to tell me and finally admitted that he did not know. He asked the tech who told him that the engine was pinging. He then told me that this was likely due to moisture in the gas and told me to switch to Shell or Irving. I'm a little skeptical. I presume the higher octane raises the flash point of the fuel to prevent knocking. So it makes sense that the 93 octane fuel improved things a bit. Does moisture lower the flash point? Why wouldn't the computer retard the timing to help avoid this?

Has anyone else on this site with a 2.5L 5-speed experienced similar issues?

[mattfrayage]

my suggestion is be gentile and look-up some reviews of nearby dealers. once you have found one that is said to be competent have them look at it. but as i suspect you have done this, i would call vwoa DIRECTLY to complain and get something done, after all in most cases VWOA cares a heck of a lot more about you then the dealers do, i would daresay some dealers see us as nothing more than walking bags of money

[GASDAG]

Yeah and with the amount of trouble this has caused you over several months, I would definitely be going to another dealership, even if they are twice the distance from you. Also the best way I have found to get a bad dealer's attention is to bash them with the post-service online survey that vw likes to email you. That survey goes to VWOA and to the mgmt at the dealership, so if you give them bad marks, they take notice. Once you are sure that you're going to a different dealership, you can set the old one ablaze.
Also how are you getting moisture in your gas? I've filled up all over the country and never had this issue. "Bad combustion" sounds really amature, could that mean spark plugs? Throttle or intake issue? Fuel pump? Fuel filter maybe? Doubt they checked any of that. Also how many miles are you at?

[Murry101]

Also how are you getting moisture in your gas? I've filled up all over the country and never had this issue. "Bad combustion" sounds really amature, could that mean spark plugs? Throttle or intake issue? Fuel pump? Fuel filter maybe? Doubt they checked any of that. Also how many miles are you at?

The dealer is convinced the moisture is in the fuel at the station. I think this is why they told me to change stations. I will make the change and see although, I am not convinced this is the root cause.

I agree their explanation was weak. I want to know what they measured and how far out of spec it was.