ncttrnl
10-20-2007, 03:23 PM
So today on the way to the Parts 4 VW meet, the Touareg started misfiring and threw a check engine light. Having the TT for the last 5 years and being somewhate familiar with late model VW powerplants, I knew it was a coil pack. It would be just my luck that I didn't have my Vag-com with me though
After I got to parts for VW I called up Murrieta VW to see if they were open. The car still hasn't hit 25K miles afterall so this should be a warranty issue. I talk to parts and they say they have the coilpack and he transfers me to service to see if they can squeeze me in. The parts guy was very nice.
For those that don't know. A coilpack change with proper tools takes all of 15 mins if you count the time it takes to park the car, scan the engine module, and pop the hood. Most mechanics know this so I figured the service dept might be nice and squeeze me in real quick since its easy warranty money and I did have to limp back to San Diego otherwise.
I drive over to Murrieta VW and talk to the guy at the service counter. He doesn't seem to want to squeeze me in. I tell him I'm from San Diego and I am not going to be able to even get up to 40 going up the big hill on the freeway back home. He agrees that is going to be tough but he's not budging. I get a "we might be able to take a look at it today but its not likely" make the customer leave by giving them a worthless option response. I was getting no where on them looking at the car.
I decided to change tactics a bit. I wasn't in the mood to foul my cat, wash my cylinder with fuel, and brave the freeway. I asked if there was anyway they could give me the coilpack and I could swap it out myself. I even mentioned that there was a big VW meet right down the street with plenty of people willing to help me. He asked if we had scanned the car yet. I was honest and told him no but I can go do that if that's what it will take. He then gave me the "you don't know its a coilpack and I don't want to take apart your car and leave you stranded" line. I would have expected a "well lets scan it and see."
It was obvious he wasn't going to try to help me in any way so I went back to the GTG to have someone scan the car and tell me which pack died. Pack 5 was very obviously dead from the vag com log. I went back to the parts counter, gave them my VIN, and bought the pack myself for $40. The parts guy told me the vehicles under warranty and I told him they weren't going to look at my car and I was just going to go swap the pack myself in a parking lot. He didn't have much to say after that.
I drove to Mike Kim's shop a few blocks away to see if maybe he was there and had a pick I could use to pull the coilpack. Within 5 mins, the pack was swapped and the Touareg was back to running in tip top shape. All it took was a quick scan, a coil pack, and 5 minutes of labor.
I'd like to thank all the people the offered to help and did help me. Its awesome that you can go to a GTG, have car trouble, and people that know what they are doing will do their best to get you back on your way.
I'd like to say thanks for nothing to the service dept at Murrieta VW. What would it have taken to scan the car and try to help me out if it was possible? :tdown:
After I got to parts for VW I called up Murrieta VW to see if they were open. The car still hasn't hit 25K miles afterall so this should be a warranty issue. I talk to parts and they say they have the coilpack and he transfers me to service to see if they can squeeze me in. The parts guy was very nice.
For those that don't know. A coilpack change with proper tools takes all of 15 mins if you count the time it takes to park the car, scan the engine module, and pop the hood. Most mechanics know this so I figured the service dept might be nice and squeeze me in real quick since its easy warranty money and I did have to limp back to San Diego otherwise.
I drive over to Murrieta VW and talk to the guy at the service counter. He doesn't seem to want to squeeze me in. I tell him I'm from San Diego and I am not going to be able to even get up to 40 going up the big hill on the freeway back home. He agrees that is going to be tough but he's not budging. I get a "we might be able to take a look at it today but its not likely" make the customer leave by giving them a worthless option response. I was getting no where on them looking at the car.
I decided to change tactics a bit. I wasn't in the mood to foul my cat, wash my cylinder with fuel, and brave the freeway. I asked if there was anyway they could give me the coilpack and I could swap it out myself. I even mentioned that there was a big VW meet right down the street with plenty of people willing to help me. He asked if we had scanned the car yet. I was honest and told him no but I can go do that if that's what it will take. He then gave me the "you don't know its a coilpack and I don't want to take apart your car and leave you stranded" line. I would have expected a "well lets scan it and see."
It was obvious he wasn't going to try to help me in any way so I went back to the GTG to have someone scan the car and tell me which pack died. Pack 5 was very obviously dead from the vag com log. I went back to the parts counter, gave them my VIN, and bought the pack myself for $40. The parts guy told me the vehicles under warranty and I told him they weren't going to look at my car and I was just going to go swap the pack myself in a parking lot. He didn't have much to say after that.
I drove to Mike Kim's shop a few blocks away to see if maybe he was there and had a pick I could use to pull the coilpack. Within 5 mins, the pack was swapped and the Touareg was back to running in tip top shape. All it took was a quick scan, a coil pack, and 5 minutes of labor.
I'd like to thank all the people the offered to help and did help me. Its awesome that you can go to a GTG, have car trouble, and people that know what they are doing will do their best to get you back on your way.
I'd like to say thanks for nothing to the service dept at Murrieta VW. What would it have taken to scan the car and try to help me out if it was possible? :tdown: