For those of you who are wondering if a VAG-COM interface is worth getting, here's my story.
My wife got a '02 Jetta 5spd TDI last Spring for commuting to work. She travels about 95 miles per day and it has been a huge fuel savings for us over her old Nissan X Terra.
The day we brought it home from the used car dealer in VT where we got it, it threw a code with the dreaded "Check Engine" light coming on. It also went into "limp mode" with the greatly reduced power and driveablity that entails. The dealer was great and fixed it at no cost, but it did involve a four hour trip each way to get there and back. (MAF, of course!)
At that time we decided to spend the $230 bucks for a VAG-COM from Ross-Tech, and $50 for a cheap old laptop from ebay to use with it.
After that, no problems, although we did use it to kill those annoying automatic door locks once and for all
Then last week, after more than 30k trouble free miles (in less than a year, yikes!) we had two problems.
First, a hairline crack in the #2 injector line (see previous post) that was a simple, old time mechanic (ME!) type fix. Then, I got a call from THE BOSS, "Oh no! the check engine light is on". She said that the car was running as normal, so I told her to just drive it home and I'll look at it.
Plugged in the interface that night and did a code check, came up "glow plug #4, intermitant". So I checked and cleaned the glow plug connections (they looked fine), cleared the code, and took it for a test drive, light came right back on :evil:
Pulled the connectors off again and did a quick ohm check of the plugs, and found #1 to be an open circuit :?:
Did a search on Fred's site and found that for some reason, the numbers are reversed on the glow plug circuit, so that did check out.
Ordered a new set of Bosch plugs from my buds at the local NAPA, changed them out (now that's a job that's WAAAAY easier on the new TDI's), cleared the code again, --- bob's yer uncle, no more engine light! Total cost for parts for both fixes, $120.
Now here's the kicker -- unbeknowst to me and after the fact, my wife called the local VW dealer and told the service manager that her car needed a #2 injector line and a new set of glow plugs. His estimate for the job --- $720 !!!!
So, the cost of a VAG-COM -- $230
Being seen by your wife as a money-saving techno-wizard -- priceless!
moT
Topic: is a VAG-COM worthwhile? (Read 3047 times)
