Please Help!! about a car

Zwielicht said:

Taking it to the dealership, or the "stealership" as some refer to it, to get repaired is almost always going to result in a high labour cost.

Is the problem with the anti-lock braking system or the brakes themselves? If the problem is with the brakes, you'll need to identify what exactly is causing the problem. For all you know, it could be the brake pads, sticking calipers, warped rotors, or one of the brake lines. If it's the ABS, it gets a little more complicated. For example, in my car, a problem with the ABS could point to the ABS unit, ABS sensors, ECU module, or the over-voltage protection relay. Some of those are easy fixes, while others such as a problem with the ABS unit aren't so easy.

Steering angle sensors are electronic stability control devices found in newer cars, therefore I don't know much about them. I heard they could be "reset", but you'd need to find a repair manual for your car to figure out how to do that (or, you know, look online).

If you want to go the repair route, get a list of the problems from when you took it to the stealership and either do it yourself or find a good independent mechanic who can work on your car. Good indy mechanics are usually cheaper than the dealership, and doing it yourself would be the cheapest route (no labour cost). If the time or costs for the repairs don't outweigh any additional profit, I'd say repair it before selling it. If repairing it would yield little to no profit, then don't bother with it. You can use Kelly Blue Book and similar sites to try to estimate how much your car is worth now versus how much it would be worth in pristine condition.

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Botoshima said:

Find a smart guy to help you, a practical one.
Check the wires at the wheels, usually the ABS is disabled after one of those wires are cut.
Steering wheel sensor ....so you have an electric steering box, this is not usually good news. Again, you must identify the damage.
Find a crashed car, same model, buy it for 300$ and use it as a donor.

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super11 said:

Always show it a couple of mechanics. Once I was quoted $300 because my steering couldn't spin on its own when taking a u-turn. I didn;t want to spend that much so he quoted $100 for second hand.

I told him I will get back later. After a couple of days, the thing got fixed on its own. I saved $300.

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Duffers5000 said:

Go on to ebay and buy a cheap obd2 scanner. Make sure its Vagcom compatible

This will do you https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/U281-VW-...672705&hash=item467016033d:g:TMwAAOSwHmhV8SON

OBD port on a golf is under the steering wheel closer to the door edge(youtube search your model)

Plug in with ignition on and run scan

It will find fault codes. Read fault codes and write them down

Abs sensors are very common failures on Golfs. Fault codes will look like 00283-00285 etc

This will tell you which part is failing.

After you have written down the fault codes erase the fault codes with your obd reader still connected. There is a chance that the ecu just needed wiping and there are actually no persistent faults. If the EML comes back on then you will need to replace the parts and wipe the fault codes again.

The ABS sensor is located in your wheel hub. You can buy aftermarket oem ones for about £10(ebay again)

They tend to break inside the hub so I usually have to drill them out, not as difficult as it sounds.

Anyway all of this is a common fix on golfs. If you do it yourself it will cost you less than £100 but if you are unsure of your mechanical skills ring around local independent garages, you will find one that can do the job for £200-£300.

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Botoshima said:

Blackhat method : take the treacherous light bulb out of his socket so nobody will see it when you go to the yearly service
If this is your car then you should be more carefull, I have a notebook where i note all the repairs i've done at my cars, with km and dates, and believe me, i've done alot so i know how good are those so called mechanics, including those from official workshops. They are not mechanics, only parts changers. Their purpose is to brainwash you and take your money. I met a guy 10 years ago, a terrible mechanic, working as an apprentice at the garage of a big construction company. They had to maintain functional around 50 small cars-utility vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, all were VW type. This guy left after 2 years, was too hard for him and after another year he is working for a BMW branch in Germany as an official mechanic .
Anyway, if the costs are too big then just let the car rest or sell it for 2000 and take another one.

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Duffers5000 said:

The faults are coming back after you wiped them or they are coming back after you have replaced sensors ?

What year is your car ?

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famousfam said:

they will notice if i take out "light bulb" when doing the service l0l. When they start the car all the bulbs lighten up right? so what will the explanation be when they don't.

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Duffers5000 said:

Its not the hardest job in the world to do yourself. 30 minutes a wheel if you have tools and axle stands. Year of your car is important some of the golfs with brake shoes on the back have an abs ring on the wheel bearing and if thats the case you need to replace the bearing which is a bit of a pain.

Lightbulb guy..............you any idea how much dashboard you need to pull apart to get at those bulbs ? On a Golf its disable airbags, take off steering wheel etc. Its easier just to fix the car.

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Duffers5000 said:

Its not the hardest job in the world to do yourself. 30 minutes a wheel if you have tools and axle stands. Year of your car is important some of the golfs with brake shoes on the back have an abs ring on the wheel bearing and if thats the case you need to replace the bearing which is a bit of a pain.

Lightbulb guy..............you any idea how much dashboard you need to pull apart to get at those bulbs ? On a Golf its disable airbags, take off steering wheel etc. Its easier just to fix the car.

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Botoshima said:

The bulb from your instruments panel, the one that shows the error. Not all the bulbs lighten up at the start of the car, if you want to be innocent then burn the bulb and put it back broken . After you pass the inspection just put a good one and look for someone to help you solve the real problem.


Hey man, I have an Audi and yes, I did it myself . The airbag part is a sensible one (had some stress about it) but if you are carefull it's all good. For a guy who know what is doing shoudn't take more than 25 minutes to change a bulb on the instruments panel. It's way easier than replacing a bearing to get to the ring (had this problem too, the ring was broken and destroyed the sensor from the rear right wheel).

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famousfam said:

My steering wheel is messed up. Its really difficult to turn the wheel while driving. It's a full biceps&triceps workout i must say. Any idea why its so hard to turn the wheel?

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Botoshima said:

Check steering fluid if it's at the normal levels and add more if it's needed, ATF red i think it's the type of oil you need, just go with the details of your car at any parts shop and they know what to give you.
Check under car if you have leaks of fluid. See from where they leak, take photos, show them to a VW forum. (you could find a VW passionate in your area that might be eager to help a friend)
If you steering box is electric then you should sell the car. Those are really expensive, maybe 1000$ a piece. I woudn't try to reset anything at it, maybe nothing bad would happen but it's better to have bigger arm muscles than to be forced to hug a tree .

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