We've got a 2015 Volkswagen Passat with 55K miles and we've been the only owners. Lights were occasionally popping up on the dash recently (ABS, slide-y car, and airbag) so we took it to the dealership for diagnosis. They sent back the attached.I'm mostly concerned about the Anti-Lock Brake Control module because that's basically the value of the car at this point. Is that a reasonable price? Some googling has indicated that it should be more like $2K.Similarly, is $2K for replacing the brake pads/rotors reasonable? I'm in Brooklyn for pricing consideration and don't have a garage where I can work on this. I'll be in Tennessee in a few weeks though and could do it there if it's safe to drive.I also saw that the issue might just be the wheel speed sensors which could be a much cheaper fix (and the dealership said there's no guarantee the Anti-Lock Brake Control module will fix the lights). Does that sound likely?Based on what I can google it doesn't sound like it's dangerous to drive in its current state since the brakes do still work. Is that right or is this a worse problem than I'm thinking?
>>28114351YESNEVER, EVER, EVER take a car that isn't under warranty to a stealership. Ever. For any fucking reason. Period.An ABS module on this car should be under $1k parts and labor at a decent indie shop.There is a 75%+ chance that the ABS module is fine too, and they're just parts canoning it. You need someone who can read the codes and actually troubleshoot the problem instead of just throwing parts at it.Anyway, get it the fuck out of the dealership and never do that again.
>>28114351Those filters are like $20 each and take 2 minutes to change, same for the wipers. Brake flush is $80-100 at pretty much any mechanic shop, if it's never been done, you're overdue by like 6 years. Pads and rotors shouldn't be more than $400-500 an axle. Don't know about the ABS module, but given it's a dealership, yeah they're going to charge at least 50% more than a normal mechanic.
$145 for replacing a fucking cabin air filter? Those cost like $10 here if you don't mind a generic activated carbon one.And at least in my Corolla, swapping it takes maybe a few minutes tops if I struggle with a plastic clip or something.
I swear this has to be a troll.-ABS isn't necessary, the system is designed to work as normal brakes if it fails, and it's probably a bad wheel speed sensor they're too lazy to diagnose so they want to replace everything.-The recommend air and cabin air filters all the time. If you haven't replaced the air filter in 40k miles+ do it yourself for $20. It's as easy as changing the filter in a vacuum. Fuck the cabin filter.-You can do wipers yourself and you would know if they're bad.-You can easily check your brakes and pads yourself, kids can figure that out. Replacing pads and rotors costs about $200 and 20 minutes per axle to diy with just a jack and sockets.-I doubt you need a brake fluid flush unless you have a fuckton of miles....There's maybe $3-500 worth of stuff there that you can do yourself in an hour or two, and you can figure out if you need these things on your own.
>>28114362I finished reading OP's post and no longer think it's a troll (trolls here are pretty sneaky, my bad). No your car isn't unreliable or dangerous because of these things and none of them are necessary. It's just standard wear parts that they want to convince you need to be replaced too soon. Obviously if you're brakes are past the limit that's bad, but I have doubts and you can easily check.
>we've got
>>28114355>>28114357>>28114359Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm gonna bring it home and find another shop in the area for a better opinion (and hopefully price).It sounds like it should be plenty safe to drive in the meantime at least?>>28114362Not a troll. Just an idiot who doesn't know very much about cars. I knew enough to come here and check before paying for it at least!I definitely wouldn't do the filter/wiper replacements. I was mostly considering the break module/rotor/pads. I'll definitely be looking into doing these myself!
>>28114359>$145On second look, it was $141.05 but anyways.I don't know what this shit costs over there, but I'm not sure if it's worth over $100 for parts and labor.
>>28114374>It sounds like it should be plenty safe to drive in the meantime at least?If your brakes aren't making terrible noises, and you're still stopping fine, yes. >I definitely wouldn't do the filter/wiper replacements.If they've never been done, same with the brake fluid flush, you're well past due. Just do them yourself though, like I said they're cheap and usually crazy simple. Engine air filter is usually a box with 3 spring clips in the engine bay, and the cabin filter is usually behind the glove box, I don't even have to take it out in my car, I just have to open it.
>>28114374>Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm gonna bring it home and find another shop in the area for a better opinion (and hopefully price).Good. Find an indie german cars shop with good reviews. And I hope you learned a lesson about stealerships. Never. Ever. Ever.
>>28114388That's good to know! They're not making any weird noises and seem to work as expected. Will do!I'll also look up to how replace the filters and do those myself too.>>28114393Lesson learned for sure.
Called a local mechanic just to see if they had more reasonable prices for the things I can't do myself and everything they've quoted me so far has been less than half the price the dealership quoted me (I didn't ask about the wipers/filters etc. cause I'll do at least those).As I said earlier, thanks y'all. It's been a huge help!!
>>28114351LEARN TO WRENCH OR CONTINUE BEING A PAYPIG
>>28114373Anon, I get that you're terminally online, but that's how married people talk. I have the final say in these purchasing decisions, but it would have been incredibly stupid to title and insure our cars as if we weren't legally a unit.>>28114374>>28114351Yes you're getting ripped off. Was this car just stored in a garage for 10 years, because 55k on a nicer commuter car is low. Also, is your car a gas engine or a TDI (diesel?) Timing chain on the gasoline engine is basically good for the life of the engine, though it may need tensioners sometime north of 200k. The TDI version has the CVCA engine, not the CKRA found in 2009-2014 MY and it takes more oil. This one has a timing belt and it needs replaced every 130k OR 10 YEARS.I like my 2012 sportwagen, but I also made sure I found a good Euro mechanic for the big jobs I'm not going to touch. For stuff like pads, suspension, filter and fluid changes go to IDparts (for diesel) or FCP Euro and just order it in. Borrow a friends driveway for the day if you need to. Is your car an auto? If so, every 40k you need to be changing out your transmission fluid and filter. The kit for this is like $105 online, but a mechanic will charge you around 450-500 for it. You will save enough money to justify buying tools and ramps and then some on DIYing this one service.You air filter is just a matter of popping out 2 or 3 T25 torx screws. Cabin just slides out and in like a furnace filter. Wipers are kind of a meme on these. Check youtube or your manual, but there is a set of inputs with your key and the wiper selector that puts them in a raised "service position" for either getting them out of the ice before a storm or swapping blades.Also, I find it hard to believe that your car stops and doesn't make awful noises with all 4 wheels needing pads AND rotors unless your last car was an Altima. This assumes the car isn't still on factory brakes though. Your brake fluid is probably original though, time for new stuff.
>>28114351Dash lights most likely clockspring going bad. Next time lights come on see if buttons on the steering wheel have failed too. Hell, even if the warning lights aren't on make sure the cruise control/horn/etc work. If not, its the clockspring dying.
>>28115480Most of the miles on it are from when I lived in Florida (moved about three years ago). Since I've moved I take the bus/train most places and the car only gets driven a couple thousand miles a year.It is a gas engine, not diesel (sorry for not including that detail) and is an auto.I don't actually know anyone who has a driveway either. Everyone I know here also lives in an apartment (a place with a driveway starts at about a million in my area).The mechanic I'm talking to has been giving me *much* more reasonable prices so I'll find out about the transmission fluid/filters from them as well. I didn't know that needed to happen. I pretty much just knew to replace my oil.I should definitely be able to do the air filters etc. though. I don't think the wipers actually need to be replaced at all because I haven't noticed any issues with them in the rain.The brake pads were replaced a few years ago so this may be a case of the dealership trying to extract even more money out of me like with the wipers. I'll check it out with the new mechanic.Thank you for taking the time to read this and help me!
>>28115511I'll definitely do this test! If those features are working is it likely to not be the clockspring?
>>28115930Clockspring is an electric doodad, so the problem could be/probably is intermittent. Buddy of mine has a '15 Passat, we took a 4000mi road trip 2yrs ago and what you're describing sounds very similar to what kept happening to us. Didn't shut the car off b/c otherwise we'd lose the cruise control. To answer your Q, seemed like when the warning lights were on the cruise/horn never worked, although a couple times no warning lights and the cruise still didn't work. Thing is, the VW clockspring has this one wire that can easily get pinched and cause your problems.
>>28114351>bought a VW made in this centuryyes you got ripped off
>>28117141ALH TDIs didn't go into production until 1999 (98 for the beetle), and those things nuke-proof. Automatics were awful with those cars though. Their best gas engines were definitely the 2.5s and those didn't come out till later than that. DSG solved most of the M01 nightmares too. Go ahead and post about how reliable the air cooled beetle was, ignoring that an engine teardown was usually required every 30k. I'm also pretty sure that VAG is the only company that is still offering a normal 6 speed automatic transmission rather than a CVT, and I know its the only brand where you can get a dealer-level scan tool for $200.>>28115925Since you're the only owner, go ahead and pull out the manual that's still in the glove box. It has a service schedule in the back broken down in 10k mile blocks. Just do what it says. If you plan to own this car a while, consider buying a VCDS/VAGCOM cable. Its an OBD code reader on steroids, specifically made to talk to ALL of the computers on VW/Audi/Porsche cars. It will tell you which door is throwing odd locking signals, it will let you reset your battery settings if you have adaptive charging, it will let you force regens on a TDI with a DPF, and gives tons of diagnostic information, all for the cost of less than 2 hours of labor.
>>28114351Fuck-off-and-take-your-shitbox-with-you estimates are a thing and that's what I think you have here.
>>28114355I’m kinda with this. Also after watching a lot of South Main Auto lately, it could be something totally different. The airbag light + abs and loss of TC sounds odd. Did they tell you which codes they pulled from the computer? Sometimes that is in the report.But also, $2k for pads and rotors, wtf? That should be <$1000 unless you’re driving something real fancy and/or it needs calipers for some reason too.>$250 in air filtersBreh, since you have enough common sense to ask /o/ and use the internet, you might be able to do both of those yourself for $30 in parts and 5 min in the AutoZone parking lot as long as VW made the car normal.
I want to specifically point outIf your brakes are in otherwise working condition-which everything indicates they areThe only difference between abs light on and off function is if you slam on your brakes and hold your foot there going fast enough to skid, the car won't stop that and you'll actually be able to lock up the tires. Drive with awareness, many cars used to not have abs Its definitely safe, i hate abs systemsIn Brooklyn you wont be driving in the snow and ice, either. I agree with others this sounds clock spring-y but I have no VW knowledge
>>28117653The airbag module light lighting up in other cars Ive owned would indicate NOT the ABS module, as that isnt tied into the airbag system the way a clockspring is. I hated learning a working clock was essential to getting airbag lights out, but that is how other cars ive owned worked
>>28114355This guy is right
>>28114374>It sounds like it should be plenty safe to drive in the meantime at least?i bet you have shitty tires, it's getting cold and wet in many places, and you're most likely a terrible driver, so having ABS is really important for safety. If you need to do an emergency stop and find yourself sliding into the kid crossing the road you will regret not getting it fixed.if your tires are good and suited to the weather, you drive safely (not speeding in school zones), and you know what ABS does, what not having it means, and how to react if you lock the wheels, then yes, you will be fine to drive without it.
>>28114362>Fuck the cabin filter.why though? If you can get an aldehyde filter for the car it'll filter out all the bad smells that would otherwise enter the car (helps with dead skunks on the highway)anyway:>$2k for brakes & pads is nuts, you can get cheap parts on rockauto>$3k for an ABS module on a $3k shitbox is retarded. Just drive without ABS if that's truly the problem.
>>28115480>we weren't legally a unit.When two fags get divorced, how does it work, does the bottom get half of the top's shit?
