samsec
01-05-2007, 06:51 PM
(Apologies to anyone who saw this post on the manintenance page - I figured that that was the wrong place for it!)
I recently bought a second hand 51-plate Passat 2.0 SE Automatic, 27k on the clock (from a careful family member). First 1000 miles, great - lovely car.
Then I had the weirdest accident, I was wondering if anyone else has had this or can shed any light.
I was running at about 50 past speed cameras on a notorious stretch of road, I had changed the gear to 3rd (or max 3rd) to keep speed down when the car literally just stopped, as if I had jammed on the brakes. I didn't brake, there were no skid marks (or tyre wear), the car just stopped itself (causing a 3-car pile-up).
I've since been told that to change down to 'brake' using the engine on this type of automatic is a 'no-no', but that doesn't explain to me why the car stopped, as you might imagine I have no confidence in the car now. Please note - this wasn't just a loss of power, it was a complete and sudden stop...
I managed to limp the car home, the gearbox and engine are fine, but I'm still none-the-wiser as to how the car stopped or what I possibly did to cause this.
Any ideas anyone? My insurance company says that they are not there to diagnose, only to fix, so I am facing a possibly hefty VW dealer bill to look into why and how. I wouldn't feel comfortable selling the car on without knowing the reason it stopped.
Any thoughts would be appreciated, I couldn't find anything similar posted elsewhere.
I recently bought a second hand 51-plate Passat 2.0 SE Automatic, 27k on the clock (from a careful family member). First 1000 miles, great - lovely car.
Then I had the weirdest accident, I was wondering if anyone else has had this or can shed any light.
I was running at about 50 past speed cameras on a notorious stretch of road, I had changed the gear to 3rd (or max 3rd) to keep speed down when the car literally just stopped, as if I had jammed on the brakes. I didn't brake, there were no skid marks (or tyre wear), the car just stopped itself (causing a 3-car pile-up).
I've since been told that to change down to 'brake' using the engine on this type of automatic is a 'no-no', but that doesn't explain to me why the car stopped, as you might imagine I have no confidence in the car now. Please note - this wasn't just a loss of power, it was a complete and sudden stop...
I managed to limp the car home, the gearbox and engine are fine, but I'm still none-the-wiser as to how the car stopped or what I possibly did to cause this.
Any ideas anyone? My insurance company says that they are not there to diagnose, only to fix, so I am facing a possibly hefty VW dealer bill to look into why and how. I wouldn't feel comfortable selling the car on without knowing the reason it stopped.
Any thoughts would be appreciated, I couldn't find anything similar posted elsewhere.