V5 Acceleration problems...

[seemiles]

Hello!
I have just bought my first VW!!! (Monday), a lovely V5 on a 2000 W plate. All things went well for the drive home, and subsequentially Tuesday, but today it has developed a rather annoying problem....

Acceleration is patchy. I left this morning and noticed that it seemed hesitant to accelerate, then it seemed to wake up after a couple of mins. Since then I have experienced the following...1st gear seems a little lifeless, and when changing into 2nd, it is almost as if I have not put my foot back on the accelerator, then the second it reaches around the 3000rpm mark will kick in, and again in third, changing to 4th and 5th doesnt seem to do it although it seems pretty lifeless with lower revs(again until around 3000rpm).

Dropping from 5th to 4th to overtake doesnt seem to produce any power, initially anyway, and it 'feels' almost as if there is a rev limiter at 4000 (although it does rev higher - just feels as though there is resistance preventing acceleration past this poiint).

Another related issue - I was travelling at 85 and all of a sudden it was almost as if the brakes were being applied and I couldnt maintain the speed or accelerate atall, it dropped to 75 then power was restored but again the 'rev limiter effect' kicked in. and couldnt accelerate much.

if there is anybody who can suggest ANYTHING atall which may be causing this I would be extremely grateful. Sorry for rambling on, feeling a little down and pieved at the moment.

I just hope it is nothing TOO serious.

thanks
miles

[Eshrules]

ok, one thing at a time. i could do with knowing whether this was a private or a trade(dealer) purchase. if the latter, this fault will be coverd by the warranty.

secondly, when i first read your post, it sounded exactly the same as my diesel turbo failure, except yours is a non turbo petrol

im not sure, but this could be the throttle body at fault. ideally, you could do with getting a code reader on it, if you dont have one, let us know where you are, someone who has a code reader may be able to help. it might also be worth pming one of the moderators or look out for one of the power posters, they know their stuff.

[seemiles]

Hi, thanks for your reply. It was a trade sale, but was from a small independent seller, and as such there was no warranty - it was sold on the 'as tried and tested' basis - which at the time was absolutely fine. Maybe I should've insisted or been a little more cautious about this, but I wasn't, which I can accept is my fault and as such it is down to me to sort out. I dont necessarily have a problem with this, I would rather just get it sorted early on, albei out of my own pocket. It came with a full VW service history and we were very careful about any potential problems at the time of inspecting it - there was no indication whatsoever that anything was wrong. In any case the seller was 100 miles away so the logistics of getting it back to him, and then getting him to actually do anything about it are very unlikely.

I am from Salisbury, Wiltshire. I plan to take it in to a VW specialist tomorrow to hopefully get it plugged in to maybe find the cause, or see if they can offer a solution.

I dont know if it of any consequence but this morning was the first night we had [a small amount] of snow and the temperature this morning was 0º when I started the car and as soon as we started driving it was apparant something wasnt right - it was fine last night when I finished driving.

Any other suggestions would be welcomed, but failing that I will update with the response I get from the specialist.

Just out of interest, IF it does end up being a throttle body, is this an expensive procedure?

[Eshrules]

im not sure as to what a new throttle body would cost although, cleaning it with carb cleaner can sometimes help if it is that which is responsible.

your comment about the dealer worries me. if he is a registered business (VAT reg'd), whether he says no warranty or not m8, he is required by LAW to give you a 3 month warranty. that is legislation and no dealer can even try to not adhere to it, that in itself is a prosecutable offence.

take your car back to the dealer, tell him of the fault and request he repairs it, if he refuses to do so, contact your local trading standards office and report him. the key to getting a resolution in a situation like this is to act quickly. id be cautious of paying for a diagnostic until you have tried the supplying dealer?

[seemiles]

He is not VAT registered it would appear.

i have had a quick look around for details on the legality etc, and I cant find reference to a 3month warranty being law . the details I can find, all seem to have been met e.g. at time of buying car was as described, condition etc and the car is fit for the purpose and, I quote, gets "from A to B".

I have examined the receipt and it just says that I am happy the car has been sold in the condition as described. I will investigate further tomorrow.

Thanks for your help, it is appreciated

i totally understand what you are saying, but I really wouldnt have the time to take the car back just for him to say - "sorry Mate not my problem", I would rather - and I know this shouldn't be how I look at it, just get it sorted. Having said that I will double check my rights etc tomorrow.

Thanks again

[MalcQV]

It sounds like one of the many people that just sell (less than 6 cars/year) as an extra income.

It used to be 6 per year many years ago, not sure if that is still the case. More than 6 and you had to be tell the Tax man....

Never traded myself but had a pal that looked into it.

[Eshrules]

He is not VAT registered it would appear.

i have had a quick look around for details on the legality etc, and I cant find reference to a 3month warranty being law . the details I can find, all seem to have been met e.g. at time of buying car was as described, condition etc and the car is fit for the purpose and, I quote, gets "from A to B".

I have examined the receipt and it just says that I am happy the car has been sold in the condition as described. I will investigate further tomorrow.

Thanks for your help, it is appreciated

i totally understand what you are saying, but I really wouldnt have the time to take the car back just for him to say - "sorry Mate not my problem", I would rather - and I know this shouldn't be how I look at it, just get it sorted. Having said that I will double check my rights etc tomorrow.

Thanks again

i understand what you're saying, but the 3 months is a statutory requirement of traders. you could do with investigating a little further, if as said below, this trader sells more than so many cars a year, he SHOULD be VAT reg'd and that opens up a whole new can of worms..... i really wouldnt get that car fixed until you have looked into this further, whether he likes it or not, if hes supposed to be a reg'd trader, hes going to be in trouble.

[seemiles]

Ok. Well. I was going to pursue the trader option - which before anyone says anything I know i SHOULD do, but the Passat has got worse and is barely drivable, as I desperately need a car I have opted to just get it into a garage asap to get it sorted, I honestly dont have a lot of time to follow up the dealer thing, new house, new car, new job, not long married its literally all happening at the moment, and I really need to go for the 'easiest' option rather than maybe the morally correct option. I am not bothered with the politics of it all right now, just need it sorted.

On the way to the specialist (i have dropped it off now) it really didnt want to move. It eased a little when it warmed up slightly but was still not happy by any stretch of the imagination. Very lumpy and when I pulled up to some traffic lights theres was a rather (un)pleasant smell of eggs.

I will keep updates going, at least its at the doctors now - not a main dealer, but a specialist who comes highly recommended and who is going to spend the time to diagnose properly what the problem is.

Again thanks for previous advice....I will hopefully hear something later this afternoon and post back.....

[Eshrules]

Ok. Well. I was going to pursue the trader option - which before anyone says anything I know i SHOULD do, but the Passat has got worse and is barely drivable, as I desperately need a car I have opted to just get it into a garage asap to get it sorted, I honestly dont have a lot of time to follow up the dealer thing, new house, new car, new job, not long married its literally all happening at the moment, and I really need to go for the 'easiest' option rather than maybe the morally correct option. I am not bothered with the politics of it all right now, just need it sorted.

On the way to the specialist (i have dropped it off now) it really didnt want to move. It eased a little when it warmed up slightly but was still not happy by any stretch of the imagination. Very lumpy and when I pulled up to some traffic lights theres was a rather (un)pleasant smell of eggs.

I will keep updates going, at least its at the doctors now - not a main dealer, but a specialist who comes highly recommended and who is going to spend the time to diagnose properly what the problem is.

Again thanks for previous advice....I will hopefully hear something later this afternoon and post back.....

m8, noone on here is judging you, at the end of the day its up to you what advice you decide to listen to and wha you choose to ignore. i do fear, however, that you may have taken the hardest route available. if the car has suffered a major failure a few days after you collecting it, i would be concerned. now you have taken this fault on board, if it turns out to be something major, the supplying dealer will no longer have any responsibility to repair, the onus is now on you im afraid

keep us updated on the situation and i am sure between all the techies that are on board with this forum, your issue will be resolved

[Eshrules]

just an added note, the smell of eggs i beleive is normally assoicated with the catalytic converter, if this has failed, i fear you may be facing a big bill..... keep us posted