Skipping CD Player

[S_K_S]

Has anyone had a problem with a skipping CD player on a 53 130 TDI Passat? There is a 6 CD changer which recently has started to skip tracks at the slightest hint of a bump in the road.

Is there anyway to clean the CD lens?

[stonedagain]

Has anyone had a problem with a skipping CD player on a 53 130 TDI Passat? There is a 6 CD changer which recently has started to skip tracks at the slightest hint of a bump in the road.

Is there anyway to clean the CD lens?

There is a special disc you can buy to clean the laser.

[Jamiem]

The cd lense cleaners can be bought from a computer supplies shop normally, but id be more inclined to believe something has come loose (either the player itself, or something internally).

[limecc]

I just recovered my MFD sat nav which was refusing to read the disk sometimes by cleaning the lens. I hope it's the same for you, and you have nothing to lose. If its skipping it may be that the laser can't track the position on the disk correctly.

I looked at the cleaning disks like those in Maplins electronics and they seem pretty pathetic. I decided to strip the unit down as far as the transport and was able to get a cotton bud and some alcohol on the lens, then polish it with the dry end. The lens is a very convex shape so a tiny strip of carbon fibres travelling in only one direction is never going to do the job properly.

I think the problem for me was the humid atmosphere in cars. As they warm up every day it allows minute dust or smoke-like particles to stick to the lens over time building up to a film like you get on the inside of the car windows. If it's suddenly started skipping badly and not got gradually worse over time, then it must be as Jamiem says. Mine was bad until the car got nicely warmed up, and I endured it getting worse over several months from summer last year.