'01 Golf 1.8T A/t w about 75 K mi. On a sub zero day, the heat in my son's Golf stopped working, temp guage went nearly all the way to cold, and the 'check engine' light came on. Car ran fine, but was hard to start, cranking several times. The coolant temp would slowly rise to normal when stopped, but dropped when the car was moving.
Obviously, there was a thermostat problem. We took it to the dealer, who replaced the thermostat and a temp sensor.
My question: The dealer said the sensor was hidden behind components (alternator, etc), and 4 hr. labor was needed to install this $50.00 part. This doesn't seem logical, or even believable to me.
Can anyone shed light on the validity of $400+ labor charge?
Thanks!!