[janea]

Just a little info regarding your check engine light.I noticed someone replyed by asking what kind of mechanic did you take it to and why could they NOT find the problem with your CK Eng LT.Well...listen to this:My 95JettaGL broke down on the highway after stalling a few times it finally just quit.Took it to the dealer (VW in Connecticut)and they did$3000 worth of work on it(replaced the mass airflow meter,and,well I do not have all the info w/me) but 10 minutes after driving off the lot the check engine light came on.I took it back and they replaced the temperature gauge sensor.It came on again.I took it back and they hooked it up to do another diagnosis.....no body could tell why the Ck Eng Lt kept coming on and this is a DEALER!I gave up and this was 2 years ago and the damn thing STILL comes on but the car always ran damn well.To this day I still have a check engine Lt that goes on.It DID stop for 5 months straight when I found a gas station with particularly good,clean gas but when I moved and switched stations the light came back on.I would,however,like to see it go off once and for all.You would think $3000 would have done it!Good luck~~~~~J

Originally Posted by garth_schultz

Folks - My 1996 Jetta GL (manual transmission, 96K) engine light came on a couple of days ago. I took in to the shop to get a much needed tune-up, and have them check out the light. They did a full tune up - plugs, wires, etc...and replaced the vaccum seal for the oil-dipstick, which was broken.The guys at the shop did say that the clutch needs replacing, but they don't seem to think that it is causing the engine light to come on, and they can't find what is causing it.

Got the car back, and in some ways it feels better (smoother, I think), but the engine light came back on within a day, and it has stalled on me a couple of times at low RPM's (which it never did before). I brought it back to the shop, they put the computer machine on it, tightened down the gas cap (which I hadn't touched since they worked on it) and sent me on my way. The engine light came on again 40 miles later, and the gas cap was not the issue, cause I checked it.

Symptoms:
-Fluctuates at Idle, even stalls (now, not before I brought it in this week).
-Sputters a bit while accellerating/deccellerating at low RPM's 12 - 20
-Gas mileage has dropped from 30 a year ago, 28-29 recently, and 26 now.
-When accelerating quickly, clutch seems to slip - RPM's jump with no jump in speed.
-About 1/4 of the time, when I turn the key to start it nothing happens, or it turns and doesn't catch, like there isn't enough fuel. The rest of the time it starts just fine.

What is causing these things? Why does the engine light keep coming on? And, if the guys at the shop can't figure it out, what do I do? Is it possible that the engine light just comes on, or is there always a good reason?

The help is much appreciated.