coolant light blinking

[lissy86665]

My 2000 Jetta (60,100 miles) has been running great and I've never had a problem with it. I went for an oil change in late April for 58, 600 miles (typically get an oil cange every 3K miles..not always at VW but the last one was at VW)

This weekend the coolant light went on....I checked the coolant and it appeared as though I had enough. However I didn't realize that it expanded so once I found that out I checked once again when the engine was cool and found that I didn't have enought coolant. The VW service people told me to add water and drive it the 5 miles for them to check it out. After I put in the water, the ride was smooth and I was happy. Then after about 2 miles of driving the light came on again but it still drove well.

They checked out the car and there were no obvious leaks but the coolant system was run through their machines and according to my invoice " coolant light was checked for faults, found no faults, removed plug from radiator bottle and coolant light came on, put plug back on and light went out after cycling key, also pressurized system and found no leaks". I picked up my car and of course the light came back on after about 1 1/2 miles of driving. I called them back and they think it is a sensor issue and again told me everything was OK. There is one last thing, the red needle on coolant gauge on the dash board goes to 260 degrees and I'm unsure what that means. Is is all connected or could there be a reason and that is why the light goes on? The original issue was that I didn't have enough coolant and I wish someone at VW could have given me the heads up about adding more since I could do that myself and telling me what could happen if I didn't keep a close watch.

Has anyone had this issue????? Please help me!!!! I love my little Jetta and can't afford another car. I didn't tell the VW people about the red needle because I thought they would look at that as well, I mean you don't tell a doc that you have been coughing and ask him to listen to your lungs and look in your throat.....the doc does that automatically becuase it's all related and you expect him to check you out!! I expected the same from my Jetta's docs (that is why I paid $105 for diagnostic fee)

Lastly the AC works when it is cool and when the light blinks it doesn't work, I did tell them this and they said that the cooling system won't allow the AC to work if it senses a problem.

[MillyF]

I am having the same exact problem with my 2000 GLX VR6 57K. Have you had any luck fixing/finding the problem???? ANY help would be so appreciated! -milly

[veedubmechanic]

Sounds like your water pump is bad. They normally break on vw's because it uses a plastic pump instead of metal. The car wont overheat just sitting there but when you drive it the car overheats. If your 1st owner it SHOULD be powertrain warranty.

ALso, check your engine coolant temperature sensor. on 2.0 its right under the engine cover on the driver side on the coolant pipes. If its not green then it should be replaced (normally black) On the vr6 engine its alot harder to get to, its on the driver side front little engine cover under the spark plug wires. If your ECT is bad then your temp guage will randomly go from cold to normal temp or to max hot.

[lissy86665]

Yes, the problem was the water pump and I did have it replaced as well as the sensor for the check engine light, a few weeks ago that went bad and needed replacing as well.

[lissy86665]

Yes, the problem was the water pump and I did have it replaced as well as the sensor for the check engine light, a few weeks ago that went bad and needed replacing as well.

[lissy86665]

Yes, the problem was the water pump and I did have it replaced as well as the sensor for the check engine light, a few weeks ago that went bad and needed replacing.

[98R/TDailyDriver]

Echo???

[98R/TDailyDriver]

The car heated to 260 -now that the pump has been replaced change your thermostat. Its only a few bucks and it will save you future cooling system headaches.

[lissy86665]

Why didn't they suggest that? How I am suppose to know to ask?
The air sensor caused the check engine light to go off, that was replaced 3 weeks ago, today my 2000 Jetta is back at VW for the check engine light.........this makes 5 visits to VW in about 8 weeks, I've never been there so much, it been quite frustrating.

[98R/TDailyDriver]

I know what you mean.

I am very experienced with american cars -but not so much with the VWs -If it were american I would replace the thermostat.

My advice is to try and keep that car out of the shop -the 2 VW dealers in my area have caused more problems than they have solved.

[jobugk]

my 2000 jetta (45,000) coolant light only blinks when I first start the car first thing in the morning. It blinks for about 2 mins then stops. Car runs fine and the light will not blink again till the next morning when I start the car up again. Any ideas?