ringo starr.....a very troubled beetle

bugwugly · #1 03-25-2006, 08:34 AM

Hello there everyone! Boy, oh boy, do I have some questions! I have a 2000 2.0 Beetle and it likes to mess with me. First, I recently had my codes read and had one that read that cylinder 3 is misfiring. It acts up primarily only when the car is still warming up. But here is the doozey! My blue temp indicator on the dash comes on when I start the car but then, almost immediately, turns red and flashes for a couple of seconds. This is intermittent! But, once the car is warmed up, the light goes away...until yesterday. I had the car running on the freeway and the red sensor popped up. As soon as I pulled over, the light went away. I checked the upper and lower hoses this morning. The upper hose is warm to the touch, but not hard. The lower hose is cool, like it has no flow at all. The resevior tank is getting no flow at idle, little flow at higher rpms. This was all done at NORMAL operating temperature. In a problem related to this, the car looses horsepower until it warms up. While the car is still warming, if I press down hard on the accelorator, the car will studder. If I let up on the gas, the studder goes away, but the speed is low and has no horsepower. This problem goes away after the car reaches normal operating temps.

bugwugly · #2 03-25-2006, 06:12 PM

I almost forgot....I have replaced my ect sensor but not my thermostat. Any help would be so awesome!

neisei · #3 05-19-2006, 04:03 PM

Did you find out what the problem was? If not, don't ignore it, I found out that the car has a sealed cooling system and the symptoms are signs of a leak, which has been reported as very common. The bad news is the longer it goes on the worse the potential for true disaster, because of the placement the leak can go into the electrical harness and then it would need to be replaced.

veedubmechanic · #4 05-20-2006, 03:37 PM

sounds most likely like a water pump issue.

91celicaFB · #5 05-21-2006, 10:29 PM

oh my god, it is the water-pump 100% sure. i still cant believe how people dont get this, i've posted this in a million "overheating" threads...
the water pump has plastic impellars and they all need to be replaced. its a matter of when your car is acting up.
if you feel and see that ther is no flow... hmm. what does that sound like? maybe the thing that PUMPS the water, hince no flow?,,,
WATERPUMP!
replace timing belt, tensioner, coolant, oilchange, and plugs...

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