[sgunes]

Yesterday I had the same problem I had 4 times before:
doors open, radio starts but the start/stop button does nothing and even using the key nothing happens.
This is the 5th time it is getting towed. As the tow truck did not bother to come yesterday, they came today and took it to the VW dealership.
I talked to VW customer service and they said that a regional manager will look into it and call me back.
See my last post here: http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f62/complete-brain-dead-20188-8.html#post265807

What would others here do?
I have now 33200 miles on it with the original manufacturer's warranty.
It refused to start now for the 5th time and had to be towed again on a flatbed truck. My new Michelin tires are flatspotting from all the dragging. The vehicle spent over 1 1/2 month now combined in the shop (up to 3 weeks previously to completely replace the modules somewhere in the steering wheel assembly).

Did others here have repeated problems like this? All maintenance and repairs have been done at VW dealerships.

Will VW buy the car back or give me a comparable replacement vehicle or just try to ignore me?
At this point they are throwing good money after bad money paying for the routine bimonthly towing and repairs.

I started to look at other vehicles as VW does not offer the air suspension any more. I am considering the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with the Hemi V8, Off-Road package (imagine: skid-plates from the manufacturer!) and the air suspension for about $44k. The Cayenne with the air suspension is in the $70k range and the new MB ML will be over $60k.

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[LOtouareg]

I say if VW is being helpful, let them get the issue fixed. Even talk to them about a replacement. I'm not sure how lucky you'll get but it's worth a try. I know it must be getting frustrating for you after all these tows.

If they are being harda***es, don't waste your time. I don't think it's worth this much stress. I would hate to see a Tregger go but you only live once and shouldn't have to put up with nonsense like this.

Like I said, give VW a shot and if all else fails, the new Cayenne looks nice

 

[Mountain_Smith]

I know your frustration. . .I had my '08 towed to the dealer 3 times (pulled the fuses, temporarily fixed the issue, and drove it in once.)

Can you check to make sure both parts listed in this post have been replaced?
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f62/complete-brain-dead-20188.html#post266245

As I said, I don't know if they both need to be replaced, but changing the steering column on it's own didn't fix the issue. Knock on wood, mine has been fine since my last update in that thread.

Good luck chasing this down. I'm not sure, but judging by the difficulty of chasing this down, I'm guessing whatever the issue is does not throw faults.

 

[Blownvette]

I had the same issue. Replaced both batteries and use a maintainer when not driving for a few days and has been fine since. Also when it got stuck the last time I disconnected the battery cable under the plastic plate in front of the drivers seat and the car was able to start after reconnecting.

 

[noobytoogy]

They shouldn't be flat spotting your tyres by dragging the car just because it is in Park. You can release Park from underneath the car. Otherwise they should be using wheel dollies.

But don't you have Lemon Law? If so, it's time to invoke it. No car is worth wasting this amount of time and frustration on it.

 

[sgunes]

They shouldn't be flat spotting your tyres by dragging the car just because it is in Park. You can release Park from underneath the car. Otherwise they should be using wheel dollies.

But don't you have Lemon Law? If so, it's time to invoke it. No car is worth wasting this amount of time and frustration on it.

I think lemon laws are State Laws.
I have to check it for Texas.

 

[sgunes]

Quoting Mountain Smith:
"OK, so I just looked at the paper work from the most recent service. The fault code found was the same as last time: 00288. This time they checked with the tech line who recommended the replacement of the 'Access Start Module.' This is part number 7L0-909-137-CX-02H.

Since I didn't list the part number for the steering column module that they replaced on the second repair attempt, here it is: 7L0-419-501-CF."

I checked.
On the third tow they replaced 7L0-419-501-CD.
And at the 4th tow 7L6-953-549-F Elec. Module was replaced.
I have not seen anything about 7L0-909-137-CX-02H.

 

[sgunes]

They shouldn't be flat spotting your tyres by dragging the car just because it is in Park. You can release Park from underneath the car. Otherwise they should be using wheel dollies.

But don't you have Lemon Law? If so, it's time to invoke it. No car is worth wasting this amount of time and frustration on it.

None of the tow trucks had wheel dollies.
I used a big can of WD-40 lubricant each time and still have tire marks on top of tire marks in my driveway.

 

[mckchr67]

That is nuts I would have called the dealer to send someone out to unlock the trans before dragging if the tow guy didn't know how.Lemon Law Texas has a nice DOT website.

 

[sgunes]

I had the same issue. Replaced both batteries and use a maintainer when not driving for a few days and has been fine since. Also when it got stuck the last time I disconnected the battery cable under the plastic plate in front of the drivers seat and the car was able to start after reconnecting.

The battery was already replaced once.
There were no extended times between driving. I use the treg every day to get to work and I am usually driving it at least on 6 days a week.

 

[sgunes]

That is nuts I would have called the dealer to send someone out to unlock the trans before dragging if the tow guy didn't know how.Lemon Law Texas has a nice DOT website.

Thanks. I will check out the requirements.

 

[nickm]

The new Jeep is nice, its a next generation ML chassis with the sweet hemi engine, and being a Jeep it isn't too tough to get them to knock a few thousand off the list price. Mercedes developed the upcoming new ML and the JGC/Durango before they sold the Chrysler group to Fiat.

Maybe its just me but the whole design of the kessy module is a disaster...a POS low end economy car now has keyless entry, and those vehicles certainly don't need many thousands in replacement parts to fix kessy problems.

 

[Mountain_Smith]

Quoting Mountain Smith:
I have not seen anything about 7L0-909-137-CX-02H.

Ask your dealer to look into this. . .this is what seemed to do the trick on my truck.

 

[wvicary]

Doesn't it show how to manually release the shift lever in the owners manual? It does on my Cayenne.

 

[jmansfield04]

My money is on the KESSY being bad. Not sure if it's the same on the 08 as my 04 but the dealer told me the KESSY handles the immobilizer functions. So if it fails it won't start or probably do anything for that matter.

 

[sgunes]

I got it back after one day:
"Corroded splice in central wiring harness. Followed guidelines in Tech Bulletin 2020310.
Removed lower A-pillar trim and driver's seat. Pulled carpet under driver front seat to gain access to central wiring harness. Found corrosion on splices as depicted in Tech Bulletin. Repaired using VAS 1978 kit."

Can anyone who is technically knowledgeable explain how in the worst drought in Texas history (>150 years) I have corrosion on splices/wires? I never went off-roading with the treg. The most water it forded was about 1 inch when we had rain last year. The air is as dry as in Arizona and half the state is burning!
As this splice corrosion has been described in a tech bulletin, there must be more treggers with the same problem.

 

[designergrey]

I have a 2008 right around the same mileage and I am in Southern NM on the El Paso Texas border, so similar climate. I haven't had any mechanical failure yet. I've made several long trips to San Diego, Las Vegas, Santa Fe and Dallas.
I'm hoping your issue is not the norm.

I also have keyless start, no problems starting even with weeks in between startups. The only issue is that the MFD display and turn signals stopped working once. I used to have a bad habit of leaving the key in the car but as soon as I stopped doing that the problem went away. I don't know why.

Sometimes it sucks to have a vehicle that you assume something could go wrong instead of being surprised when it does.

 

[Panama Jack]

Can anyone who is technically knowledgeable explain how...I have corrosion on splices/wires?

Corrosion in wiring harnesses can be caused by process of osmosis due to too much pissing and moaning.

[-(

Have had good luck with my 07 Treg so far, but previously had a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The day after I bought it, and the first time I used it to tow my boat, I returned to the boat ramp to find it had a dead battery. Cause: the interior lights would not shut themselves off. The Jeep had about 33,000 miles on it when I bought it, and the extended warranty I had purchased covered the day and a half it took the techs to find the wiring fault. I sold it 77,000 miles later.

I also purchased an extended warranty when I bought my pre-owned T-reg. They are generally available while your vehicle has some remaining manufacturer's warranty. I have heard that Treg repairs can be pricey...

 

[sgunes]

Corrosion in wiring harnesses can be caused by process of osmosis due to too much pissing and moaning.

[-(

Have had good luck with my 07 Treg so far, but previously had a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The day after I bought it, and the first time I used it to tow my boat, I returned to the boat ramp to find it had a dead battery. Cause: the interior lights would not shut themselves off. The Jeep had about 33,000 miles on it when I bought it, and the extended warranty I had purchased covered the day and a half it took the techs to find the wiring fault. I sold it 77,000 miles later.

I also purchased an extended warranty when I bought my pre-owned T-reg. They are generally available while your vehicle has some remaining manufacturer's warranty. I have heard that Treg repairs can be pricey...

I got the 7 year, 100K mile warranty within a month of buying it.
The bill for VWofA for all the towing, repairs, loaner cars (over 3 weeks total so far) must be in the 5 digits so far.

 

[jakob]

Hi, i would say it is condense water from the a/c unit, several times I had wet feet after parking front facing up hill.