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vw golf mark 4 problems


jam38
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hi all,

i have just joined this great forum!

i have a few questions if someone could be so kind to help me out. i have bought a vw golf mk4 1.9 tdi se 90 (x reg, 2000). it is a great drive but has a few problems:

  • the car is meant to be doing 54 mpg, but it only does around 42-5. why is this?
  • there is condensation on the inside of the windscreen, how do i eliminate this problem? what has caused this problem?
  • i want to fit a sat nav (tom tom) in the car. who should i use, and what would be the cost?
  • the cigarette lighter is not working properly. i have dismantled it and i have to keep the item connected 'pressed' in for it to charge/work, why is this?
  • the cloth on the gearstick is worn and i want to replace it. how would i do this? where is the best place to get the cloth?
  • i have fitted my own stereo in, and now there is a gap. where can i get a 'storage cubby holder' from?

thank you for your help in advance.

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Welcome to the forum

Poor mpg - could be your MAF sensor (measures the volume of air coming into the car and fuels accordingly). Does the car seem sluggish when accellerating? If so, definately the MAF. It's easy to find... From the airbox (back right as you stand at the front of the car looking at the engine), a big pipe goes into the engine. About 5cm from where the big pipe joins the airbox, there's a sensor going into the pipe - that's it.

Condensation - change the pollen filter - remove 4 philips screws from under the passenger side wiper (behind the MAF sensor) and pull the tray out - bugger to get back in mind!) If that doesn't fix it, check if there's any water in the rear passenger side footwell, also, check for dampo in the boot & post again with the details.

Gearstick - the base just pings off and at the top by the knob, it's connected by some plastic clip thing that you need to get off, so pull the gearstick cloth all the way up and inside out to get access to this plastic clip. Lever slightly each of nthe 4 bits of clip till the gearknob comes off. then you're on your own, I've never separated gearknob from the material

Cubby hole - I have one, £20 delivered if you want it!

Anything else you need to know, just ask!

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  • 2 weeks later...

benjie,

i have not had a chance to sort out the issues with the car, but hopefully will do this weekend. i just had a quick question. the accelleration of the car is really good, no problems to be honest. but as stated before the mpg return is poor. does the maf sensor still need replacing, or could it be something else?

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I wouldn't change the maf too quickly - in cold weather, mpg is really buggered and you won't see 47-50mpg unless you have longer journeys. I would leave it for a while. There is a program called VAG-COM (recently changed name to VCDS) which you can take readings of the maf to see if it's performing as it should - I'm not suggesting you buy it just for that as it's expensive, but you could do some research and see if anyone lives close by with it on their laptop who would do a scan for beer tokens or something. It eill scan your car's ECU and find out if there are any errors and you can also scan the readings the maf are giving.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Condensation - change the pollen filter - remove 4 philips screws from under the passenger side wiper (behind the MAF sensor) and pull the tray out - bugger to get back in mind!) If that doesn't fix it, check if there's any water in the rear passenger side footwell,

How do i stop water from pooling in the footwell, I can't find where its coming from?

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Hello, welcome. Which footwell is the water in?

First, check the pollen filter is in and screwed on properly.

Do you have a sunroof? If so, clear the drainage holes for it. Also, look under the scuttle panel (the plastic bit the wiper arms sit in) as it could be full of mud/leaves etc.

There's also something to do with the rear lights. If you take some of the boot tim off, there is a vent or something below the rear lights. Have a look in your boot and see if the carpet or spare tyre well is wet. I don't remember very well, but I'm sure these rear vents can cause water in foorwells.

Someone also told me once that there are little plastic circles pushed into the floor, so if a lot of water gets in there, they can be removed to let it drain. HAve you been through a flood? As he said he'd been through a flood and the pressure from the water underneath the car had forced them up a bit and water had leaked in from below. I have never heard of this since though, so might not be accurate.

Anyway, there's a few ideas, but check the pollen filter is installed correctly and put back properly first.

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  • 1 month later...

benjie,

sorry for not posting back sooner. i found a friend of a friend to run diagnostics on the car. the part at fault was the maf sensor, as suggested. the fella 'rebooted' it and told me this should fix the problem. hopefully that was all that was needed. i will post back with an update.

thank you for your help though.

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benjie,

sorry for not posting back sooner. i found a friend of a friend to run diagnostics on the car. the part at fault was the maf sensor, as suggested. the fella 'rebooted' it and told me this should fix the problem. hopefully that was all that was needed. i will post back with an update.

thank you for your help though.

Never heard of anyone being able to "reboot" a maf sensor. I've a feeling you'll be revisiting this again. +++

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Like Rusty says, you can't reboot a MAF sensor. It's a static sensor that measures the volume of air being drawn into the engine.

If you've got low MPG, check when the car was last serviced, including the air filter, MAF sensor replacement is the next option to investigate (about £70 from your VW dealer), then you may start to have to look at blocked injectors etc, although that's not too likely.

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Yeah, I would say a MAF 'Reboot' is workshop lingo for "I removed the fault code from the car's ECU" - which doesn't mean the fault has gone. Either that ot he sprayed some electrical contact cleaner in there. I'd change it (depending on budget as they're not the cheapest part in the world).

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 years later...

Hi guys

iv got a VW golf, 1999 model.

iv also got a problem with the gas, when i accelerate it stutters especially in 1st and 2nd gear. there is also a hissing sound given off(not sure from where)

diagnostic showed Lambda sensor needs replacing which i have done... but no chance. could it be the maf sensor? or the throttle?

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Hi guys

iv got a VW golf, 1999 model.

iv also got a problem with the gas, when i accelerate it stutters especially in 1st and 2nd gear. there is also a hissing sound given off(not sure from where)

diagnostic showed Lambda sensor needs replacing which i have done... but no chance. could it be the maf sensor? or the throttle?

Hissing!!??

If you have a TDi, then the hissing could be a loose air/turbo pipe somewhere. You'll need to trace it back and fix the leak.

Shouldn't be too hard if you listen as someone revs the engine a bit. Be careful of the fans though.

Squeezing the pipes and checking they are fully connected will help too.

Good luck!

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  • 1 month later...

hi i was seeing if u chould help me with this issue ive got with my car :rolleyes:

the other day my exhaust emmissions warning lamp came on, anyway had RAC come out to have a look the old guy plugged his lap top thing into car a came up with a fault which was AIR FLOW METER he reset the light etc...the car drive fine before and after it came on ... done 65miles since then and once again cam back on... hes 90% sure its the AIR FLOW METER etc... the car still drives fine i was just seeing if the car will be ok to drive untill i get the chance to get this new meter etc..

scotty

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  • 1 month later...

i have just put a 1.8 20valve engine into my mk4 golf and when i fired it up today there is a constant plume of white smoke which smells rich in petrol. i dont think its the head gasket as the coolant level does not drop. any ideas people. cheers in advance sorry for posting in the wrong place

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