QuestionMy daughter's 2001 Beetle GLS 2.0 turbo. The airbag light came on and about a day later the traction control and ABS light came on. About 1 minute later the car died. I brought the battery down to advanced and they said I needed a new one and the alternator was fine. Replaced the battery, took it out for a drive and it died about 9 miles into the drive. I tried to turn it back on - no go. 4 hours later went back and it turned right back on and it turned on the following morning as well. The gauges are fine and the car's idle is fine. I'm running out of options!!! PLEASE HELP!!
AnswerFirst of all, is this car a 2.0 liter GLS, or is it a 1.8 liter Turbo? The 2.0 turbo did not come in Volkswagens until the 2005 model year, and not in Beetles. However, I wouldn't be surprised if someone had already done a "swap."
The air bag system, and the antilock brake system are completely independent from one another, but if the ABS, and the ESP/ASR light came on together there is a load sum error in the computer that makes the engine go. The only fix I know of for this is to replace the ECM..ie., the engine control module, or the "engine computer" needs to be replaced. It is an expensive part, and I would have the car diagnosed at a Volkswagen dealer where they have the brand specific scan tool...the VAS 5052, or the VAS 5051B to actually see what the ECM is thinking. It may not be a load sum error, it may be a "check sum error." The mass air flow meter, and the "mapping" in the ECM must come pretty close to matching up under all load/driving conditions. If they don't it could be that the mass air flow sensor is no good which is certainly possible in your case, but I haven't had the car actually "quit" on me before, but anything is possible. However, if the MAF sensor is OK, and the ECM/computer thinks it's not, the lights in the instrument cluster come on for traction/braking control, and the car is shut off by the computer, because it thinks there is an unsafe driving condition when actually all you're trying to do is get home. It is a powerful calculating device, but doesn't have any common sense. I imagine that the engine code on this car is AZG...look at the timing belt cover, there is a 3 letter engine code there. If it is an AZG, try the MAF, first. It will be a lot less than an ECM, and it can't hurt at this point...not cheap, but...you get the idea. Anyhow, if the car runs OK with the MAF sensor changed, then you're good to go, but if the problem returns, you'll have to get an ECM. Go to the dealer for that. They'll be able to clear out all of the faults in all of the computers on your daughters' car, and they usually have some kind of warranty on their parts, and on their labor, so if you have problems later they may happen soon enough to take advantage of a warranty. Unfortunately, most of the 2001 cars are out of warranty now, unless you are the original owner, and the car has less than 100,000 miles on it. Hope this helps. Good luck, P. J.
