HELP - Golf GTD error

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Discussion

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
I have a 2014 GTD and before lockdown a yellow airbag/seatbelt light came on, which then disabled features like stop start and auto hold.

My first question is are these just disabled as a precautionary measure?

So, i booked my car in at VW and because of the virus it was only seen on Monday for diagnostics - fast forward a few hours and they call me saying they didnt find anything so the next step is to remove the dashboard and look for wiring errors which is £1000 worth of labour on its own and doesnt guarantee they will find the problem. I was then told depending on what they need to remove this would be an open book quote and i could be looking at SEVEN GRAND (yes, £7000). I took it in assuming a sensor or something would need replacing and I get this, being told the front end of my car needs stripped inside to out.

Ive picked my car up whilst i think what to do, leading me to my second question - am I being mugged off, and should I take it to an independent auto electrician?

Many thanks in advance

drdino

1,172 posts

149 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
An airbag light will have accompanying DTCs. What are these? DId you get a report/readout from the garage?

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
Nope, I had a chat with the technician and he basically said diagnostics came up short and they couldnt put a finger on it. They assumed a cable on the high speed CAN is damaged somewhere so thats why they want to take the car apart so they can follow it. All just seems a bit drastic (and expensive) for a yellow warning light

Brooksay

811 posts

77 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
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Look on FB for a Golf mk7 group. They'll be someone with VCDS who'll most likely be able to help.

Nickbrapp

5,277 posts

137 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
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Get a carista OBD reader and read the faults yourself, could be a loose sensor somewhere, it’s £10 and you get a month and you can use the app to make modifications too

Quite possibly the fault will have latched and might just need clearing and never come back again.

You can then narrow it down etc, I had a issue with the airbags in my old bora where I had changed the seats. I bought a resistor online that plugged in and cured the fault

Drawweight

3,104 posts

123 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
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Get a second , third and even fourth opinion.

I’d be damned if I’d give business to anyone who’s first suggested course of action is strip the dashboard in case there ‘might’ be a wiring fault at a cost of a grand.

drdino

1,172 posts

149 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
GTD1000 said:
Nope, I had a chat with the technician and he basically said diagnostics came up short and they couldnt put a finger on it. They assumed a cable on the high speed CAN is damaged somewhere so thats why they want to take the car apart so they can follow it. All just seems a bit drastic (and expensive) for a yellow warning light
If CAN wiring is damaged resulting in module(s) dropping off bus, you'll have lost comms DTCs at the very least. Get the codes read, that will help get the ball rolling, or ask for the readout that drove them down the route of taking the vehicle apart.

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
I took it into a garage before VW who didnt have time to have a proper look but he quickly tried to clear the error and unfortunately it just popped straight back up again

I will also get onto VW to try and get hold of the readout

Edited by GTD1000 on Wednesday 17th June 11:15

anonymous-user

61 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
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If you are near Dorset I would happily scan the car using vcds for free. (I am not a mechanic just a person with vcds)

Sounds like they didn't want your business

halo34

2,890 posts

206 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
Any other codes on the dash?

I had something similar on my 2013 passat. It turned out the rear left speed sensor had given up the ghost as its the dirty side and it informs all the systems that monitor speed like stop start, airbags and stability. Dashboard like a xmas tree.

Guy came out with me and plugged in the computer and checked the speed feedback on each while while I drove - ended up with a new hub/bearing sensor.

I still get codes from the passenger airbag switch coming up too - another weak point, but it doesnt trigger the DTC etc - so I would be looking for something relating to speed sensors first.

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
Mobilecommute said:
If you are near Dorset I would happily scan the car using vcds for free. (I am not a mechanic just a person with vcds)
Unfortunately im miles away in South Yorkshire but I do appreciate the offer

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
halo34 said:
Any other codes on the dash?
When I turn the car on a some pop up one by one on the screen, but not permanent lights on the dash

off the top of my head are stop start, auto hold and maybe one more

I also have adaptive cruise control out from when the camera got knocked hitting a pheasant - oops

I have wondered if it is all related but the pheasant indecent was months before the airbag saga

Krikkit

27,001 posts

188 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
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I would be looking for a proper auto electrician with some specialisation in VWs at least to have a proper look at it.

Damaged CAN wiring isn't impossible, but as said you're looking at other trouble codes popping up too. The idea that there's nothing on the diagnostics is laughable.

halo34

2,890 posts

206 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
Those all rely on speed indications I suspect (but I could be wrong).

It seems odd to me they found "nothing" if errors are coming up.

drdino

1,172 posts

149 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
Or acceleration data from the restraints control module. If that has dropped off bus, it might trigger the airbag light and various other errors across the network. If that were the case, I'd expect ABS for example to set lost comms codes to the restraints module, along with it not being present on diagnostics at all. Similarly, the module could be publishing data that's not reliable due to a sensor issue, causing it and other modules to complain. I'd expect codes in this case as well.

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
Ive requested the readout from VW, they said they'd get back to me

The current errors are:
Stop Start
Auto Hold
Electric Parking Brake
ACC and Front assist (This one came on when i hit the pheasants a couple months prior)

The only light on the dash is the airbag/seatbelt

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
I have spoken to VW, they say im welcome to go see the DTC print out but its just pages of non-communication error codes - hence them thinking its the high speed CAN, but thats still not convincing enough for me to spend thousands letting them loose to find it.

Is it possible a faulty sensor or something of the sort could cause the non-communication errors?

drdino

1,172 posts

149 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
A sensor on it's own no, highly unlikely. They need to confirm if the codes are all linked to modules on that particular bus. If they are, there should be a few things they can do without being too invasive yet. Are all modules from that bus missing? For example, what's the resistance between CAN High and CAN Low? If it doesn't meet the spec, it means there is an open circuit somewhere, or the termination is not correct.

GTD1000

Original Poster:

17 posts

58 months

Wednesday 17th June 2020
quotequote all
I’m not sure of those answers, Volkswagen just seem convinced the next step is dashboard, I’m not convinced they’ve explored more possible avenues - haven’t told me much. I’m going to take it to an auto electrician and hopefully they can find something. Thanks for all your help

Jtgolfmk7

1 posts

35 months

Thursday 23rd December 2021
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Hi. I seem to have pretty much the same issues. What did it turn out to be?