[Ronny]

Well, I took delivery of my TDI in January and so far, although I have only put 1,500 miles on it, I like it very much. There was one unsettling event though: at about 500 miles I pulled into my garage, closed the overhead door and shut the engine off. I immediately noticed a very strong smell of burning rubber, so strong that I opened the garage door again. I popped the hood and as I did so the two cooling fans started but they seemed very loud which I had not heard before or since, nor am I ever aware that they are running, but coolant temperature before and after that event holds at the center of the gauge, 190 degrees F. The burning rubber smell began to dissipate at about that point and I didn't see any smoke from anywhere. After about 3–4 minutes the fans shut down and I opened the under the hood fuse compartment and found the single 10 amp fan fuse to be normal. I have not heard the loud fan noise since. I brought the car to the dealer's service department and was told that everything was found to be OK including the running of the fans. The burning rubber smell was thought to be "cosmolene burning off the frame members under the car" which doesn't make any sense to me at all. Any thoughts anyone? Regards, Ronny

 

[Ronny]

Well thank you all very much! I learned something new. I had not read that article before but I have now and the "symptoms" are a text-book description of what happened. Another minor item is a faint, slight rattle from the right – center of the dash. It is audible even when the engine is idling and sounds like a mouse trying to climb out of a plastic soft-drink cup. I thought it might have something to do with the CD player. I mentioned this to the dealer's 'service advisor' too and he said he couldn't hear it. I am beginning to wonder about this dealer's service organization. The DSG gearbox is interesting and fun to use. When going very slow in a lower gear it sometimes seems it can't decide to downshift or not and the engine will lug a bit, just when I would have steped on the clutch with a manual. I remember the 1950 Packard had some kind of electric clutch called Electromatic, You could use the manual clutch pedal or pull out a knob on the dash and shift without using it, sort of like Chryslers Fluid Drive except that with Chryslers system you could not shift from gear to gear without using the clutch. Cord had an electric/vacuum system to shift but the clutch was necessary. Thanks all again, Ronny

 

[Ronny]

New TDI next issue!

Well with now just over 2000 miles on my January 09 TDI an icon lit up on the dash, the one that looks like an engine block. According to the owner's manual if the icon is steady on, rather than blinking, it does not indicate a serious problem but nonetheless requires a trip to the dealer.
The dealer's mechanic reported that the Oxygen sensor in the exhaust system was "loose". It was tightened and the light went out but came back on two or three hundred miles later.
Next trip to the dealer, and a consult with VW technical, support it seemed a "software update" was required. That was done and so far, (next day) the light has not showed itself again.

I thought "software updates" were only necessary for my computer but, alas, we now live in an almost totally digital world. Remember that ol cowboy song with a refrain that went—"When I open the hood of my pickup I want to see the ground". Ronny

 

[Ronny]

Thank you. It's a mechanical/electrical sort of noise very much like the noise that occurs twice a few minutes after turning off the engine and that also sounds like it is just under the dash on the right side adjacent to the glove box. That may be the sound you mentioned. But, like most such things after a while, I usually am not aware of it unless I happen to think about it. Ronny