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What would you make of this? 2018 GSW electrical gremlin.

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia
Car(s)
7.5 GTI
IKeep the thoughts coming. I hate this feeling, and it's making me hate the car at the moment.
We all hate gremlins we can't track down and most of us are OCD about the smallest squeak or creak...you'll track it down
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
We all hate gremlins we can't track down and most of us are OCD about the smallest squeak or creak...you'll track it down

This. And mine has lived up to the last 3 on it's vin, '666' this thing has been a BEAST when normal, and I just love the car for how practical it is. It can do it all. This car is an absolute GREMLIN with the issues it's had since new. Not everyone can get a problem free car, I get that. To your point, i'm OCD and this demon needs to be exercised ASAP. I'll track it down, but please keep the commentary coming.
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia
Car(s)
7.5 GTI
do you live near a field or have field mice/rodents near your house? any nests or evidence in your engine bay of something being in there? I mean, looks like the car has a nice stable there, but have to ask.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
do you live near a field or have field mice/rodents near your house? any nests or evidence in your engine bay of something being in there? I mean, looks like the car has a nice stable there, but have to ask.

Always garaged parked, no indication of any rodents in or around our place. I also had the car at my VW dealership recently when this first popped up. They went over every connection, every ground. They didn't see anything. They reset the codes and sent me packing. It was fine for a good 50 ignition cycles before popping up again this past week.

What I don't know, to @golfdave 's point, is if they dug further, reviewed time stamps, etc. I am scheduled to bring it back in, but I just don't know what to say here...
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Do you only get the codes after starting it or do the codes pop up after it's been running?
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
Do you only get the codes after starting it or do the codes pop up after it's been running?

Of the 5 times its happened. Basically, both. No rhyme or reason. OBD11 clears the codes, car acts fine. It could be another 50 ignition cycles before it happens again, or same day. no clue.

1) shortly after start, cold motor. leaving neighborhood. Washed the car the day before. Cycled ignition and went away
2) shortly after start, cold motor. Check engine light stuck, but issues shortly went away.
3) while driving to the dealership to drop it off for this issue to be looked at. FREAKED me out. Speedo stopped working, christmas tree on dash. Dry day.
4) happened on a u-turn after driving for like 40 miles. It was a damp day
5) right after I turned the car on
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Now it's sounding like the battery again. Low voltage when you start it cold. And the time you drove it 40 miles it didn't have time to charge the battery up enough. I wwould get the battery tested.
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
I think its the battery. Especially since things just started really progressing into the winter months, the temperature changes and multi-week fluctuations could certainly explain the vast intermittence of the issue as well.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
I am going to get a battery and code it anyways in the next few days. Likely take @golfdave 's advice and code in something much larger.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
Why would a battery do this? Why wouldn't the dealership recognize this, LOL? Why wouldn't I get a low voltage warning before the car freaks the fuck out? Asking for a friend.
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
Why would a battery do this? Why wouldn't the dealership recognize this, LOL? Why wouldn't I get a low voltage warning before the car freaks the fuck out? Asking for a friend.

not sure tbh, but a Christmas tree on the dash accompanied by a ABS fault is the number one symptom of a bad battery
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Why would a battery do this? Why wouldn't the dealership recognize this, LOL? Why wouldn't I get a low voltage warning before the car freaks the fuck out? Asking for a friend.
When a battery is weak you always get lots of strange unrelated codes. When you went to the dealer the battery had charged up from driving would be my guess. Did the dealer actually test the battery? Don't know why it didn't pop up the low voltage warning.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
This is wild. Even the speedo stopping, the fuel gauge acting weird, but the car driving fine? I will replace the battery ASAP and let's hope it puts this to bed for good.

If it's battery, i'll eat some crow here, but i'm blown away at the severity of the symptoms before a low voltage warning hit.
 
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