PLEASE HELP - GTD Errors

[GTD1000]

I have a 2014 GTD and before lockdown a yellow airbag/seatbelt light came on, which then disabled the features stop start and auto hold and electric parking brake

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. I just cant see how a problem that seems relatively common on here could warrant this work and price, after only looking at DTCs. Is it possible it could be the battery or something?

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

 

[Ridebjj]

Buy vcds or obd11 and Scan for codes and faults? Then go from there?

 

[GTD1000]

Ive seen the vcdc readout - It came back with about 30 non-communication error codes. This made VW think its a cable on CAN high, but i wouldve thought there is surely measures that could be checked out first rather than stripping the car to follow a cable for almost a price nearly the cars worth?

 

[IWMTom]

Ive seen the vcdc readout - It came back with about 30 non-communication error codes. This made VW think its a cable on CAN high, but i wouldve thought there is surely measures that could be checked out first rather than stripping the car to follow a cable for almost a price nearly the cars worth?

How old is the battery?

 

[GTD1000]

Im the second owner of the car but i believe its the original so 6 years

 

[shovelhd]

Airbag light. Have you done anything to the car lately? Pulled the infotainment system? Console work? Have you put anything under the passenger seat? A broken or intermittent airbag wire or connector can cause all sorts of havoc.

Any other mods to the car or is it completely bone stock?

I'd find another mechanic.

 

[shovelhd]

Im the second owner of the car but i believe its the original so 6 years

Start with that.

 

[IWMTom]

Im the second owner of the car but i believe its the original so 6 years

Probably on its way out. This is really quite common and I'm surprised VW haven't recommended that as a first attempt at a fix.

They do say the batteries are only good for around 4 years.

The second most common reason I've seen for this is an ABS sensor.

 

[GTD1000]

Airbag light. Have you done anything to the car lately? Pulled the infotainment system? Console work? Have you put anything under the passenger seat? A broken or intermittent airbag wire or connector can cause all sorts of havoc.

Any other mods to the car or is it completely bone stock?

Completely stock

Yeah im going to take it elsewhere, just concerning as the original garage was an official VW dealership (Marshalls Volkswagen)

More to think about - I hit a pheasant around Christmas which knocked the ACC camera, disabling ACC. I left that for the time being as i barely used it and was a moderately expensive fix. Could these be related? Bearing in mind the pheasant incident was a few months before the airbag light appearing

 

[IWMTom]

Completely stock

Yeah im going to take it elsewhere, just concerning as the original garage was an official VW dealership (Marshalls Volkswagen)

More to think about - I hit a pheasant around Christmas which knocked the ACC camera, disabling ACC. I left that for the time being as i barely used it and was a moderately expensive fix. Could these be related? Bearing in mind the pheasant incident was a few months before

Was the radar damaged? I had a similar incident with a badger and only needed a new bracket for around £20 and a surround for around £10.

 

[GTD1000]

I dont think so - only saying this as when i drive in torrential rain is still comes up saying it cant see, so ive assumed its working because of that. The pheasant hit the very edge of the grill, i dont think it came into much contact with the radar

I just dont want to leave any stone unturned before i spend an absolute fortune letting VW loose

 

[IWMTom]

I dont think so - only saying this as when i drive in torrential rain is still comes up saying it cant see, so ive assumed its working because of that. The pheasant hit the very edge of the grill, i dont think it came into much contact with the radar

I just dont want to leave any stone unturned before i spend an absolute fortune letting VW loose

You're well out of warranty so taking your car to the stealer for work like this doesn't make financial sense.

It's totally normal for the radar to be blind in rain/sleet/snow. If that's the only time it complains (your OP aside..) then there's nothing wrong with it.

I'd definitely be inclined to change the battery... it's a £150 cost for something that'll need doing soon anyway. Makes sense to do it now and at least see whether it resolves your issue.

 

[GTD1000]

Ill give the battery change a go

I only ended up at VW because i went to a friend of a friends garage (used to work at VW), he didnt have time to book me in but gave it a quick scan, said something about airbag ECU non-communication and he then said he'd recommend going to VW

Could an old battery cause anything like this?

 

[IWMTom]

Ill give the battery change a go

I only ended up at VW because i went to a friend of a friends garage (used to work at VW), he didnt have time to book me in but gave it a quick scan, said something about airbag ECU non-communication and he then said he'd recommend going to VW

Could an old battery cause anything like this?

Yes. The CAN Gateway is VERY sensitive to voltage fluctuations, especially voltage drops. If the Gateway doesn't have sufficient power, you will see all sorts of non communication faults. This is manifesting in lots of cars at the moment as everyone is driving less.

Batteries have been known to be the root cause of CAN related issues and yet still test perfectly healthy on battery testing equipment.

 

[GTD1000]

Hi Tom, ive just picked up my DTC report, could i send it over for you to have a loot at please?