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

AquaTone61

New member
Location
Third rock from the Sun.
Car(s)
2015 GTI SE DSG
I still have the Arteon R line. No news since dropping it off Friday 1/29. I don't think they have any real clue where the canbus fault is coming from.

Let's open up this conversation... what happens if they can't diagnose this? The car has Bilstein B14 coilovers, APR stage 1 tune, and a bunch of other very normal bolt on mods. The dealer has been working with me since day 1, and they have been great. everything has been covered so far. Listen, I WANT THIS CAR. I WANT THIS CAR FIXED. IF THEY TELL ME I NEED TO PAY FOR IT BECAUSE 'X reason and it's because x part' thats ok. The problem is they can't seem to find it. They can't see to diagnose this.

Theoretically, what's next? Do you see VW stepping up here since this is clearly not my fault, per say, but they COULD have an easy out. Thoughts?
I hate that feeling. I've been there with my own car as VW has spent between 10k and 12k on it during the CPO warranty, if I had to shell out that kind of money I would be not so happy. Now that the issues have been sorted out I really want to keep this one as it is in decent condition and I like it.

As far as finding your issue, I'll make this as short as I can but the one of the weirdest CEL's I saw on a Cayenne was an S that somebody bought new and drove till about 30k miles when a recurring CEL(different codes) for the evap system started showing up. We put so many parts in that truck, everything remotely related to the evap system was replaced. Problem was, the CEL would always clear and test drive fine and leave for a few weeks to months at a time. We started to suspect something was else wrong pretty early on but the parts replaced always fixed the corresponding code so it went it's merry way. The last visit before we figured out what was going on the codes started to get really strange and didn't follow normal diagnostic trees. We got in touch with our regional tech specialist who was going to stop by while he was in the area to look at it. This guy was a genius, he had wiring diagrams memorized down to the wire color and was almost clairvoyant in his problem solving ability.

He spent a couple days with this Cayenne S checking this and that and running wires all over it to duplicate/check harnesses etc. He finally traced the issue to a cubby hole in the rear passenger hatch area. Apparently the owner had bought a trailer hitch receiver when it was new and tossed it in this cubby hole. Problem was, this cubby hole and it's lining sat on top of a body seam. Guess what ran over the body seam? A ground wire harness for the evap system. The weight of the hitch receiver moving/sitting on the wires was just enough to rub through the insulation over 30k miles and create an intermittent internal short. So after a simple wiring repair all the codes cleared and everything was back to normal. He kept the truck for a few more years and gave it to his son, never had another CEL for the evap system lol.

TLDR: Every problem, no matter how complex, has a solution, it could be very simple but the trick is finding it. There is nothing a good tech hates more is a comeback that is not his/her fault. It is just a matter of time but they will figure it out. There are very few unfixable issues, cars that I have seen go Lemon Law were often fixed in the right hands. That being said, what are your options in VA? Did you buy it used? Lemon Law's in most states don't apply to used cars. If it comes down to you getting a different car, could you take the parts off of it? The dealership would most likely work with you in that regard.

If this was a powertrain issue, your stage 1 tune would be a problem. I'm sure the car has been scanned multiple times and the tune has shown up on the VW side. If it were an issue, I'm sure you would know by now. The warranty admin at your dealership wants to make sure claims are paid and anything to jeopardize that would be brought up immediately.

I hope you hear some good news soon.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
I bought new in California, and I now live in western PA. I have no doubt its a simple fix, but I am growing weary with endless diagnostics. I hope they find it soon. I've had the car for about 2 years 3mo, and of that time it's seen the dealer for about 4 mo of my ownership. All for recurring canbus issues like this. The car is still an absolute joy to own and I quickly fall back in love with it despite the issues... but you know how it goes. Must have been a lazy friday down in Publa with my beloved wagon. JK JK, fingers cross we find it!
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
Dealer called, no updates. I guess VW's VTA tech line has been down/problematic so they are waiting to put another ticket in. Should be a wild ride!
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
Replacing the canbus gateway. We'll see. With part ETA I should have the car back maybe late next week.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
It has to be that or a bad ground somewhere...
Agreed. It could theoretically also be a rubbing wire intermittent fault or water ingress intermittent fault. If symptoms stay away for a good 6+ mo after this gateway module swap i'll start to feel a bit better, LOL.
 

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
Location
Florida
Hope it works out for you. If not, I had not quite the same problem twice. Just my 2 cents, but I've had bad batteries test good at Autozone and at the dealer. To make sure it tested bad I turned on every high power drawing accessory and idled the car in the parking lot at the dealer until the battery ran down.

Also, the left front wheel speed sensor is a critical input point for the ECU. It triggered errors in 12 modules. It intermittently sent a faulty signal even when the car was sitting in a parking lot idling for a half hour. Every light on the dash, limp mode, no power steering, transmission wouldn't shift, etc. The tech thought it was either the sensor or the connector. He replaced both and I haven't had the issue in 4 years. Should have bene easily diagnosed by your dealer though. I even figured it out from a VCDS scan, so it couldn't be that hard.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
Should have bene easily diagnosed by your dealer though. I even figured it out from a VCDS scan, so it couldn't be that hard.
This is what I am leaning my hat on. They have a serious master tech on the case and multiple tickets in with the VW VTA tech line. I'd hate to think they are just tearing major components out of my car and replacing without confirming at least that it's not a battery. The left ABS sensor is certainly what was on my early target list, but has also apparently been ruled out by VW. More to follow.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
Canbus gateway replaced Thursday of last week. Next step was some mileage in the hands of the tech to diagnose. I haven't heard anything at all since. * gulp *

More to follow once I hear more. I hope this is it. My gut says we are back to diagnostic work again.
 

cb1111

Newbie
Location
Virginia, USA
Canbus gateway replaced Thursday of last week. Next step was some mileage in the hands of the tech to diagnose. I haven't heard anything at all since. * gulp *

More to follow once I hear more. I hope this is it. My gut says we are back to diagnostic work again.
Given the weather they may not have driven it yet.
 

maxwell

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Pitt
Car(s)
2018 GSW 6MT 4motion
Car is done. Gateway replaced. The issue has not returned after some diagnostic miles. Busy day today, picking the car up tomorrow.
 
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