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Breakdown Spain. Advice welcome

dayslikethis

dayslikethis

VIP Member
Messages
594
Location
Tenby
Vehicle
T6.1 Ocean 204 4 motion
New 2023 6.1 4 motion. 5000 miles.
Couple of days into holiday whilst idling the engine cut out. It would not restart. On turning the key ignition kit up but nothing else. It wouldn’t turn over. Took key out and reinserted. After less than a minute it was fine and started. Stayed a couple of days on campsite. Started engine to raise Lowe roof. No problem with starting. Drove 120 miles today stopped for fuel en route. No problem. Arrived San Sebastián and whilst idling to enter an aire the engine stopped and would not restart. Warning triangle put on the road as it was congested yet within 5 minutes it started. Drove to local VW garage where it now sits and booked into hotel for the night. Fingers crossed for diagnostics but all thoughts welcome.
Ps VW European 24/7 assistance wereNOT easy to get hold of.
 
Last edited:
Last two trips to Northern Spain ( t5) have ended up at VW garages
 
Sorry to hear this. Sounds like a problem that will be fairly easy to pinpoint with a OBDII reader. Is it possible you have rodent damage? Any other symptoms? Does it run normally otherwise? What level are the diesel and AdBlue tanks? Possible airlock?
 
dayslikethis said:
Corradobrit said:
Sorry to hear this. Sounds like a problem that will be fairly easy to pinpoint with a OBDII reader. Is it possible you have rodent damage? Any other symptoms? Does it run normally otherwise? What level are the diesel and AdBlue tanks? Possible airlock?
Click to expand...
Thanks for response. Adblu say 7000 miles. Only use premium diesel and van has been driving really well. The garage intial thoughts were starter motor but I think not. They are plugging in first thing in morning and of course I will update forum with results. Thanks again
Click to expand...
 
Do you use the auto stop start feature? If you are idling I assume its disabled so would suggest another source of the problem. If its active, it could possibly be the starter motor.
 
Yes it is active and yes garage sort of said starter motor was a thought which means a few extra nights in the hotel I guess
 
UPDATE; diagnostic check showed no faults recorded. Test drive gave no issues. So it’s back in the van, switch the auto stop/start off and hope for the best. Three weeks of this trip left.
 
We had to use the vw garage in San Sebestian last week. No idea re your issue but it might be of some comfort to know we found the garage to be very professional and the costs reasonable for the repair we needed (abs sensor replacement).

Good luck
 
dayslikethis said:
New 2023 6.1 4 motion. 5000 miles.
Couple of days into holiday whilst idling the engine cut out. It would not restart. On turning the key ignition kit up but nothing else. It wouldn’t turn over. Took key out and reinserted. After less than a minute it was fine and started. Stayed a couple of days on campsite. Started engine to raise Lowe roof. No problem with starting. Drove 120 miles today stopped for fuel en route. No problem. Arrived San Sebastián and whilst idling to enter an aire the engine stopped and would not restart. Warning triangle put on the road as it was congested yet within 5 minutes it started. Drove to local VW garage where it now sits and booked into hotel for the night. Fingers crossed for diagnostics but all thoughts welcome.
Ps VW European 24/7 assistance wereNOT easy to get hold of.
Click to expand...
Loose wire on the alternator?
 
Cassidy_London said:
We had to use the vw garage in San Sebestian last week. No idea re your issue but it might be of some comfort to know we found the garage to be very professional and the costs reasonable for the repair we needed (abs sensor replacement).

Good luck
Click to expand...
Yes they were excellent and one young technician spoke great english. Warranty diagnostics for us. Now heading west. No repeat of issue so far
 
I mentioned lo
Anthony1 said:
Loose wire on the alternator?
Click to expand...
I mentioned the loose wire etc to technician and he said that the issue would have been recorded in the diagnostic history ?
 
dayslikethis said:
I mentioned lo

I mentioned the loose wire etc to technician and he said that the issue would have been recorded in the diagnostic history ?
Click to expand...
It might be a loose engine Earth strap/cable - Earth faults are notoriously difficult to diagnose.

It should be easy to check the main Earth cable as it is on the left side of the engine bay (facing the engine) it is a black cable that comes from the body of the van to the engine. It should have absolutely no play in it - just try and wiggle both ends. Circled in red. If it isn’t tight you can get intermittent operations and also it can get very hot if not done up correctly - so also look for any signs of heat in the plastic cable cover.

This is a picture of my T6 4Motion so might not look identical- but I can’t imagine they have changed the engine Earth locations

IMG_6243.jpeg
 
That’s really helpful. Thank you very much. I’ll check shortly and let you know
 
The two episodes happened after very long drives.
 
dayslikethis said:
The two episodes happened after very long drives.
Click to expand...
For the engine to cut out whilst running and there be no fault codes it must be a slightly obscure fault, hence suggesting Earth strap or power outage. When the engine stopped did you notice any of the other electrical items on the van stop working, ie did it look like loss of electrical power? If the power has been lost your power windows will not do an automatic close from the window switch unless reset.

I would also check the battery terminals are tight, esp if you think there was a power loss.

The key is the fact the engine stopped at idle with no fault codes.
 
Cassidy_London said:
We had to use the vw garage in San Sebestian last week. No idea re your issue but it might be of some comfort to know we found the garage to be very professional and the costs reasonable for the repair we needed (abs sensor replacement).

Good luck
Click to expand...
How much did they charge to replace the sensor. I always carry 2 with me now just in case. It seems the sensors have a limited life and I’ve replaced 3 out of the 4 on the van.
 
VW Motorsol in Barcelona are very California savvy. Call the service department and ask for Ferran. He has been a life saver for a group of us who are classical musicians/mountain climbers.
 
Drove 260+ miles today and no repeat thank goodness. Cables/wies checked as suggested and all seem firm
 
Cassidy_London said:
We had to use the vw garage in San Sebestian last week. No idea re your issue but it might be of some comfort to know we found the garage to be very professional and the costs reasonable for the repair we needed (abs sensor replacement).

Good luck
Click to expand...
The crazy coincidence is that our incident happened at the entrance to the aire which is just around the corner from the main VW commercial Cali dealer
 
Ozzy Pete said:
How much did they charge to replace the sensor. I always carry 2 with me now just in case. It seems the sensors have a limited life and I’ve replaced 3 out of the 4 on the van.
Click to expand...
From memory the diagnosis plus abs part and labour was eur140 ish. Thought seemed decent ?
 
Update - it suddenly stopped again today whilst getting vehicle onto chocks at campsite. Instrument panel lights came on but would not turn over. Turned ignition off. Left it a minute then it started. Back to VW when back in UK. Hopefully not before
 
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