Passed Driver's Ed
Drives: 2004 Golf GLS 2.0
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 6
P0420 code seems to be corrosion on battery?!
Long story short: I have been getting an MIL light popping on and off for a few months. No quality degradation in driving, so I let it slide for a while. Now inspection is coming up and it is on, so I get it looked at.
"It seems to be your catalytic converter sir" I hear from my regular mechanic...
I think "Oh great..", but then realize that my 2004 golf 2.0 falls under the extended warranty protection plan that was recently mailed, so I go to bring it to the dealer.
Just because I do my research I have three more people pull these codes and take a look at the car. ALL three say that they think it is the converter.
I also read as much as I could on the P0420 code. I then bring it to VW DealerRIP and....
"Well sir it appears you have multiple codes for coolant temp, outright lie seeing as I have pulled the codes with my handheld and there is a single code, so you need to replace your coolant temp sensor and you also have corrosion on your terminal, so we recommend a ground cleaning and a new ground wire to coil before we can retest your converter. Right now we are certain that the converter is not the cause" All at the minimal expense of $433.98. So instead of grabbing the cash from my giant money bag I opt to get this double checked again by my mechanic.
Furthermore, I call around to other dealerships and act a bit dumb and run this by them and say that it is some local mechanic and I wanted to get a bit of background info on this before I let him do the work. The VW dealerships says it is highly unlikely, my mechanic straight up laughed and wished he owned that mechanic shop and another mechanic agreed with the second VW dealership.
So I am coming here for a bit on consolation..I am honestly just looking for opinions on this matter and a bit of help with getting some advice on handling a certified VW dealership that takes this route instead of fixes the real issue, has anyone else had this happen?
Thanks!
"It seems to be your catalytic converter sir" I hear from my regular mechanic...
I think "Oh great..", but then realize that my 2004 golf 2.0 falls under the extended warranty protection plan that was recently mailed, so I go to bring it to the dealer.
Just because I do my research I have three more people pull these codes and take a look at the car. ALL three say that they think it is the converter.
I also read as much as I could on the P0420 code. I then bring it to VW DealerRIP and....
"Well sir it appears you have multiple codes for coolant temp, outright lie seeing as I have pulled the codes with my handheld and there is a single code, so you need to replace your coolant temp sensor and you also have corrosion on your terminal, so we recommend a ground cleaning and a new ground wire to coil before we can retest your converter. Right now we are certain that the converter is not the cause" All at the minimal expense of $433.98. So instead of grabbing the cash from my giant money bag I opt to get this double checked again by my mechanic.
Furthermore, I call around to other dealerships and act a bit dumb and run this by them and say that it is some local mechanic and I wanted to get a bit of background info on this before I let him do the work. The VW dealerships says it is highly unlikely, my mechanic straight up laughed and wished he owned that mechanic shop and another mechanic agreed with the second VW dealership.
So I am coming here for a bit on consolation..I am honestly just looking for opinions on this matter and a bit of help with getting some advice on handling a certified VW dealership that takes this route instead of fixes the real issue, has anyone else had this happen?
Thanks!
