Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Well tomorrow hopefully I'll have time to go poke around under the hood and see what's up. I'm tethering internet from my phone here though, so my connection isn't the best for researching things like this and trying to find tech manuals. Coolant temp sensor should be simple and cheap to replace though. The first step is determining what year the car is though :lol:

I spotted somewhere online someone with a similar problem said something about fuel pressure sensors too, but I'm not sure about that...
 
Engine not so great, transmission that's terrible... It was a CVT; the one I took on a test drive scattered itself (literally, as in the case broke and parts/fluid went everywhere) all over the onramp when I punched it with the salesdroid's approval. Handling was pretty bleah; despite a good chassis, the engineers had somehow managed to make it unacceptable to anyone - old people didn't like it, young people didn't like it, families didn't like it.

Wasn't just my opinion either, others discovered the miserableness. When Ford remade the 500 into the Taurus (not the current one, but the predecessor) the first thing they did was throw the CVT into the nearest dumpster. That thing was nightmarishly bad and along with the other major changes they made to the 500 to make it a New Taurus, it helped a lot.

I wouldn't give a Five Hundred to anyone I cared about. (And the sales numbers bore that out, it just didn't sell.)

Only the SE (and any AWD model) had the CVT, the rest had a conventional 6 speed autobox. I'm generally CVT averse but a lot of Freestyle owners say that as long as the 60k fluid change is done, it's pretty well sorted. Still, when my parents were looking at a change from the Sportage and saw a Five Hundred I told them to avoid any with the CVT. It did get great gas mileage though according to the reviews I read, and the one we eventually saw was deemed "pretty nice..a bit plain though.." I was impressed by the interior though, it doesn't come across as cheap at all, and this was a mid level trim.

It was a nice car, just trying too hard to appeal to everyone's need/want and not quite hitting the nail on the head for any of them. It was the Homer of the full size class. :lol:
 
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When I got in my car this morning, where it had had all night to dry off, there was no more creaking sound... but after about an hour in the rain, as expected it started creaking like an old barn door again.

On the one hand, it seems like something to not worry about since it only happens when it's massively wet. But on the other hand it does seem worrisome because unlike certain other noises on the MkVI, this one doesn't seem to be a commonly reported one among the owners.

Any ideas? I don't really know what the heck to do with it being out of the country.
 
:no: Even with subpar encryption it still is harder to steal than without that security system.

For casual car thieves. For a hypothetical professional targeting high end vehicles? You may as well own it.

"The reaction we got was that it would be cheaper to use a flatbed truck."
I know carmakers are increasingly shedding their truck divisions, but do they have ANY IDEA how much a proper medium duty truck chassis costs, nevermind the wrecker body? A $700 laptop and a $200 custom radio transmitter isn't going to break anybody's bank. Hell, a lot of these systems are vulnerable to replay attacks - just arrange for the driver to walk through an antenna loop (easily concealed by something like a doorway) with his keys and the game is over.
 
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Amusingly, some of the older aftermarket units were never cracked and will not fall to this kind of attack.
 
When I got in my car this morning, where it had had all night to dry off, there was no more creaking sound... but after about an hour in the rain, as expected it started creaking like an old barn door again.

On the one hand, it seems like something to not worry about since it only happens when it's massively wet. But on the other hand it does seem worrisome because unlike certain other noises on the MkVI, this one doesn't seem to be a commonly reported one among the owners.

Any ideas? I don't really know what the heck to do with it being out of the country.

Creaking noises in a brand new Golf GTI...I didn't expect to hear that. (and I'm not being sarcastic)
 
We had a 2005 Suzuki Swift that made a horrible squeaking noise from the front suspension after only a year. Never found out what it was because my dad was reluctant to have it looked at. You would hear it any time the car went over a bump, usually on the rebound. And this was a car with supposed Japanese quality.
 
Belt getting wet and slipping somewhat?

Even though I know nothing about mechanics, what you're describing sounds like what might be happening.

I asked around a VW forum and it looks like others are experiencing the same issue with wet conditions... so probably nothing terribly detrimental going on I'm hoping.
 
Hopefully decreased enough to go while under warranty? :D

I really don't know what to do yet... don't know if I'll be returning back to BC right away or in a few months, or if I'll drive again myself or have it shipped. I suppose I should do some research and see if VW Canadian warranty is honoured down here... not like there's much else to do with all this damn rain.

Edit: Any symptoms of a belt slipping other than the noise? I don't notice any difference in how the car or the steering wheel moves.
 
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So today I found that my CAF hose that goes into the air filter sort of collapsed on itself. As a quick bodge job I cut the hose off, leaving a (rather significant) gap between the hose and the filter. Could this be damaging to the engine if it is left like this?
 
For casual car thieves. For a hypothetical professional targeting high end vehicles? You may as well own it.

Like I said, even with subpar encryption it still is harder to steal than without that security system.

Hell, a lot of these systems are vulnerable to replay attacks - just arrange for the driver to walk through an antenna loop (easily concealed by something like a doorway) with his keys and the game is over.

Just walking through would be pointless. What do you want to capture when the key isn't transmitting anything?
Also, you would just get the remote central locking using replays, not the immobilizer.
Easiest way to get through the remote central locking? Walk through a supermarket car park with a VHF jammer in your pocket. Watch people press the button and walk away, without confirming their car actually is locked. Open car. Steal laptop. Walk away.
 
So today I found that my CAF hose that goes into the air filter sort of collapsed on itself. As a quick bodge job I cut the hose off, leaving a (rather significant) gap between the hose and the filter. Could this be damaging to the engine if it is left like this?

Yes. Engines do not run on pebbles, dust or anything else it can vacuum up from the road environment. Lack of filtration can cause massively accelerated engine wear. If you are unlucky, you can get a BerserkerCatSplat moment wherein your car sucks in a rock or someone's Torx bit left lying about and then you don't have an car any more, you have a multi-thousand pound boulder instead.

Don't repair it with duct tape alone, not even as a temp bodge. The engine will suck in the tape, and engines don't run on tape.

For that matter, have you thought about why the hose collapsed?

Just walking through would be pointless. What do you want to capture when the key isn't transmitting anything?
Also, you would just get the remote central locking using replays, not the immobilizer.
Easiest way to get through the remote central locking? Walk through a supermarket car park with a VHF jammer in your pocket. Watch people press the button and walk away, without confirming their car actually is locked. Open car. Steal laptop. Walk away.

The jammer might make it a bit difficult to sniff what you are trying to collect. :p

Also, many of these newer devices, especially the proximity keys, are actually two-way communication devices and you can prompt them to spew the code without the owner pushing a button.
 
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Yes. Engines do not run on pebbles, dust or anything else it can vacuum up from the road environment. Lack of filtration can cause massively accelerated engine wear. If you are unlucky, you can get a BerserkerCatSplat moment wherein your car sucks in a rock or someone's Torx bit left lying about and then you don't have an car any more, you have a multi-thousand pound boulder instead.

Don't repair it with duct tape alone, not even as a temp bodge. The engine will suck in the tape, and engines don't run on tape.

For that matter, have you thought about why the hose collapsed?
This is what I was thinking. Well the hose appears quite worn, I assume from age. I'll look at getting it fixed properly ASAP. In the meantime, presumably it would be better to repair it with duct tape than have nothing at all?
 
Again, have you considered why the hose collapsed? Even a weak old hose will generally not collapse unless some other cause intervenes.
 
Again, have you considered why the hose collapsed? Even a weak old hose will generally not collapse unless some other cause intervenes.

I don't know, it may have been like that when I bought the car - my father inspected it for me as I couldn't. And I should clarify, it was he who said it was a good idea to remove said hose, its going to get fixed properly. The car won't be or will barely be driven between now and when it is fixed, but if it has to be, would it be better to leave it as is or to make a temporary fix?
 
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