My 98 Jetta stutters and has trouble starting. Thick white exhaust smoke...?

Question 1
My 98 Jetta stutters and has trouble starting. Thick white exhaust smoke...?...  About 2000 miles ago I was told I would need to get a new catalytic converter, I was only getting noise and some vibration so I decided to wait. Now I am getting some stuttering and loss of power and my check engine light has come on. The car had been sitting for 4 days and when I went to start it took a bit of effort. I got it down the road and then it stalled, almost failing to turnover again, and blowing thick white smoke out the tailpipe. Could this be a new issue or does it seem like its just time for the converter?

Answers
1)   Hmm. It could be the converter as well as other engine trouble. The catalytic converter if not serviced in a timely fashion could cause engine damage. Better tow it to a reliable and honest mechanic and see what they think. - zekemilli4

2)   You can go to most auto parts stores or even a WV dealership to check what codes you're throwing for free (assuming you can get there), then you can be more specific about the CEL you're throwing. You should check out http://forums.vwvortex.com, everyone there is going to be a lot more helpful than people making assumptions here - liqdseoul

3)   a bad exhaust is not good at all, if you dont have propper back pressure you WILL burn up your valves, crown your pistons or destroy your piston rings and cylinder. Hentz breaking your head gasket and making the white smoke. If it was hard to start also tells me that as it sat the 4 days antifreeze was leaking into the cylinder causing the hard start and white smoke.


Just my thought, Hope it helps - James

4)   It's not the converter. Sounds like you blew a head gasket. When water gets into the combustion chamber it comes out as white smoke, oil will look blue. But since it was hard to start I think it's your head gasket causing low compression which makes it hard for the car to start. The converter does not have anything in it that would burn and cause smoke. - uthockey32

5)   The noise(rattling in the exhaust as though something is loose) is the converter(broken apart inside) It is time for replacement. It could be a second issue totally unrelated to the cat. Blown(leaking) head gasket is possible. as you are seeing steam come out of the tailpipe as the coolant boils away. This is more a mechanic got to look at it thing(they have a "sniffer" to see if there is exhaust in your coolant(which there should not be)
The "cat" just rattles when it is worn out and makes your car sound like a piece of junk. At this point, it is no longer doing its function as "it is broken"...as its function was to reduce the CO released into the atmosphere. Got nothing to do with back pressure. It is required to function if you have an Emmissions check requirement in your area because it will not pass as is. - Xavwieztsky


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Question 2
2002 polo s sdi its a good car?...  

Answers
1)   every body hates this Little car - moh

2)   Avoid the SDI engines. If you want a diesel, look for a TDI. The car itself does have some common faults that are known. Axle and suspension issues are up there, along with gearboxes being dodgy. The interior is very dull and does not have the quality feel that the rest of the VW range has, although in general the car is put together better than it's French rivals or offerings from Vauxhall/Opel.

If it were me, I would look for a MK4 TDI Golf instead. The 1.9TDI. - vavavoom

3)   Very good car you might want to look at a SEAT ibiza same car but a bit cheaper. - bigs

4)   No, VW is one of the worst makes today. GM and Honda is the best. - p3200tmz

5)   Yes, the Volkswagen Polo is a VERY good car.

I have owned mine from brand new and it is just over four years old. In that time I have driven just short of 80,000 miles and I have NEVER had any problems with it at all.

Put it this way - I would rather drive a Volkswagen Polo than a crap Vauxhall Corsa or Renault Clio. - Fork UK


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Question 3
My air bag warning light is on and i don't why?...  My air bag warning light is on in my 2002 Volkswagen GTI i had it checked out and the air bag is fine but the light wont turn off whats could be wrong? Could it be a short?

Answers
1)   Well if you checked it out, then it must be a light problem. You can check out the manual to see if you can turn it off. Did you get it checked by a professional? You should if you haven't.

I thought my air bag light was on once, but it was a light just indicating that the air bag is functioning properly. - Andyy

2)   I would pull the air bag fuse out and bring it directly to a "dealer" not a gas station mechanic. you dont wanna be riding down the road then all of a sudden POP!!! face full of air bag!! - James

3)   VW's airbag light turning on can mean that there is either a problem with the system or that it is time to have your airbag system checked by a certified VW mechanic. In my 97 jetta that light came on a few years ago. I took it to a certified mechanic, and he told me that every so many years the light will automatically come on to remind the driver to have it serviced. - tweek639

4)   Whoever checked it out "didn't" Otherwise they would have fixed the light issue. Take it to someone who knows what the heck they are doing.

Yeah, that is a piss off. But you get to find out who knows what about what (fixing it in the process) and who just blows hot air. - Xavwieztsky


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Question 4
My VW Passat 2002, will not start sometimes after a short ride?...  After a short ride (5 to 20 minutes) it will not start, I have to crank several times and it will end up starting after 10-20 minutes ????

Answers
1)   dirty fuel system maybe a bad starter draging - kelly_f_1999

2)   Gotta guess and I am guessing vacuum leak....the first place I would check is vacuum lines and connections. At 8 years old those rubber hoses don't last forever so have probably gotten sloppy on their fitting to the connectors. Kinda like a stretched out sock where the elastic is gone. However in the case of hoses they get "rock hard" and you could not squeeze the ends closed with your fingers >like you would expect you could with rubber hose<. If that is the case, cut a half inch off the hose to fresh hose material and reinsert that onto the connector. - Pancho

3)   Get rid of it and get a better car. VW=money pit. - p3200tmz

4)   CTS sensor or the o2 sensor, are know to cause hot start issues,.... Replace the CTS sensor as they are less than 15 bucks at NAPA.

The last thing is when was the last time that you change the plugs cap and wires, and checked timing? - Briano


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Question 5
Why don't VWs have parking lamp mode on the light switch?...  

Answers
1)   Because they would be called BMW's then. - Lincoln Lover

2)   Because German engineering sucks. - Chevrolet See The USA #14

3)   Well the MK1's, 2's and 3's or A1.2,and 3's all had parking light modes on the switches, as well as the headlights being placed in park, if you left your lights on with the key out. So you need to be specific to the model and year that you are discussing. With the Advocacy of the DRL's, parking lights are pass'e now. - Briano

4)   The park lights act like daytime running lights, or something, I dunno. I disabled my DRLs so that I can actually control my headlights. - Richard R


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