I have VW herpes. NOT THE SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED TYPE! I am stuck with my worthless 2015 VW Jetta Hybrid, like herpes. Hence, VW herpes. I found out early on that the car's value dropped like a rock. It’s currently worth $1k according to Carvana. This really isn’t an “I Hate VW” thread. My goal is to warn you that VW herpes is real. I will give you the short version and if you choose you can read the long version with all the details of how I got to this point.
Short version: About 2 months ago I was trying to fix my car from a check engine light. The Hybrid system doesn't turn on anymore and runs on the engine only currently. The Jetta Hybrid was discontinued after a short production life and has become very rare. Finding the actual part numbers is the problem. Wiring, relay, and fuse diagrams? Good luck. They aren't even in the car manual. I could purchase the actual repair manual, but at this point, I don't even want to spend another dollar on this car. The dealer charges by the hour to diagnose. Not happening. I am a true pioneer trying to fix this car. After researching and contacting some experts we have come to the conclusion that my 2015 Jetta Hybrid is an illegal European pre-production car or illegally imported into the USA. I was advised to get a lawyer and report to the NHTSA. I actually have a letter that somewhat proves this but not sure if it would be enough. There is also a way to check but I would need someone to run the Carfax for me. This link explains most of it in case you already think I am nuts but you might have bailed already LOL.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...s-certified-pre-owned-vehicles-300831362.html
I have considered contacting the lawyer but this will take a long time and at the end of the day I just want a new daily driver so I can do my job. I am to the point that I will just eat the negative equity and move on. I owe around $5k on it still. I cant wait any longer because I feel the car will just stop running at some point. It's going to be hard enough to get anything for trade with the CEL shining bright. The end of the month is coming and I hope to get lucky and find a dealer that needs a sale.
Long Version: When I lost my dream job about 6 years ago, I was forced back on the streets to hustle/sell. I had to give up the corporate gas card. I needed something with excellent MPG. It was between a Prius and the Jetta Hybrid. $10k off invoice, 0% financing, brand new and comfortable, and the hybrid system warranty was good for 100k miles. I chose the Jetta Hybrid. I figured I would trade it two years later. I was wrong. Two years into it I tried trading it and it was only worth $10k. I owed just under $20k so I decided to keep driving it. In reality, the car has been good until 2 months ago. I have serviced and maintained it meticulously and only changed O2 sensors, heater core, and blend door actuator. Easy fixes I did myself. The car is in great condition. Not perfect but clean.
About two months ago I was out in the field and started smelling an electrical short in the car. I pulled into the parking lot of my last account of the day and shut the car off. I could hear a whining high pitched noise coming from the engine. I popped the hood and saw smoke coming up from the bottom of the car. It sounded like an electric pump and the whining and smoke was getting greater. The key and the car were off but this pump was getting power from somewhere?? I was so disgusted that I shut the hood and walked into the account to finish my day. I hoped that the car would burn to the ground. When I walked back out the car was still there intact...UGH. It started up and the CEL popped on. I drove to the nearest AutoZone and they scanned it for me. P0556; Brake booster vacuum pump. Easy enough right? Wrong. I buy all my parts at vwpartssource.com in Countryside. The pump isn't listed as a part for my car, WTF? I drove the car onto ramps and pulled out the actual pump and luckily you could see the part number on it. I also replaced the pressure sensor and the relay which took them 3 days to find the schematic. $750 in just parts with a 30% discount. Installed all the new parts and nothing. No hybrid system and CEL burning bright. I ended up checking the wiring and found the pump was not getting power to it. I also checked the relay. It was getting power to the relay but whatever module controlled this function must have burned out or been damaged by the pump when it died and wont turn on the pump. This pump's main function is to keep vacuum in the brake booster when the engine is off and running in hybrid mode. It must have a fail safe switch which isn't allowing the hybrid system to kick in or the control module is toast.
I decided to borrow my bro’s Ross Tech diagnostic tool. Ran a scan and it wouldn't elaborate more than the P0556 code. I tried scanning the hybrid/electric motor system and it would not complete a scan. I figured it was damaged. $2k for a new one. Nope. I can't even find it in the car. During my internet research I came across a forum for Ross-Tech. They help out idiots like myself. I posted my dilemma. I could only find the main ECM on the car. The part number wouldn’t come up on the vwpartssource website so I called them and they couldn't find the number in their system either. I would have to bring in the car to get the part number scanned. When I googled the ECM number it brought me to an ebay vendor in Lithuania selling used ECMs with the correct number as on mine. When I mentioned that to the Ross-tech gurus, they were like, this is an illegal euro car. Lawyer up. If only you can prove it?! Then I told them I got a letter about a year ago for a recall. The recall stated that my car had a european tune and I needed to bring it in to get updated. I had blown it off because I had over 100k miles on it and thought they would deny me. They told me I might have a case but still need to check the carfax. This is where I am at currently....
Thanks for reading my story about my worthless 2015 VW Jetta Hybrid. Not a happy ending but the moral of the story is VW herpes is real.
Short version: About 2 months ago I was trying to fix my car from a check engine light. The Hybrid system doesn't turn on anymore and runs on the engine only currently. The Jetta Hybrid was discontinued after a short production life and has become very rare. Finding the actual part numbers is the problem. Wiring, relay, and fuse diagrams? Good luck. They aren't even in the car manual. I could purchase the actual repair manual, but at this point, I don't even want to spend another dollar on this car. The dealer charges by the hour to diagnose. Not happening. I am a true pioneer trying to fix this car. After researching and contacting some experts we have come to the conclusion that my 2015 Jetta Hybrid is an illegal European pre-production car or illegally imported into the USA. I was advised to get a lawyer and report to the NHTSA. I actually have a letter that somewhat proves this but not sure if it would be enough. There is also a way to check but I would need someone to run the Carfax for me. This link explains most of it in case you already think I am nuts but you might have bailed already LOL.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...s-certified-pre-owned-vehicles-300831362.html
I have considered contacting the lawyer but this will take a long time and at the end of the day I just want a new daily driver so I can do my job. I am to the point that I will just eat the negative equity and move on. I owe around $5k on it still. I cant wait any longer because I feel the car will just stop running at some point. It's going to be hard enough to get anything for trade with the CEL shining bright. The end of the month is coming and I hope to get lucky and find a dealer that needs a sale.
Long Version: When I lost my dream job about 6 years ago, I was forced back on the streets to hustle/sell. I had to give up the corporate gas card. I needed something with excellent MPG. It was between a Prius and the Jetta Hybrid. $10k off invoice, 0% financing, brand new and comfortable, and the hybrid system warranty was good for 100k miles. I chose the Jetta Hybrid. I figured I would trade it two years later. I was wrong. Two years into it I tried trading it and it was only worth $10k. I owed just under $20k so I decided to keep driving it. In reality, the car has been good until 2 months ago. I have serviced and maintained it meticulously and only changed O2 sensors, heater core, and blend door actuator. Easy fixes I did myself. The car is in great condition. Not perfect but clean.
About two months ago I was out in the field and started smelling an electrical short in the car. I pulled into the parking lot of my last account of the day and shut the car off. I could hear a whining high pitched noise coming from the engine. I popped the hood and saw smoke coming up from the bottom of the car. It sounded like an electric pump and the whining and smoke was getting greater. The key and the car were off but this pump was getting power from somewhere?? I was so disgusted that I shut the hood and walked into the account to finish my day. I hoped that the car would burn to the ground. When I walked back out the car was still there intact...UGH. It started up and the CEL popped on. I drove to the nearest AutoZone and they scanned it for me. P0556; Brake booster vacuum pump. Easy enough right? Wrong. I buy all my parts at vwpartssource.com in Countryside. The pump isn't listed as a part for my car, WTF? I drove the car onto ramps and pulled out the actual pump and luckily you could see the part number on it. I also replaced the pressure sensor and the relay which took them 3 days to find the schematic. $750 in just parts with a 30% discount. Installed all the new parts and nothing. No hybrid system and CEL burning bright. I ended up checking the wiring and found the pump was not getting power to it. I also checked the relay. It was getting power to the relay but whatever module controlled this function must have burned out or been damaged by the pump when it died and wont turn on the pump. This pump's main function is to keep vacuum in the brake booster when the engine is off and running in hybrid mode. It must have a fail safe switch which isn't allowing the hybrid system to kick in or the control module is toast.
I decided to borrow my bro’s Ross Tech diagnostic tool. Ran a scan and it wouldn't elaborate more than the P0556 code. I tried scanning the hybrid/electric motor system and it would not complete a scan. I figured it was damaged. $2k for a new one. Nope. I can't even find it in the car. During my internet research I came across a forum for Ross-Tech. They help out idiots like myself. I posted my dilemma. I could only find the main ECM on the car. The part number wouldn’t come up on the vwpartssource website so I called them and they couldn't find the number in their system either. I would have to bring in the car to get the part number scanned. When I googled the ECM number it brought me to an ebay vendor in Lithuania selling used ECMs with the correct number as on mine. When I mentioned that to the Ross-tech gurus, they were like, this is an illegal euro car. Lawyer up. If only you can prove it?! Then I told them I got a letter about a year ago for a recall. The recall stated that my car had a european tune and I needed to bring it in to get updated. I had blown it off because I had over 100k miles on it and thought they would deny me. They told me I might have a case but still need to check the carfax. This is where I am at currently....
Thanks for reading my story about my worthless 2015 VW Jetta Hybrid. Not a happy ending but the moral of the story is VW herpes is real.
