1999 Volkswagen Golf SE from UK and Ireland - Comments

Steering column (before I owned it) - don't know exactly what went wrong, but replaced under warranty.

Fan relay - engine fan and air-conditioning fans permanently running. Relay replaced under warranty.

Now have an intermittent starting problem that seems to be related to the immobiliser. Engine starts and dies straight away and it may take anything upto 10 - 15 attempts to get the car going. Sometimes goes for days without happening, but then comes back again. Anyone else experienced this? It seems to be getting worse so looks like another trip to the dealer! Warranty expired. Wife reluctant to drive car.

Oh...and drinks holder sticks!

This car is a bit of a 'mobile sofa' - comfortable and rides well. But wallows and feels heavy on twisty roads.

It's quite good looking and feels solidly built although in this case it's all a bit of an illusion!

I drive a 1995 Golf CL model and have experienced exactly the same intermittent starting problems that were described above. The problem seems to be worse in the rain, but is very unpredictable. Despite having been to two garages already (who have "repaired" both the immobiliser and the distributor) the problem remains. Can anyone shed any light on this puzzling problem?

Got the local VW dealership to look into this and they showed me a nice little printout with the words 'weak signal', i.e. key unable to transmit signal to immobiliser which is just about what I knew already! They offered me a new key at £134!! They suggested that this system is susceptible to radio interference, but we also own a Rover with remote locking/immobiliser that parks in the same places and it has never suffered this problem so is the VW system just a bad one? I now park the VW further away from my office building and have had no problems since (2 or 3 weeks) at that location so maybe it is interference due to proximity to the building. And I'm sure the extra walking is doing me good.

Hi Guys.

I ve got the same problem, the engine starts and dies immedialtely, after going to mechanics and checking fuel pump battery I finally found out there is a small sensor on top of the gearbox it's a 3 pin connector the sensor goes into the gearbox its kinda long thick stick, when I took the wire off from it it starts, I change the sensor, it works for just a day and then the problem came back, the car starts only when I took the cable off, otherwise its upto the car when it want to start.

Pls help me if somebody finds the problem what to do

to get rid out of this.

My email farhan@mdsuae.co.ae.

I own a 3dr 1.4s 1999 model and it has been nothing but trouble. A knocking noise on the passenger door took no less than 2 years and goodness knows how many trips to the garage to fix. Finally blamed on the door hinges not been strong enough for the 'larger' 3dr front doors.

On top of that I have had the boot lock replaced, both driver and passenger locks replaced. Both windows have fallen into the door and have their motor/regulator replaced (twice).

The car did not always start and at other times would just cut out - normally at the most inconvenient moments.

There have been more problems, I am going to request a 'history' from my garage so I can get a proper letter of complaint together.

Would love to hear from others with these problems.

Gavin.

Gavinbarker@hotmail.com.

We own a 1998 1.6 SE and are suffering from the same intermittent immobilizer fault described by the other contributors - the engine failing to start for no apparent reason. Our dealers have replaced both the key fobs and ignition barrel, but the problem remains. I believe there is a technical fault with the immobilizer's programming, does anyone else?

Rotating between the main and spare key weekly seems to help.

I have a 2000 VW Golf SE. It is a 'Friday afternoon' car and spent most of its first year of life in and out of the garage. Verdict: they don't make them like they used to! Most recent problem: Car fails to start and the immobilizer activates. This has happened twice in the last 6 weeks. The last time it happened, after about an hour of trying to start it, the VW Recovery man towed the car out of the garage and around the corner in readiness to tow it to the nearest main dealer. He decided to try the ignition again and it started first time. Theory: there is last radio mast near my house belonging to a CB enthusiast. Technician seemed to think that the radio interference was blocking the signal between the key and the engine. Hence the engine could not recognize the key. I phoned a few dealers who claimed they had never heard of this problem and VW customer Care didn't want to know. Having done a little research on the internet, it seems though that this is a problem affecting various makes of cars not just VWs possibly due to the increasing number of radio masts appearing (esp. for Mobile phones). I don't know what the solution is though, as the main dealer doesn't recognize the problem. Any further advice would be most welcome. carolyn.crompton@udex.com.