Golf IV / Jetta IV :: 2004 - Getting CEL With Codes P3081 And P2181 - Overheating?
Jan 24, 2015
Bought a 2004 Jetta GLI about two weeks ago. Has 80,100 miles. Ran great for about the first week then the check engine light came on for no reason. It is spitting out two codes.
1) P3081
2) P2181
The car still was running good even with spitting these codes so I continued to drive it for another week. Today I was sitting in the parking lot of a store and the car was idling for about 25 minutes while I ran into the store and I come outside from the store and there was a huge lake under my car and the engine was running hot and smoking.
I let it cool down and poured some water into the over flow bubble looking thing and it didn't look like any water was leaking out.
When the water was leaking out it looked like it was coming from the left middle side of the engine.....
Also I would like to add that the car seems to always run a little cold.....it never runs just in the middle like most cars do...
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I just picked up a MK4 gls 1.8t jetta for a project car.... I wanted to keep the miles off my MK6 gti.... The jetta has 92k miles and the first thing I had done was the timing belt service done as well as a new alternator clutch pulley and oil change... 1 day after I got the car i was driving to work and the CEL came on took it to auto parts store... 2 codes came up
P0420: catalyst system. efficiency below threshold bank1
P2181 cooling system performance
I have the green sensor and I think its time to change the thermostat... My question is is it just a coincidence that both codes came up at the same time or is i possible it is a sign for something else... i just had the thermostat changed 10 min ago...CEL light is gone so i will wait to see if the cat code comes back.
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I was driving and my temp gauge said that it was around 260 and then my engine light came on. I scanned it and these 2 codes came up.
p0050
p3081
I looked the codes up but one said that it was a coolant problem and the other one said that the engine was too cool.
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Had a P2181 come up twice now... both on startup on a cool morning. Came on again this weekend. Monday morning I noticed a small coolant leak under the front of the car directly in line with the passenger headlight, but it only leaks if I park the car with the front down a slope. I parked uphill on Monday night and no leak in the morning, but I backed in facing downhill on Tuesday and had a small leak when I checked late last night.
So, last night I broke out the UV/black light -- G12 seems to fluoresce yellow'ish. I couldn't see much, so it is a small leak. There is some wetness on the bottom passenger side of the rad that's dripping over the back side of the front bumper/lip. No wetness around any other hoses, thermostat housing, temp sensor, turbo lines. But that's all from the top view. No time yet this week to get it up on stands to pull the bumper/splash shields for a closer look either.
I am little concerned tho as there's some wetness around the valve cover and when I pulled the oil cap my eyes suggested a bit of fluorescence under the cap and inside the valve cover. I'm a little worried oil and coolant may be meeting up somewhere... And to think... I was just in the process of getting geared up to do brakes and plugs before getting a modest tune (stage 1).
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Like the title states, I've got P2181 (coolant system performance) CEL on again. I've had this code before and finally had everything serviced. It was off for 5k miles! I've spent a lot of time diagnosing this on the previous occurrences, and was 99% certain it was the thermostat due to the coolant temp dropping a notch or so when engine braking* on the interstate for more than a few seconds.
The current issue is mainly that the car will not heat up quite as fast, but it will not go lower from engine braking for a good chunk of time. I'm getting fairly poor MPG compared to what I was getting a month or two ago. The major changes are winter fuel blends and winter tires, which I'm sure affect the MPG a little, but I would hope not as much as I am seeing. Old average was around 27mpg combined and 30 or so for mostly highway, now I'm getting 24 tops. This is likely due to engine temps not being up to allow for most efficient fuel burning.
First plan is to change the CTS and see if that will fix it. If the code comes back after that, I'll have to check the thermostat and coolant mixture, but I wouldn't expect it to last only 5k miles.
Current: 105k
Thermostat and coolant changed at 100k
Water pump at 80k
CTS sometime around 70k
Engine braking lowering temp due to no fuel being ignited and coolant still circulating through the system if thermostat open.
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I have a 04 jetta 1.8t that just randomly started having some overheating issues. I just got the car two days ago, and the first day I had it I replaces the coolant temp sensor due to a check engine light. Drove 50 miles and the light shut off. Just yesterday I was sitting in traffic and noticed the temp going above 190 (which it hadn't done in the 200 miles id driven it so far). I brought it home and once I was out of traffic and moving along the temp went right back down to 190. The only time it tries to overheat is when its sitting still or at idle (after reaching operating temp). which is weird.
I was parked in my driveway and let it sit at idle for a few minutes until the temp started significantly rising. i revved it to 2000 rpm (thinking it would rise even more), but to my surprise it instantly went down to 190 again. my big fan isnt running either, but my friend said he doesn't run fans in his and that it shouldn't overheat because of the fan. also, my top hose is warm to the touch, but the bottom isn't. I know your thinking thermostat, but if that was the problem it would :
1: always overheat, or
2: never overheat.
The temp wouldn't fluctuate the way it is.
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My 04' GTI, 24v VR6, all stock, @ 107,000. I had a coolant leak from the t-stat housing. I installed all new housing, seals, and C-Pipe from GruvenParts. Already had a green CT sensor installed and the kit I got didn't come with one, so I didn't change it. Found out the leak was from the t-stat housing o-ring didn't fit the old housing. The new one fits perfect. I put coolant on the seals and burped it. Doesn't leak a drop. But still overheating, all the hoses have pressure and are hot, so no blockage....I noticed the fans were not coming on at all. The fans used to engage every other minute and run for 15 secs on high ONLY. Longer times, if not constantly w/ A/C on. I was wondering how to test the fans, sender, and/or fan control module to see which one of them isn't working. And which pinouts are what?
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Ok so I have an 04 Jetta 2.0 and lately it's been overheating on me. The first time it started overheating was because my radiator was cracked and leaked out all my coolant, I swapped the radiator everything was fine for a while. The second time I started overheating, I saw my primary fan was bad it wasn't spinning at all, I swapped it everything was fine for another while. I also changed the coolant temp sensor, it wasn't bad it's just because the coolant flange was leaking coolant, so I changed it a long with the O-Rings and sensor. I also changed the thermostat just incase that was the problem but it wasn't.
I don't think the fans are turning on by them selves when they have too, but either way the car still overheats when I turn on the fans manually with the A/C. I'm not sure if the coolant is circulating, as the car only begins to overheat when I come to a stop and it idles. I have a feeling it's the water pump but I wanna be sure it is before I change it. What it could be? Things that I should check for that usually go out?
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First off new jetta owner. I changed the thermostat. There is no heat coming into the car upper radiator hose hot lower hose is cold & seems there is no pressure. I bought the book to repair the car but it doesn't give me troubleshooting directions other than it might be the water pump or a blockage in the radiator.
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I have an 04 gti 1.8t and last night it started over heating. I pulled over and checked the coolant and the oil but everything looked good. I let it cool down and drove it home. When I popped the hood there was a little steam coming from the coolant overflow tank but I saw no leaking. I decided to vent the pressure off the system and then I got a little drip on the passenger side close to where the inter cooler is. I can't pinpoint the leak though.
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I have a 2004 volkswagen jetta, and it has started overheating. At first my problem was the thermostat. After that was changed out the fans stopped working correctly. It kept blowing fuses in s180 slot.
I read somewhere in another post that this is due to the fact the resistor in the low speed fan go bad, and for your car's radiator fan to go from zero to high speed, causes the fuse to blow. Also I read that when the fans start up it draws the most current, and then after it's running the current is considerably less.
This is my solution, I went to napa, and got a circuit breaker for a car, and Yes, to my surprise they make them. I picked up several a 10amp, 15 amp, 20 amp, and a 30 amp. First, I tried the 30 amp circuit breaker and it didn't trip the circuit, but when I put a regular fuse in the slot, it did trip the circuit, when I did the fan test at the thermostat switch. Next, I put the 25 amp in there and neither did it trip the circuit. When I put the 10 amp in the s180 slot, it tripped the circuit, just as the regular 30 amp fuses do. So that confirmed that the amps that were being drawn from the fans were not enough to trip a 30 amp circuit breaker.
What I did next, is I took a 20 amp circuit breaker and put that in the s180 slot. Then I hooked up vag com on my laptop to check and see how it performed with the 20 amp circuit, and these are the results.
Car Temperature in celsius
at 111 degrees the gauge was moving past the halfway point
at 115 degrees the gauge was one notch past halfway going towards the red zone
at 120 degrees the gauge was two notches past halfway going towards the red zone
at 122 degrees the fans kicked on high speed for about 30 seconds, and knocked the
temperature down to 105 degrees.
In conclusion, if the high speed on the fans work, you don't have to take those out and go and buy an expensive new fan set. Just stick a 20 amp circuit breaker in the slot, and keep using the fans that you have.
Part no: 782-3154................ Name: Circuit Breaker, 20 Amp; Blade
Note: I take NO responsibility for any damage you do to your vehicle from any information you obtained from this post. Do this at your own risk! I am not a mechanical expert but this is my solution to the overheating problems.
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Yesterday I purchased an 04 Jetta 2.0 with 179k. It was super cheap and pretty clean. Needs work but I bought it to fix it and daily it. Anyway. When I initially went to look at the car, It started right up. after test driving it, I turned it off to make a deal with the guy. Then started it back up to pull on the trailer. Towed it home, Started right up again to get off the trailer. All was good.
This morning I go out, scan the codes (with an obdII scanner, not vag-com), get the codes, then erase them. Just to get a fresh start at the issues. I go to start the car, and it wont start. Turns over but doesn't fire. Could erasing the codes have done something?
Here's the codes that popped up in case they're important to this situation. P0043, P0102, P3081, P0113. I did scan the codes again after I erased them and it wouldn't start. P0043 is still there.
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I have been driving my car with a known P0016 and P0018 codes for quite a while. I know, I know.... Car was not worth sinking a lot of money into so we decided to run it till it died. It has run great for about a year but now it finally has problems. Day before it ran great. First thing in the morning it tried to start and then stalled. It will try and start and putt, putt two or three times and die. I think it has jumped timing. Before I trash it I would like to make sure that is the problem. My question is, can I check for a jumped timing chain at home without doing a major disassembly? I don't have access to a VAGCOM. If that is what happened I will get rid of it and move on but I would like to verify that is really what happened. There is no valve clatter so I don't think it jumped enough to damage the heads.
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The vehicle is a 2004 Jetta MK4 1.8t.
Last thing I had replaced about 2 months ago was the Solenoid valve, the MAF and Solenoid hose. Car ran fine for about a month, and bam...engine light came back on, along with the ASR light. At first it was saying "cat converter" so I researched that, and what a surprise, it spoke about being a $1k piece to replace. NOTHING HAS BEEN CHEAP ON THIS CAR, and I'm losing my mind.
The latest adventure happened today coming back from the gym. Car started jerking (which has been normal since every now and then the ASR light will come on, which I'm told is the traction control light. Causing the car to jerk. Simple fix is pulling over, shutting the car off, and turning it back on. That always clears it, and then I'm back on the road.) but instantly it lost power. It wont shift, but the traction control light didn't come on. I plugged my OBD2 tool up, and came back with these fault codes:
P0420: Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)
P0753: Shift Solenoid "A" Electrical
P2637: Torque Management Feedback Signal A
I'm going to go to these guys tomorrow, but I would just like to get an educated guess on what might be going on, so I don't look like a lost dog while they're figuring out what to do next. These guys seem knowledgeable, but they're missing something since I've been in and out of their shop several times and still getting my traction control light on at random times, and now all 3 of these codes.
Does that Solenoid code have anything to do with the Solenoid valve they put in? I was told that cleaning the throttle body and the cat converter might work. Would those be cheaper options to consider, and see if that works?
I also read that unplugging the alternator and plugging it back in, then cleaning the male and female with electrical cleaner might work. I was told about a month ago that my battery barely passed. Could this be causing any of my issues? I also did a log while I was driving, but all that's showing up is a google map document.
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My R is throwing a "P3081: Engine temperature: too low" code. The only mods I have done are a K&N Typhoon intake and the UM Tune. Any chance this code is happening because of the intake or is it something else? Car seems to be running fine - doesn't seem to be a loss of power or anything.
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So I start my car up a day ago and the check engine light turns on. So my dad and I plugged in our computer and it flips car code P3081. I did another search on google and a mk4 site popped up and said something about not reaching operating temp. So i guess my question is what would cause this to go off?
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I have a 2004 Passat V6. Couple of weeks ago the check engine light went on. I went to AutoZone and checked. The code read P3081 (low engine temperature). I knew it might be caused by bad coolant temp sensor or T-Stat sensor. I also experienced that the engine would not start occasionally (prior and post the light on).
My question is that whether the low engine temperature can cause the difficulty to start the engine? How can I figure out which sensor is bad?
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My CEL is on and the code is a p2181 (cooling system performance). My car isn't overheating or taking too long too warm up, so I'm guessing its not a bad thermostat or water pump. I want to replace the ECT sensor, but I haven't found any instructions for doing this on the 2.0TSI engine. Aren't there 2 ECT sensors? One on the lower radiator hose and one on the thermostat/water pump housing.
Lower radiator hose ECT sensor: [URL] .....
Thermostat/water pump housing ECT sensor: [URL] ....
Which one do I need to replace? The radiator hose ECT sensor seems easy enough to access, but I'm not sure what needs to be removed to replace the sensor on the thermostat housing?
I noticed that the temperature isn't always sitting at 190. It will drop slightly below on occasion for short periods of time. Could this actually be a thermostat issue?
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CEL came on yesterday and pulled P2181 which looks like it could be a bunch of different things. Taking it to the shop tomorrow morning so any guesses? BTW I would attempt the easy things first but it is my daily so.....
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I have a 2.0. Custom gt28 turbo project. Been up and running for awhile now. Took it on a 4 hr trip home and drove it back.
All of a sudden after the holidays it started to overheat and I had no heat. It will not overheat when idling. I replaced the thermostat recently. Lower hose gets warm when it opens. I replaced the green top sensor. I have done a wire tuck etc and I am running a closed coolant system. I believe I have gotten the air out of the system.
It will idle all day at 190. But as soon as I drive and accelerate hard or go over 50 mph it overheats and will not cool off unless I pull over and turn the car off. It will steam as if it's losing coolant somewhere but I think it's at the cap (too much pressure?).
I am thinking water pump but I am not sure. I got the car with 124k miles I'm at 127000. I was told timing was done at 90 could the pump be failing already? Also when it overheats I get a cel for misfire is that normal?
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My 2002 Jetta VR6 is overheating. The car only overheats when the car is not mobile. If I get stuck in straffic or just let it idle it will over heat. What could it be?
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