engine turns off after 20 mins HELP

[swopedeb]

My daughter's 99 Beetle GLS automatic (gas) car is stoppping after 15 mins of driving...it's like she just turned the car off. I'm driving up to her school tomorrow and towing it home.
I don't want to be taken advantage of or have unneeded parts replaced. Any insight would be so appreciated. I'm trying to list all info/probs incase they are somehow linked. The speedometer also will not register above 58mph( seems to be accurate up to that speed). The key has also been dropped in water, which makes the lock unlock button not work. She took it to Autozone and they pulled codes:
PO322 Ignition/Dist Eng Speed input circuit no signal
PO303 Cylinder 3 misfire
PO171 system too lean (bank 1)
PO501 Veh speed Sensor A Range/Performance

thank you in advance for ANY help. Deb

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by swopedeb

My daughter's 99 Beetle GLS automatic (gas) car is stoppping after 15 mins of driving...it's like she just turned the car off. I'm driving up to her school tomorrow and towing it home.
I don't want to be taken advantage of or have unneeded parts replaced. Any insight would be so appreciated. I'm trying to list all info/probs incase they are somehow linked. The speedometer also will not register above 58mph( seems to be accurate up to that speed). The key has also been dropped in water, which makes the lock unlock button not work. She took it to Autozone and they pulled codes:
PO322 Ignition/Dist Eng Speed input circuit no signal
PO303 Cylinder 3 misfire
PO171 system too lean (bank 1)
PO501 Veh speed Sensor A Range/Performance

thank you in advance for ANY help. Deb

P0322--I'd guess has something to do with the cam and/or crankshaft position sensor(s) because this car has no distributor--it has a coilpack. A generic OBD II scantool like Autozone uses is not quite detailed enough here. A VAGCOM(Ross Tech) or VAG1551-2/VAS5051-2(Dealership) scan would probably pinpoint the issue more and not give this general problem code.
PO303--Probably ignition wire, could be the plug and/or coilpack.
PO171--Check the vacuum lines, the old cloth braided ones are junk--replace w/ silicone, the other codes could be effecting the mixture so if you fix the others and replace the vac lines this one will probably stay gone.
P0501--Located on top of trans to the end away from engine it is secured by one bolt and has a wire lead coming from it. Unfortuneately it is covered by the trans mount so it has to be removed to do this replacement.

Now, if this was my car, based solely on the info you provided, I'd replace the crank and cam position sensors, plugs & wires, vacuum lines and trans. speed sensor. I'm a DIYer.

Now, since I do have access to VAGCOM I'd try to get a better read on the PO322, maybe only need 1 sensor or a coilpack or something different, but I'm with you--I don't like to just throw money and parts at a problem hoping to fix it. Good luck and be honest--this car has been sporting a check engine light for a while now, huh?

[swopedeb]

Bill, Thank you so much for your help. I can stop by VW dealership with Beetle as I tow daughters car home today..... "check engine light for a while now, huh?"..... The light was not on in August this year....but this is my daughters car that is a couple hours away at college. She says light came on 6-8 wks ago, speedometer probs. noticed about same time, the engine dying problem has been going on for 2 weeks...at first just happened randomly, last 4 days days if driven it will cut off after 15 - 20 mins max. Must wait 30 mins. before it will start.
Everytime I've replaced part I had to purchase it thru dealership, Autozone, Napa, and car mechanics all tell me the parts are proprietary( even the bulbs in the headlight!)
What can I expect to be charged by dealership to charge to pull the codes with their VAG1551-2/VAS5051-2? Also where would I go to get codes read by a A VAGCOM(Ross Tech) ? I'm sorry this is so long and all the questions,my mechanical knowledge is very limited for autos in general BUT on the new Beetle my knowledge is almost non-existant! Thank you again for all of the help and suggestions. I'd be appreciative if you can answer some of the above too. thanks! Deb

[Smileybug]

The car shops don't know what they are talking about. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. A lot of the parts you can get online and other various places other than the dealer. You can also get headlight bulbs at autozone. Trust me, I have a '99 as well and bought headlight, tail light and license plate bulbs from there.

Dealer will charge probably $90-$100 just to pull codes. Best bet is to find out if there is a local shop with a VAG-COM or just a person in your area. I think there is a good section on VW vortex with info on that, but I'm not positive. My future-father-in-law has a VAG-COM so I haven't had to worry about it.

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by Smileybug

The car shops don't know what they are talking about. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. A lot of the parts you can get online and other various places other than the dealer. You can also get headlight bulbs at autozone. Trust me, I have a '99 as well and bought headlight, tail light and license plate bulbs from there.

Dealer will charge probably $90-$100 just to pull codes. Best bet is to find out if there is a local shop with a VAG-COM or just a person in your area. I think there is a good section on VW vortex with info on that, but I'm not positive. My future-father-in-law has a VAG-COM so I haven't had to worry about it.

autozones will get you codes for free

[Smileybug]

They already got codes from Autozone.

It was a suggestion to get it done with a VAG-COM to get a better idea of what that first code was.

Autozone is good if you want to pull codes, as they will do it for free. But they are often general codes and don't point you exactly where they need to go.

[savethebluths.org]

I cant ******* stand when places blatantly lie about that stuff, most of the damn time they buy there stuff from the SAME places us DIYers do.


Grrr.

[swopedeb]

Well my daughters Bug surrived the tow to mechanic. Kinda hoped it would fly off the dolly and disintegrate (as long as it didn'thit anyone else), BUT she arrived safely. Thanks for all replies. I will post the details of the repair and cost when I get the Bug back. Thanks again, Deb

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by swopedeb

...the engine dying problem has been going on for 2 weeks...at first just happened randomly, last 4 days days if driven it will cut off after 15 - 20 mins max. Must wait 30 mins. before it will start.

The code leads me to believe theat the ECU computer is not getting any signal periodically on the rotational speed of the engine or the exact position of the crankshaft/camshaft which it needs to know so it can inject fuel at the right time and fire the plugs at the right time.

Everytime I've replaced part I had to purchase it thru dealership, Autozone, Napa, and car mechanics all tell me the parts are proprietary( even the bulbs in the headlight!)

The headlight bulbs are H1 and can be bought anywhere auto parts are sold--including Walmart* and etc. for about $6 each.

What can I expect to be charged by dealership to charge to pull the codes with their VAG1551-2/VAS5051-2? Also where would I go to get codes read by a A VAGCOM(Ross Tech) ? I'm sorry this is so long and all the questions,my mechanical knowledge is very limited for autos in general BUT on the new Beetle my knowledge is almost non-existant! Thank you again for all of the help and suggestions. I'd be appreciative if you can answer some of the above too. thanks! Deb

Learning a little bit about autos will save you plenty of $$ over your lifetime--just think, replace the NB headlight yourself for $6. Don't get taken by a mechanic who takes advantage of your lack of knowledge, etc. Good luck w/ the repairs.

[2005Beetle]

I went to PepBoys to pull codes because the commercial jingle was in my little head, "When the light comes on..." Lot of air in there.

But it was free and I was able to pinpoint the air leak that the shop left disconnected/damaged when they replaced my transmission.

Now I just have to figure out why the Tiptronic doesn't work.

All this talk about Vagcom gets me interested in computer hardware. I took a computer architecture class once where we learned about the 0s and 1s inside computers. Remember Herbie? He had some special mods