2005 Bettle just bought from used car lot. Engine light + More. NEED HELP!

[bettlenewbie]

My girlfriend bought a 2005 beetle.
2.0 gas.

She buys it... the guys at the used car dealership (not a VW one) tell her it has an aftermarket air filter on it.

Next day a check engine light comes on.
She does'nt notice tell almost a week after buying the car.
I tell her to take it in.
They say they fixed it and that it was the "air filter"

I am well aware of the difference in a box air filter and the filter that goes to a CAI.

I open the the hood and find an aftermarket CAI... not a box air filter.
I also notice a small place for a hose to go right where the filter is.. But strangely no hose it attached to it.
Welp tonight her Check engine light comes back on and now I am VERY worried.

Obviously these guys did not replace the CAI or the intake filter itself (very dirty cone filter)

I am wondering if the shop just turned the engine light off and did NOTHING else.
The other valve where the hose is missing by the intake filter also worries me.
And the fact that I know that with alot of cars you must retune your computer. If you dont with a CAI your car can run too rich or lean and cause engine damage.

I am also worried about the contaminates that have gone through the throttle body since that valve is right next to the filter and is not covered. My guess is that it has been sucking in dirty air every since that person put the aftermarket CAI on. For all we know it could have been when the car was brand new in 05.

I am no beetle expert. I am really a ford Mustang guy.
But one of the first mods we do is a CAI and a computer tune with it.

I am going to take it to the VW shop tommorrow and show them everything.
The used car lot I do not trust. She had a radio out at first that they replaced with a aftermarket radio... had a speaker busted that they said they would replace but she would have to pay for (after telling them that if anything goes wrong in the next 2 yrs they would fix for free)... then they said they fixed this problem and did not.
Her and her mom bought this car and they have NO experience or knowledge on doing that.
I will feel really bad if something bad happens. I told them to make sure they had any car they seriously considered taken to a mechanic first but I think they forgot, or the salesperson sweet talked them into trust.

I was wondering though if the Beetles usually require re tuning like the mustangs do when a aftermarket CAI is put in.
Now if I could get some advice from yall I would really appreciate it.

Also I was wondering... if it turns out this is a bad problem is there anything legally we have for us that she can return the car? We are in Texas.
I know there are lemon laws but I thought they only applied to new cars and this car is a 05 with about 60k mi. on it.

[simonsi]

You need to get it scanned for codes to find out what the car isn't happy with, if you have a laptop then the software is free and you need a cable off eBay for $20 and you can scan it yourself.

CAI's can cause problems with the fuel injection system by contaminating the Mass Airflow Meter (MAF) with oil from the cone filter (if it is one of the oiled type). Fix is to remove the filter and replace it with stock or a non-oiled cone filter and clean the MAF.

Either way ALL air into the engine should go through the filter so that open hole is bad.

I'd do a compression test and work from there, if the dust/dirt has caused undue wear it will show there.

If that is good and they are keeping the car then replace the duff CAI type filter (stock is good), scan for codes and service the engine properly, the oil change should remove any other fine contaminant that has got in, and hopefully all will be well.

As the MAF is after the CAI then normally it doesn't affect how the engine runs.

Legally, no idea, I'm in the UK

[huck731]

I have to disagree with simonsi on the oil-type filter because i have had no problem with mine. have it checked immedietly. clean or replace the filter depending on what you want to do in that area. I did not have to re-tune the computer when i put on my cone filter or exhaust. if this opening is after the maf (closest to the throttle body) the car will run like ****. trust me, i had it happen to me today on my way home from work when my tires spun and got traction (the filter came off after the maf). put it back on and ran good again. takes about 2 on-off cycles to clear the code and maybe some driving. also, if you are having these problems, you might want to check the timing belt and especially the water pump. idk how much it cost, but maybe have a vw dealer do the "prep-loved" certification check on it to find other things that may be wrong.

[simonsi]

Originally Posted by huck731

I have to disagree with simonsi on the oil-type filter because i have had no problem with mine.

I don't doubt, that is why I said they "can" cause issues, obviously a filter with no oil cannot contaminate the MAF.

[The Cheat]

first, pics of the cai setup. i can probably figure out what goes in the open hole from that.

second, never trust anything from any shop or dealership unless it's IN WRITING.

third, speakers are never warrantied on a used car.

fourth, get me the p-codes when you can. most likely, it's throwing a code relating to unmetered air.

fifth, it's beetle.

welcome.

[Pseudotropheus]

Jst take it back and raise hell. Thats what I would do. They dont want bad publicity. Make them fix it. Thats what I did! they sent about 1K on they car after I bought it.

[bugdaddy]

Put a VW factory set up back on. Whenever you buy a used car
you have to expect to do some work on it.

[bettlenewbie]

Wow... update.

Took it to the VW dealership.
Turns out it was a bad catalitic converter that was giving the engine light.

Bad news right? Wrong...
They replaced it for FREE.
Said it had some warranty on it.

As for the CAI. I cant tell if it is a CAI or a Ram intake.
(dunno the difference). With Mustangs they just have CAI's.
Anyways the mechanic said the opening that looked like where a hose should go right next to the filter was actually something that was not for a hose but to be capped (dunno why they would make a place right by a filter for the purpose of capping only so I am not to sure of this)
He did not think the CAI or RAI or whichever this damn thing is was causing any problems.
My commone sense tells me that unfiltered air going into the Throttle body would NEVER be good and SHOULD cause problems though.
Anyways... it has been capped.


So we are going to see how the car runs for the next couple of days and if any more errors come up Im gonna tell her to ask VW how much a stock intake costs. I looked at aftermarket ones and they seem to go from 200-300 bucks.
If another check engine light appears. Back in the shop it will have to go again.
Hopefully that wont happen.

Do any of you know how I could find this out?
She has a 2005 2.0L that runs on gas NOT diesel.
After she gets off work I will take a couple of pics of the current one and post them up.

In the mean time again... where can I look up the stock one and how much it would run?

OH. one last thing..The filter itself is DIRTY. how can I tell if it is an oiled one or not?

[simonsi]

Originally Posted by bettlenewbie

OH. one last thing..The filter itself is DIRTY. how can I tell if it is an oiled one or not?

Can you tell what brand it is K&N will be oiled for instance. Good result on the cat!

I would try and source the stock filter box from a salvage yard and just put a new stock air filter in it, no real need to spend $ on the std filter box, just get a straight one, clean it and it will be good to go.

[bugdaddy]

The reusable oiled filters like a K&N have a screen on the
pleated filter material, paper filters dont.

[Canadianbugin]

I would find one in the junk yard and put it on if you have further problems with it..... Otherwise just clean the filter you have.....but don't over oil it...