Over 261,000 Golf, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Sportwagen, Alltrack, and A3 owners received a notice in February 2024 about a possible fire hazard. The notice read, “The suction jet pump inside the fuel tank is designed to purge fuel from the Evaporative Emissions (EVAP) system. If a specific seal inside an affected suction jet pump fails, the fuel may flow directly into the EVAP system. If this happens, fuel could accumulate in the EVAP system and may leak through the charcoal canister filter element. Leaking fuel, in the presence of an ignition source, may result in a fire.” This is an exceedingly rare possibility! Still, Volkswagen elected to replace the entire suction pump part on all affected cars. My car had been exhibiting intermittent symptoms that may have been caused by a malfunctioning suction pump… maybe. Having over 233,000 miles on my car, I was happy enough to receive a free part. There was one major challenge to getting the work done, however. The suction pump is in the fuel tank. Guess where the access cover for the fuel tank is located?

That’s right! The fuel tank is accessed by removing the rear seat. If you’re familiar with my car, then you know that I have a 1280 watt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery where the rear seat once was. There is no way that I’d let anyone else work on that battery, much less remove it! Removing it requires the tedious unclipping and disconnecting of dozens of wires, as well as the electrical safety precautions that go with working with secondary power sources. I postponed removing the battery until I knew that my travel schedule would be clear. Oddly enough, I had not labeled the wires since I counted on knowing their identity based on the fuse to which each was attached. Since every wire had to be disconnected, I finally needed to label everything properly, another tedious task.

I called my local Volkswagen dealership after I had removed everything. The service department didn’t answer. Unfortunately, I was not surprised when the service advisor didn’t return my call or respond to my message. Their phone service, whether for service or parts, kind of sucks! I called again after a few days and spoke to someone who I thought was the dealership receptionist. I told her that I needed to schedule an appointment for a recall. I knew something was fishy when her first question was, “Did you purchase the car here?” I didn’t because my car, the exact trim and color that I wanted, was 70 miles away. A dealership that has a specific car will almost always offer the best deal on its purchase! She told me that recalls were on hold due to a parts shortage and that she’d call when the parts were available. As she took my information, I learned that she was at a central office and not at the VW dealership at all. Therefore, she fed me all of that “parts shortage” BS without even knowing the nature of the recall or what brand of car I was having serviced! So LAZY!

I immediately called the dealership where I purchased the car and scheduled the recall for the following week. There was no mention of a parts shortage or even a delay. It was inconvenient to drive 90-minutes each way for a recall that should have been supported by any dealership, but it was easier than dealing with excuses, more poor service, or lies. I tidied the area surrounding the fuel tank access cover and left a note for the technician. The note explained that the plastic bags, shown in this photo, were restraining dozens of wires and to contact me in the waiting room if anything needed attention. I arrived at the dealership thirty minutes before my 8am appointment. The service advisor informed me that I might receive a message with service recommendations since the car had not returned to the dealership for service before. For example, they have no record of my spark plugs, air filters, brake fluid, or other items ever being replaced. So, the tech was going to recommend some work.

I received a text message with a “multi-point inspection” video. The tech explained his recommendations. Sure, I understood that he’d blindly recommend a few things based on a lack of evidence that the work had been done. But I was rather amused when he pointed at my brand new coolant reservoir with fresh pink coolant and recommended replacement because it should look like the sample bottle in his hand. It was as if he didn’t even look at what his own camera saw! 😀 He also recommended a $500 “Automatic Transmission Fluid Exchange” on a car with a manual transmission that accepts just $140 worth of fluid. In short, I rejected over $2000 worth of “Immediate Attention Required” maintenance. All of it had been done earlier in the year, either in my driveway or at an independent shop. I can only imagine how many people blindly accept the dealer recommendation and just pay the charge! On the other hand, should I be upset that he didn’t mention the VAQ differential fluid? Nah, I’ve done that, too, TWICE. 😉

The aux battery waiting at home to be reinstalled…

I don’t mean to disparage the mechanic! I’m sure that dealership managers put a lot of pressure of them to “find work” so that the business can make money. Most of what he recommended was based on the lack of proof that the work had already been done. Overall, the work that he performed appears to have been done competently and with diligence to avoid any fuel spills. There was a slight odor of gasoline vapors in the car. Most forum users report that it dissipates after a few days. The odor in my car is virtually gone now. With that said, I still choose to avoid having work done at the dealerships, as do many VW enthusiasts. I do some work myself; plus, I have an excellent mechanic who got his start at a dealership decades ago. He’s an ace now, for sure!

Fun story about the visit: The service advisor told me that he went to the service bay to find a mechanic. “Where is everyone?” He said that they were all in front of my car looking at my website. Apparently, they were trying to figure out what’s going on in my car and whether I’m storm-chaser. I get that a lot.

Anyway, I’ve refueled once so far. There were no leaks and my intermittent hot start issue has not occurred so far. I will continue to monitor and be pleased if it’s gone. Now it’s time to reinstall the auxiliary battery, along with a few wiring upgrades. I’ve been driving without radios, the infotainment system, and the reverse camera for almost two weeks. I’m looking forward to a return to normal!

UPDATE: The intermittent hot start issue is not resolved. I had a hard start about three-quarters of the way through my third tank after the recall. I’m pondering the possibility of the issue being associated with an intermittent O2 sensor fault.

Fire-Free?

Scott