The right rear caliper on my son & daughter in law's Jetta would not release. She tried driving this way and overheated the clutch. Luckily the clutch is still ok. We replaced the caliper but the problem persisted. We then thought it might be associated with the hill hold feature so we took it to Auto Nation VW in Spokane Valley, WA.
They told us that the problem was an aftermarket caliper which we installed. I knew that was BS because it was acting exactly the same as when the old caliper was on. They charged them $159.00 for this "diagnosis". I told my son to drive it around the block and bring it back because I figured it would lock up again. Sure enough, the brake locked up and he dropped it off again with the mechanic scratching his head.
The dealer called a few days later and said the Jetta needed a new master cylinder and brake booster for $1600.00. This didn't sound right because we bled the brakes when we put on a new caliper - it seemed fine, and only one brake was locking up. We towed the car home and put it up on blocks to inspect the brake system ourselves because I lost all confidence in the dealer at this point.
All of the brake lines meet at the ABS pump unit so we suspected this was bad. We bought a used one on EBay for $99.00 and installed it and bled all of the brakes. Brakes now work good and no more locking up, but the ABS dash lights are on so it probably needs reprogramed but at least she can drive it.
The right rear caliper on my son & daughter in law's Jetta would not release. She tried driving this way and overheated the clutch. Luckily the clutch is still ok. We replaced the caliper but the problem persisted. We then thought it might be associated with the hill hold feature so we took it to Auto Nation VW in Spokane Valley, WA.
They told us that the problem was an aftermarket caliper which we installed. I knew that was BS because it was acting exactly the same as when the old caliper was on. They charged them $159.00 for this "diagnosis". I told my son to drive it around the block and bring it back because I figured it would lock up again. Sure enough, the brake locked up and he dropped it off again with the mechanic scratching his head.
The dealer called a few days later and said the Jetta needed a new master cylinder and brake booster for $1600.00. This didn't sound right because we bled the brakes when we put on a new caliper - it seemed fine, and only one brake was locking up. We towed the car home and put it up on blocks to inspect the brake system ourselves because I lost all confidence in the dealer at this point.
All of the brake lines meet at the ABS pump unit so we suspected this was bad. We bought a used one on EBay for $99.00 and installed it and bled all of the brakes. Brakes now work good and no more locking up, but the ABS dash lights are on so it probably needs reprogramed but at least she can drive it.
- jacobs552cj, Spokane, US