Driving on 3 coils?

[Turkey]

I know that it's not a good idea, but my car is 5 minutes (3.9km says google) from fifth ave vw. Is it worth the tow? Or could I wait until tonight when there's no traffic and carefully drive it down.

[Tiki]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

i drove mine alot farther on 3 coils multiple times. just dont hammer it. only bad thing i can see is it dumps fuel through your exhaust so it ca melt the internals of the cat(i didnt have one)

[aliencurv]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

yah man, drive away. if you can, unplug the injector on that cylinder with no coil.

my buddy blew his engine last year at the track which was 2 hours away from his home. i pulled his injector and plug wire and off we went. he drive on 3 cylinders for 2 hours

could have driven for ever. just make sure there is no fuel going in there, or you'll be getting ur oil changed right away

[J-hop]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

well if you absolutely have to, just make sure you barely touch the throttle.

Is it a 24v VR? if so the coils will honestly take you less than 30seconds to replace, it really isn't worth bringing it into the shop as when I did (when I first bought my car and didn't realize how easy it was) they charged me i think around $150 to do it, because they charged me for the diagnostic fee which I didn't need, 1/2 hour of shop time and the part.

I think the coils are around $30 at the dealer.

If you have a 1.8T i can't comment as to the ease of replacing them but from the looks of it, it looks like a 30second job as well.



**Edit:** just looked through your old posts and realized you have a 1.8T, but it is still pretty straight forward, just get someone with a basic scanner to scan your car you will get a code that is P030x where the x is the cylinder number, cylinder 1 is on your accessory side of the engine and 4 is on the transmission side. Then follow the following DIY to save yourself a bunch of time and money:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2964360

[VW337]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

If you have a 1.8T i can't comment as to the ease of replacing them but from the looks of it, it looks like a 30second job as well.

Yea the 1.8T's just pull out and you put the new one, unless it's coil #4 in which case you have to remove 3 small bolts before you can replace the coil.

[Khyron]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

Get on your bike, go buy a coil for 30 bucks and ride back. Pick up a burger on the way for your calories burnt to boot.

I did mine one time on the side of the road trial and error. Swap #1, still smells like rotten eggs/runs rough, switch next, etc. Need an allen key to get at the last one, it's 2 bolts super easy. But check it last.

If you use a vagcom make sure you have the cyl numbers. It's 1/3/4/2, 1 always closest to the timing belt (pass side on a mk4)

[Turkey]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

Thanks for the replies guys. I got an appointment at 5th ave for first thing this morning. When I talked to the service person on the phone, she strongly recommended that I not drive it. She said that if it is in fact the coils, where it's a recall issue, I can send the tow receipt to VW for a full refund.

So I had it scanned (it spit a code for the number 3 coil) and called the tow truck.

I was also thinking about just picking up a coil and poping it in until I heard back from 5th ave.

[P Arkus]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

Really? they will refund your towing? When the Brake Light Switch crapped out of the 2.0 (was also a recall Item), SCFC said I have to tow it at my expense if I want it done under the recall. So I bought the part for $8 and did the 15 min job myself! Another reason 5th ave is considered the best dealership in Calgary. SCFC is a f*ckin joke!

[luunta]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

recalls on all of those coils. i forgot about that. lucky you!

[J-hop]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

If you use a vagcom make sure you have the cyl numbers. It's 1/3/4/2, 1 always closest to the timing belt (pass side on a mk4)

isn't that the firing order not the cylinder order???? the cyls should be numbered 1,2,3,4 from timingbelt/accessory side to transmission.


op hopefully you get covered under the recall. Probably best not to drive it, it is possible to but kind of hack style unless you are in a pinch, the most i've ever driven on a dead coil was 1.5 blocks back to my garage.

[Khyron]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

I'm not going to bet money on it but I'm pretty sure cyl 2 is the far right one - at least when vagcom scan says misfire on 2? But it's honestly been 4+ years since I had to scan for misfires (knock on wood), so I'm probably wrong. :(

[VWSM]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

Staring at the engine #2 goes left to right.Change them all.
And a misfire turns off the injector.. What happens is the dead cylinder turns into a compressor and fires up the heat to melt the cat.Just like a black smith shop pumping air onto the coals.

[Turkey]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

Got my car back yesterday evening. They did all the work and even washed my car for a grand total of $0.00. Both of the service people I was dealing with were also super friendly. Major props for 5th ave!!!

Now I just have to send in my tow bill to get the refund for that.

It was a real pain in the ass having this happen but it for sure could have been a lot worse.

[J-hop]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

yea it is a huge pain, I carry spares in the trunk just in case, but apparently the updated coils don't have the same cracking issues as the old ones so you shouldn't have to worry about the new ones going anytime soon.

I had this happen to me at minus 30, luckily i was only a block or so home so I was able to get it back to the garage to warm it up, the clips on the wiring harness get really brittle with age/cold.

[Compton]

Re: Driving on 3 coils?

Is it a 24v VR?

I laughed so hard when i read this.

VR6 = 6 Cylinders

OP original question - Can i drive the car on 3 coils?

So half the cylinders aint firing?! lol