CCA Corrado Problems Lists

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If you have experienced any problems listed below, please follow these directions to help others and yourself.

1. Call VW of North America and register your problem with them. (800 number in your owners manual)
2. Add yourself, using the form, to the list related to your problem once. (These forms and lists are fully automated and not controlled. So if you submit twice, your name will appear twice in the list. No one is responsible for clean up, so if you want these lists to remain legitimate, don't abuse it!)

LIST OF PROBLEMS:

1. Heater Core Failure - All Corrados (92-95)

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   The heat exchanger under the dash bursts, dumping coolant into the passenger compartment. Typically, the vents will let of a lot of steam. It could scald your feet and cause and accident.

   - Why: This is an OLD problem, and dates back to 1985 when many Golfs had this problem. Basically, the heat exchanger is not made very well. The 1990 Corrados have a recall out for this problem: NHTSA 96V115000, but many Corrados up to 1993 have demonstrated this problem as well!

   - Solution: Call VW, and complain. In many cases they have covered the cost of towing and the repair. Doing the repair yourself is feasible but a major pain.

   Emergency Procedure - It's best to pull over, stop the engine, and have the car towed to a VW dealer. If however you are in the middle of no where, 4:59 pm on a Sunday, (which is usually what happens) you can make some emergency repairs that may allow you to get home or somewhere safer: You can do two things. Find a way to stop the coolant flow to the heat exchanger. It is fed by two tubes that enter the firewall more or less above the exhaust down pipe. Tie them off with a set of clamps, a tourniquette, tie wraps, or something to that effect. A second alternative is to get a 3/4" pipe, disconnection the two hoses, and just connect them together with the 3/4" pipe. Fill the car slowly with water while the engine is running. Make sure you have at least a jug of water with you for on the way. Use the engine as little as possible (shut it off at lights, and switch the A/C on so that the fan is on), and pull over when the water warning light flashes.

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2. Fog Lights Crack - all US Corrados (90-94)

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   - why: due to heat, not rock chips - solution: In most cases, VW just replaces them! In fact, unlike VW, Hella has recognized this as a defect and have come up recently (1998) with a new redesign. The new replcement lenses are available from New Dimensions.

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3. Sunroof Stops Working - all Corrados (90-95)

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   - why: a popping noise appears and if it is not fixed, it breaks a clip and later the sunroof gets scratched and stops working, and in the end the whole track needs to be replaced.
   - solution: Fix clip or replace the whole track initially with the new re-designed one

   Basic adjustments and correcting a "catching or popping noise" when moving the roof from the closed position to the rear. VW has acknowleged the problem (well, at lease partially) in that the new clips are available now (since 1998) and you can replace just them without changin the whole sunroof track.

   The fix is relatively simple. There is a chrome plated rocker arm on each side that is visible with the roof in the vent position (up) near the rear of the opening. This rocker arm is spring loaded and has a small piece of what looks like rubber vacuum hose on the aft end. This rubber piece needs to be replaced with a slightly thicker wall hose. I use the regular 3mm VW vacuum hose (the cloth covered stuff). I use a razor blade to cut the hose to length to avoid damaging the cloth covering, then slide the cut hose on the rocker. This can be done without any disassembly of the roof. Obviously if the roof is not moving smoothly or is slow, there is going to be a problem.

   Corrective repairs on the roof mechanism are limited because is is sold as a unit and most individual parts are not available, at least in the US. The best I can recommend is to keep the tracks clean and lubricated. We use silicone spray (recommended by Audi) and brake cleaner to do this. Oils tend to attract dirt and cause to roof to bind, which causes the tilt mechanism to try to raise the roof panel before it is all the way forward, damaging the paint. Like most things, good maintenance reduces the need for corrective repairs.

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4. Notchy Transmission, Reverse Gear Binding - All G60 (90-92), Early VR6 (92)

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   - why: do not have the clutch with Cd or Ni plated splines (many had their 2nd gear syncro die)
   - solution: get the Cd or Ni Coated Clutch
   The clutch discs that came with the early cars have a black anodized like finish on the splined hub. The new style discs have a bright nickel plated hub that slides on the mainshaft easier. The problem is that when the clutch is released, the old style discs would not slide away from the flywheel, which causes hard shifting and grinding. This can damage the syncros and the gear sets if not corrected. Clutch jobs are much cheaper than trans repairs.

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5. Vibration Damper gets loose on driver's side axle - All G60 (90-92)

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   - why: they are permanently fixed to axle, and later they fall off
   - solution: new axle (VR6 has a removable damper, could this be used?). Alternatively, you can use epoxy or another strong glueing agent to stick it back on, or just remove it alltogether.

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6. Rear Tire Cupping (Uneven Wear) - (All Corrados, Passats, Jetta ///'s)

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   - why: something to do with a defective axle
   - solution: The tire wear called CUPPING is a smooth valley and hill pattern that crosses the tread on a diagonal of about 45-60 degrees. The pattern is usually all around the tire with the hill peaks about 2 inches apart.

   The problem is corrected with a new spindle that is ground with a 10' angle (10/60 th of a degree) at the mounting flange, which is installed on the left rear, then the thrust angle is corrected by shifting the rear axle assy. (equalizing toe-in relative to vehicle center line) on a 4 head alignment machine.

   This is official VW procedure. VW does not recommend plastic shims to correct alignment problems, but many shops do without much trouble.

   Currently, all Audi dealers are required to have a Hunter P-211 alignment machine to do the A-4 with the 4 link front suspension. The 1997 Passat and the 1998 Golf and Jetta will also get the 4 link setup so the VW dealers will also have P-211 machines. These are the most accurate machines out at this time, and have software specifically for VW and Audi. The A-4 has a camber tolerance of 1' (1/60 th of a degree).

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7. Mirror Backing Peals - all Corrados (89-95)

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   - why: The mirrors have a heating element attached. It turns on when you turn on the rear defroster. Supposibly this deteriorates the shiny backing of the mirror and you get the ugly brown peeling around the edges
   - solution: New mirror. ND sells mirrors that you can stick on top of your original mirror as a less expensive alternative.

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8. VR6 leaking head Gaskets - all VR6 (92-95)

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   why - For some reason the head gasket blows
   solution - get a new gasket (I believe it has been redesigned).
   The head gasket jobs we have done were done because of oil leak complaints. The leak appears at the right rear head bolt hole near the #1 spark plug. The oil transfer port (where the oil passes through the head gasket to feed the top end) is very close to this bolt. In these engines, the oil was bypassing the sealing ring at the transfer port and the closest path out of the engine is that head bolt hole, which is open at the bottom of the threaded boss in the block.

   This leak is commonly mis-diagnosed as an oil pan gasket, but on close inspection, the trail of oil can be seen running down the RR corner of the block (nearest the passenger side strut tower). The oil runs down to the oil pan gasket and because this is the high point of the gasket surface the oil runs almost all the way around the oil pan.

   When loosening the head bolts, the head bolts in that area were not as tight as they should have been. This can be caused by defective head bolts, head gaskets, or they were not tightened properly at the factory (not likely). There was no warpage of the cylinder head, the replacement head gaskets are identical to the old gasket, and the head bolts are always replaced as per normal procedures.

   I have not heard of any coolant or compression loss type failures.

   All of these repairs were done on cars with 20-30k miles (32-48kms) and were done under warranty.

   maintenance note: All of the cylinder heads showed some signs of corrosion (pitting) on the surfaces between the cylinders (one quite badly), but not in critical sealing areas. In all cases, the coolant had changed color from bright blue to amber. The VW coolant contains a litmus dye that changes color when the coolant becomes acidic, and therefore should be changed when the color change is observed, usually about 2 years or a little less. The VW coolant is expensive, but I recommend using it anyway.

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9. Some other very common quirks with Corrados with no real solution:

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   • Windshield wipers miss a few areas - All Corrados (90-95)
     - why: ??
     - solution: bend the wiper arm, new blades, RainX
     

   • Exhaust hangers go bad - All G60 (90-92)
     - why: it's a heavy exhaust
     - solution: get new ones (the ones with the chain in the middle)
     

   • Fuba Antennas Malfunction - (Years??)
     - why: something fries in the circuitry
     - solution: need to get a new one
     

   • The Battery Dies - (All Corrados)
     - why: Bad battery from VW.
     - solution: new non-VW battery. If still dies, look for drain (some report the trunk light does not turn off)

     Dead battery problems in Corrado and Passat are very often related to that electric passive seat belt system used in the non-air bag US market cars.

     1. If the shoulder belt clip does not move all the way to the front and rear positions when is should, the system can continue to draw power from the battery.
        IMPORTANT! If the belt does not move all the way to the rear position, use the backup shoulder belt clip that is under the small pop out panel in the "B" pillar next to the rear end of the belt track slot. The electrically operated belt clip can be pulled out of the track very easily if it is not in the rearmost position.
     2. If the front-rear seat adjustment lever is not in the "locked" position, there is an electrical draw from the release solenoid in the inertia (shoulder belt) reel on the inboard side of the seat. This solenoid keeps the belt from locking up when the belt is moving in the track and while the seat is being adjusted front to rear.
     3. If the key is left in the ignition lock, the seat belt system remains activated, also drawing the battery down. A common parking lot and sales lot problem.
     4. There is a tech bulletin about dark cars in high ambient temperatures and direct sunlight activating the A/C high pressure switch or the engine bay temp switch and running the radiator fan until it cools off or the battery goes dead. A good battery will last about 2-3 hours. There is an updated fan or A/C relay that has a timer that will not let this happen.

   • Supercharger dies between 50-?k miles - All G60 (90-92)
     - why: ??? (no correlation found with those using AST or Neuspeeds smaller pulleys)
     (Here is a personal account of a charger blow-up: Before it blew up I could hear a whining noise and was not getting good top end performance. Some of the smaller gear ring just cracked and blew out of the top of the Supercharger case. Supercharger seemed well oiled. Only things I did find were a hole in the by pass tube and the internal belt was busted (I think as a result of the gearing locking/jamming).I was doing 5k revs when it blew.)
     - solution: get a new one
     - Personal Note: I don't really know about this one. I didn't see any real data. Supercharger needs regular oil changes and if that is not done, then it might die. I heard of G60's in the 200K mile range.

     I have not seen any bulletins relating to blower failures. I have noticed a couple of common factors on G-lader failures. Mileage does not seem to be a major factor.

     1. Improperly installed or poor quality air filters. The last 2 that I replaced had had the air filter replaced by a quick lube joint and the sealing bead was not in its groove, allowing dirt to bypass the filter.
     2. The blower and the associated intercooler plumbing were saturated with oil (and dirt from the filter problem), probably from leaking seals in the blower.
     The relatively flat low rpm performance tends to make the driver rev the engine too high when the oil temp is low. Cold, thick oil can not flow well (starving the bearings), and generates excessive pressure (possibly contributing to seal failure). I recommend against using high viscosity oils. I use a 10-40 100% synthetic, and have seen at least a 50% reduction in general engine wear.