HELP! 2000 GTI SPEEDOMETER AND ODOMETER QUIT WORKING

The speedometer and odometer in my 2000 GTI VR6 (with a 5-speed manual trans and 51,000 miles) stopped working without warning. One day they worked, the next day they didn’t. Replacing the sensor on top of the trans has not solved the problem.

At this point, the dealership where I bought the car doesn’t know whether the controller is sending the appropriate signal to the trans (they are no longer a VW franchise). If it isn’t, that would explain why there’s no signal coming out of the trans through the sensor on top.

The technician said that it may be the controller, a plastic gear in the trans which needs replacing (he called this a “common” problem), or the cluster.

Before I go to a dealer with a franchise, I thought I’d ask around and try to pinpoint the cause.

Any thoughts?

post your question over on VW Vortex. they are more knowledgable that people on this forum, as this is mark 5 specific. here is a link to the mark 4 section of vw vortex... just copy and paste this post over there, you will definitely get more answers and better answers!!

VW VORTEX MKIV SECTION

:thumbsup:

Thanks! I just registered and posted it.

Anytime! Post up what you find out so that we can know for future reference!

Man i just sold my GTI and moved to an 07 Si sedan, 8thgencivc.com, horrible board.

Golfmkv is the best <3

i agree! i've joined 350z forums, bmw forums and mustang forums... nobody on those forums is as nice as the people on here...

GOLFMKV FTW :happyanim:

BurninRubber said:

i agree! i've joined 350z forums, bmw forums and mustang forums... nobody on those forums is as nice as the people on here...

GOLFMKV FTW :happyanim:

Click to expand...

^ QFT

UPDATE: THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION

At first, the franchise dealer thought it might be a broken plastic ring gear in the transmission (they showed me one). But the symptoms for that failure included the speedometer needle jumping around (mine never did). They performed a thorough diagnostic and everything checked out OK except for the sensor I had already replaced. Did the original dealer replace a bad part with a bad part? I had my doubts but ordered another sensor anyway.

The problem turned out to be a bad wire which was shorting out the sensor. The service advisor asked if there had ever been water in the car because that could have compromised the wire. I told him that there had been a ‘musty’ smell (although I had never seen water) and I had received a service advisory telling me to clean the sunroof drains, which I had the previous dealer do (the ‘musty’ smell went away).

The repair was described as a ‘wire overlay.’

Here is the exact info from the service order:

“CHECK VALVE BLOCKS IN ENG AND
CLUSTER—NO SPEED INDICATED—NO DTC’S IN SYSTEM
REMOVE SPEED GEAR NOT BROKEN CHECK GEAR OPERATION
POWER 11.2 VOLTS GOOD—GOOD GROUND—NO SIGNAL
FROM SENSOR—REPLACE SENSOR NOW HAVE SIGNAL
NO READ—CHECK FOUND WIRING—REPLACE WITH
WIRING OVERLAY—CHECK OLD SENSOR FAILED
INSTALL NEW SENSOR”

I hope this helps someone out there.

The cause was a blocked sunroof drain.

Well the TSB on the drainage reservoirs was the cause, as they've been known to back up, and leak into the cabin. In doing so, you can get water on some components and circuits in the fuse panel, and ECU, dash area. Normally it'll collect in the floorboards in the rears, and sometimes in the front passenger. Lift up the mat, and see if you can smell that musty smell.

However, the problem was the shorting wire probably from the interior fuse panel killing that sensor to the tacho.