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Broke down, got towed, now what..

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 713885
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Deleted member 713885

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In my 20+ years of driving I've had to have work done on my car, even towed from my home...
But this is a first in "sputter, sputter, pull over on the highway, wont start"

Ugh..

Called my insurance company, used the roadside assistance. Which hung up on me..5 times (yay Progressive)
Asked if I was staying with the car or leaving the keys in it, my wife was on the way and its 25° degrees out so I told them I was leaving but would leave the key in the center console.

Freaks me out. My cars out on a major highway, unlocked with the keys in it. Left it around 9:30 and its midnight and the update thing still says its sitting their (thank god I didn't wait)

Cost me $150 for the tow and having it dropped at the dealer. Not to sure how that exactly works, guess I call them first thing in the morning and let them know my cars there (keys still in it?) I went to the dealers web page and didnt see an option for this situation so just set up an appt. via the website for the earliest time, tries to explain the situation in the "Reason for drop off" section.

Last thing I need also..
Just spent close to 5 grand on new flooring plus the holidays just passed, was in a recouping money stage of the year.

Have no idea exactly what it is and but feel its gonna be expensive as fuck kost likely.
It's a 2015 Volkswagen GTI and the EPC & Check engine light came on.
Engines cranking but not turning over.
Had my OBD II on me and popped it on as I was waiting for my wife. Gave it a quick scan and came up with..

1. code P2251 means that the powertrain control module (PCM) has detected a negative current discrepancy in the upstream oxygen (O2) sensor for engine bank number one. Bank one is the engine bank that contains the number one cylinder. Sensor 1 denotes the upstream (pre-cat) sensor.

2. 3 codes for misfires (Cyl 1, 2 and 3)

3. Basic code that says- Your cylinders are misfiring.

I'm not tech savvy when it comes to cars but have a bad feeling this is gonna cost me and be a huge kick in the balls.

Sorry for venting, very stressed about this. I commute a lot, so I need my car asap. Stressed it's just 'sitting there'. Stressed I'm about to get wallet raped fixing it at the worse possible time.
 
Cylinders can be expensive. :messenger_open_mouth:
I wouldn't worry about the repair shop, they usually have some deal worked out with a tow company. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to them.

How many miles? Carbs are about 300$ or more plus the labor and tow costs.
 
Last edited:
7ba5975a-e421-4041-bb56-31934e86d89f.jpg
 
Get rid of that bs car and get a 66 'stang instead. They don't have all that bullshit electronics that just breaks all the time.
 
In the future it's always good to have some repair money stashed away. All new cars break down, even the Japanese ones aren't as reliable as they used to be.
 
New cars tend to crap out in the first few months, if they happen to have a defective engine. IF they last beyond a year they last for 10-15 years without a single issue. They are much more reliable than cars of the 90's and pre-90's.

Sorry OP, bad luck I suppose. VW's tend to be very reliable beyond the first year up to 500,000km, you just won the bad luck lottery.
 
Last edited:
It might just be a duff sensor OP. I couldn't see it been a fault with your pistons, those VW engines are built like tanks and can go for 100,000's of miles.

I had an Audi A3 tdi with a traction control light on. turned out it was a common problem because they cheaped out on a sensor in the master cylinder that would break after a few years. Audi charged £1200 to put it right so I went to a VW specialist that fixed it for £350 just by using a new sensor and a laptop.

Whatever you do phone round and get quotes first before you ok the work. Try and find a specialist because they know those cars and easy/cheaper ways round the faults.
 
now what?
Get ready to be bent over by getting your car fixed at a dealership, if it's not under warranty find a good independent repair shop that can probably fix whatever's wrong with your car cheaper.
 
Recently had similar issues going uphill on the highway at 80 in the fast lane my engine just DIES....straight up dies like I'm losing all momentum surrounded by cars. I do my best to get all the way over to the right hand lane without getting killed then had to do the same as you call a tow truck and all that. Had to replace the fuel pump.

So in the interim of getting my truck fixed my only form of transportation was my 125cc scooter which got the job done except for having to make stops at gas stations to keep going, my card got skimmed by a card reader and my bank card was frozen for several days until the new card arrived, thankfully it costs under 3$ to fill my tank so i was able to live off the cash in pocket for the next few days till i could get money/truck back.

Still driving my 06 tacoma prerunner, love that truck!
 
1. code P2251 means that the powertrain control module (PCM) has detected a negative current discrepancy in the upstream oxygen (O2) sensor for engine bank number one. Bank one is the engine bank that contains the number one cylinder. Sensor 1 denotes the upstream (pre-cat) sensor.

2. 3 codes for misfires (Cyl 1, 2 and 3)


You need a new mass airflow sensor. They are cheap and can be fitted easily by your self if you watch a Youtube video.
The sensor is usually around the airbox/intake.
The ECU thinks the fuel to air ratio is out so puts the car into limp mode to stop knock/detonation.
 
Last edited:
V4skunk said:
1. code P2251 means that the powertrain control module (PCM) has detected a negative current discrepancy in the upstream oxygen (O2) sensor for engine bank number one. Bank one is the engine bank that contains the number one cylinder. Sensor 1 denotes the upstream (pre-cat) sensor.

2. 3 codes for misfires (Cyl 1, 2 and 3)


You need a new mass airflow sensor. They are cheap and can be fitted easily by your self if you watch a Youtube video.
The sensor is usually around the airbox/intake.
The ECU thinks the fuel to air ratio is out so puts the car into limp mode to stop knock/detonation.
Click to expand...

Yeah hopefully it is just the O2 sensor and that's it.
 
I also dont know about the mk7 but you can run the mk6 with the maf unplugged. I would also think you'd want to reset fuel trims too.
 
Last edited:
PKM said:
1. code P2251 means that the powertrain control module (PCM) has detected a negative current discrepancy in the upstream oxygen (O2) sensor for engine bank number one. Bank one is the engine bank that contains the number one cylinder. Sensor 1 denotes the upstream (pre-cat) sensor.
Click to expand...
original.jpg
 
Politely, buy yourself a Toyota or Lexus. Unreliable cars are a problem solved a long time ago by a select few.
 
PKM said:
In my 20+ years of driving I've had to have work done on my car, even towed from my home...
But this is a first in "sputter, sputter, pull over on the highway, wont start"

Ugh..

Called my insurance company, used the roadside assistance. Which hung up on me..5 times (yay Progressive)
Asked if I was staying with the car or leaving the keys in it, my wife was on the way and its 25° degrees out so I told them I was leaving but would leave the key in the center console.

Freaks me out. My cars out on a major highway, unlocked with the keys in it. Left it around 9:30 and its midnight and the update thing still says its sitting their (thank god I didn't wait)

Cost me $150 for the tow and having it dropped at the dealer. Not to sure how that exactly works, guess I call them first thing in the morning and let them know my cars there (keys still in it?) I went to the dealers web page and didnt see an option for this situation so just set up an appt. via the website for the earliest time, tries to explain the situation in the "Reason for drop off" section.

Last thing I need also..
Just spent close to 5 grand on new flooring plus the holidays just passed, was in a recouping money stage of the year.

Have no idea exactly what it is and but feel its gonna be expensive as fuck kost likely.
It's a 2015 Volkswagen GTI and the EPC & Check engine light came on.
Engines cranking but not turning over.
Had my OBD II on me and popped it on as I was waiting for my wife. Gave it a quick scan and came up with..

1. code P2251 means that the powertrain control module (PCM) has detected a negative current discrepancy in the upstream oxygen (O2) sensor for engine bank number one. Bank one is the engine bank that contains the number one cylinder. Sensor 1 denotes the upstream (pre-cat) sensor.

2. 3 codes for misfires (Cyl 1, 2 and 3)

3. Basic code that says- Your cylinders are misfiring.

I'm not tech savvy when it comes to cars but have a bad feeling this is gonna cost me and be a huge kick in the balls.

Sorry for venting, very stressed about this. I commute a lot, so I need my car asap. Stressed it's just 'sitting there'. Stressed I'm about to get wallet raped fixing it at the worse possible time.
Click to expand...

2015? Is it not still under warranty? Not that those help at all...
 
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