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Temp Gauge Issue + CEL

pablo2019

New member
Hi All, Sorry for the newbie question but my 2014 MK6 GTI is at the dealer and they’re saying I need to pay $900 to replace the radiator and I wanted to get your opinions. So about a month ago I noticed my coolant level was at MIN and it fell slightly below, this was the original coolant that came in the car 3 years ago so I assumed it was a slow evaporation loss and nothing to be concerned with and I would top it off soon. A couple of days after I was driving for about 10 mins and the car got to temp (190) and suddenly dropped temp to about half of that and stopped there. As soon as it dropped my CEL came on. Within a minute it slowly crept back up to 190 and stayed there. I drove it for another hour and a half home and it ran fine. The gauge needle never moved again and I had heat and everything seemed ok. I had autozone read the code for the CEL and it came out as a code for exhaust temp sensor I believe (sorry, car is in shop with all my paperwork so I don’t have the exact code to give you right now). To be safe I brought it to my dealer and made an appt. while there a service guy topped off my coolant and explained the sensors in the overflow tank could have been exposed by lack of coolant and triggered the CEL. I left and drove home. It seems that whenever the car is cold and I drive it to temp the same thing happens, it gets to temp then drops half then goes back up and stays. About 2 days later the CEL magically turned off and I had one or two days where the gauge worked fine Then it came back. Same scenario, got to temp, needle dropped, CEL on and all is fine driving home again. I’ve read it could be Coolant Temp Sensor(s) or thermostat issue and possible water pump starting to fail but the car never got hot or overheated. The dealer has it now and they say that they never saw this code and it supposedly referenced the radiator and they had to go on VW corporate tech site to find out exactly what it was and it’s supposedly a sensor that’s inside the radiator that you can’t buy separately so you have to buy and replace the whole radiator! They said on visual inspection there was no fluid leaking from any normal places (seals, hoses, water pump, etc) so I asked where the reservoir coolant was going and they didn’t know. They want me to decide in the morning or take the car back. Thoughts on this repair? Should I have them change the Coolant temp sensors first then work up to radiator if it keeps happening? Thanks!
 

pablo2019

New member
UPDATED: the CEL code is P2568.
It states “Direct Ozone Reduction Catalyst Temperature Sensor Circuit Range/Performance”
Notes with code say that ASE Certified Master Technicians have seen this issue on your type of vehicle and the most likely solution is to Replace Radiator.
 
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