I have a 2001 Eurovan MV. It has the Passat V6 engine (or similar), I believe. Lately it has started to
* idles very rough especially when it's been off for a couple hours or more (like morning)
* the engine has become noisy - like a diesel sound, loud and throaty
* occasionally stalls
* seems to have lost power - noticeable when accelerating or climbing hills

One mechanic thought it was the Engine Coolant Temp (ECT) sensor. He replaced this ($260 parts and labor), but there is no improvement. Today he's changing the fuel filter, which he claims is clogged but also admits it probably won't solve the problem.

Any ideas? Any good VW places in Fremont/South Bay (SF Bay Area region) that you can recommend?

Any and all help is Gratefully appreciated :-)

Did you ever get a reolution to this problem - I am expereincing similar issues and have a bit of insight form the dealer but would like to know if you solved it and what happened? Thanks.

Couple of things:

1. Timing belt pulley (replace about 60-80mi)
2. Do you put premium gas?
3. Something else.

2002 Eurovan, Diagnostic showing possible faulty "intake cam adjuster" or "timing wrong.
Dealer orig charged me $350 to replace "temp sender" they then quoted $1400 labor ($ 700 teardown, $700 rebuild) not including parts and any other issues they uncover - for a "cam position sensor" replacement and maybe the timing belt has "jumped a tooth"?
Not sure what the deal is but after they replace the temp sender I said "hold off on the teardown - I will pick it up" as I didn't trust thier estimate of 14 total hours to tear & rebuild (seems very high) @ $120 per hour labor rate (becuase they are porsche, audi also) that is pretty expensive.
So I went to pick up and it was chugging and stalling 100 times worse than before they did anything. Of course, they can claim that becuase of the possible timing belt "jump" or faulty "cam sensor" the car is running bad.
Anyway, it was chugging so bad I couldnt even drive it to the local mechanics shop for more reasonable labor rates. Thinking about a tow to a $77 per hour VW dealer. Thought this was a great car unitl this happened - I am just sick that this thing could cost $2000 by the time I am doen and that is probably the tip of the iceberg. What are youre experiences and thoughts? Thanks.

I did not use premuim gas.

Before anything, use premium gas, it will screw up your engine badly. Passats take premium (91 octane at least the more the better). Place good gas, check that you have synthetic oil, and place some injector cleaner too.

Good luck.

HEY this is my problem too! What a great can until now, I had it for 2 months used then it started acteding up. I hope it is just the gas.
Thanks (hopefully)

Well, its been awhile and I have since gotten rid of the Eurovan.

I really wanted to love this car but VW would not stand behind it and the VW (porsche/audi) dealers were a-holes and way too expensive.

What happened was the engine at 60K miles was completely full of oil sludge and that caused the stalling, etc.
Had to have the engine replaced for $5500.00 (OUCH) and other assorted items. A/C compressor also went bad - traded it in before had to replace that costly item.
Jst found out the hard way how much trouble VW's are and how expensive they are to fix. Will never buy another German car again as service and maintanance is outrageously priced.
I purchased two new Mazda's and hopefully they will be much better than this piece of crap VW. I have always owned Japanese and American and here is my take on each:
GM cars at least, are pretty good actually but do not have the tight tolerances and fit that Japenese cars do - BUT - on the other hand if you knock a Japenese car out of whack (hit a pothole, get in a fender bender) they are realy hard to ever get back to normal. Jap cars just seem "thin" compared to american cars and my VW was a TANK - too bad the engine stunk and too bad VW did nothing about it.

Interestingly enough, I take my Mazda's to the same dealer who has a Mazda Service section and viola - the reps treat me normally again and service costs are pretty standard. No more waiting in line behind the guy in the $70,000 porsche (this is no joke, I was once behind a celebrity guy who purchased the $400,000 + Porsche, not sure the model) and having the service reps look at me condesendingly when I questioned a service charge on family Eurovan.