The engine light on my beloved Jetta came on and my friend ran it through his coder and there's a problem with one (or both) of the radiator/cooling fans. I took it to a mechanic and they detected it as the fan as well.

These are the quotes I got, looking for feedback if these are normal or outrageous.
I don't know what the ignition coils are for.

(5) Sparkplugs @ $8 = $40 (+labor $42)
(5) Ignition Coils @ $19 = $95 (+labor $34)
Cooling Fan Left = $326 (+labor $21)
Cooling Fan Right = $254 (+labor $21)

Total: $890.

10/4/2011 4:47:15 PM

if anyone knows how to do some simple diagnosis on the two radiator fans, please let me know. i've seen at least one of them turn on, how do i force both to turn on to see if it is only one fan that's faulty?

i'd hate to get scammed in replacing both fans when only one is really faulty (and maybe it's just a fuse or switch instead of the whole assembly).

10/4/2011 4:52:17 PM

just PM zxappeal and let him look at it. he can probably save you a bunch of money and he's not gonna screw you over.

[Edited on October 4, 2011 at 5:35 PM. Reason : the plugs and coils are unrelated to the fan issues. however, they may be due to be changed.]

10/4/2011 5:34:46 PM

Interesting this comes up. I have a little experience with this as of late. Yes, Jettas can set codes based on whether or not there's a problem with the radiator fans. I ain't sure on the MK4 Jettas, but I do that, on the MK5 ones, the fans are driven by a controller, and as luck would have it it's in the back of radiator fan 1 (the big one). It can be several different problems with either fan, and the cheap solution is to go with an aftermarket fan assembly for your car if it's proven that either fan is bad. They can be had for under 250 bux. Of course, there's labor to install the assembly.

There is some simple diagnosis that can be done.

The plugs and coils aren't necessary unless it's time for that scheduled maintenance or if there's a misfire that's occurring and setting another code. By the way, the price for those coils is stupendously good.

10/4/2011 6:13:08 PM

^

I was thinking the same thing on the coils.

10/4/2011 8:36:27 PM

the price of most vw coils have come down a lot.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_V--2.5/Search/06e905115e/ES281014/

what i don't get is that you're getting charged labor on the plugs and labor on the coils? doesn't make sense since you have to remove the coil to replace the plug.

10/4/2011 8:44:37 PM

I've taken my GFs VW to beethead and crew (no offence to zx, who is also amazing), and they did good fair work.

10/4/2011 9:42:43 PM

I too will endorse Kevin's shop.

http://apex-tuning.com

Sometimes it's best to leave one to the experts, and Volkswagen is absolutely no exception. I should say it's one that defines the rule!

10/4/2011 9:55:58 PM

+1 for beethead

10/5/2011 9:50:51 AM