# Limp mode blows



## rags2riches (Jan 2, 2010)

Today I was out on a leisurely drive and after shifting into second gear I noticed that once I hit 3000rpm the car went limp. So I proceeded to limp on home and hit the vortex for some support. I know what limp mode is. But, what are some of the more common problems for this. I maintain my car very well and know it isn't a neglect issue. I change my oil every 3500 miles for god's sake. Would any problems be covered under factory warranty since I only have 18000 miles on my car. Oh, it's a 2009 rabbit. I love this brand but don't know why.


----------



## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

what were the symptoms? any code? any MIL?
what about mods?

the moar info, the better


----------



## bmxbum76 (Feb 16, 2007)

ive had this happen twice in my car and from what i looked into... it just kinda happens usually when you have a intake. the car senses that the motor goes lean and then puts it into limp mode


----------



## rags2riches (Jan 2, 2010)

The engine is running fine. No knocking or tapping or timing belt noise. It is bone stock no mods at all. It's a 2009 rabbit 5spd manual. I haven't been able to get somewhere to get it on the vagcom so I don't have no codes. CEL is on. I don't want to drive it at all until I find out what the **** is going on. Like I said, I maintain the car very well. Top off the oil when needed. Frequent oil changes. I drive it kind of hard but not very. I rarely rev over 5000rpm. I run 91oct unless the station doesn't have it then I use 93. But the last time I filled up I used 91. I can't think of any other details right now. I have a buddy who told me he had the same problem and it was the crank position sensor and another friends turned out to be the knock sensor so I don't know. I know I'm not gonna just ignore it cause it's not doing it anymore. I can't stare at a CEL while I drive.


----------



## rags2riches (Jan 2, 2010)

bmxbum76 said:


> ive had this happen twice in my car and from what i looked into... it just kinda happens usually when you have a intake. the car senses that the motor goes lean and then puts it into limp mode


If your car isn't 09 or newer it probably just needs the MAF insert. That should solve your leaning issues. Why couldn't I know what is causing my problems.


----------



## 08Rabbit1 (Jun 30, 2008)

Pull the OBDII codes. If you have a CE light there's an OBDII code(s) just waiting to tell you what's wrong with the car.


----------



## Scotty_2.0 (Jan 14, 2005)

My 09 had this problem a little while back. Scanned the car and found a knock sensor code stored even though the CEL hadn't come on yet. The first time I was on a lolng drive home so I pulled over and cleared the faults and back to normal. The next day the 3K rev limit came back and the CEL came on. Guess it was getting worse. Anyways, the dealer replaced both knock sensors and haven't had an issue since. The tech I know at the dealer said it was a common problem and another 09 2 bays over was isn for the same exact thing.


----------



## TrillyPop (Jan 27, 2010)

could be a loose fuel filler cap as well...try taking that off and back on and see if it helps. ECU might need some time to realize


----------



## Scotty_2.0 (Jan 14, 2005)

TrillyPop said:


> could be a loose fuel filler cap as well...try taking that off and back on and see if it helps. ECU might need some time to realize


No way a loose gas cap would cause anything more than a CEL. Limp mode for a loose gas cap is absurd.


----------



## BlackRabbit2point5 (Sep 6, 2007)

to everyone telling him to put a MAF ring in an 09 with no mods (means no intake)... First off 09s do not even have a Mass Airflow Sensor, second the guy has no intake. OP you definitely have a warranty and if anyone stands in the way of you making a claim on the issue get a lawyer. If your nervous you can even call an 800 number in the owners manual and get towed in for free.


----------



## TrillyPop (Jan 27, 2010)

Scotty_2.0 said:


> No way a loose gas cap would cause anything more than a CEL. Limp mode for a loose gas cap is absurd.


i dunno, i was stuck in limp mode once. took the gas cap on and off, and the car went back to normal. This is with my car at ~5k miles. I guess I should check my knock sensors...just trying to add my experience.


----------



## crashnburn987 (May 11, 2004)

I have zero mods on my '07 Rabbit and I have had this happen about 5 or 6 times since I have purchased the car. No codes are ever thrown. The car is meticulously maintained. After a shift into neutral and a rev or two from the engine, it gets its self out of limp mode. WTF causes this?


----------



## Scotty_2.0 (Jan 14, 2005)

crashnburn987 said:


> I have zero mods on my '07 Rabbit and I have had this happen about 5 or 6 times since I have purchased the car. No codes are ever thrown. The car is meticulously maintained. After a shift into neutral and a rev or two from the engine, it gets its self out of limp mode. WTF causes this?


That reminds me. The first time I experience limp mode, I had my generic OBD2 scanner in the car and it picked up nothing. Then I tried my V-Checker Pro and it too failed to see anything. It wasn't til I went to visit my buddy at the dealer that he was able to pull the knock sensor code.... No idea why neither of my scanners would read it, but the second time my knock sensors failed and the CEL came on my OBD2 scanner picked it up


----------



## pennsydubbin (Mar 3, 2010)

I believe i had this happen to me today as well. I was making my commute on the highway to school- not driving my car really hard but pretty good which is normal for me. A car in front of me was going slow so i downshifted from 5th to 4th until they got over. Once i got on it again and then shifted to 5th my car wouldn't go over 3000 rpm. I down shifted to 4th and it rev'ed to about 5k or so fine, and then when i went into 5th it wouldnt go over about 2700 rpm that time. No warning lights or anything came on the dash.

I pulled off the highway and checked the oil level and stuff to see if anything was low, but everything was fine. I hopped back on the highway and the car ran fine then- parked it for class then drove home on highway, again it was fine. Anyone know what could have temporarily happened to my car?


----------

