Category Archives: General

Fixing scratches in the windshield

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One of the things I noticed right away in our Westy was that there were very fine scratches in the windshield. These scratches were where the wiper blades contacted the glass. The scratches weren’t deep enough to feel with your fingernail. They weren’t very visible during the day; the effect was more like a haze on the glass. At nighttime, however, the lights of oncoming cars really showed the scratches up, and they cut down on visibility.

I tried all kinds of conventional glass cleaners and polishes, but these weren’t effective. I had hopes for a Rain-X product that coats the glass. You spray it on and wipe it off. It did help slightly, but didn’t eliminate the problem.

I finally started searching the web to see how other folks tackled this problem. One person applied carnuba wax to the windshield every year to hide the scratches! I did try a small area using this approach, but it was a waste of time.

Most of the articles I found suggested that you need to use a special glass polishing compound (cerium oxide) to get rid of the these fine scratches. I finally found a Glass Polishing Kit on Amazon that came with the polishing compound and a set of pads for your electric drill. The reviews were pretty good so I decided to give it a try.

The Results

I applied the polishing compound to the windshield and worked on small areas at a time – about 1 foot square. I found that I had to frequently re-wet the pad on the drill because it dried out quickly. After completing the first pass, I cleaned the windshield and saw significant improvement. The scratches were still visible, however. So, I repeated the process a second time. The results after two passes was fantastic. It was difficult to see any scratches. The only ones that you could see were the very deep ones. Fortunately, there weren’t very many of those, so I decided to quit there and see how the windshield performed in real-case driving.

I’ve driven Westy for about 4 months since the treatment and I am totally satisfied. The windshield isn’t perfect, but it totally acceptable. There is no sun or headlight glare on the glass, and the visibility is great.

The one thing I did notice after the process was that I had to thoroughly clean up the splatter from the polishing process. This dried to a white color. I used bath towels to cover all around the windshield to minimize the splatter, but it got into places I didn’t expect. So, be prepared to look your rig over carefully and thoroughly afterwards to clean up all the mess.

Locks and Keys

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One of the first things I did after buying our Westy was to start familiarizing myself with its features and idiosyncrasies. I found out a few things in the process about keys and locks.

The 2003 Eurovans we bought came with a key fob that includes remote keyless entry. I have become pretty accustomed to keyless entry systems over my last few cars, so this is a welcome feature. Unfortunately, the rear hatch lock does not work correctly with the remote entry. The hatch can be locked and unlocked OK with the key but not with the remote entry. I’m taking Westy in to the shop tomorrow to get that fixed.

The other thing I learned was about the keys our Westy: there are a lot of them!

VW Keys (L-R): Key fob with remote keyless entry (master key),
emergency key and glove compartment key.

The 2003 Eurovans were sold with two remote entry keys, but we only received one. I thought it would be a good idea to get another one. Great idea, but it looks like this will not be possible. VW stopped selling these key fobs in 2013, and they are nowhere to be found. You can get new cases, new blank keys to fit them, but not the electronics inside for the remote entry. I’ll keep looking to see if they become available, but it looks like a lost cause at this point.

Another thing I learned was that the emergency key I received will operate the locks but doesn’t work in the ignition. There is a slight difference between this key and the master key; I don’t know if this is normal, but if you look a this key in the photo you can see it would be difficult to use long term.

That started me looking for a replacement key that would work as a master but without the remote keyless entry feature. I found that VW ignition keys have electronic components inside that work with the ignition. There is an immobilizer in the ignition system that is deactivated by the micro-chip in the key.

I found out that replacement keys with the electronics are available from VW, so I ordered one. Once you get the key you have to get it programmed by the dealer so that it is matched up to your vehicle. This turned out to be a fairly expensive purchase. The key cost $50 and the programming cost $85. That’s $135 for one key. Yikes!

Replacement Ignition Key

You’ll also note that the replacement key is a different shape from all the other keys in the photo above. I guess that’s to help aging brains like mine from confusing one with another. Now if I could just remember what each key is supposed to do!

I forgot to mention the locking gas cap. The 2003 Eurovan has the gas cap located just behind the driver’s door. This is accessed by opening a hinged flap. Most new cars today have a mechanical release system that operates this kind of flap, but not the Eurovan. That means you have to keep the gas cap locked if you want to prevent unauthorized access. The gas cap is locked/unlocked by the master key or emergency key.

Update: Keyless Entry

I recently found an ad on eBay for a Eurovan Keyless Entry fob. This isn’t the original Eurovan fob, but one advertised to work for a Eurovan. I bit the bullet and bought one. Here’s what it looks like:

As you can see, it’s the bottom portion of a key fob. It came with a concise set of instructions on how to program it. I followed these and guess what? It works!!

The real Eurovan key fob has two buttons while this one has three. the center button (trunk release) doesn’t function, but the other two do. I’ll be keeping this in reserve with my spare ignition key – now I have a complete backup set!

If you want to check out eBay for this listing, search for “Eurovan T4 Remote.” If any are available you should see something like “VW 1993-2004 Eurovan T4 REMOTE new 3 button keyless entry fob (Fits: EuroVan).”

Welcoming our Weekender

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Welcome to Westy.Life! This blog is about our 2003 Volkswagen Eurovan Weekender. It was just delivered yesterday from Pop Top Heaven in California, and it’s been a long time coming. We’ve talked and talked about getting either a Eurovan Weekender or Camper for probably 10 years now.

The Weekender is a Eurovan made in Germany by VW that has had additional features installed by the Westfalia company. Westfalia has been making VW campers for years, and there are legions of old Microbus, Vanagan and Eurovan campers still out there. Because so many feature the Westfalia branding on them they have come to be known as “Westys.”

In the dim past I had a 1974 VW Camper, and I loved everything about it – except for the lack of power. It was downright embarrassing driving it over mountain passes here in the western USA. It was painfully underpowered.

Now that we’re entering into our retirement years I’ve been looking for the perfect road trip vehicle. I wanted a Eurovan really badly, but they haven’t been made since 2003. When you do you find one it will have lots of miles on it.  A 2003 is 12 years old now (in 2015), and with average driving it might have 120,000 to 140,000 miles on the odometer.

IMG_1335So I’ve been looking and looking nationwide for the right Eurovan for us to take on our retirement road trips. I finally found “the one” three months ago at Pop Top Heaven. This company specializes in restoring IMG_1335Eurovan Campers and Weekenders, and the one we bought had only 64,000 miles on it. It had just arrived there when we bought it, and has been undergoing restoration ever since – about three months!

It was a great day when the shipper finally delivered our Weekender! The photo to the right was taken by Pop Top Heaven during the restoration process.

So now with our Weekender we’re ready to start our road trip adventures!