Key Takeaways Higher ground clearance protects the vehicle’s underside from the rutted gravel and exposed rock common on backroads along the Tygart Valley River. Approach and departure angles matter as much as raw clearance height, especially on the steep entry points found near river crossings and old logging roads. All-wheel drive works alongside ground clearance,…
It’s one of the more common questions that comes up in the service bay: does my VW have a timing belt or a timing chain, and when does it need to be replaced? The answer depends entirely on which engine is under the hood, and getting it wrong in either direction, replacing something too late…
Route 50 is one of those drives that makes summer in Clarksburg worth it, winding past Jane Lew, Salem, and on toward Parkersburg with plenty of scenery and not a lot of cell signal along the way. But a long highway drive in summer heat is exactly the kind of trip that puts tires to…
The ID. Buzz is unlike anything else in the Volkswagen Clarksburg lineup, and that starts with what’s underneath it. A 91-kWh battery pack sits low in the chassis, and depending on configuration, the all-wheel-drive 4MOTION model produces 335 horsepower and can tow up to 3,500 pounds. That low-mounted mass improves stability and handling, but it…
VW’s factory engine air filter interval for TSI engines is set at 60,000 miles or six years under normal driving conditions. Harrison County, West Virginia is not a normal driving environment. The Harrison County Mine Preparation Plant in Shinnston has the potential to emit over 268 tons of PM10 particulate matter per year. Add the…
The roads around Clarksburg and Bridgeport are not easy on drivetrains. US-50 between Clarksburg and Grafton winds through narrow elevation changes and wooded curves that load and unload the AWD system with every bend. Secondary roads throughout Harrison County add potholes, gravel, and off-camber surfaces that put the 4MOTION system to work in ways it…
Last month, a 2020 VW Atlas came in with severely warped front rotors and glazed brake pads after a summer of mountain driving around Clarksburg. The owner had been riding the brakes on every descent, never once using the Tiptronic manual mode available on the shifter. After repeated heat cycles on routes like Stealey Road…
If your Volkswagen Tiguan has started feeling sluggish on the climb up US-50 or hesitates when merging onto I-79 near Clarksburg, the culprit might not be what you expect. Carbon buildup is a silent, slow-accumulating problem in direct-injection engines that can quietly rob your Tiguan of the power and efficiency you bought it for. Here’s…
If you drive Route 20 every day, you already know that sinking feeling when your brakes start pulling or squealing on a steep descent. The truth is, standard brake pads were not designed for the kind of sustained downhill pressure that Bridgeport drivers deal with on a regular basis. Heavy-duty brake pads can cost $150…
There’s a particular kind of road condition that only locals understand — the kind that shows up twenty minutes after a summer storm rolls through Harrison County, where a perfectly drivable gravel road becomes a moving slick of mud and loose stone that coats everything underneath your vehicle from the front splitter to the rear…
