New Beetle P0118 + P2181

Does the combination of these two codes offer a clue?

2003 new beetle convertible, 65,000 miles 4 cyl, 2 liter

The CEL has been illuminated for several months,
Original code indicated air filter problems, fussed with
(replaced) filter, did chemical flush ( in a can), to no avail,
battery disconnect fixed (once) for a few days.

Re-ran codes yesterday, got P0118 + P2181

Car runs fine, sometimes doesn't turn over on first try. Clacks when warm,
idling & accelerating, which I suspect may be a cheap local fuel issue,
I include it here in the interest of offering as much information as possible,
as my assessment is possibly inaccurate.

P0118 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit High Input

I am guessing the connection for the Coolant Temp is either broken, loose or full of grime that is not making a good connection. Wiggle the wires around the sensor after clearing the computer, see if comes back up. If it does, check for continuity in the wires. As a last thing replace the sensor.

The other code might go away when this one is corrected.

Thanks for your response! Tomorrow is my mechanicin' day. I'll let you know how it works.

~CdV

The continuing story of one woman's adventure in mechanix...Since I got different codes at different times, I'm not feeling a whole. "hey, there's something wrong w/ your engine" vibe here, more like, hey, the manufacturer has been considerate enough to build in obsolescence ( which seems to be confirmed by the number of sites dedicated to OBD codes & the amelioration there-of ) So, I've started with the preliminary, undo the battery, leave it for 10 minutes, campaign ( gleaned from ye ol' interwebs ) & that has worked to turn out the light.

Thanks for your help, will keep you updated! ( as in, I'll be back in three days asking how to replace the sensor ; ) )
*fingers crossed
~CdV

My wife had an 03 and now she has an 07 Beetle. These twos are so different from each other. The one that you have has the 4 Cly engine and her has the 2.5L 5 Cly Audi engine with a Tiptronic. The undercarriage is the GTI. So these Beetles ride like a GTI and I love to drive that little thing. Is really zippy and has a very responsive steering along with the ESP that is as good or better than AWD. This car is a Low Maintenance car, each oil change are every 10,000 miles or one year per factory schedule. There is nothing hardly do on them, just drive it

Her 03 was so wimpy compare to this one.

No, I do not think this car is falls on the Planned Obsolesce deal. At least they last over 10 yrs and well over 100,000 miles.

One thing I forgot to mention, check the main plug that connects the engine harness to the car.

I am guessing an electrical problem. As far bad gas... I hardly see bad gas, except getting it from old gas stations with corroded/dirty fuel cells. All fuels are pretty much the same. 99% comes from the same place and refined on few places. Depending what fuel station you go, they put some additives to clean the engine. Look for what is called Top Tier Gas Stations. You will be surprised what you might thought was junk is pretty good.