nipper

Are you talking about the thing with the green line on it? Canyou zoom out a bit, for some reason I am disoriented with this pic.

VW always has to go their own way, usually with a 600.00 USD repair bill.

Thereshold be no play there. Usually when there is play there is an odd noise reported.

I don't like you. I'm going back to a flaky knock sensor. You can watch the engine timing with a scanner, or if you can get it cheap enough just swap it out. I rarely suggest just swapping out a part but its not a lot of money. Flaky TPS is also possible.

Could it be the lockup torque converter kicking in and out? Maybe not an engine issue and more of a transmission issue?

hrmmm Is it just engine rpm or vehicle speed that changes

Cool. its been ages since ive seen one or had one, but i know i had a maddening no start condition we couldnt find on mine eons ago. We couldnt find it until the part went bad and it was the ignitor.

So what happens if you try to hold the gas pedal at 70-75 and not use cruise? Is it predictable enough that he can loosen the gas cap after it happens to see what the car does. This may throw a code (loose gas cap) but ignore it for now.

Like this? http://www.fototime.com/23A6274A04E134C/orig.jpg

This may be something you wil have to wait for better weather to fix, but it sounds like bad wires deep in the spark plug buckets. If you replace the spark plug bucket seals (OE) and quality wires, it shoudlnt happen again.

Before you do anything, lets start with the basics. Suck Squish Boom. Timing and spark. I honestly dont remember what these have on them, if it is a timing belt thats where I would start. If that checks out then I would make sure the ignitor works and there is spark. Also check for fuel flow. and that the anti dieseling solenoid (if carb'd) opens up when energized. For it to just died while coasting, I would suspect a timing (belt) issue.

I woudl first go and remove all the bulbs from the turn signals and reinstall them. This is usually enough to clean up any dirt on the contacts. I would also inspect the bulb sockets. It is very very rare for the 4way flasher to go bad. the signals themselves can be a bad bulb or bad pigtails.

You can actually take apart the main switch, clean and, and re install it. If you have two of them take one apart to see how it works and what needs cleaning. Usually the contacts get burnt from age, a little emery board cleans them up.

Are these vacum actuated doors?

No but it may help with surging and wanting to stall. You described two issues not one. But let me ask you this, when you check your plugs do they look TOO clean. If you have coolant leaking into the intake manifold that could fit some of the issues your having.

Full tuneup time including PCV valave. Gte a base line. Fuel filter too

How old is the thermostat and radiator cap. When was the last time it had a tune-up?

Flashing light, if it flashes 14 times on startup is showing an electrical fault in the previous run cycle. Go out to a parking lot and rive in a tight circle. The car should do this with very little gas and very little input into the steering wheel. If it kicks back or needs more gas then the source of the flashing light is a Dutcy C solenoid, IE torque bind. If it does not do this, have the dealer scan the TCU for codes, then proceded from there, which is what he should have done to start with.

The "light control module" aka dimmer is pricey and never really goes bad unless someone wires something in wrong that uses dash lights, then the magic smoke escapes. Is the flickering a steady flickering or a random flickering.

Cooler is built into the radiator on Subarus. And the coolant will look typical oil/water mix if it is leaking. Clunking going into reverse can be so many things, from annoying to expensive. Can he come on the forum so we can grill him

A couple of possibilities. Make sure he is reading the auto dip stick properly. If he is then where is the fluid going? It can be a leak to the automatic transmission cooler in the radiator, or it can be the cooler itself. Look at the radiator coolant, is there oil in it. The flashing ATF light, let me guess, it flashes just on startup? This means that during the previous drive something electrical is wrong in the transmission. Can you describe the shifting issue better?

Does it start and run? Take a jumper cable from the battery negative and attach it to the engine, does it still flicker? Have you checked the condition of the wires under the main fuse box?

SO its not cranking at all, check the main fuses under the hood. Check the fuseable links and look under the main fuse block as it is not unusual for a car this age to have a wire or two rot under the main fuse box

Well the first thing to try is to put the car in Neutral and see if it starts. Why was the starter out?

Rebooting is a lot of work and a huge mess. I would only recomend it if you know the boot just cracked.