So...I was coming home yesterday from work when my engine started to lose power. I didn't think much of it until about 10 seconds later the engine started shaking really hard and the power went into super limp mode. After the car then stalled out 3 or 4 times, i managed to get it into a parking lot off the road. I opened the engine and it looked like a bucking-bronco .

The check engine light came on right after the first noticeable loss of power. Ive seen this sort of thing before in my 2003 Jetta GLI and when I got it fixed they said it was a bad spark plug.

So when I got the engine code looked at, it said multiple cylinder misfire. Went to the local shop to get them to take a look at it (not the dealership). They said i needed a tune up (I'm at 47,xxx miles) and i had to replace all 12 spark plugs, wires, and what-not, to the tune of $500 !

The guy also said that there is a TSB for the ECU but unfortunately they couldn't fix it there.

But back to the problem: when I say my car lost ALL of its power....i really mean it (2004 Limited with a stick ). I could do okay going downhill, but if the terrain was flat or up hill, it was a guaranteed stall out.

Here are my questions:

1.) Can I expect to keep getting this problem after the tuneup, without the ECU TSB fix?
2.) After reading the other threads about this issue, no one else seemed to lose ALL of their power like i did. Could there be another issue here?
3.) WTF $500 for the tuneup?? Does this sound about right for all 12 spark plugs, wires, and whatever else goes along with that?
4.) Any other suggestions you could yield?

BTW, I have a service warranty, but OF COURSE, they do not cover tuneups, spark plugs, and everything else that would REALLY be useful.

Side note: They did discover one of my CV boots had some play in it...the warranty covered that (would have been $600 to fix that...)

Any help or suggestions?

Thanks,