Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[Normalitie]

Agreed. Current value is $7k according to Redbook, but Carsales.com seems to have a few around $10k.

Sorry to quote myself, but I went around a few dealers looking for a trade-in on a new Golf 7.5, and the most they'll offer is $4000 for the Golf 6 (2011, 85000km). At that price, I think I'm better to just drive it until it stops.

[alexw58]

Hi all

My 2010 118 TSI just came up with the Engine warning light. Called the RAA and they did a diagnostic which showed a fault with cylinder 3. Got it towed to a VW dealer and they confirmed low compression in cylinder 3.

They advised that VW unlikely to do a "goodwill" repair due to age of vehicle. Car has only done 85k and been regularly serviced.

So I rang VW. Basically they said get it fully diagnosed and we will consider but no commitment to repair at their cost. Trouble is that means shelling out another $1,000 - $1,200 to get it diagnosed and VW might still say no.

I pointed out that this was a well known problem with this motor and that there was plenty of discussion on this site re this problem. It is not as if the results of the diagnosis will be a surprise to VW.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a way to tackle this to get a positive response from VW i.e. to get VW to say if it ends up being the know problem we will fix at our cost or even contribute parts + say ½ labour? What they are saying currently leaves me stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Does anyone on this site know how many of these repairs have been done on the 118 TSI?

How much will it cost if I have to go it alone without VW assistance?

The Mechatronics unit was replaced about this time last year as a "goodwill" repair so this is the second "goodwill" repair I am requesting.

Thanks for your help. Great to have a site that shares so many people's experiences so we can all benefit.

[Transporter]

Hi all

My 2010 118 TSI just came up with the Engine warning light. Called the RAA and they did a diagnostic which showed a fault with cylinder 3. Got it towed to a VW dealer and they confirmed low compression in cylinder 3.

They advised that VW unlikely to do a "goodwill" repair due to age of vehicle. Car has only done 85k and been regularly serviced.

So I rang VW. Basically they said get it fully diagnosed and we will consider but no commitment to repair at their cost. Trouble is that means shelling out another $1,000 - $1,200 to get it diagnosed and VW might still say no.

I pointed out that this was a well known problem with this motor and that there was plenty of discussion on this site re this problem. It is not as if the results of the diagnosis will be a surprise to VW.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a way to tackle this to get a positive response from VW i.e. to get VW to say if it ends up being the know problem we will fix at our cost or even contribute parts + say ½ labour? What they are saying currently leaves me stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Does anyone on this site know how many of these repairs have been done on the 118 TSI?

How much will it cost if I have to go it alone without VW assistance?

The Mechatronics unit was replaced about this time last year as a "goodwill" repair so this is the second "goodwill" repair I am requesting.

Thanks for your help. Great to have a site that shares so many people's experiences so we can all benefit.

Look in this post. Not the same engine but, it shouldn’t cost over $1000.00 to do a compression test to asses mechanical condition of the engine. 2.0TSI Catastrophic engine failure, owners be aware.
I’d certainly chase them.
Good luck, and let us know about the progress.

[Ozsko]

Get an itemised quote and if it seems unreasonable get some consumer advice on how to tackle it. It seems a bit strange, they can tell you what the problem is but they need a $1000 to create a report for VW. Don't argue with them because they hold the whip hand and the dealer will have a big say in fixing it. A leak down and compression test won't cost more than an hours work and if they say they are going to pull the head off ask them does the quote include putting it back on.

[tigger73]

Unfortunately it's VW "standard" inspection procedure as they need to be able to determine the extent of the damage to properly determine correct course of action (whether a full new engine or just piston/rings/component replacement).

Be ready to go down ACCC path and for the car to sit there quite a while. Remember first offer is only an offer and you don't have to accept it. ACCC would say that a normal consumer would "reasonably expect" the engine to last the life of the car ~250-300,000km and not blow up need full replacement at 85,000.

But then you're into a legal battle and it can take time and effort to get a result. VW will be saying 9 year old (almost 10) car and that it's no longer covered. ACCC will probably say something different but get some good (legal/ACCC) advice before starting out - not just advice off the internet . Advice is free. You're the one paying whichever route you go down.

Also remember that VW dealer will only ever replace with genuine new parts as they need to warrant the work. If you go independent you can replace with a second-had or reconditioned parts to keep costs down. But then that's at your risk.

[Transporter]

The life of the car isn’t 250,000-350,000km. Not with the maintenance regimes set at every 12Months or 15,000km. It’s much less than that and difficult to determine.

The ACCC is the toothless dog when the car gets older and yes the 9years is a long time for the car, so IMO you’re in the mercy of the VW.
Be aware of that and don’t jump on the high horse, because you might think that you’re backed by the ACCC, but you aren’t.

[The_Hawk]

Does anyone on this site know how many of these repairs have been done on the 118 TSI?
How much will it cost if I have to go it alone without VW assistance?
The Mechatronics unit was replaced about this time last year as a "goodwill" repair so this is the second "goodwill" repair I am requesting.

There have been a bunch done for people on this forum, myself included. Read through this thread for some background on many of those.
What would replacement cost?? People have done it themselves or through specialist mechanics for $4-7k ish (the low end being a DIY job with a cheap 2nd hand engine).
Best case it’s just pistons, which could be replaced with the uprated parts used in later models. Worst case it’s a whole new engine. Some people just find a later model engine, drop that in and hope for the best. Others will tear their unit down and repair it.

Bottom line, your right, it’s a **** position to be in, we are very much hitting a point where the cost of repair is almost that of the car itself (if you have to pull the cash out of your own pocket) making it a hard decision. A few years back they were pretty good at doing the inspection at no cost (I think they largely accepted they were going to do goodwill at that point in time). If you're not getting joy through the dealer network, it's worth pursuing VWA directly to see what that might (or might not cover) at this point in time before undertaking expensive diagnostic work especially if they can state upfront that they won't cover this issue anymore.

I think it's a bit disingenuous to ask a customer to spend money to undertake diagnostic works in order to lodge a goodwill claim if they know it’s unlikely to be approved. While I appreciate there is a chance that it’s some different problem entirely (as unlikely as that is), it should be something that can be articulated upfront.

[tigger73]

100% agreed VWA has to be able to give you a commitment that they are going to cover a fixed % of the labour/parts before going into an expensive inspection.

They have to know before starting whether they are going to cover the cost of repairs or not. If you get a BS answer from the dealer forcing you to pay for an expensive inspection then escalate the issue with VW customer care to get an answer before you start.

I know they won't want to run it this way but as a paying customer you need to know this upfront as it will potentially change the way you handle the repair.

[Transporter]

How about the commitment to repair the significant flaw in the engine, regardless of the cost even if that means replacing the engine?
The engine shouldn’t lose the compression before 100,000km, that’s just not acceptable quality.

As far as the cost goes.
The mechanic knows from the compression test and leak down test if the pistons and/or the rings had failed.
From the scan of the ECU, he knows that the customer was driving the car within manufacturers specifications (didn’t abuse the car).
These are simple tests and shouldn’t take long time, therefor $1500-$2000 quoted is not acceptable and if the car had done less than 100,000km the repair should be done at VAG cost.

Despite it was voted the international engine of the year almost 10 years ago, just remember, we’re talking about the engine, which left the factory with bad (very dodgy) pistons, which started to fail at very early stages. Often in less that 30,000km

They should all be either recalled or repaired for free for up to 120,000km or 10 years, especially if there was only 1 owner.

[monterot]

Follow up post.

Dealership got no luck from VWA. I then emailed Jason Bradshaw a nice email and got a phone call very promptly from a customer service person for more info. A couple of days later a phone call back from VWA stating due to the age of the car they were not going to contribute.

I then sent a more forthright email, stating statutory laws, ACCC, known fault, etc but again VWA emailed back stating they were not going to contribute.

My plans now were going to be have the car fixed by an independent mechanic and continue to harass VWA for recompense and launch a complaint with Fair trading and the ACCC. The only trouble being I have tried 2 local mechanics who both said they would not rebuild the engine. Does anybody know of a good mechanic near Tweed Heads or Brisbane who would rebuild the engine?

Any help or advice appreciated. I know it makes no sense to spend $5k on a car worth $6 - 9k, but my wife loves her car.

For those who missed my previous post, 2010 Golf, owned from original 105Km, always 98Ron, all but one service by VW.

Thanks

Hi,
I have the same issue with my golf as year.

I went to vw village and they quote me $5-$7K to rebuilt the engine, also they offer me a 2 years warranty.

I have this car for 2 years now, so I really do not know if rebuilding the engine is a good idea or not.

or should i try to trade the car?