Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[Scorpius9]

Scorpio9, I am interested in such. I agree that there is power in numbers. How many more are interested ?

Well - that makes two of us! A legal firm might take on a case like this if it felt it could throw the resources at it to good effect, and had a sufficient number of clients. It would be interesting to know the percentage of failed engines. It seems to me that VW knew of the problem long before it ceased to sell this engine - or modify it. That VW has acted in scurrilous fashion for years on other matters - diesel engine emissions - helps to establish a broader case for illegal, or at least disingenuous, company behaviour.

[tigger73]

All the dealers will have to perform diagnosis before sending the result to VWA for them to determine what they will/won't cover under any goodwill repairs. In actual fact goodwill repairs is just another name for VW's legal responsibility under consumer law. You as a customer could reasonably expect your car to last more than 6 years without blowing up an engine.

However you have to also take into consideration that VW may not cover the entire cost. And if you're not happy with what VW comes back with, you're still liable to the workshop for the "diagnostics" time.

What you want to get from VW before you start with diagnostics is the best/worst case in terms of your out of pocket costs.

That way you can work out whether to go down that path or to just source a second-hand engine and get an independent workshop to fit it.

[The_Hawk]

What you want to get from VW before you start with diagnostics is the best/worst case in terms of your out of pocket costs.

That way you can work out whether to go down that path or to just source a second-hand engine and get an independent workshop to fit it.

Probably the best idea before you enter into that pit of dispair.

[Scorpius9]

The response I get is:

We are always here to help as best we can however we are unable to offer any assistance without a full diagnosis and quotation. In your case, we know the vehicle has low compression but we don’t know the extent of the damage nor what has caused the loss of compression without removing the cylinder head. Until we have written authorisation from yourself as the owner of the vehicle and acceptance of our diagnostic charge we are unable to start this process.

They are seeking $1760 to diagnose the engine fault and are claiming no responsibility until I am prepared to pay this, which I am not.

As your vehicle's factory warranty has expired in 2013, we cannot cover for the cost of diagnosis.
No assistance can be provided yet, as we require your vehicle to be diagnosed with one of our service centres at our Volkswagen dealerships.
So we can determine the exact cause/source of the problem.

We can not provide yourself with a loan vehicle.

Does anyone know if you MUST go to a VW dealership to get a diagnosis that will satisfy VW Australia?...especially if the vehicle is out of warranty...That seems like some sort of restriction of trade.

A diagnosis from a reputable mechanic (say, an NRMA-approved mechanic in NSW or an RAA-approved mechanic in SA) ought to be enough - and will likely cost less than $1760 - especially since the mechanic will know what to look for.

I'm not saying it can be done that way - but it might be worth enquiring, or insisting with VWA, that you should be allowed to go down this path - always provided VWA is prepared to pick up the tab if it proves to be the problem it almost certainly is. (If the car were under warranty, I guess it would be a different story, since the terms of the warranty would no doubt tie you to a VW dealer.)

If it turns out to be a different problem, then you've paid out less money, the car is in the hands of a mechanic that you trust, and the money hasn't gone into the hands of a company and its agents that you're cranky with.

[blower]

You can get to the pistons from below with this engine.

Tell them to unbolt the gearbox, crankshaft pulley, drop the sump, unbolt the crankshaft and conrods and just pull the pistons out from underneath.
That's half the work to get to the pistons - and hence half the diagnostic fee.

It will be the pistons that have cracked....hell they will probably see the cracked pistons with a borescope through the spark plug holes.

They just need to stop being morons and diagnose this thing like any sensible mechanic would and not follow some ridiculous diagnostic procedure that has you disassembling the entire engine.

[Scorpius9]

Yes, they are being morons - from the very sensible and strictly mechanical point of view of diagnosis and repair.

But that's not the business model being used here. The business model being used is in one which, for one thing, workshop services at dealerships are kept ticking over, and the very high costs paid by us punters for those services minus whatever costs VWA has to pay out under warranties and 'goodwill' still maximises profits for both.

They also know what percentage of engines are having this problem, when they're having them, how much a recall would cost, whether or not they can get away without having a recall, and will have a strategy in place to...let's put it euphemistically...'minimise negative impacts to the company'.

There are already many people on this thread who have given up and put in second-hand engines, with little or no compensation from VWA. I know of other people - not on this thread - who have put in up to three engines without bothering with VWA at all. All of these cases are wins for VWA - and VWA will be well aware of this.

Oh yes - don't worry - they will have calculated a value for the longterm damage to the company with respect to these failed engines and its effects on market sales...

And taking into consideration all of these things, VW has adopted the strategy it has.

[tigger73]

The best outcome is to get some form of commitment from VWA before heading down the path of a $2k diagnosis.

They should be able to tell you by the age of the vehicle, km and service history what you are going to be offered in terms of goodwill repair.

You can then determine whether to tip the $ into diagnosis at a dealer or go the second-hand engine route at a reputable independent.

[Ryan_R]

Any updates to share? I'm still waiting for a response to the claim a dealer has submitted for my car (which was re-diagnosed by the dealer last Friday).

[Paul501]

So even tho I have issues with my newly acquired 2010 Golf TSI, the mere fact it's done 190,000 and still running is def a plus it appears! ...

[bensl]

hi all. ufortunately i have another to add here. my wifes 2009 golf with 59k has just done an engine. one cylinder has no compression apparently due to a shrunken/melted piston. dealer asked vw to assist but was refused so options now are to scrap or pay 10k for a new engine. gutted to say the least. this was the first new car we have ever bought and has totally turned us of the vw brand.

im going to contact vw directly monday but im not expecting much luck. any tips on how i should proceed?

thanks