Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[Sentinel]

Your welcome

Sad to hear about your car (what year is it?) and the dealer experiences (it wasn't Chatswood, was it?).

My car is a MY2011, purchased in November 2010. The dealer wasn't in Chatswood ... but another part of Sydney.

If bad petrol was in fact the problem, then don't go for Stage 1 since that absolutely requires 98-RON. If you're in the middle of nowhere and have to fill up with 95-RON you're advised to turn off the tune.

I don't actually think bad petrol was the problem. That's just something the mechanic said. I live in Sydney, and I've always used top-grade petrol - mostly BP Ultimate. I think he was just making excuses for the engine damage.

I haven't had engine problems (only once I got a misfire error but no problems since), but have battling with the DSG and after spending quite a bit of money have got it running very nicely. As you say you wonder whether to upgrade and avoid any potential future issues but then the thought of leaving that fantastic twin charged engine (asp when running Stage 1) seems unbearable.

I don't want to leave that engine. I'm just asking if the APR upgrade would help? Or the DSG upgrade (can't remember what it's called), or spark plugs or anything else.

I love this car, and I want to keep it. I just want to make sure it's reliable. If you've got yours running very nicely, I'd like to know how you did it.

Mine ran nicely for the first year, but then started to have problems. Now that I'm getting a partly-new engine, I'd love to avoid those problems.

[Ryan_R]

Well have you got an hour?

I bought my MY10 118TSI just over 2 years ago second hand, came with beige leather seats as the only ticked option. Since then, I've installed the following:

RNS510 with multiple formware and maps upgrades since then
9W3 Premium Bluetooth
APR Stage 1 with security lockout
(Purchased a VCDS cable)
MDI
Rear mudflaps
GTI debadged steering wheel
GTI metal pedals
OEM reversing camera
Maniacs DSG paddle extensions
Upgraded to 9W7 Premium Bluetooth
Clutch pack replacement under warranty
Front window weather shields
DSG mechatronics replacement under warranty
2 years extended VW warranty
Guy Harding's DSG tune
Torque Arm Insert
PolarFIS Advanced +
Audi S3 Intercooler (not yet installed)




I *think* that's everything Possibly I have one of the most unique 118TSI's around. No idea how I'd go when it eventually does come time to sell. I can see why I gave up having mods listed in my signature now

[parso_rex]

Borrow someones vagcom cable and get the car logged to see if its running correctly with minimal knock and decent AFR's. What a terrible VW experience

[Sentinel]

Ryan R - That's way out of my league. I'm interested in first of all just making sure this doesn't happen again, and secondly perhaps getting an APR Stage 1 and/or a DSG tune at some point.

parso_rex - That's an interesting idea. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who's into that level of VW skill.

Actually, getting a professional to check it out after it comes back from the dealer might be the best way to go. The link in your signature could be just what I need, and it's not even very far away ...

[brad]

I don't actually think bad petrol was the problem. That's just something the mechanic said. I live in Sydney, and I've always used top-grade petrol - mostly BP Ultimate. I think he was just making excuses for the engine damage.

A mate of mine was having idling/CEL issues with his 77TSI. The dealer claimed his fuel was bad. He asked for a sample to send to the manufacturer for analysis as he had only filled ever filled with 98ron from the same manufacturer & he showed the dealer his collection of fuel receipts. The dealer went very quiet after that.

I'm not even sure that the workshop has an inhouse means of testing the octane of the fuel.

From my experience, the dealership will try & offload responsibility for problems to anyone but themselves / VW.

[Sentinel]

Brad - That sounds about right to me.

Even if the dealer's claims were true - that Australian premium fuel is 96 octane at best - that's still better than the minimum 95 RON recommended by the owner's manual.

I'm not very impressed by the dealer at all. However, VW Customer Care actually helped me, which is something.

I still love Volkswagen, but any car I buy in the future won't come from that specific place.

[ziggyboy]

Brad - That sounds about right to me.

Even if the dealer's claims were true - that Australian premium fuel is 96 octane at best - that's still better than the minimum 95 RON recommended by the owner's manual.

I'm not very impressed by the dealer at all. However, VW Customer Care actually helped me, which is something.

I still love Volkswagen, but any car I buy in the future won't come from that specific place.

My experience with 2 VW dealerships for aftersales support have not been the best. Wouldn't say they were awful but definitely below average compared to dealerships I have dealt with before (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda). I've had my clutch kit replaced, complained about my squealing engine on acceleration to 2 dealerships. One said they couldn't hear it, another didn't do anything at all like it was ignored and fixed some other problem. The problem has been confirmed though but people here and even a friend of mine who works for VW but for some reason the dealerships probably think I can live with it and chooses to ignore it.

I've gotten too tired to go back, maybe sometime in 2013 when I'm a little bit more energised after the holidays. Instead of VW warranty causing hassle free motoring it causes me more grief and heartache. I'm gonna have to think about how to tell them about my problem as it seems to be an art to get VW mechanics to even start believing in you. Any tips? It's like they expect every person coming in for warranty repairs to be fraudsters.

[Ryan_R]

Type up a detailed explanation of what faults exist and when they occur/how to replicate them and leave it in the car for the technician to read (rather than hoping that the service desk person accurately conveys everything)

[gavs]

I must say it is interesting to read all of these issues because the recent annual customer satisfaction surveys on vehicle manufacturers came out a couple of weeks ago and surprise surprise, guess who came in last of the major brands.

Customers cited issues such as lying and deceitful behavior as well as a total lack of after sales support after vehicle purchase as well as the product not living up to the expectations of the customer based on the image of the brand conveyed through their marketing ploys.

[AdamD]

I must say it is interesting to read all of these issues because the recent annual customer satisfaction surveys on vehicle manufacturers came out a couple of weeks ago and surprise surprise, guess who came in last of the major brands.

Here's a link:

Toyota, Honda top Australian vehicle service satisfaction survey