Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[Tom87]

Quite a few people have said that Australian petrols fall short of their official octane rating. For instance, that the fuel sold as 98RON is really only 96RON.

Would it be helpful to use octane enhancing additives? I've seen a few made by Nulon or Wynns, that promise to increase octane ratings by anything from 4 to 8 units.

Are such additives safe for use in the 118TSI engine, or could they cause damage?

I'm quite interested in this question, because predetonation destroyed my engine, and all pistons and injectors had to be replaced under warranty. I don't want that to happen again, but I'd like to know if there is any downside to using octane-boosting additives.

I'd be super cautious of adding fuel additives even if they're "safe to use" according to their manufacturer. You might even find in your vehicle manual that the use of non-genuine or at least non-dealer service (ie: VW authorised) fuel additives may even contribute to voiding your engine warranty or at least your fuel pump and injectors.

[fully]

I'm having a new issue with my manual 118tsi golf, besides the engine being super rough when cold for a minute or so which most say is normal, the new issue I've noticed is, there seems to be hesitation when cold at take off, best way I can explain is I push on the gas and car moves off slowly then seems to pull back then takes off again. Only happens at start up when oil temp is 0 , doesn't have to be complete overnight cold, even after say a four break after a long cruise. Is this something I should be worried about. ?

[toastedvw]

update of sorts. My car has been diagnosed with "timing issues" and the engine is being stripped again to find the source of the issue.

Anyone have any idea what that means?

Its only been a month since the rebuild so my guess is something was not done correctly with the rebuild. But since I am no genious when i comes to engines I am only speculating.

[Ryan_R]

Timing is somewhat general to all engines so a Google search would explain it better than I could. Generally good timing makes the engine smooth to run and bad timing/tune makes it rough and can cause other problems. Odds are VW engines are a bit more complicated with that.

[toastedvw]

latest update..... turns out the timing tensioner chain had become dislodged and caused massive damage to the cylinder head.
Looks like i'm in for another long wait until its back on the road.

[Diesel_vert]

latest update..... turns out the timing tensioner chain had become dislodged and caused massive damage to the cylinder head.
Looks like i'm in for another long wait until its back on the road.

Sorry to say, there have been failures elsewhere as well: Timing chain tensioner, design issues

BMW have had major dramas with their four cylinder diesel engines, Mini with its four cylinder petrols, not to mention VW, etc.
I don't understand - what's the deal with German cars and timing chains these days?

Not that timing chains don't wear or elongate over time, but it's unreasonable for these components to be failing so early.

[rude]

Hi guys been reading this thread and it doesn't sound to promising that there is an actual fix for engines blowing up!

We have one of these cars in the family and it is onto its 3rd engine!! What happens when the warranty runs out ? Is there any permanent solutions to fix this?

Well we still have the car and now its got its 4th engine!!!

Car has done 43000kms and it doesnt look like there is a fix for it at all.
Its a 2010, Manual.

We are trying to get it swapped for a diesel model

[minke]

Well we still have the car and now its got its 4th engine!!!

Car has done 43000kms and it doesnt look like there is a fix for it at all.
Its a 2010, Manual.

We are trying to get it swapped for a diesel model

I'd be contacting the Dept Fair Trading. There are lemon laws that should protect you in this situation I thought.

Lemon laws protect you | carsguide.com.au

According to the article
quote
"f you have what the ACL calls a major failure with your car, you are entitled to return it to the dealer to claim a refund, or a replacement -- your choice of an identical new car or one of similar value.
A major failure is when a reasonable consumer would not have bought the car if they had known about the problem, or when the car is substantially unfit for its normal purpose.
In other words -- the car is a lemon."

4 engine failures in my book is car is substantially unfit for its normal purpose.

[Tim]

Is there any ACL wording on the legislation? I cant find it anywhere on the ACL or consumer affairs websites.

That carsguide article glosses over the topic a bit too much for my liking. Would love to see what the actual requirements for getting a car replaced are.

[Silvertfox]

Did you read the article? There are links to government websites that will guide you further! Remember nothing is free and you have to dig further for any government help!