Hello, are we sitting comfortably?.....good, then I'll begin.
Back in 2016 I bought, on finance, a rather gorgeous 2010 VW golf 1.4 TSI in silver. By gorgeous I mean low KM's, barely a mark inside or out and not even a kerb scratch on the alloy wheels. It had full service history and only 1 owner. I test drove it and went back days later to pick it up.
Less than two weeks later the car had developed a rough idle and was bellowing thick dark smoke out of the back with a massive drop in power. I took it back to the dealership, after a couple of days and a courtesy car it was diagnosed with piston failure. In my doey eyed desire for the car I had not done enough home work and missed this apparently common fault with this particular engine. No problem, all covered under statutory warranty (I had purchased a 5 year warranty as well.).
For the next 12 months, I had no issue until one day sitting at a set of lights I felt a slight 'wobble'. I lifted the bonnet when I got back home and noticed the engine vibrating more than was normal. I kept an eye on it and mentioned it to the mechanic when I next took it for a service. He mentioned that it had multiple error codes (no engine light at this stage) the dump valve was faulty and the 'wobble' was a possible piston failure symptom.
I was pretty upset and went back to the dealership to discover my 'warranty' wasn't valid. Even if I had read the small print and got my car serviced at the dealership (not mentioned at time of purchase, but my fault I guess) the dealership had claimed the maximum amount to pay for the replacement first engine despite it falling well within the statutory 30 days and so they wouldn't pay any more money for engine parts.
So I decided to go for a second opinion. I'm not a mechanic, but I am an enthusiastic amateur, I have been pulling car engines apart for as long as I can remember. When piston rings or pistons fail, it is usually pretty catastrophic. You don't sit there straining to hear/feel a symptom and say 'can you hear that?'. You would usually say something like 'What the f**k was that??!?!' as something goes bang. So I thought that it couldn't be the piston or rings as it hadn't gotten any worse, there was no smoke and no dramatic loss of power.
So I kept driving for a few weeks. During which time the car developed a very loud squeal which turned out to be a fan belt pulley.
So I went to a VW dealership. The experts right? pay a premium to get a premium service right? Not on this occasion. The fan belt pulley was replaced and the noise gone, but the other symptoms remained. I drove home from the dealership which wasn't far from my house and popped the bonnet. What I saw I can only describe as a pretty poor show. several plastic brackets and holders were snapped and broken, a bolt that connects the engine mount to the engine was hanging out of the block, two other engine mount bolts were missing several hoses were disconnected and other bolts and bits were generally missing or in the wrong place.
So I went back. I complained (politely) that the original problem hadn't been diagnosed and there was all this damage. As a 'gesture of goodwill' they offered a free diagnosis. Fair enough, however when I asked about replacing the damaged parts I was flatly told no. Annoyed I decided to email VW head office and supplied pictures as well. Long story short 5 I was effectively told 'We're not fixing it. Go to trading standards if you don't like it' and they terminated contact.
So by this point I was at 'f**k it. I'm just going to drive it till it breaks.'. I still owed 3.5 years finance on it and I was pretty upset. The fan belt pulley repair was over $400 alone never mind the diagnostic fees etc.
Fast forward 18 months. The car has now developed a new fault; a drop in power, excessive fuel use and sooty plugs. combined with this was an engine light and occasional misfire. 'the beginning of the end' I thought.
So I took it to another VW dealership who confirmed my fears. 'I'm sorry sir, but we put a borescope into the cylinder bore and the piston is cracked. the car is on its last legs. That'll be $178.00'. Definitive right?
Then one day I noticed water underneath the car. the water pump was leaking, bad. long story short; I replaced it myself which was not an easy fix. The repair was like trying to redecorate your house from the outside through the bathroom window. The water pump is driven by the fan belt, no surprises there, but for the uninitiated the supercharger is driven by the water pump via a pully and an electromagnetic clutch. This is buried in the darkest deepest depths of the engine bay and that is the reason that it costs quite a bit to repair/replace and why some mechanics go slightly mad.
During this repair however I discovered several more things. Apart from the fact that previous mechanics had used a hammer to try and fix parts of it I found several damaged wires connected to one of the 3 MAF sensors. 'Hmmm' I thought, so one auto electrician (and $150) later this was repaired and the car took on a whole new persona, it regained its mojo, but it was short lived. After while it developed a misfire that would cause the car to stall and would sometimes go into limp home mode.
So on a whim I decided to go back to the original VW dealership and see it that 'Goodwill' was still there. It was, kind of... I spoke to a very lovely woman who could see my frustration and how upset I was a promised me faithfully to treat the car as if it were her own. Half a day later she called me, the news wasn't good. They had run a compression test and cylinder 2 was down. So between that and the 'borescope' comment it seemed terminal. I asked if it was the dreaded piston failure and the chief mechanic explained that it could be a number of things but didn't rule it out. Another $178.00.
Next I called my expert mechanic (my Dad) and explained my frustration. He's in the UK so can't here to help me. He said that a lot of the symptoms sounded like a damaged head gasket. The idea that you always get oil in the water making a creamy mess at the oil filler cap or the 'white smoke' coming out of the exhaust is a bit of a myth. These are just two of many many possible symptoms of a failed head gasket. So I tried some Steel Seal as a last resort. Didn't work.
'That's it!' I exclaimed to a friend over the phone. 'I've had enough!'. By this stage Covid had hit and I had lost my job so I was in no position to pay for repairs. So I limped it around until I got a new job that happened to come with a car. (A Hyundai I 20 - side note: this is a car with a surprising amount of power....none.) Then I resolved to pull the Golf to pieces and see once and for all what the issue was. If it was repairable, I would, if it wasn't I was going to dismantle it piece by piece and sell & post it around the country until it was gone...F**k this car!!!.
So I did. I took the cylinder head off. Incidentally, this is a lot harder than it sounds. I have replaced several cylinder head gaskets over the years, it is pretty straightforward. But it takes a lot of time which is why it will cost north of $3000 to replace a part that costs $200. So 2 weekends (2 full days worth of actual work), 3 skinned knuckles and a headache later, there it was! Not one, but three different problems!
Problem 1 - The wiring repair to the MAF sensor had broken again causing the over fuelling issue again
Problem 2 - Cylinder head gasket is in a pretty shocking state with obvious 'blow past'
Problem 3 - A damaged exhaust valve that needs relapping.
The timing chain had more play than a gamers convention so that's getting the treatment as well and is it just me or are VW ignition coils specifically designed to get brittle and break when you try and take them out??
Needless to say that if you have stuck with my story this far you will have drawn several conclusions... firstly; I'm an idiot. I didn't do my homework before buying the car and I didn't read the fine print on the warranty. Secondly, even highly paid mechanics working for the brand can be lazy too. Imagine if I had decided to scrap the car based on this diagnosis.... finally, if you learn anything from this story it is for the love of all that you hold holy don't buy the CAVD engine and if you do, be prepared for challenges.
Don't get me wrong, when it works well it gives most hot hatches a run for their money. It isn't GTi quick, but for a family hatch it is a belter. Long journeys are a breeze and it is comfortable and easy to drive, but it is an engine that is fraught with issues not least the dreaded piston ring failure, but if you encounter the same issues I've had then it can be extremely expensive to fix. This is why VW quietly discontinued it and it's variants.
So I am now waiting on a couple of parts and for the head to come back from a specialist reconditioning company and then I will clean and rebuild the engine. Overall based on estimates from several garages the cost would have been approx. $3500 to repair the head and replace the timing chain. As I'm doing it myself, including a few specialist tools I've had to buy, it will be approx. $900 all up.
If you've enjoyed this story, please comment and ask questions, this is a simplified version of the whole story and there is more, but probably even more boring. Also if anyone wants I will post up the reassembly of the engine as well with pictures.
The Notorious 1.4 CAVD twin charge... a story
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