HELP! Amarok EGR and Turbo issue - advice needed

[SZULU]

i am looking for advice in relation to my Amarok , which has gone into a VW dealership for the 3rd time with the same problem and its costing me a fortune.


- Earlier this year my 2011 VW Amarok with under 70k on it went into limp mode. limp mode, Yellow engine light and yellow flashing glow plug light turned on. I took it straight to a VW dealership where they told me they didn't know what was wrong with it and that they just reset the computers. Cost me a couple hundred dollars for this. (Mount Gambier Volkswagen, South Australia)

- About 3 weeks ago the exact same problem happened once again, i was interstate so i took it to the nearest VW dealer. The service manager told me that the EGR needed to be replaced and the problem would be fixed. This cost me $1650. There was no mention of any other problems. (ringwood Volkswagon Victoria).

- Now once again just a week after fixing the EGR, limp mode, Yellow engine light and yellow flashing glow plug light turned on. i took my car back to VW Mount Gambier. They notified me that the turbos were 'failing the test' and needed to be replaced. they have quoted me $6,300 to fix this problem.

I received a call today from the service manger saying that they "found evidence of internal coolant leakage inside the EGR cooler" and the EGR needed to be replaced once again which will be of course covered under warranty due to Ringwood installing a new egr just a week before.


i have spoken to a friend who knows a ex service manager from volkswagon who stated to me:

"So the EGR valve being fitted incorrectly would have caused coolant to leak through the valve, into the intake and through the engine contaminating the Oil. The contaminated oil would then not have been lubricating properly, and caused the turbos to fail through lack of lubrication. Turbos do not fail by themselves at that low of a mileage, and the fact an EGR valve 1 week old has failed, shows clearly that it was incorrectly fitted. On a side note, after this is all finished, it would be wise to get an oil and filter change done on your car."

I have brought this up with the service manager of Mount Gambier who told me he 'Highly doubts it' that the faulty EGR leaking coolant had anything to do with my turbos suddenly showing that they are faulty. he said something about there being only a small amount of coolant leaking. Volkwagen Ringwood are still yet to call me back after several attempts to make contact.


My question for anyone for anyone who is familiar with this problem: could the EGR that was installed incorrectly and leaking coolant be the root to my turbo problem?

Volkswagon Amarok td400 2011 with 90,000km on odometer.

[Rocket36]

You have advice from an ex-Service Manager at Volkswagen. He will have FAR better expertise than a bunch of keyboard warriors on the internet. Get what he said in writing.

That said, the smallest amount of water in your engine is BAD! And I personally (opinion) have no doubt one problem led to the other and that they're not willing to acknowledge their mistake.

If you get an expert's statement in writing, it can be used when you lodge a complaint to consumer affairs due to poor workmanship when installing the new EGR causing the problem with the turbos that has a $6,300 problem!

My next advice - get this car to a point where it's driving and not showing errors and then sell it!

[Sharkie]

You have advice from an ex-Service Manager at Volkswagen. He will have FAR better expertise than a bunch of keyboard warriors on the internet. Get what he said in writing.

If you get an expert's statement in writing, it can be used when you lodge a complaint to consumer affairs due to poor workmanship when installing the new EGR causing the problem with the turbos that has a $6,300 problem!

My next advice - get this car to a point where it's driving and not showing errors and then sell it!

What Rocket said above!

A couple of options then:

1. Get the service manager's advice in writing, use it in court / tribunal etc to recover the costs of repairs. Generally hitting them with a claim in legal proceedings tends to resolve these issues quite quickly. Defending a claim that has merit costs money which they do not want to spend.

2. Fix the car and sell it ASAP.

Also, learn from this ..... do not have a VW dealership service your car. They have 2 or 3 qualified mechanics on site with 10+ apprentices. The apprentices do most of the work. How good do you think that work will be? Use a qualified specialist to do work on your car, especially if it is out of warranty. It will be cheaper and done properly ..... none of my VW's have ever seen a dealership for a service.

Incidentally, our "learner" car, 4 year old Hyundai Accent (36000km) just had a full new engine replacement by Hyundai. Scheduled 4 year service, the apprentice who did the service, broke a spark plug, bits dropped into the engine and the idiot simply put a new plug in and started the car ..... quickly ran to get a qualified person I think when it made terrible noises starting up! $20 sparkplug fitted by an apprentice cost them $5000 for a new engine .... which I made them fit. Should have followed my own advice really, except I don't know any Hyundai "specialists"