B
Bill
Guest User
My Cali went into the main dealers for a belt and water pump change in March of this year. It is a 2012 T5.1 2L 180 DSG bi-turbo, 52,000 miles on the clock, and always driven with a gentle right foot. Shortly afterwards I found in my weekly checks that I was having to add coolant which I had never had to do previously. The situation got progressively worse until I the level in the expansion tank was dropping from the MAX mark to the MIN mark in just 120 miles of careful driving. There was no sign of a leak in the engine bay or on the ground beneath the vehicle. I was curious to know if there was any connection between fitting of the water pump and need to top-up the coolant. Time to let the experts have a look, so I booked back into the main dealer. They found no problem with the water pump but informed me that there was white smoke coming from the exhaust (although I had never seen any) and carried out pressure tests. The EGR valve (oil cooler) was considered a suspect (damp patch) so it was blanked off and pressure tested again. The engine side showed no drop in pressure whilst the EGR showed a slight drop in pressure. From this they concluded that there was no problem with the engine and that the EGR valve needed to be replaced despite this being a fairly rare occurrence on the 180 engine. I winced at the quoted 8.9 hours labour + £100 / hour! + cost of part + VAT (it’s more expensive on the bi-turbo as it’s in a different position to the single turbo). A contribution towards parts and labour was requested and agreed much to my relief, although it still left a huge bill. Maybe you have guessed the next part. When the vehicle was road tested prior to being returned to me the coolant level was still dropping! They advised that the engine then needed to be stripped to check the cylinder head gasket, the cylinder head for distortion and possibly even damage to the block (unlikely). This confused me as the result of blanking the EGR valve showed no pressure drop on the engine side which convinced them that the EGR valve was at fault. When I queried this I was informed that it was possible for two major failures to occur simultaneously (EGR valve and perhaps a head gasket) and presumably only by rectifying and eliminating one can the other be identified. It seems like a massive, and convenient, coincidence to me. I am now facing a bill for an additional 9 hrs labour (strip and rebuild) + any parts etc, which will perhaps double or more the original bill.
I have tried to report events as accurately as possible but I am not a vehicle technician so my understanding is limited to what I have been told. I accept that at 52k I will have repair bills and have to deal with normal wear and tear issues, but this seems excessive for a supposedly reliable brand especially considering that the vehicle has been main dealer maintained throughout its life and always driven carefully. I am left with lots of unanswered questions and would greatly appreciate any advice (apart from robbing a bank to pay for this disaster!). Have I been unbelievably unlucky or has perhaps the wrong diagnosis been made in the first place? Should I have to pay for repair work that has not solved the problem? Could the cause be anything else? What steps can I take to seek redress from VW and from the dealership if you think that is appropriate? Many thanks.
I have tried to report events as accurately as possible but I am not a vehicle technician so my understanding is limited to what I have been told. I accept that at 52k I will have repair bills and have to deal with normal wear and tear issues, but this seems excessive for a supposedly reliable brand especially considering that the vehicle has been main dealer maintained throughout its life and always driven carefully. I am left with lots of unanswered questions and would greatly appreciate any advice (apart from robbing a bank to pay for this disaster!). Have I been unbelievably unlucky or has perhaps the wrong diagnosis been made in the first place? Should I have to pay for repair work that has not solved the problem? Could the cause be anything else? What steps can I take to seek redress from VW and from the dealership if you think that is appropriate? Many thanks.