sbmcd
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VIP Member
On Saturday 27 Jan we returned from a couple of days skiing at Glencoe, journey back to Edinburgh was event free, stopped for a break at Stirling and van was ok until we were almost home, as we turned off at Cockpen Church the van displayed a check coolant level warning, since we were only 3 miles from home and the coolant temperature gauge was reading normal we continued our journey home a parked the van up on our drive normally, van was running perfectly and sounded fine, my wife was driving so I was outside the van when she reversed it into our drive.
When I tried to start the van about an hour later it was struggling only turn over, very slowly if at all.
Called the recovery service on my van insurance policy, they arrived next morning:
· They checked the engine management system for faults but found none.
· Added 1.2 litres of water to the coolant header tank, to bring it back up to normal level and carried out a pressure test, system showed a slow leak, no obvious sign of coolant leaking could be seen.
· Oil level normal on dipstick with no significant sign of condensation at filler.
· They checked the battery which was fine.
· Attempted a start but found the same problem as I had, engine would only turn over slowly if at all, battery leads warmed indicating high current draw.
· They then arranged pick up next day for delivery to Clarks Commercials the Edinburgh VW dealer I bought the van from and who carries out all the services on my vehicle.
Since I got the van in March 2014 I have never had to top up the coolant, I checked the coolant and oil about 3 weeks ago both were fine. I suspected with such a sudden loss of coolant something significant has occurred, engine not turning over freely suggested some coolant ingress to cylinder.
Clark Commercials called me today to advise that it was the EGR valve that had failed and that had caused the coolant to enter the cylinder via an exhaust valve, they also advised that the cost for the repair would be an eye watering £1,600,
Actual cost was £1,504 for the EGR replacement picked it up today.
Also had the timing belt and water so total bill today was £2017.00
It seems to me that failure of a key component in less than 4 years just should not happen, my vehicle has done only 53,736 miles.
Have asked if VW, as a gesture of goodwill, would contribute to the cost of this repair, not hopeful.
When I tried to start the van about an hour later it was struggling only turn over, very slowly if at all.
Called the recovery service on my van insurance policy, they arrived next morning:
· They checked the engine management system for faults but found none.
· Added 1.2 litres of water to the coolant header tank, to bring it back up to normal level and carried out a pressure test, system showed a slow leak, no obvious sign of coolant leaking could be seen.
· Oil level normal on dipstick with no significant sign of condensation at filler.
· They checked the battery which was fine.
· Attempted a start but found the same problem as I had, engine would only turn over slowly if at all, battery leads warmed indicating high current draw.
· They then arranged pick up next day for delivery to Clarks Commercials the Edinburgh VW dealer I bought the van from and who carries out all the services on my vehicle.
Since I got the van in March 2014 I have never had to top up the coolant, I checked the coolant and oil about 3 weeks ago both were fine. I suspected with such a sudden loss of coolant something significant has occurred, engine not turning over freely suggested some coolant ingress to cylinder.
Clark Commercials called me today to advise that it was the EGR valve that had failed and that had caused the coolant to enter the cylinder via an exhaust valve, they also advised that the cost for the repair would be an eye watering £1,600,
Actual cost was £1,504 for the EGR replacement picked it up today.
Also had the timing belt and water so total bill today was £2017.00
It seems to me that failure of a key component in less than 4 years just should not happen, my vehicle has done only 53,736 miles.
Have asked if VW, as a gesture of goodwill, would contribute to the cost of this repair, not hopeful.