Fuel Blamed

[WEDEL.1]

Here is an article from The Advertiser Motoring Section (Adelaide) this morning - Ask Smithy.

My partners Golf GT, which she bought new, had its original engine replaced under warranty. Then, at 68000kms, it showed the same symptoms:engine shuddering, engine light coming on and loss of power. The Dealership found cracked pistons and evidence of block overheating.
We have only ever run it on premium but they have tried to attribute the problems to incorrect fuel and now won't cover the engine. We now have a practically new car sitting in the shed with no engine in it and we don't know what to do.

Smithy Replied;

VW told us they believe the car had been running on regular unleaded when it needs 98-octane as specified. A visual check of the fuel in the car indicated it was 91-octane, being pink. VW also claimed Tim and his girlfriend were told to use the high grade fuel when they bought the car. VW nevertheless offered to discount the cost of a replacement engine.
Tim's girlfriend disputes VW's claims, saying she told her car could run on 95-octane fuel if she used 98-octane fuel on a long trip, and that's what she has done. She has taken her own sample and claims it is the correct fuel.
Clearly this has reached an impasse and needs a moderator to settle the issue.
One thing other VW owners should take out of it is that you must run you cars on the recommended fuel, no matter what. If it says 98-octane fuel, run it on that fuel, even if it is more expensive. The potential problems of not doing so don't bear thinking about.

[Diesel_vert]

For vehicles that specify 98 RON, the workshop manual says that using 95 RON is permitted, but with reduced power output.

However, you may only use 91 RON in emergencies, and only at medium engine speeds and minimum engine load. Otherwise it can lead to serious engine damage.

In Australia, premium unleaded is dyed yellow, regular unleaded is purple or bronze, and leaded is red. So the presence of "pink" petrol in their tank would indicate regular unleaded, which would naturally lead to engine damage.

They would need to determine how the incorrect fuel got into the vehicle - whether the owners misfuelled their car, or if the service station got their storage tanks mixed up (has been known to happen).

[gavs]

Golf GT runs the 1.4tsi motor yeah? The same motor that, globally, is renowned for cracked pistons, melted pistons, blown engines and massive oil consumption issues....

If the fuel sample has been independently verified as the correct fuel then...

Still, it doesn't explain how, if the car was running lower octane the motor overheated with exactly the same symptoms, TWICE, when with modern ecu controlled motors the natural reaction is to over-fuel the motor to compensate for worse ignition which, with every bit of literature I have read, results in the motor running colder.

Please, someone more expert than me feel free to correct my theory but it sounds more like a cop-out on behalf of the cars guide and smithy seeing as the majority of its advertising seemingly comes from the brand in question every week....