1.4 TSI Gearbox drama

[Dazedconfused]

Hey guys,

I am just wondering if anyone has had any issues with the factory 6 speed manual gearbox?

I purchased my car new (at Solitaire in S.A.) at the very end of 2008 and after 11 months I had this terrible crunching noise which resulted in having to have the gearbox repaired under warranty (at Klosters in Newcastle, due to posting), and I have just had it serviced at German Auto (GA) here in S.A. for its 75000k service and they tell me there's a noise when I corner at low speeds and they suspect it may be a gearbox issue.

They've quoted me minimum of $1600 labor to remove the box and repair it and replace it (parts extra of course).

Of course my AAMI "comprehensive" insurance doesn't cover mechanical (something I'm looking into now strangely enough), and it's now out of warranty. Bottom line, I'm screwed.

I intend to contact VW however and discuss this, as it is GA's opinion that either the repairs were possibly not done correctly at the 11 month mark, or the parts have failed again OR other parts were damaged with the initial fault, and were not repaired with the original parts.

Needless to say I'm pretty pissed and I have a couple of questions.

1. How is it that there can be noise coming from my gearbox which is noticeable when cornering? They told me they suspected a CV issue (which made more sense to me), but upon a cursory check felt it was more likely the gearbox. Given they have to remove it to know for sure, if they're wrong I'm still stuck with a large labor bill for nothing. He tried to explain to me that cornering can evoke box noise, but I walked out a combination of confused and skeptical. Does anyone have any experience here to help clarify this for me?

2. Does anyone have a suggested course of action i could possibly adopt with VW to endeavor to get them to fix this for me, as I firmly believe after failing at the 11 month mark, and now again, it is a design/manufacture or initial repair failure on the company's part anyway.

I'd really appreciate some advice with this situation, as I'm not sure how to approach it.

Cheers,
Dave

[Ryan_R]

There might be a 12 month warranty on their previous works regardless of new vehicle warranty - you'd better lodge a case asap though.

If you're not happy with one dealers response then try another one.

[Dazedconfused]

Gearbox

There might be a 12 month warranty on their previous works regardless of new vehicle warranty - you'd better lodge a case asap though.

If you're not happy with one dealers response then try another one.

It's a couple of years outside that 12 months anyway and the fact that I've had 2 gearbox failures on this vehicle in 4 years with very average driving is not something I think many new car owners would be happy with.

Any thoughts on the mechanics description of the noise?

[Ryan_R]

Oh ok, thought you mentioned being at the 11 month mark.

I'm not a mechanic but have you tried pushing the engine around in the bay just in case a mount is giving up? I don't see how a gearbox would exhibit weird behaviour only when turning the steering wheel. Is it only on slow corners or on fast ones as well? Only in certain gears? Also when clutch pedal engages or in neutral? Only when braking as well?

[Idle]

If it's only evident when turning, I'd expect to find the source of the noise either in a bearing, a CV joint or the differential — the actual gearbox wouldn't know the difference.

[Umai Naa!!]

I'd say it's a CV issue as well.

[Dazedconfused]

I know right. That's pretty much what I thought as well. Seems odd that these guys would be attempting to dupe me with the reputation they have locally however.

As for the noise, all I can say is it must have occurred gradually as I hadn't noticed anything loud or abnormal when cornering. That said I did lose the hearing in one of my ears 12 months ago as well, which also may have made it difficult to pinpoint anything. Personally though, I don't notice anything too out of the ordinary, but that could be because I'm used to the sound.

I'm going to call VW tomorrow and most likely pen a letter to VW head office and see what that does for me.

I suppose I could run it by the techs at VW servicing and see if they pick up on the noise. If they suggest the same issue, I could take it back to GA for repairs.