Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[sixboltmains]

I haven't piped up in this thread for a few months and it's so long that many of you won't read it all.

If you don't have any luck with VW goodwill you can find a 2011/2012 wrecker engine for about $1,200-$1,600 and have it installed for about $1,500 in labour at a good independent mechanic (Sydney Prices).

You could also buy forged aftermarket pistons for about AUD 900 online and have the engine rebuilt for about $3,000.

To be honest I wouldn't bother paying the $1,200 for the full inspection. Have a $50 compression test done and if the cylinder is shot then drop the $3,000 on the wrecker engine job and be done with it in a couple of weeks. Even if you get goodwill you'll still likely be a couple of grand out of pocket.

I put a 2011 wrecker engine in mine two years ago and it's still going strong even after heavy tuning.

Interesting.......I went thru this exercise earlier this year...and it was not possible to find a 1.4L twincharged wrecker/second hand engine for less than $4500. Then you will need to pay someone $1500-$2000 to install it. Comes to $6000 to $7000 anyway.


And if you do find a second hand engine, you don't know what condition its in and may probably in future have the same cracked piston issue...


The benefit of getting VW to do a goodwill repair is that its essentially free (less inspection cost) and comes with a two year parts & labour warranty from VW Aus.


You don't have to pay $1200 for inspection, if you shop around you may/will find a VW dealer that is cheaper than that.


Regarding forged pistons - the current price of genuine Wossner forged pistons is more than $600 EACH and thats if you import them your self from Europe.


If you are doing this yourself, you actually do not need forged pistons as the revised VW cast pistons (made by Kolbenschmidt -part number 03C107065CK) has resolved the issue. It was the older design pistons made by Mahle that had the issue.


You can buy these revised Kolbenschmidt pistons directly from any UK parts supplier for less than $200 each...no need to pay $450 each to VW and get ripped off.

[Mk R]

I haven't piped up in this thread for a few months and it's so long that many of you won't read it all.

If you don't have any luck with VW goodwill you can find a 2011/2012 wrecker engine for about $1,200-$1,600 and have it installed for about $1,500 in labour at a good independent mechanic (Sydney Prices).

You could also buy forged aftermarket pistons for about AUD 900 online and have the engine rebuilt for about $3,000.

To be honest I wouldn't bother paying the $1,200 for the full inspection. Have a $50 compression test done and if the cylinder is shot then drop the $3,000 on the wrecker engine job and be done with it in a couple of weeks. Even if you get goodwill you'll still likely be a couple of grand out of pocket.

I put a 2011 wrecker engine in mine two years ago and it's still going strong even after heavy tuning.

[sixboltmains]

Hi,
First time to post in here. I think we may have the same problem people are writing about in this forum.
We have a 2010 VW Jetta 118 TSI DSG.
On Sunday we were driving on the city west link in Sydney and the car suddenly lost power. We limped home (2 minutes away) - engine shuddering. The EPC and engine failure light came on. Called NRMA - he plugged it into his computer and diagnosed a loss of pressure in cylinder 4. NRMA towed it up to the local VW service centre.

This afternoon they rang and said it was bad news. After charging $126 to 'diagnose' the problem, they said we had.... a loss of pressure in cylinder 4. They said they would need to 'open up the engine' to determine the full extent of the problem, which would cost about $1200.
And that the 'best case scenario' we would be looking at $6000-7000 for repairs, and worst case, $12,000 for a new engine.

Given that the car was only worth about $6000, it is hardly worth spending anything like this. Ironically we had just been up to the showroom last week to choose a new VW Golf Alltrack and were about to begin the process of selling the old Jetta. I even got as far as having a broker source some potential deals for us. Now we are stuck with no car to sell which leaves a big hole in our budget in terms of upgrading. Not to mention being without a car in the middle of school holidays and having to contemplate getting to work/school/daycare pickups and drop offs.

It only has 67,000kms on it, and it has been regularly serviced at VW (only one time we went to a non-VW service). Spotless service record. It is a family car and has been well looked after and never thrashed. We are the first owners, having bought it new.

I had read these forums last night (thanks, all - amazing resource) and husband mentioned to the VW service centre that this sounded like the 'known fault' and that VWA were covering costs for some. The service customer rep said he didnt know anything about that.

Hoping to draw on your collective wisdom. Can anyone advise:

1. I was wondering if the problem I describe fits the general identified problem that others are getting compensation for? Or is it too uncertain at this point until they have opened up the engine? ie: is the 'diagnosis' of loss of pressure in cylinder 4 enough to to get the ball rolling to seek compensation?
2. Do I pay them the $1200 they are asking to 'open it up' and identify the extent of the problem?
3. If it sounds to people that the problem is the 'known fault' with this engine - What should be my next step? - pay that $1200 now, or immediately write to VWA Australia and push for them to cover the costs? Or should I write to the dealer first?

Sorry for the string of questions. I'm not a car expert. We have always loved our VWs so feeling a bit disappointed that a well cared for low ks 7 year old car is essentially a write off.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry to hear about your Jetta issues. I can fully appreciate what you are feeling. The answers to your questions and some comments:

- Yes, the issue, on the face of it, sounds like a cracked piston issue that is common on with this engine. Confirmation is only possible upon opening the engine block up.

- VW Australia will want the local dealer to open up the engine block up first and get confirmation BEFORE discussing options. So you will need to do that...but I am not sure why the dealer told you that they didnt know about this known issue or getting compensation.

- I went to three different VW dealers to get quotes to open the engine up - they ranged from $700 to $1750, so you need to shop around.

- You may be able to get a replacement service car whilst they look at your engine.

- The fact its a 1 owner car with very low KMs you have a good chance that VW Aus will cover the costs (less the initial $XXX to open it up)

- Initiate the conversation with VW Aus and tell then the facts and take it from there.

- Under Australian consumer law they HAVE TO fix it so dont take NO for an answer.

Good luck and let me know if you have any further questions.

[Kaliani]

Engine lost power - EPC light & engine failure light. VW asking $7000 minimum to fix

Hi,
First time to post in here. I think we may have the same problem people are writing about in this forum.
We have a 2010 VW Jetta 118 TSI DSG.
On Sunday we were driving on the city west link in Sydney and the car suddenly lost power. We limped home (2 minutes away) - engine shuddering. The EPC and engine failure light came on. Called NRMA - he plugged it into his computer and diagnosed a loss of pressure in cylinder 4. NRMA towed it up to the local VW service centre.

This afternoon they rang and said it was bad news. After charging $126 to 'diagnose' the problem, they said we had.... a loss of pressure in cylinder 4. They said they would need to 'open up the engine' to determine the full extent of the problem, which would cost about $1200.
And that the 'best case scenario' we would be looking at $6000-7000 for repairs, and worst case, $12,000 for a new engine.

Given that the car was only worth about $6000, it is hardly worth spending anything like this. Ironically we had just been up to the showroom last week to choose a new VW Golf Alltrack and were about to begin the process of selling the old Jetta. I even got as far as having a broker source some potential deals for us. Now we are stuck with no car to sell which leaves a big hole in our budget in terms of upgrading. Not to mention being without a car in the middle of school holidays and having to contemplate getting to work/school/daycare pickups and drop offs.

It only has 67,000kms on it, and it has been regularly serviced at VW (only one time we went to a non-VW service). Spotless service record. It is a family car and has been well looked after and never thrashed. We are the first owners, having bought it new.

I had read these forums last night (thanks, all - amazing resource) and husband mentioned to the VW service centre that this sounded like the 'known fault' and that VWA were covering costs for some. The service customer rep said he didnt know anything about that.

Hoping to draw on your collective wisdom. Can anyone advise:

1. I was wondering if the problem I describe fits the general identified problem that others are getting compensation for? Or is it too uncertain at this point until they have opened up the engine? ie: is the 'diagnosis' of loss of pressure in cylinder 4 enough to to get the ball rolling to seek compensation?
2. Do I pay them the $1200 they are asking to 'open it up' and identify the extent of the problem?
3. If it sounds to people that the problem is the 'known fault' with this engine - What should be my next step? - pay that $1200 now, or immediately write to VWA Australia and push for them to cover the costs? Or should I write to the dealer first?

Sorry for the string of questions. I'm not a car expert. We have always loved our VWs so feeling a bit disappointed that a well cared for low ks 7 year old car is essentially a write off.

Thanks in advance.

[sixboltmains]

Hello All,
I am in the process of replacing a cracked piston in my CAVD twin charger engine.
Upon checking for distortion I found that the cylinder is head is fine by the engine block deck is out of spec - i.e. I can insert a 0.05mm feeler guage under a straight edge.
My question is: can some someone confirm what the limit is for straightness of the engine block deck surface, I have assumed that its 0.05mm, the VW manual on-line only mentions the cylinder head surface but not the block.

Thank,
SBM

Anyone ??

[tigger73]

I disagree with this, VW Australia were obsolute C**** when it came to fixing a cracked no 4 piston in my case. The Car has been serviced at the VW dealer from Day 1 and it has <80,000 kms on it. Per Australia consumer law they should fix it for free (its called "Fit for purpose" ) but have not..hence why I am doing it myself. My dealer has also confirmed that >50% genuine requests for goodwill are knocked back for no valid/transparent reason. Once mine is fixed, will sell it and get a non VAGina product with a 7 yr warranty.

Unfortunately I think your engine went bang when there was very little $ in the warranty budget as 90% of it had been taken up with sorting dieselgate.

I think more recently (and I'm saying last couple months) it appears that things have changed and VW appears to be a lot better with processing these claims for goodwill repairs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sixboltmains]

I disagree with this, VW Australia were obsolute unhelpful when it came to fixing a cracked no 4 piston in my case. The Car has been serviced at the VW dealer from Day 1 and it has <80,000 kms on it. Per Australia consumer law they should fix it for free (its called "Fit for purpose" ) but have not..hence why I am doing it myself. My dealer has also confirmed that >50% genuine requests for goodwill are knocked back for no valid/transparent reason. Once mine is fixed, will sell it and get a non VAGina product with a 7 yr warranty.

[The_Hawk]

VW are (generally) pretty good at dealing with these issues for little cost to the user. There are cases of people having more or less issues or discussion, but they usually come to the party. It actually seems like it's been getting better too.

Sadly I was hit with a cracked #2 piston a couple of weeks ago but can also report that VW bloody awesome in responding with 4 shiny new pistons and a rebuild covered by them.

[zackz0rr]

I have good news, VW had replaced the whole motor and covered both the labour and parts cost, i was only out of pocket $500 for an inspection fee instead of 8-10K.

I have now sold the car and got a brand new 2017 Tiguan 110 TSI.

[sixboltmains]

Hello All,
I am in the process of replacing a cracked piston in my CAVD twin charger engine.
Upon checking for distortion I found that the cylinder is head is fine by the engine block deck is out of spec - i.e. I can insert a 0.05mm feeler guage under a straight edge.
My question is: can some someone confirm what the limit is for straightness of the engine block deck surface, I have assumed that its 0.05mm, the VW manual on-line only mentions the cylinder head surface but not the block.

Thank,
SBM

[lordlosh]

Hey drmitseng i sold the car by myself. I`m from Bulgaria and it took me like 2 months to sell and yeah i had to cut the price a bit.
Our currency here is BGN and i sold the car for 15k, which is 7,5k euro. The price here for the car with the packet i have was about 9 or 9,5k euro.
I sell it kinda 2k below the market range. But you also have to find someone to buy the car and most of the other online offers stay. This car is hard to sell and it`s will get worst with time.
The dealer offered me 6k, before they checked the car and i told him to ******. And if they find the clutch error code, they would probably gave me 4.5 or 5k at best .....
The clutch problem shown on diagnostics and i don`t have much option but to cut the price if i wanted to sell the car ...
So to be fair i`m very happy i sold the car. When was still mine there was always a stress that engine could break in any moment i drive the car. I just lose any believe in the car and drive it with fear.
And for my current car i was thinking of getting Golf 6 GTI, but i change my mind, when see how many people have problem with them, and decide to get Golf 7 GTI, and 1 friend of mine have early Golf 7 GTI, but he also changed my mind, by saying he have a lot of issue with the car and some huge turbo problems.
I was thinking of getting Honda Civic but their automatic are too slow and ruin the dynamic of the car and i get Peugeot 308GT 2.0BlueHDI 180 with automatic. So far so good.
At first the interior and the wheel was looking very strange, but now i love it.
Was thinking of getting Peugeot GTI, but they only have manuel trans.
I don`t know if its true or some myth, but diesel technology is from long time ago, and there is a little chance the manufacturer to f*** something so important, while the petrol engines are mostly new technology and so on and they said thats why they have so many problems.
I hope all goes well with your car, but my advice is to just sell the car. You will probably never ever have a trust in this car again.

[drmitseng]

O wait sorry I just looked at the country flag and realized u might not be in aus lol, so what did u end up getting?

[drmitseng]

Hey lordlosh, yeah the thought of selling it has been always on my mind ever since the CEL popped up, the more i read, the more i am thinking abt it. Just out of curiosity, did u sell ur online via carsales or to a dealer? How long did it take u? Did u make a considerable price cut (i mean like 3k below the market avg or so)?

[lordlosh]

drmitseng, hello there.
This cars are problematics. To be fair a lot of recent VW are problematics.
It`s insane to happen so sh*** on such new cars which are so low on km.
I had the same car 1.4tsi 118kw, DSG7, 2011.05.05 and i get the car on 82000km. or so.
Great car for driving, great acceleration, the fuel consumption was good, not as what VW said it is, but was kinda good.
But the car was burning arround 1l/1000km. oil or maybe more. There was no leaks and no one knows what it is, untill i decide to read on internet.
Lets not forget that my timing chain, starting to rattle and i have to change the Timing Chain and all the other parts as well .....
Problematic engines and even more problematic cars, that very often throw engines and gearbox is pretty shi***. Because of poor construction on so many important parts. Absolutely disaster.
And i was about to put new forged Piston, Coils, Sparks, and even TMG Air Intake, happy i didn`t do it ....
But after one journey arround 800km. the oil lamp comes again and i get very mad at VW. Okay i will change this, but after few years, maybe turbo or something very pricey will go too. Would i ever have a reliable car ??? If they messed with such important things, o god ... And of course its happen, just before i get some of the parts i was thinking getting. And holla, the DSG start to shrudder between 1st and second, and for about 1000km. it`s get a lot worst.
Of course i get enough of this car and decide im done with it.
But when i try to sell it, of course, on diagnostics there you go - DSG Clutch error, clearance too low/small or whatever it was. They said it could be clutches and its normal for this km. Normal to change clutches on a 90000km. car, yeah good job VW .... And the price is crazy. But they said i should be happy, some car not run even 25k with 1 clutches ..... No way i sell the car as it was for a kinda good price with all the problem it`s have. I still feel for the guy that buy it. I made him a discount but i`m still thinking about him .... I just don`t have many options ... It`s su*** but ...
I decide to get Golf 6 GTI, but decide to read before that, ops, they have problem with timing chain ... Decide to go for GTI 7, ask 1 mate that have early GTI 7, and he said he have turbo problems and a lot other issue and it`s far, far from happy. And i decide that i`m done with VW, unless it`s from the shop with 5 years warranty.
Change to other brand and so far so good.
My advice, though you not ask for it, it`s put the car shape to sell and get rid of her. The problem will just start getting one after another.

[drmitseng]

O yes the GTI motor and gearbox...wonder why that idea didn't flash by my mind, but i guess i will have to keep that option till later if it really ****s itself. It's a good idea for preventive measures, I will call VW village about it. Just a side note, i left a message on VWA facebook page about my situation and they replied asking me to pm them...I wonder what they can do about it, since VW village has started working on the car already.