Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[Lucas_R]

Yes the misfires seem to get worse as the engine gets hot from the feedback other 118TSi owners have given, for some reason the misfire is less obvious when the engine is cold or cooler. But as advised by AdamD, i would drive it as little as possible (or not at all if you can go without it) until the engine is inspected for low compression and/or piston damage.

[svondas]

I had purchased a 2010 118tsi Manual Golf in October 2016 with 80000kms (I was the second owner). About 4 weeks ago the engine light and EPC light came on and I took it straight to the mechanic and got the error read as misfire in Cyl 3. A couple days later I had a compression test done and Cyl 3 came back at 50psi compared to 150psi which confirmed more than likely a cracked piston. I was advised to contact VWA to try and get help as it would cost in the order $6000 to get fixed. I contacted both VWA and the dealer numerous times and only got frustrated with the default line of bringing it into the dealer and getting it stripped at my cost. In the meantime i contacted the ACCC and read through this forum and decided based on my research to write a letter of demand to VWA. The email was cc'ed to a number of executives in VWA.

The next day I got a call from VWA who kindly organised for a loan car and the my Golf to be stripped and a goodwill claim organised all at VWA cost. I recently got the news that VWA would cover 100% parts and labour which was great news.

Ever since i sent the email to VWA they have been great to deal with and obviously resulted in a great outcome from what was a really stressful situation after a number of early discussions on the phone with them.

[ope126]

I had purchased a 2010 118tsi Manual Golf in October 2016 with 80000kms (I was the second owner). About 4 weeks ago the engine light and EPC light came on and I took it straight to the mechanic and got the error read as misfire in Cyl 3. A couple days later I had a compression test done and Cyl 3 came back at 50psi compared to 150psi which confirmed more than likely a cracked piston. I was advised to contact VWA to try and get help as it would cost in the order $6000 to get fixed. I contacted both VWA and the dealer numerous times and only got frustrated with the default line of bringing it into the dealer and getting it stripped at my cost. In the meantime i contacted the ACCC and read through this forum and decided based on my research to write a letter of demand to VWA. The email was cc'ed to a number of executives in VWA.

The next day I got a call from VWA who kindly organised for a loan car and the my Golf to be stripped and a goodwill claim organised all at VWA cost. I recently got the news that VWA would cover 100% parts and labour which was great news.

Ever since i sent the email to VWA they have been great to deal with and obviously resulted in a great outcome from what was a really stressful situation after a number of early discussions on the phone with them.

Great outcome there mate!
Credit were credit is due...

[billables]

Hi all - I'm almost exact same story as svondas. Bought second-hand in Jan 2016, manual 2010 118TSI with 70k on the clock. A couple of weeks ago engine light came on - cracked piston cylinder 1.

I noted most of the goodwill repairs have been done in Melb and Adelaide so thought I'd weigh in with a NSW good news story - I took it into North Shore VW (where the car was purchased new by the original owner). They put in for goodwill straight away and came back a couple of days later saying it'd been approved.

Also shout out to VW Village in Anzac parade who stopped work as soon as they found the issue - and told me to take it straight to VW to try for goodwill - rather than try push for themselves to do the repair for the $$$$.

All in all a bit of panic but good result!

[saveferris]

As per my previous post. VW is now covering 100% of the costs eventhough I was rejected at first. They will try to get out of it at any cost. That's when I became nasty. You have to be relentless persistent and consistent. I called and tormented them everyday, , I trolled there Facebook page and tagged them in whinging posts on Instagram, from VW Australia to Germany USA France, threatened them with lawyers, multiple times I told them I would not go quietly into the night and that I would be there worst nightmare, mentioned I would be contacting ACA or today tonight who would lap up another VW error.
In all reality VW should be held accountable. They have a flaw in its engine, it ain't an isolated event, it's happening to thousands of its customers no matter what kms, brand of oil, type of petrol or prompt service intervals.
Don't pay a single cent, they are the ones that are accountable. Be firm.

[Joshdc]

Compression test confirmed the same issue in my 118tsi.

Can anyone share with me an example of what they have written to VW?

I'll do the same as others have said and start relentlessly pushing VW to do the right thing, as they should.

[smokiebbear]

Hi Buddy,

Any chance you could pass me on the details of their email addresses via PM? I am in the same situation. I brought my 09 118tsi with 93,000km on it and it had a new engine put in at 39,996 under warranty on 20/09/2010. I've now done 135XXXkm and its just let go in cylinder 4 so i'm up for a new engine.

Matt

I had purchased a 2010 118tsi Manual Golf in October 2016 with 80000kms (I was the second owner). About 4 weeks ago the engine light and EPC light came on and I took it straight to the mechanic and got the error read as misfire in Cyl 3. A couple days later I had a compression test done and Cyl 3 came back at 50psi compared to 150psi which confirmed more than likely a cracked piston. I was advised to contact VWA to try and get help as it would cost in the order $6000 to get fixed. I contacted both VWA and the dealer numerous times and only got frustrated with the default line of bringing it into the dealer and getting it stripped at my cost. In the meantime i contacted the ACCC and read through this forum and decided based on my research to write a letter of demand to VWA. The email was cc'ed to a number of executives in VWA.

The next day I got a call from VWA who kindly organised for a loan car and the my Golf to be stripped and a goodwill claim organised all at VWA cost. I recently got the news that VWA would cover 100% parts and labour which was great news.

Ever since i sent the email to VWA they have been great to deal with and obviously resulted in a great outcome from what was a really stressful situation after a number of early discussions on the phone with them.

[ellwith]

Hi

I too have a secondhand golf 2010 tsp 118 manual that has blow piston 3. vw are paying 100% for parts and labour but have also told me I should replace stretched timing belt and rattling water pump for a cost of $800...
In the midst of this also my battery is cactus, should I get the genuine vw for $400 or opt for one just from battery world for $225

thanks in advance

[ope126]

Hi

I too have a secondhand golf 2010 tsp 118 manual that has blow piston 3. vw are paying 100% for parts and labour but have also told me I should replace stretched timing belt and rattling water pump for a cost of $800...
In the midst of this also my battery is cactus, should I get the genuine vw for $400 or opt for one just from battery world for $225

thanks in advance

The Battery should be 000915105DE and is only around the $200 mark from VW Parts dept. Not sure where the $400 is from?
Glad to hear they are covering the costs!

[smokiebbear]

Hi

I too have a secondhand golf 2010 tsp 118 manual that has blow piston 3. vw are paying 100% for parts and labour but have also told me I should replace stretched timing belt and rattling water pump for a cost of $800...
In the midst of this also my battery is cactus, should I get the genuine vw for $400 or opt for one just from battery world for $225

thanks in advance

Hi,

How did you go about getting a free replacement on this? I am in the process of trying to get a resolution with them now.


Matt

[svondas]

Update on my previous post
I picked up my car today after 3 weeks since i sent my email to VWA demanding action.
A good news story with VWA paying 100% Parts and Labor and providing a rental car free of charge.
As described in my previous post VWA have been great since I sent an email demanding an outcome.
Hopefully the car now has some longevity... maybe. We will see... I do have a manual so no DSG clutch to breakdown thankfully.

I had the following replaced completely free of charge under a goodwill claim. I believe the timing chain and water pump were a separate claim that the dealer put in and was approved and replaced free of charge as part of the goodwill claim.
- all 4 pistons and associated parts replaced
- Timing chain and variator
- water pump
- 2 year warranty

Not sure what this work would have cost if done privately... Does anyone have any idea?

There are a few people asking what my email contained to VWA so i will outline the contents in bullet points below which can be expanded but im not prepared to share my email explicitly:

Contents of the email

- Seeking remedy
- history of the situation
- what i had done to problem solve the situation (carrying out a compression test)
- frustrations with multiple phone calls with VWA and the dealer
- well known engine fault with this model
- what am i seeking VWA to do (demands)
- My consumer rights under Australian law / ACCC
- car details
- date i want a response by otherwise taking is further
- would like to have a good experience as have been a VW owner on multiple cars
- contact details

It was emailed to the following people:

- Volkswagonassist
- Michael Bartsch - VWA Managing Director
- Jason Bradshaw - VWA Head of Customer Experience
- Kurt Mcguiness - VWA Head of Public Relations

All email addresses can be found quite easily through a google search.

Hope this helps people.

This was quite stressful and I did quite a bit of research so i knew what i was talking about when dealing with VWA. Reading most of this thread was a fantastic help so thanks to those who have posted on this 108 pages and still going.

[sixboltmains]

I am glad some of the members are getting Goodwill repairs. I wasn't one of the lucky ones, I am having to do it myself.
The cost doing is privately at a VW specialist is approx $6K.

[ellwith]

Hi,

How did you go about getting a free replacement on this? I am in the process of trying to get a resolution with them now.


Matt

I just took my car down to my local vw who took my engine apart to see where the damage was (piston 3 i think) then they made a good will claim to vw who came back and said they will pay 100% parts and labour. This was a great outcome as I was willing to harass them until I got this resolution... my advise would be just to keep harassing them until you get the desired resolution... theres plenty of evidence on this thread that they can do it.

[ellwith]

Update on my previous post


I had the following replaced completely free of charge under a goodwill claim. I believe the timing chain and water pump were a separate claim that the dealer put in and was approved and replaced free of charge as part of the goodwill claim.
- all 4 pistons and associated parts replaced
- Timing chain and variator
- water pump
- 2 year warranty

Was your water pump and timing belt ruined? mine aren't but they advised to replace them as they probably will break in the future, but unable to make a good will claim to vw because they aren't broken yet...
guess I should also ask for a 2 year warranty on the replacements? or was this just given to you?

[smokiebbear]

I just took my car down to my local vw who took my engine apart to see where the damage was (piston 3 i think) then they made a good will claim to vw who came back and said they will pay 100% parts and labour. This was a great outcome as I was willing to harass them until I got this resolution... my advise would be just to keep harassing them until you get the desired resolution... theres plenty of evidence on this thread that they can do it.

VW collected my car on Friday and they will assess it on Monday and let me know what they plan on doing. I really hope the do the right thing and repair it free. It had an engine replaced @40k due to a failure in cyl 4 and it's now on 134k and cylinder 4 is gone again 😔