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.

[Kaliani]

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.

Thanks sixboltmains. Is there any chance VW would also cover that $1200 inspection as part of a goodwill repair package?

[sixboltmains]

Thanks sixboltmains. Is there any chance VW would also cover that $1200 inspection as part of a goodwill repair package?

Hello - when this piston issue first happened to me in 2012 we had to pay the inspection costs ourselves and it was not reimbursed. BUT there have been forum members where the full cost including inspection was also covered by VW Aus....so there is no clear precedent.

[Mk R]

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.

If you read through this thread you'll see that VW goodwill does not always cover the entire cost of the replacement and rebuild, often taking months to negotiate and complete. That's unfortunate you weren't able to find one for a reasonable price but fantastic if you got the whole repair on goodwill.

The gumtree CAVD engines are sold with all peripherals for up to $4,000+ but only the central block is required. There's a whole CTHD engine for sale on gumtree right now for $2400 negotiable.

This thread also has record of a number of other long time users who have had the same experience and pricing, often even cheaper. Perhaps you just had bad timing.

The 03C107065CK pistons are obviously fine if you don't need a re-bore but won't fit if you've had any kind of scraping in the failed cylinder requiring a re bore to 77mm and only a muppet would replace a single piston (something VW are suspected to have done under goodwill when the cylinder wasn't gouged).

The piston kit with Part number K9481D050 (and similar) is a set of 4 pistons and is available for between AU $800 to about AU $1,300 plus postage depending on your google skills.

There's also forged kits by DP, Carrillo and so on.

[VW Convert]

Thanks sixboltmains. Is there any chance VW would also cover that $1200 inspection as part of a goodwill repair package?

As sixboltmains has stated, some owners have been reimbursed these costs, it seems to be on an individual case basis but as yours is such a low mileage example, I would be pushing for it from the get go.

One important thing to remember, you refer to it as goodwill............you need to be clear on this, it is not goodwill it is rectification in accordance with your statutory rights as set out under Australian Consumer Law as it is a reasonable expectation that an engine will last longer than 67,000 KM.

When you discuss this with your dealer, make sure they understand that you know that this is a known issue, that you are aware there have been countless examples where VW has rectified this issue well outside of the usual warranty period and that you are not asking for a favour, you are asking them to rectify their flawed product as they are required to do.

Cheers

George

[Kaliani]

As sixboltmains has stated, some owners have been reimbursed these costs, it seems to be on an individual case basis but as yours is such a low mileage example, I would be pushing for it from the get go.

One important thing to remember, you refer to it as goodwill............you need to be clear on this, it is not goodwill it is rectification in accordance with your statutory rights as set out under Australian Consumer Law as it is a reasonable expectation that an engine will last longer than 67,000 KM.

When you discuss this with your dealer, make sure they understand that you know that this is a known issue, that you are aware there have been countless examples where VW has rectified this issue well outside of the usual warranty period and that you are not asking for a favour, you are asking them to rectify their flawed product as they are required to do.

Cheers

George

Thankyou for this.

I spoke with the Dealer service centre today and it was made clear that no claim would be progressed unless we cover the $1200 diagnostic stage ourselves. He was really polite and sympathetic but no admissions were made that this is a known problem.

It was also made clear that the $1200 is just to take it apart, and for them to put it back together would be a couple of thousand more - so at this stage I have no option but to pay the full diagnosis amount and keep my fingers crossed for a good outcome from head office.

[lordlosh]

It`s so disgusting for VW to deny the massive problems with 1.4 engines. It`s a known problem everywhere.
My opinion for VW drops with every single day. I like they design of the car so much, but their reliability lately is a nightmare ....
When i was asking VW dealer for the problem i have with mine - huge oil consumption, and that this is a known issue and how they blow engines, he also said they know nothing about it and don`t believe internet story.
After some advance talk, they admit they have a "small" problem with the piston rings, and the consumption it`s probably because of that. I said okay, great, lets just change the piston rings, and he was like - uh... you have to change the piston to, he also said i need to change the piston rod to, cause i can`t run the new piston with the old rod ....
Yeah minor piston ring problem ....
Of course not good will or anything has been offer, but to pay for the full repair or to drive the car with 1l oil consumption per 1000km.
And as you already known i was thinking of getting forged pistons, but after the next problem with the DSG i sell the car.
I hope all goes well for you. This is a VW production mistake and they should have made a service recall and change all the pistons for free.

[Kaliani]

Quick update. We have a cracked piston in Cylinder 4. The dealer has just written to VW Australia. I will report back.

In the meantime, I did a bit of research through these threads to pin down the number of successful cases where VW have coverd the cost of all or part cost of repairs. I went back to January this year and tracked each instance. I thought I would share here as a resource for others.

The short story is that between January and October 2017 - as far as I can see - there were 15 instances where VWA covered the entire cost of the repair and two cases where they covered only part of the cost - in both cases this was due to patchy servicing, high KMs. One case where no costs covered.
Please correct me if I've missed anything. Here is the table I made. I thought it might be worth keeping a running tally. I'll update when I know the outcome of my claim:

FULL COST COVERED
Church
Redhot
Lachlan MC
Anapo
Bensi
Svandas (including a loan car)
Billables
Saveferris
Ellwith
Axyl
Nick123
JoshDC
Zackzorr
theHawk

PART COSTS
1/2 Costs - smokiebear
75% cost Sosotired

NOT COVERED
sixbolt

[The_Hawk]

I think there has been a real positive change in their customer service over the last few years and it's pretty hard to say VW aren't supporting their brand based on that recent sample.

[ExplosivePeacock]

I had my timing chain fixed in march but it still made the rattling sound so sent it back to fix and also the gearbox was playing up due to clutch packs. They kept the car for four bloody months but ended up fixing everything under goodwill. Now after it came back its Still making the timing chain rattle after it was all replaced!!!!


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[blower]

I had my timing chain fixed in march but it still made the rattling sound so sent it back to fix and also the gearbox was playing up due to clutch packs. They kept the car for four bloody months but ended up fixing everything under goodwill. Now after it came back its Still making the timing chain rattle after it was all replaced!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

9 times out of 10 the 'rattle' is misdiagnosed as a loose timing chain or failing chain tensioner.

On this engine it is almost never the chain or tensioner that makes this noise - the noise on startup is the camshaft adjuster sticking, which admittedly sounds like a rattling timing chain to in the untrained ear.

The problem effects engines from 2009 to mid 2010. After that the camshaft adjuster was revised to stop this problem.
Some people who have had the timing chain replaced, also had the adjuster replaced at the same time and this inadvertently resolved the problem.

Only a poor dealership would not replace the adjuster at the same time.
Since 2015 there are 2 official VW universal timing chain kits for all 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 FSI/TSI engines, which come with a new camshaft adjuster - this kit is cheaper than buying the chain, tensioner and parts separately. This kit should be used for any timing chain job, as its cheaper and you get all new sprockets, guides, tensioner, chain and camshaft adjuster (latest version).

Check out a post I made here (froudeg) to diagnose what sound is what: Scirocco Central • View topic - Sounds like a tractor on start up?

[ExplosivePeacock]

9 times out of 10 the 'rattle' is misdiagnosed as a loose timing chain or failing chain tensioner.

On this engine it is almost never the chain or tensioner that makes this noise - the noise on startup is the camshaft adjuster sticking, which admittedly sounds like a rattling timing chain to in the untrained ear.

The problem effects engines from 2009 to mid 2010. After that the camshaft adjuster was revised to stop this problem.
Some people who have had the timing chain replaced, also had the adjuster replaced at the same time and this inadvertently resolved the problem.

Only a poor dealership would not replace the adjuster at the same time.
Since 2015 there are 2 official VW universal timing chain kits for all 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 FSI/TSI engines, which come with a new camshaft adjuster - this kit is cheaper than buying the chain, tensioner and parts separately. This kit should be used for any timing chain job, as its cheaper and you get all new sprockets, guides, tensioner, chain and camshaft adjuster (latest version).

Check out a post I made here (froudeg) to diagnose what sound is what: Scirocco Central • View topic - Sounds like a tractor on start up?

Hmmm the camshaft adjuster could be the problem, I am pretty sure it was not replaced with the timing chain and tensioner


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[Kaliani]

Quick update. We have a cracked piston in Cylinder 4. The dealer has just written to VW Australia. I will report back.

In the meantime, I did a bit of research through these threads to pin down the number of successful cases where VW have coverd the cost of all or part cost of repairs. I went back to January this year and tracked each instance. I thought I would share here as a resource for others.

The short story is that between January and October 2017 - as far as I can see - there were 15 instances where VWA covered the entire cost of the repair and two cases where they covered only part of the cost - in both cases this was due to patchy servicing, high KMs. One case where no costs covered.
Please correct me if I've missed anything. Here is the table I made. I thought it might be worth keeping a running tally. I'll update when I know the outcome of my claim:

FULL COST COVERED
Church
Redhot
Lachlan MC
Anapo
Bensi
Svandas (including a loan car)
Billables
Saveferris
Ellwith
Axyl
Nick123
JoshDC
Zackzorr
theHawk

PART COSTS
1/2 Costs - smokiebear
75% cost Sosotired

NOT COVERED
sixbolt

Just a quick note to report that we got a call back to say VW Australia will cover 100% of the cost of repairs (2 cracked pistons).
Really pleased with the VW customer service. The dealer handled it all and we didn't have to argue for it. Offered within a couple of days. We now feel comfortable enough to go and order our brand new VW Golf alltrack this weekend, and trade in the old Jetta .

[The_Hawk]

VW Australia will cover 100% of the cost of repairs

It sucks that it happened in the first place, but you can't ask for a better outcome on this side of things.

[pirelli]

Just picked up my 118TSI from being repaired due to piston failure, 59k on clock
100% of costs covered as a goodwill gesture
thanks VW Australia