Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[sajochi]

Hi all,

Just wondering whether rebuilding these 118tsi engines is actually a solution or simply a bandaid (ie; replacement parts are the same as the faulty ones).

I’m looking at possibly purchasing a MY11 118tsi which has been rebuilt by a VW dealership with 2 years warranty.

While the warranty is somewhat of a safeguard, I am wondering if anyone has any experience with the longevity of a rebuild.

Cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tigger73]

It’s not just the motor in these that are a ticking time bomb. The 7 speed DSG is only slightly better...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mk R]

Hi all,

Just wondering whether rebuilding these 118tsi engines is actually a solution or simply a bandaid (ie; replacement parts are the same as the faulty ones).

I’m looking at possibly purchasing a MY11 118tsi which has been rebuilt by a VW dealership with 2 years warranty.

While the warranty is somewhat of a safeguard, I am wondering if anyone has any experience with the longevity of a rebuild.

Cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If it's been rebuilt by VW then it should have stronger pistons (post 2012 pistons). You'd think that would be the case but it may not be. If that is the case then it is much less likely to have a decompression failure. This is simplifying it but the engines as designed ran too hot and too lean from the factory. The air-fuel ratio was adjusted by VW but they still ran too hot and kept popping.

To avoid catastrophic failure, you either have to strengthen to first point of failure (pistons) or address the root cause (temperature). The rebuild should have eliminated this problem for you IF they used the uprated pistons.

If you go ahead with the purchase you'd do very well to find yourself a Mk6 Golf R intercooler and get it installed to lower the intake temperature of the engine. That's not a particularly expensive exercise, it fits right in and should be viewed as appropriate for our hot climate. These cars should have come like that from the factory. I'd highly recommend doing that even if you have no intention of tuning the car for performance.

You should only use good quality 98 octane fuel and do 5,000km oil changes but that stands for any turbo charged engine you want to keep in good shape.

[Snail Style]

Issue is actually resolved by VW with an update. Early CAV equipped vehicles were running ~14.7:1 a/f whilst under load, after updating that dropped found to around 11.7:1 if i recall.

I was actually looking to do exchange low cost rebuilt motors from home, however arranging shipping for a blown motor continued to be too difficult with the owners so i eventually gave up. This is going back to years but pretty sure i had worked the part cost down to ~1000, including timing chain kit and the vvt cam sprocket.

[sim118]

Hi everyone,

My 2011 118TSI engine has low compression in a cylinder and planning to contact VWA to pursue a potential goodwill repair.

My concern in this process is that I have a few modifications: namely a cold air intake, a tune, Polar FIS advanced and other non-engine things (eg. control arm kit, upgraded stereo). My car is generally in good condition and driven <90K.

Do you think this would kill my chances with VW? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Many thanks.

[Mk R]

Hi everyone,

My 2011 118TSI engine has low compression in a cylinder and planning to contact VWA to pursue a potential goodwill repair.

My concern in this process is that I have a few modifications: namely a cold air intake, a tune, Polar FIS advanced and other non-engine things (eg. control arm kit, upgraded stereo). My car is generally in good condition and driven <90K.

Do you think this would kill my chances with VW? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Many thanks.

Yes, you'd do well to go back to your tuner and have them do their best to get the ECU returned to stock (for the purposes of the engine repair goodwill) as far as is possible. Should only cost you labour to get the tune taken off and then put back on again after your claim. If they check it out and say it's been messed with, claim ignorance.

The other mods could be argued as being unrelated. Once it's fixed get yourself a golf r intercooler and downpipe so you run cooler intake and exhaust temps.

Before you take it in make sure you do a full battery drain to clear the codes etc.

If you get stonewalled hit me up with a DM, I've got links galore to forged engine internals, parts, wreckers etc.

[Yapa]

Hi guys,

My late 2010 Jetta 118TSI has started to flash the engine / catalytic converter light and is idling very rough, same symptoms as described here.

I'm going to take it to VW on Monday for a diagnosis. After reading many of the pages here I'm a bit worried.

If it is a piston / engine rebuild I'll try to get it repaired by VW as some have for free / goodwill.

Is it possible for those who have written letters / emails to VW and have been successful to post examples and also the email addresses to which they sent those letters.

Would also be good to know which dealerships did repair under goodwill etc.... would help others in the future as many of these engines are approaching 100k++

I'm in VIC so any suggestions on which dealer to take the car too would be appreciated, can town it fair distance so thats not an issue.

In my case the car has 97k and always serviced with VW. Also have receipts for pretty much all petrol purchases past 2 to 3 years which show 98 premium always used.

Hopefully this will support any future cases..

Yapa

[metzy]

I have a 2012 MK6 118tsi manual which I have owned since new. Is there anyway to determine if my engine could be susceptible to failure?

[sim118]

Hi Yapa,

I think you should contact VW Experience about your situation once the dealer confirms your engine is misfiring. VW Experience has been sympathetic and helpful in my experience recently (I'm currently dealing with them regarding my Golf - no payment needed and loan car given). Your dealer should submit a claim on your behalf too. Hopefully they will extend the goodwill that was given to me to you.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi guys,

My late 2010 Jetta 118TSI has started to flash the engine / catalytic converter light and is idling very rough, same symptoms as described here.

I'm going to take it to VW on Monday for a diagnosis. After reading many of the pages here I'm a bit worried.

If it is a piston / engine rebuild I'll try to get it repaired by VW as some have for free / goodwill.

Is it possible for those who have written letters / emails to VW and have been successful to post examples and also the email addresses to which they sent those letters.

Would also be good to know which dealerships did repair under goodwill etc.... would help others in the future as many of these engines are approaching 100k++

I'm in VIC so any suggestions on which dealer to take the car too would be appreciated, can town it fair distance so thats not an issue.

In my case the car has 97k and always serviced with VW. Also have receipts for pretty much all petrol purchases past 2 to 3 years which show 98 premium always used.

Hopefully this will support any future cases..

Yapa

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

[tigger73]

I have a 2012 MK6 118tsi manual which I have owned since new. Is there anyway to determine if my engine could be susceptible to failure?

You could get a compression test which may tell you if there's early signs of failure. The engine code (which should be in your owners manual) should tell you what revision engine you have (earlier models have CAVD and later 2013+ is CTHD). Though if you read posts ealier in the thread the pistons got upgraded in the 2012 CAVD engines which are a lot better.

I'm not sure how you tell if the pistons you have in a CAVD engine are upgraded but if you spoke to VW they may be able to tell you.

Though you dodged a bullet by buying a manual....

[metzy]

Unfortunately i just confirmed mine is FEB 2102 build with CAVD engine.

I have been reading through previous posts and have also experienced misfire with a large plume of black smoke, it's not very regular. I have previously spoken to my local VW dealer and they said the spark plugs could just be dirty and need replacing, well know I'm thinking otherwise.

I also experience temporary total loss of turbo compression, has anyone else experienced this? It generally happens if I'm sitting in 3rd gear or higher with low engine revs and I accelerate then the turbo doesn't seem to kick in. I'm not sure if this is just a manual thing and owners with DSG might not experience this

[metzy]

Though you dodged a bullet by buying a manual....

I certainly did. When I was buying it everyone thought I was crazy even the dealer. Happy I didn't cave in and buy the DSG

[Yapa]

Hi Yapa,

I think you should contact VW Experience about your situation once the dealer confirms your engine is misfiring. VW Experience has been sympathetic and helpful in my experience recently (I'm currently dealing with them regarding my Golf - no payment needed and loan car given). Your dealer should submit a claim on your behalf too. Hopefully they will extend the goodwill that was given to me to you.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Update:

My suspicions were correct and it was a cracked cylinder causing the engine light and rough idle.

The dealer checked the car and ruled out any other possible cause, saying it could be compression failure on the cylinders but would not know until they took the engine apart.

To look further it would be $1500 to $2000 to take it apart. At that point I told them to wait and contacted VW Customer Experience.

They were very good, giving me a hire car immediately and liaising with the dealer about the repair. It's been a few weeks but today I got the confirmation of a goodwill repair.

Overall very happy with VW customer care and how its been handled by them, gives me confidence in the brand and would recommend and buy another VW.

I hope any others in the future experience the same support, good luck.

[bgp10]

I signed up here to share my experiences with this issue.

Late 2012 Golf 118TSI, had a few sporadic misfiring issues after about 60k which seemed to have been resolved by rotating the coil packs between cylinders. No other major issues. Always used quality RON98 and serviced as per schedule.

Last month with about 85k on the clock the engine began misfiring badly as we were travelling between Melbourne and Sydney, about 150kms from our destination. Limped into town to find we'd gone through 2.5L of oil in two days. Got the codes read and then a compression test which confirmed we'd lost compression in cylinder 1.

I emailed some of the executives at VW (Jason, the MD, etc) and received a call within two hours from customer experience. They immediately offered to collect the Golf, conduct a goodwill repair, and once completed they would deliver the car back to our home address in Melbourne. They also offered a hire car to drive back to Melbourne and keep until our car is delivered back. All at no cost.

Obviously this engine issue is far from ideal but I can't fault the way VWA have handled this for us. Their support and communications have been absolutely exceptional. Compared to other horror stories I've heard from other manufacturers, I'm pretty stoked with the outcome.

[The_Hawk]

Great to hear some more positive stories.

While there was a dark period of uncertainty around the 118TSI a few years back, VW Australia and the Customer Service people (led by Jason) have been pretty fantastic in adressing these faults with the minimum of fuss. As you said, it's not ideal that it happens in the first place, but the fix gives me all the confidence I need to buy another VW in the future (not only because I've been obsessed since way back ).