2019 GTI 7.5 coolant leak / water pump?

[westenderbender]

Hi all

Looks like I’ve got a pretty gnarly leak on my 2019 GTI (25km, just in 3 years).

Guessing it’s from the coolant as the level was super low and I had the flashing warning light.

Any thoughts/ideas?
Booked in with VW.

[gregozedobe]

If you are lucky it might be just a plastic connector for a coolant hose (these are brittle and sometimes crack, especially the one near the turbo). Check to see where the leak is.

But yes, usually the leak is from the thermostat housing, and most people replace the water pump while they are at it. $$$$$

[Sharkie]

VW will replace the pump under warranty (which should be 5 years on the 2019).

[Lucas_R]

Very common on the Mk7 GTI & R engine. It will almost certainly be your waterpump & thermostat housing. They are designed to fail basically - made from plastic which becomes brittle over time with heat cycles.

With luck you should have yours replaced under warranty. If not then its around $1,500 through VW (or about $1,000-1,200 through a independent VW mechanic).

[westenderbender]

Very common on the Mk7 GTI & R engine. It will almost certainly be your waterpump & thermostat housing. They are designed to fail basically - made from plastic which becomes brittle over time with heat cycles.

With luck you should have yours replaced under warranty. If not then its around $1,500 through VW (or about $1,000-1,200 through a independent VW mechanic).

Thanks mate appreciate the response - very interesting indeed. Car is under factory warranty thankfully, it’ll be the 3 year mark next month and it’s under the 5 year warranty.

[westenderbender]

If you are lucky it might be just a plastic connector for a coolant hose (these are brittle and sometimes crack, especially the one near the turbo). Check to see where the leak is.

But yes, usually the leak is from the thermostat housing, and most people replace the water pump while they are at it. $$$$$

Thank you! Geez I hope those $$$$$ are eliminated with the warranty haha

[westenderbender]

VW will replace the pump under warranty (which should be 5 years on the 2019).

Thank you very much. Do you know if the new pumps are as brittle as the original factory ones? Ie is this thing gonna fail again in 3 years?

[Sharkie]

Thank you very much. Do you know if the new pumps are as brittle as the original factory ones? Ie is this thing gonna fail again in 3 years?

Replacement ones are no better, expect it to fail again in 2-3 years. VW should cover that 1 too as it is a known issue. Beyond that, you'd probably be up for it. Hopefully by then a proper metal aftermarket 1 will be available.

As an FYI, mine failed at 23000km at 2.5 years ....

[westenderbender]

Replacement ones are no better, expect it to fail again in 2-3 years. VW should cover that 1 too as it is a known issue. Beyond that, you'd probably be up for it. Hopefully by then a proper metal aftermarket 1 will be available.

As an FYI, mine failed at 23000km at 2.5 years ....

Thanks, great to know. For some reason I thought they’d already fixed this issue for the mk7.5 (knew it was common for mk7). Guess not!

[spellbound]

Very common on the Mk7 GTI & R engine. It will almost certainly be your waterpump & thermostat housing. They are designed to fail basically - made from plastic which becomes brittle over time with heat cycles.

With luck you should have yours replaced under warranty. If not then its around $1,500 through VW (or about $1,000-1,200 through a independent VW mechanic).

Mate had his MK 7 GTI 2017 done recently , quoted $1500 at same independent i use , so he went to the main Adelaide VW dealer $800 , maybe due to so many VW is being gracious .

[Lucas_R]

Mate had his MK 7 GTI 2017 done recently , quoted $1500 at same independent i use , so he went to the main Adelaide VW dealer $800 , maybe due to so many VW is being gracious .

Thats nuts - the genuine parts are $700 odd, and its a 2-3 hour job for someone experienced.

I had mine done in January this year by my independent VW mechanic and was charged $998. He used a non-genuine pump (Geba brand) which he says in his experience are more durable and reliable than the genuine ones. He said he does multiple waterpump replacements on Mk7's every week.

Geba Water Pump 11235/1 - Made in Germany | Run Auto Parts

[westenderbender]

Update: it was the thermostat, covered under warranty

[amunra]

Thank you very much. Do you know if the new pumps are as brittle as the original factory ones? Ie is this thing gonna fail again in 3 years?

if you drive alot it will probably fail faster than that.

after researching the whole internet for videos and threads... its been mentioned a few times (by mechanics) that the non-genuine pumps have been found to last longer than official vag pumps... guess its just luck / driving conditions over time with them all being similar plastic... as mentioned here the geba pump lasts a bit longer ... they can fail from so many spots internally or on the seal to the block .. an aftermarket metal pump would be good but after this platform being going for 7+ years now noone has thought its worthwhile... might be for a reason

for $200-300 for a pump off ebay and a few hours under the hood u cant go wrong.

[minke]

as I understand it, it is the thermostat housing that leaks. This is plastic and is integrated into the water pump so when they fail, the whole pump is R&R

I would guess lots of short trips would cause the plastic become brittle with the high heat cycles? whereas cars that tend to do longer journeys would be slight more immune to an early failure?

I'm on my third VAG product (last of the last 2013 Mk6 GTi - gone, first of the first B9 A4 Quattro TFSI 45 Avant - current, last of the last Mk 7.5 GTi) which all have the classic EA888 mill

The Mk6 needed one pump in 60k

my A4 required a pump at 5,000 km. It is now at 75,000 no issue at all. Water doesn't drop. This car does all the long hauler drives. I'd estimate of the 75,000 - 40,000 would be trips exceeding 2 hour saddle time and 20,000 would be trips exceeding 10 hour saddle time. it does very few short drives.

The 2020 7.5 GTi (which wife uses 3 days a week for work and then run about) has needed 700mL of water over 20,000km Dealer says there's no issue but as a sealed system where is it going? but you cannot explain that to the front of house team....

Friend who was 10 years Audi service mgr lamented their constant need of replacing and would have them on the shelf.

any my rambling is over as I'm avoiding work

[westenderbender]

The 2020 7.5 GTi (which wife uses 3 days a week for work and then run about) has needed 700mL of water over 20,000km Dealer says there's no issue but as a sealed system where is it going? but you cannot explain that to the front of house team....

Interesting, thanks for the rant! My GTI does a LOT of short trips. Just hit 25km in 3 years and I drive it every day, sometimes multiple times.

I’ve been having to put water in the coolant a few times a year since new (as instructed by dealer whenever I get the flashing warning light).

First two services they did a check for any issues - none. Off we go.

And now, thermostat. Common issue apparently. There was another 7.5 GTI there too. Maybe the same issue [emoji854]