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  • #46
    My 2013 VW Golf begun leaking coolant in April 2019. Coolant light came on, so I bought some G13 coolant and topped it up but within a short time the coolant light had come back on and I took it to the car repairers for a fix. At first, the water pump was found to be the culprit and I got the water pump, thermostat and thermostat housing replaced with genuine VW parts. I had to wait for a few weeks until all the parts arrived because they were sourced from VW and the toothed belt housing (which seems to be the issue causing all these coolant leaks) was replaced also. From what I understand, VW is still replacing the defective housing with the original, plastic designs. I strongly urge you to ensure that this housing is not repaired by VW.

    It only took a month and the light was back on. On second inspection, the repairers were unable to find a cause of the coolant leak and were aware that there were other VW customers who were confused about their own heat exchangers leaking internally. Since my coolant was leaking at such a rapid pace, it would only hold a full tank for about 12 hours. Consequently, the engine light came on and it repeatedly overheated. Throughout this whole repair process, I was unable to find any comprehensive explanation online to gain a better understanding of what I should do about my problem. I have written this post in goodwill to assist with any future concerns that VW mk7 vehicle owners might have regarding their coolant leaking.

    I took the car to the manufacturer later in the year and paid $250 for a diagnosis which read “low compression/defective water pump” as the cause. As mentioned above, I had this replaced earlier in the year. I came in to collect the vehicle and I asked to see the mechanics. When I came into the workshop, I was immediately handed a piece of plastic and told “this is your problem” by one of the guys. Consequentially, the internal damage due to overheating of the engine would make further repairs somewhat futile for me if engine failure was an inevitable likelihood.

    That melted plastic (pictured) was left out of the diagnosis report but handed to me as the first finding by the mechanic. I kindly asked the VW service centre to include this as a finding on the report provided to me. I waited over two weeks whilst they told me they were amending the diagnosis report – but in the end I was told that they were unable to include the finding. Screenshots of their emails admitting about it are linked below. The discrepancy between my diagnosis report and email correspondence suggests that VW is not being honest about this design flaw and seems to be purposely misleading their mk7 owners about the melting plastic casing.

    As you may not already know, the new mk7.5 range has now used steel casing rather than plastic to avoid this issue. If I had known about the melting plastic sooner than I would have been able to identify the problem and have it replaced with a suitable material (i.e. steel casing rather than plastic). I hope I can show the online community concerned about coolant leaks that there is most likely an issue with melting plastic around the coolant tank, specifically encasing the “toothed belt”.

    Diagnosis report:


    Email correspondence:


    Melted plastic casing top-side:


    Melted plastic casing bottom-side:
    Last edited by The_Hawk; 11-11-2019, 02:23 PM.

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    • #47
      The water pumps are poor components. I'm just gearing up to replace mine (Mk7 GTI).

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      • #48
        Originally posted by clio View Post
        The water pumps are poor components. I'm just gearing up to replace mine (Mk7 GTI).
        1.4tsi water pump is in a totally different spot to a GTI.

        BTW: I'm told the EA888 water pump can be done without removing the manifold if you know what you are doing.
        I've done it by removing the manifold. It's not a hard job.
        carandimage The place where Off-Topic is On-Topic
        I used to think I was anal-retentive until I started getting involved in car forums

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