Failed Alternator in 4 year old Tiguan

[Lukelucus]

Dear all,
Can I get some advise on this issue?


Vehicle : 2012 VW Tiguan , 2.0TSI, 6SP DSG, 34,000Km , 3 years std warranty expired 29/1/16, no further extended warranty.
Issue : noisy and fast idle engine speed on cold start over last few weeks.


Due for a routine Service at a Major Sydney VW dealer , where we have the Tiguan serviced regularly since new.
Dropped the car last week for routine service, I mentioned above issue to service department and I was informed it will be capped service price at $840.


VW called me on last Friday informed me the car is ready for pick up and they found nothing wrong.
I dropped in VW Service Centre on Friday, I was given an invoice of $933 for combined oil, pollen filter change and tyre rotation charges. I paid by CC. There were no fault found on the official service report.
I again stated that the engine noise and speed was strange at cold start. Service rep did suggest to keep the car longer for testing on the printed report, so I agreed , left the Tiguan there for the weekend.


On Monday , VW emailed my wife quoting total more than $2000 for replacing Alternator and pulley and belt, parts and labor come to $2100. We did not reply , but the repair went ahead.
I got called by VW on Tuesday 31-1 to pick up the Tiguan, but I disputed with VW that the cost of failure of this major component should be covered by VW.
I did call fair trading and their response is that Even if the product is outside warranty period , it's performance should be expected to be at a acceptable standard. A major component failure after 4 years of light to moderate usage is acceptable ?


I also called VW Australia Cus Service, they have yet to come up with a resolution, so far declining to cover the cost of the parts.


the VW dealer involved has agreed to discount invoice to $1850 as of this morning.


Do you have similar experience or heard similar incident ? what was the outcome ? thanks

[Umai Naa!!]

I'd be disputing the fact that they carried out the alternator replacement without your express permission. Particularly when it is unclear who is footing the bill.

That said, they should have given you the opportunity to seek warranty under goodwill.

[arcadelt]

Failed Alternator in 4 year old Tiguan

I can't comment on your specific circumstances , but I had a water pump fail in 2016 on a 2010 Tiguan TDI about 20km out of Ipswich after driving up from Canberra. Cost about the same as your repair and a couple of days. Paid for it myself.

All I can offer it that cars are complex pieces of machinery, with large and small, and cheap and expensive components. Sometime they fail inside the warranty period and sometime not. It also seems that cars that are driven consistently and constantly can have fewer problems.

So sorry to hear this is happening to you, but all of this may simply add up to your circumstance being a result of the luck of the draw. That said, I am very surprised that they proceeded with the repair without your go ahead, and that might be worth some form of discount.

[ian]

I would be pushing for a Good will claim, the car has only done 34,000 kmthis could of happened well inside the 100,000 km warranty if you had of done more kms
The alternator must of been faulty to start with to fail in such a low km car

[Ozsko]

In cases like this it is best to decline to pay and leave the car there, the dealer has a problem then, he wants money and if the customer refuses to pay he will be more aggressive in pursuing warranty. I had a customer many years ago who had warranty issues and he dropped the car in one day unexpectedly and told us he was being posted overseas for six months and that ought to be enough time to sort out the issues, he promptly left and returned six months later.

[Aztech]

arcadelt was that a VW dealership that charged you around the $2k mark for a water pump? I had to replace the water pump last year on my 2010 skoda rs and had it done through Prestige and Performance in Brisbane for $950.

As for the OP I would be definitely going them if you didnt say to do the work. I'd be telling them to either cover the cost or return it to its original start before the work since you didnt order it and then get it done somewhere else, you can get an alternator for around $4-500 online, surely someone would charge a lot less then $1500 on labour.

[arcadelt]

arcadelt was that a VW dealership that charged you around the $2k mark for a water pump? I had to replace the water pump last year on my 2010 skoda rs and had it done through Prestige and Performance in Brisbane for $950.

It was, but I should have added that we advanced the timing belt change that would normally happen at 120,000km service (the car had do somewhere between 80 and 90K at the time) because we would just double up on labour if we didn't. I think the actual water pump component was around what you paid.

[jets]

VW emailed my wife quoting total more than $2000 for replacing Alternator and pulley and belt, parts and labor come to $2100.

I have no experience with the 2.0 TSI engine but the 2.0 TDI. It may have only needed to have the alternator pulley replaced with a new belt & probably with the alternator in place.[you can in the Golf] The pulley is a [sprag] one way freewheel clutch that can slip & then grip causing noise with the belt flapping about. With the TDI, [probably the same on the TSI] the pulley is not a separate part no but only sold with the alternator.
I purchased one for $62 a year or so ago [Gates brand] & probably around an hour or less to fit. Fortunately mine stopped making any noise & is still quiet today. When the noise comes back, I will replace it before any damage occurs to the belt & tensioner.
A friend in Western Sydney was working in a workshop in the mountains for a couple of days & found an alternator from a TDI that had been removed from a TDI Golf. The workshop owner told him the story about what had happened & had bought a new alternator complete with pulley from VW. My friend used the 31 toothed tool that I bought for him previously to remove the pulley. There was no damage to the spindle & he has kept the alternator as a good used spare if needed.

https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=vw+alternator+pulley+failure

[aprr32]

It still amazes me why people go the dealer even when the warranty has expired.The price for repairs and servicing from an indep workshop is more affordable and and don't get treated like a number.

[Janko]

You should get in touch with NSW fair trading and they will advise you how to handle this.I had an issue with my Peugeot 308 which was over 5 years old had done only 40000Km.The vehicle was always serviced at the authorized service centre.Timing chain and water pump failed and repair cost quoted came to around $4800.Peugeot fully absorbed the cost(including labour). Please get informed about your rights as a consumer in Australia and then start communicating with VW( in writing of course!)

[ian]

The Alternator was not of MERCHANTABLE Quality it only lasted 34,000km in a normal situation It would not of lasted the 3 years if you had done 33,000km a year .
yes it woukd of only lasted one year , Fair Trading should force VW to refund you your costs .