T4 Strange Noise

[WEDEL.1]

Mmmmm, that's seems a bit unusual to me. I've never seen one rust there.

PS: Love the red

Maris

[jets]

Can I ask how old your van is Jets?

Thanks Phill..they will be seeing me in person on Monday (I have work and a funeral so can't get there until then)

My van is '01my sold in late '00. I live in the Adelaide hills where it gets very cold in winter. Although it sits under a carport, in winter there is a lot of moisture & condensation. I agree with Maris, don't be discouraged the T4 is a great long lasting van.

[melissa]

Thanks jets. Mine sits under a carport too...we have had plans approved for a double garage to be added to the house with quotes ranging from $44K to $59K...and that doesnt include driveway etc... ...but its got to be done.

[Seano]

Depending on the age of your van........but I think VW offered a body perforation warranty. If you still have the paperwork it might be worth a shot.

Mine's an 01 build and never had a rust issue (or any other significant issue despite being hammered) but then it has only had the merest sniff of the sea in the last six years....

[20vkitcar]

melissa change your brake pads ....are they the original pads ? reverse gear idler will always make a sound in reverse...not a scraping noise...though. the rust blemish is a common sight usually on high miler t4's...yes it is warrantable.make sure the backing plate to the disc dosent have a stone caught between.....get your friendly mech to actually remove the brake pads and inspect..hope this cheers you up no need to jump to worst case as the t4 is a good durable van ..they do have weak spots but so do lots of other cars/vans...good luck cheers steve

[melissa]

Thanks Steve. I will be taking her to VW tomorrow...trouble is they run when they see me pull into the service area..I am sure they hide n:


Makes me wonder though...what should you do? Flog a new car out in the first 3 years so that any little thing will be covered by warranty, then get rid of it and buy another? Not at that amount of money!!! I paid $42K for her and to replace her with a T5 I'd be looking at heaps more than that... and I dont want to replace her...I love her

[Vanders]

Any news Melissa?

[melissa]

Took it in to VW on Monday, the guy (not the one I usually deal with- he was probably hiding!) agreed it was rust and I also pointed out the peeling black paint on the door handles and the KOMBI decal that is lifting off.
I got him to listen to the noise as I reversed out and he didnt think it was a brakes noise, so its booked in for next Wednesday.

[melissa]

Update...
took it in yesterday as booked for them to inspect, photograph and do whatever else they had to do. Rang them to check if it was Ok to pick up at 4.30 but I chose to leave it there until this morning so I could speak to whoever had the info for me.

Don't think there will be any problem getting the rust fixed by them, not too sure about the powder coating coming off the sliding door handle and probably a NO on the KOMBI decal peeling off the back.

They took it to a specialist gearbox and diff place here in Newcastle for a second opinion and they confirmed what my original mechanic said..reverse gear idler..

So now its up to VWA to say if they will repair it, so I await a call..

Anyone want to give odds on if they will pay for it???

[jets]

I am following this thread. Any more news to report Melissa?

[melissa]

Well... a bit of news but no real news...read on...

I have an aquaitance who used to work for VGA in warranty until his retirement. He asked me for my Vin (2 weeks after I had been to the dealer) and forwarded it to someone who still works in that department. He got back to me the next day to tell me that the dealer had not lodged any details for a goodwill warranty at all and that I should contact customer service straight away. So I did... the poor guy had to listen to me whinge for what must have been 20 minutes about how crap this dealer is, about how they had damaged my vehicle each time it went in for whatever had to be fixed etc. He did not have any evidence on his system of my vehicle being checked for the rust etc and that he would get in contact with the dealer and they would ring me, and expect a call that day.... oh yeah...right....
so I wait for another 2 days and I call the dealer. You will never guess the excuse!!!! They tell me that they have just lodged the goodwill warranty claim now because....
Their spare parts guy had been on holidays for the past 3 weeks and they wanted to make sure they had the right parts quoted!!!

Now I might be female, I might be blonde...BUT I'M NOT STUPID. When I went in to pick up my car that day...I saw the printout pages with quotes pinned to my paperwork. I saw a page that had $500+ quoted for the sliding door handle.

Now work out the details...I first bought it to their attention end of April, took it back when booked in 9th May...it's now 11th June...all the while the noise in reverse is getting worse... I also made it clear that if VGA does come to the party and agree to fix the gearbox THAT IT WILL NOT GO TO THAT DEALER. They have no trained VW mechanics... I will take it to Chatswood or somewhere else..even if it is a good deal out of my way, as long as it's done right.

I will post up the end result whether it be good or bad. My problems are nothing compared to some Novocastrians at the moment.

[jets]

Thanks for the update Melissa. Sorry to hear your grief. I hate dealing with people like that. My only advice is to keep the pressure on them & never give up. They are just hoping you will go away. The problem is if you do they will never change & keep up their attitude with the next customer & the next etc. I hope things change for the better & that your next posting will be all good. Best of luck.

[melissa]

Still no news

[phaeton]

Still no news

Darn Stealerships

Hope you get good news soon Melissa

EDIT have you looked at Brick Yard or other T4 forums to see if anyone else has similar probs ?

[melissa]

Well everyone..I have excellent news. Got a phone call on Wednesday asking me to take my Kombi in to the dealer as someone from VGA was going to be there Thursday (yesterday). Took it in, left it with them and just in the last 15 minutes I had a call from the dealer to say it had all been 100% approved to be covered by them !!!! I am so very very happy He told me they were thinking of doing it 50/50 but they called him back an hour later and said no, they would cover it fully! Phew! What a relief.

Yes Ben, I am a member of that forum too and had searched but didnt find any others, thanks for the suggestion though.