On the recent service,was the diesel fuel filter replaced.?Unfortunately on this model and other Golf variants,it is not unknown for the filter seal to leak after repacement and cause fuel to spray onto the poly vee belt.This in turn causes the belt to disintegrate and wind itself around the numerous pulleys on the engine and self destuct.hth

Well I asked about these multipoint inspections, and was told it's impossible to be 100% sure with belts, unless a fault is glaringly obvious. The green tick really means nothing more than someone having had a quick look/ feel, and making sure tension seems ok. Car was serviced in July, and then new brake discs/pads in October, with multipoint checks performed both times. I think you are right, this is likely a failure of a service item not due for replacement, and that's really why the dealer have decided to subsidise the cost. But disgusted that VW are washing their hands of it, and seem really unconcerned since they "have not come across it before."

Firstly i wouldn't expect this maker to contribute a single pfennig.

I'm a little puzzled by the eagerness of the dealer to go halves, the car is out of warranty (end of) and the maker is, as usual, disinterested, why is the dealer voluntarily throwing over £3k at you, unless they know something.

In what way was the damage irepairable? And how did the belt trauma damage the turbo?

1 complete lump out 1 complete lump in, old lump sent instantly on exchange basis, nothing to see here move along now....no difficult questions, we're the main dealer doncha know.

I'd be inclined to ask that the cylinder head be removed first and the pistons / bores inspected for damage. The valves will obviously be bent hence the low compression readings but there may not be damage to the pistons or bores and it may be a cheaper option to have just the head replaced ?

The dealership doesn't mention what the error code for the turbo is which is a shame. I'd ask for the diagnostic error code and definition before committing to a new unit. These turbos have a common problem with the VNT actuator diaphragm splitting so it cannot adjust the vanes in the turbo giving an under boost condition which will be logged by the ECU as P0299 Turbocharger/Supercharger "A" Underboost Condition. If this is the case there is an actuator available to replace the faulty one without having to change the whole turbo.

cws,

The actuators are still vacuum operated. There is an electronic position sensor on the top of the unit that is used for the feedback values to the ECU so it knows where the actuator is and it can adjust the vacuum accordingly in relation to engine speed, load, temperature etc for the best boost characteristics at the time.

Stones can get caught in pulleys and damage belts, seen it, happened to a colleague. There was a hole in the belt just like a hole punch had been used on it. The belt was intact otherwise and it was only spotted at the next service.

But since the cam belt is totally seperate and hidden behind a plastic (or sometimes metal) cover together with all its tensioners etc its highly unlikely or to be honest impossible on all the installations I have seen for the 2 belts to come into contact.

Not familiar with modern VW engines thus cannot coment if it could happen on one of these.

The car is coming up to 4 years old and could be deemed to be 1/3 rd of the way through its' life. On that basis a 2/3 rds contribution may be considered the most you should expect. But the car's value should have risen due to the new engine, perhaps not all the way up to a low mileage example as everything else has 55k of wear, but that brings it closer to the 50% given.

Nice logic Chris, makes me feel slightly better....I had hoped for 75% contribution, but whilst the dealer seemed keen to help, VW have been totally unforthcoming (and seemingly unconcerned). Dealer has now also offered 10% off future servicing for the life of the car. We have a second VW (Eos) and the 10% offer has been applied to that too.

Thank goodness for a good old boy with working knoweldge of todays so called advances in mechaical design , who in their right mind would design a camshaft with interference fit lobes its an accident waiting to happen ,dodgy fuel filter designs no wonder they offered what they thought they could get away with !