Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni | Legal matters | Back Room Forum

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Tue 19 Jul 2016 13:48

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - sharefe

Need advice please.

History for background information.

Bought Altea from car giant in 2014 with 15000 miles and full Seat service history, I was told that the car was a disability vehicle.

Very happy with car with no problems.

I purchased a service plan from Seat for a two year service at a cost of £20 a month for 18months payment that would include a minor and major service and two year aa cover. Again very happy with the offer.

The car was perfect and I took it for its first service and that was fine.

The problems

In May 2016 it was due a service and at the same time I started getting the orange coil flashing and the engine warning light.
I took it in for its 2nd service and was advised that the egr needed replacement at a cost of 1700£.

I contacted seat customer service and they offered goodwill where I paid £100. But this took a full month of negotiations leaving me without a car.

14th July 2016 I get the error of a flashing gear number alternating with the spanner symbol. I called the seat service dealer who advised that it's either the service is due on the gearbox or there is a malfunction.

Contacted Seat customer service who advised that I must take the car in for diagnostic. The car has 34000 miles on the clock with full Seat dealer service.

The diagnosis is that the mechatronic unit has failed causing some metal fillings to be present in the magnets of the gearbox.

Cost of repair is £6000 for a new gearbox.

Seat customer service has offered 50% goodwill.

I have tried to explain that this gearbox has a known issue and that vw has issued recall of this 7 speed dsg dq200 gearbox that had a fault with the wrong oil being put into it from manufacturer which causes the mechatronic unit to fail causing full failure of the gearbox.

The car is out of the 3 year warranty but not of the 60000 miles and the gearbox is due service at 40000.

I have refused the seat customer service offering of 50% goodwill and advised for them to cover all costs of the fault.

Can anyone help with advice on the next stage I can take to get this resolved?

I feel let down by the faults that have occurred and now I am thinking that I may take the legal route.

Any advice would be appreciated.

The car is with the dealer. I am now waiting for an email from customer service ref the goodwill offer.

Thank you for your help sorry it's a long post.

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Tue 19 Jul 2016 14:04

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - RobJP

Any legal action would have to be against the garage that sold you the car.
You never had any form of contract with SEAT, so they have no legal liability to you.

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Tue 19 Jul 2016 14:30

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - nortones2

I think there was a recall for vehicles with the 7 speed DSG. It involved an oil change. Google that topic and check whether the recall was notified and whether the oil was changed. Then negotiate with VAG via the dealer when you have the facts at your fingertips. Here is one comment I found: www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2577 See post 17 re dates of production changes etc.

Edited by nortones2 on 19/07/2016 at 14:30

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Fri 19 Aug 2016 23:56

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - Miniman777

While I feel for the OPs situation, VW has done itself no favour with British and European customer as regards their faulty components, corrupt software and other well publicised faults.

It's a kick in the teeth that US owners get compensation, UK owners get nowt.

A few weeks back I was interested in a Golf R, and despite it being a superb drive, I felt that after the warranty had expired, I'd be on my own with potentially big bills and no goodwill from VW. So I thought, stick it and went to look at BMW. (not bought one tho)

They've lost me as a customer (and for Audi/Seat/Skoda cars) and given the OPs plight, suspect another customer lost too. The gearbox oil problem is basically VWs fault yet they can walk away sticking up two fingers.

I find it strange that they can extend the warranty in China and other countries but again, not the UK.

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Sat 20 Aug 2016 11:07

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - nortones2

VAG have transfered the burden on to the unlucky consumer. In this country DVSA and Trading Standards have been downsized/sedated to save on tax, as well as for reasons of extreme free market dogma. There seems to be a cosiness with mfrs that the US doesn't tolerate, probably because organisations like DVLA are run by HR practitioners. They hate a fuss:) Spoils their afternoon snooze if they have operational types getting into conflict with manufacturers.

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Sat 20 Aug 2016 18:38

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - skidpan

I felt that after the warranty had expired, I'd be on my own with potentially big bills and no goodwill from VW.

That is a simple fact that applies to all brands and all products you buy. If being without a warranty worries you either buy new and keep until warranty expires or buy an extended warranty.

In the past I have had "goodwill!" from VW and othe makes on faults when the warranty had expired but that was in the days of one year warraties.

If you want a long warranty that covers the car for 7 years with surprising few exclusions buy a Kia but if buying used make sure all the service receipts are present. No receipts - no warranty. Kia don't accept service book stamps as proof the work has been done.

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Sun 21 Aug 2016 17:54

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - Brit_in_Germany

The OP has indicated that SEAT are offering to contribute 50% of the cost of a five year old gearbox. To me, that sounds a very reasonable offer.

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Sun 21 Aug 2016 18:28

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - galileo

The OP has indicated that SEAT are offering to contribute 50% of the cost of a five year old gearbox. To me, that sounds a very reasonable offer.

But for Kia/Hyundai (and now Toyota) a five year old car is still under manufacturer's warranty, so should cover 100%.

Hyundai cover many items such as wheel bearings, track rods, dampers and struts for 60 months or 60,000 miles, others unlimited mileage. To me this indicates confidence that components and assemblies have been properly tested for durability, which does not seem to be the case with some VAG problem items.

Edited by galileo on 21/08/2016 at 18:34

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Sun 21 Aug 2016 18:48

Seat Atea 1.6 tdi dsg 2011 - Altea 1.6 DSG 2011 7 speed gearbox fail mechatroni - skidpan

But for Kia/Hyundai (and now Toyota) a five year old car is still under manufacturer's warranty, so should cover 100%.

Those manufacturers do indeed offer 5 year warranties but don't think for one minute they are free. The manufacturers charge extra for them but its included in the price of the car.

When I bought my Seat I purchased the extended 5 year warranty. If paid for before the car was registered (£360) it provided exactly the same cover as the manufacturers 3 year warranty. Buy it after the car was registered its still £360 but there is a £200 excess on every claim and only a limited number of items are actually covered.

As said above 50% contribution on 5 year old car is excellent. The car is out of warranty so the manufacturer is no longer liable and since extended warranties are available the OP took the risk and in this case lost.

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