Some of you may remember my saga from last year of the failed oil pump and the new engine needed on my 56 plate Passat 2.0tdi. Well, driving home last night the car suddenly lost all power and I coasted to a halt at the side of a dual carriageway. Called the AA, truck arrived after about 45 mins and after a few checks the guy diagnosed a fuel delivery problem, probably a failed fuel pump.
The car was towed to my home, and then taken this morning to the nearby VW dealers. I phoned this afternoon to check progress to be told it needed a new engine because a bolt in the cam belt tensioner had broken. They're giving me a courtesy car later today.
The original engine lasted 9k miles, the replacement has done just under 14k miles. (total mileage 22,900).
I am just stunned that this has happened. I have lost faith in the car now, even though it has just over a year's warranty left. And as to when it's out of warranty ..... (I had intended to keep it for 5 years).
At least it's at the same garage that fitted the first replacement and they made a good job of it.
I really am in a state of shock.
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Get a new engine and sell it before warranty expires. Passat is still a popular model.
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That has occurred to me, though I'll take a hit financially. And what could I replace it with?
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I'll play devils advocate - keep the car. You've had two unrelated bits of very bad luck. The car does not know about the new engines, so your chances of a third dud are no greater than they were at the outset.
In the really unlikely event that the third engine also goes ping, then invoke the wrath of the Almighty upon VAG UK. They won't want your story on Watchdog, you can be sure. My guess is that you should be able to get them to warrant the new engine alone for at least two years, perhaps three.
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old - yes, that makes a lot of sense. It's the spectre of unreliability thats getting to me. Luckily. on both engine-munching occasions I was within 15 miles of home, so the inconvenience was minimised. But as someone who travels often and widely with my family I just dread the car breaking down in some remote spot. (The last time it happened we'd only just got back from the wilds of NW Scotland).
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I sympathise with your loss of faith in the car, but really these are freak events. I don't believe this engine is known for either of the problems you've experienced. If you like the car otherwsie, don't let this put you off.
If it were me personally, I would be pressing VAG UK for a warranty extension now, not so much through necessity, but because you could argue it on loss of faith / inconvenience grounds. It might also give you a little more peace of mind if you decide to hang on to it.
Write a carefully (positively) worded letter to VAG UK asking what they can do to restore your long held faith in their brand (the usual sunshine blowing), and hang on to the car. I'm sure you won't regret it.
Cheers
DP
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Does the VAG warranty have a recovery service attached? If not then you need a get you home/put you up policy such as:
www.rac.co.uk/web/uk-breakdown/solution4.cgi?affin...t - total cost £128 pa.
Again, the car/engine does not know you are >200 miles from a Starbucks....
Edited by oldnotbold on 08/07/2008 at 16:00
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Good advice, DP. An extended warranty would help, so I'll do as you advise. Nothing to lose, I suppose.
And I hope they are rare faults! What are the odds of this happening to me? I've probably got more chance of winning the lottery.
I like the car generally (just the electronic handbrake is a pain), so maybe I should just keep it and assume I won't be so unlucky again.
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And I hope they are rare faults! What are the odds of this happening to me? I've probably got more chance of winning the lottery.
Funny, I was wondering how the odds against what happened to you would compare with the odds against a lottery jackpot... A lot better I am afraid, thinking about it.
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I have a friend who had similar bother with the engine and gearbox(he does not do things by half) - engine rebuilt 1 x and gearbox re-built then replaced.
He wrote to SAAB telling of his concerns for the future - they replied apologising - gave him 2 x free services and extended warranty on engine & gearbox for additional 2 years (making 5 in total).
3 mths later and out of 3 yr warranty the Gearbox radiator? blew - SAAB covered replacement auto box again! no questions asked.
Lease is now up and he can bid farewell.
Moral - get on your soapbox to VW and screw something from them - additional warranty is minimum, free servicing, goodwill voucher for add-ons...............
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In my opinion, how a problem is dealt with shows the quality of a manufacturer just as well as whether the problem occurs in the first place.
A friend had a sudden catastrophic engine failure (rod through block - at tickover!) on a four month old, 6,000 mile E46 BMW M3. BMW seemed to almost take it personally. They genuinely seemed as shocked as he was, and literally bent over backwards to rectify the situation, and make sure my friend was happy at the end of it. New engine in a crate from Germany the next day, fitted the day after, car washed, filled with fuel, two free services, and a three year warranty from that date on the new engine. Courtesy calls from both the dealer, and BMW AG in Germany to make sure all was well.
He almost enjoyed the experience.
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The previous 'experience' was well-handled by the dealer (even though I didn't buy it there) and so far it seems similar. I'm going down to the garage shorly to collect the courtesy car and find out about anticiapated completion date.
As some have suggested I'm going to pursue the issue of new warranty on the engine and push for some other compensation.
And this is not doing my credibility as a 'car nut' any good!
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You like the car.
VW have excellent customer service.
Your car has now a brand new engine. Next cambelt change due 2013 and 60k miles (guessing). Coolant, spark plugs (oops, edited to note that it "probably" doesn't have any, but might have glow plugs), oil, etc. etc all changed for free.
Replacing the car would cost you a fortune.
I'd be a happy bunny were I in your shoes!
Buy an aftermarket warranty for not much money, and your car will last you an age. And if you can get them to extend the warranty...
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I've just picked up the courtesy car, an 08 plate Tiguan 2.0tdi. Excellent service so far. They expect the new engine to be fitted on Thursday/Friday, but I'm in real rush as the cc is so nice!
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As you appear to have a good dealer who is suportive then you could try sounding them out about a goodwill gesture. Doing it this way you could get them to approach VW direct to seek extended warranty etc. May carry more weight and be more successful from a dealer....
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mikey - I think I'll try that approach when I pick the car up. The dealers seem very laid-back about the whole thing in the sense that there's no expression of regret or surprise that I should have had two engines fail. It's just all very matter-of-fact, though courteous. It almost seems like it's an everyday occurrence, which would be very worrying.
Despite the fact that I generally deride vehicles like the Tiguan I quite like it! Would this have the new common rail engine or the older tdi type engine?
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Pat, although the dealer has rectified the problems in a "matter of fact" manner, I can fully appreciate your concerns - I would be like-minded if this happened to me.
Without in any way wishing to be alarmist, the golden rule in situations like this is to be in full possession of the facts. This means that you must find out precisely why this engine failed. Which part was defective and what has been done to the engine now in use to prevent a repeat episode.
The 2.0 litre VAG diesels have had problems with oil pump drives. It seems that they had attempted to use a chain drive (as is fitted to the "old" 1.9) to drive the oil pump and the balancer shafts. Chains don't like cyclic torque variations very much...
I have a VAG diesel and went to some lengths to get the 1.9 engine for this and other reasons. The situation may by now be fully resolved, but you need to know. The dealer's nonchalance may be a result of them having seen a few...
659.
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I drive an 06 reg Passat 2.0tdi with 76k on the clock and it's fine as are all the other Passats in our work's fleet (about 25).
Prior to this I had a lovely 04 reg 1.9 tdi and that was very nice and a lot quieter with regards to engine noise and smoother.
The only negative comments I have heard within the company is about the push button 'hand' brake and getting on and off a ferry ramp easily!
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659 - this is exactly my concern. I'd have thought that the dealer would be keen to emphasise either that this is a rare occurrence or is a design fault that has now been rectified. But it's just a case of 'we've ordered a new engine'.
Does anyone know if there is a cambelt tensioner problem? I've already been a victime of the oil pump drive problem and was assured by the dealer that the (then) new engine had a different set up. I have to assume that this was the case as it notched up almost 14k miles without an oil pump fault (!) but then a bolt in the tensioner failed and lunched the engine!
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stuart - glad to hear of your positive experience.
I can't help thinking about the BMW 318i Touring that the Passat replaced, 190k miles and ran like a dream. And here I am struggling to get double figures from an engine.
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Pat, I, along with other far more knowledgeable guys on here seem to conclude that you have been very unlucky.
My company run Passats (I love mine) and decent spec golfs plus VW transporter vans with near, if not 100% reliability.
I agree with other posters however that you should use your experience with VW to lever some extra Warranty from them. It will cost them peanuts and even less if they have real faith in the product they are supplying.
I was buying a £300 dishwasher from a big white goods retailer about 15 years ago and they wanted to flog me a warranty that lasted for three years for nearly £100.
I not only declined the warranty but didnt buy the dishwasher either as I told the salesman that to justify the £100 for the warranty the manufacturer must have been either greedy or pretty confident that the machine would break down within the three years and on the basis of this I would not buy the product.
Was I being sensible or just a miserable old git??!!!!
Cheers
Stuart
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An update.
The car was ready for me on Friday afternoon, which is pretty impressive considering the garage didn't get the car for inspection until Tuesday morning. I can't praise highly enough the level of service I have received from Listers VW Evesham. I have put my thanks in writing.
I have also written to VW customer services asking for an extension to the warranty on the (second replacement) engine and for some form of compensation for the stress and inconvenience caused. I'll let you know how I get on.
Thanks again for the advice and support.
Pat
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