Author Topic: Timing Chain tensioner Failure List (timing issue)- Please Update with Your Info  (Read 362495 times)

Offline gaurav_aidasani

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Thank you all for the valuable inputs

@C3PO it's a very small world, just read the service book and the car was purchased new from White Rose Volkswagen, Skipton Road, Keighley! I'm going to give Ben Smith a call and see what he says, no harm in trying listening to his sound advice.

@andygo thanks for the help offered. I would love to give this a go but I don't have the necessary knowledge and I live in London flat, so have parking space issues, although I have a VW dealer a few yards away....wonder if they'll allow me to use their garage :P  Out of curiosity how did your son manage to get his GTI sorted free of charge? Was it purchased through a dealer? Also as you said, my reason for not getting a warranty is that it's £500 and it kicks in only after I have an issue (plus diagnostic costs are not necessarily covered). And it's only for a year.

Nevertheless time to sort this out asap and for the car to sound less like a dirty diesel! And I thought VW's in general were solid!

Offline andygo

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Just get an Indie to sort it is the best advice to give you given your circs.

Sons car was just over 3 years old, full vw service history and lots of info from this site (amongst others)helped him build a case for VW intervention. The VW dealer in Milton Keynes were super slow, had no insight and were just after his £££. Because the dealers were so inept and kept telling fibs helped build a case with VW I guess.

It might have been a free fix in the end, but it took about 5 weeks over the Christmas period to resolve...

Offline gaurav_aidasani

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Just a quick update

Phoned Ben @ Crosshills and he managed to dig out some information for me within 2 hours. Any authorized VW dealer will need to diagnose it first. If there is a fault in the tensioner then VW will cover 100% parts and 0% labour. All else being OK in the engine, it's a 4 hour job to change the chain and tensioner.

I wish my local dealer had someone like him, they are simply useless and I can't be bothered to go through all the aggro.

Offline C3PO

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Just a quick update

Phoned Ben @ Crosshills and he managed to dig out some information for me within 2 hours. Any authorized VW dealer will need to diagnose it first. If there is a fault in the tensioner then VW will cover 100% parts and 0% labour. All else being OK in the engine, it's a 4 hour job to change the chain and tensioner.

I wish my local dealer had someone like him, they are simply useless and I can't be bothered to go through all the aggro.

Could not agree more, hence why I drive 130 miles for a service :whistle:

Cannot understand why VW employ people who cannot be bothered to supply a service.
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Offline gaurav_aidasani

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This is getting quite confusing! What are your thoughts?

I booked the car yesterday at an indy specialist who quoted me around £225 to get the tensioner changed. They said they'd give it a start from cold and hear out for any rattles. I thought they would actually come back and say it's worth updating the chain too.

But, to my surprise, they just called saying that they've had a good look at the car (various technicians) and can't fault the tensioner. They can only hear a very faint rattle at start up from cold but nothing of concern. The technician who was supposed to work on my car told me he's a VAG specialist and said he'd seen a few of these cars come in, when he was at a main dealer, and the tensioner had gone only because of lack of maintenance (cars had skipped services, running very low on oil etc).

They said they could have simply charged me for the job (after all it is a business) but thought that it's completely unnecessary and would be throwing money down the drain.

The garage did look very professional, saw a couple of Audi's/VW's/Range Rovers and even an M4 with the M Performance Pack! So I'm not doubting their quality of work.

 :huh: :huh:

Offline Pld118

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I would still want to replace the components if the vehicle is not covered by an all singing, all dancing warranty.

Well intentioned though they undoubtedly are, you say they do refer to 'a slight rattle on start up' and - assuming they don't actually have a crystal ball - the potential risk and associated cost of a future failure means that £225 or £350 or £400 to replace the relevant components with recognised revised components is, proportionately speaking, a negligible amount and might enable you to relax and enjoy the car.

The fact you're asking the question could suggest you're not entirely convinced with the well meaning outcome from the garage?



Offline RocketRossUK

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This is getting quite confusing! What are your thoughts?

I booked the car yesterday at an indy specialist who quoted me around £225 to get the tensioner changed. They said they'd give it a start from cold and hear out for any rattles. I thought they would actually come back and say it's worth updating the chain too.

But, to my surprise, they just called saying that they've had a good look at the car (various technicians) and can't fault the tensioner. They can only hear a very faint rattle at start up from cold but nothing of concern. The technician who was supposed to work on my car told me he's a VAG specialist and said he'd seen a few of these cars come in, when he was at a main dealer, and the tensioner had gone only because of lack of maintenance (cars had skipped services, running very low on oil etc).

They said they could have simply charged me for the job (after all it is a business) but thought that it's completely unnecessary and would be throwing money down the drain.

The garage did look very professional, saw a couple of Audi's/VW's/Range Rovers and even an M4 with the M Performance Pack! So I'm not doubting their quality of work.

 :huh: :huh:

If you have the earlier tensioner i would still get the latest one, especially if they are only charging £225.

You cant put a price on peace of mind. Plus you know that you wont get a £1500 bill when the engine need replacing if it fails.

I know he is VAG specialist, but peoples car have failed even with oil changes ever 5k. My service book was fully up to date and mine got really bad.
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Offline gaurav_aidasani

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Well this experience hasn't been the best, stressful and annoying more like it.

I asked the garage to change the tensioner regardless of their thoughts, for my own piece of mind. They called me back mid week and said actually there is evidence of slight damage to the timing chain cover, so I said fine I authorise you to fix that as well (final bill went up of course).

Called them this morning to pick it up, they said car's absolutely fine when they started it from cold this morning. Was looking forward to driving it back.

As I got on to the A road and opened up the taps a bit, I realised a whining/whistle noise from the turbo and a definite power loss between 2k-4k rpm. My foot was slammed on the accelerator and the car doesn't respond like it used to with its sharp acceleration.

Any idea what it is? Punctured diaphragm which doesn't allow the turbo to boost?

It will have to go back for them to have a look at it.........which is very frustrating and time consuming.

On the plus side, no more rattling and the engine sounds smooth but whistling!
« Last Edit: 20 September 2014, 14:10 by gaurav_aidasani »

Offline Snoopy

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The pipe to the turbo they take off is not sealing. See earlier diy.
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Offline gaurav_aidasani

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Thanks Snoopy will see if I can take a look at it.

I parked the car and left it for an hour before taking it out for a spin around the block, now the check engine light is coming on (permanent rather than flashing). Is this due to the pipe?