Author Topic: Battery drain, incorrect unit, dodgy dealer? Need some advice please  (Read 3771 times)

Offline Thatsnotme

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Got a bit of back story to it so bear with me please...

Purchased a GTD last summer from VW so its still got a couple of months warranty left. Around two months ago the battery drained itself overnight, VW sent an engineer round and he recharged the battery and did some tests which showed that the battery was draining at about double the speed it should, he recommended that I get it checked out.

Finally got round to taking it into my local VW (not the dealer I purchased it from) and their diagnostics showed that the battery was draining at this speed due to the MDI unit (found under the armrest) was not connected to the cd changer, so the cd changer is constantly searching for something which is resulting in the battery draining. It actually became apparent that the MDI unit is not compatible with my vehicle and for that reason it wasn't connected.

Now, before I purchased the car the VW dealer had removed a 6 disc cd changer from underneath the armrest and replaced it with this MDI unit as they said the 6 disc cd changer was faulty.

My local VW dealer suggested that the fix would be around £400 for a new unit and that I should contact the dealer I bought it from to try sort something out (as its their mistake), I also had to pay for the diagnostics as it apparently isn't covered by warranty due to it being the incorrect part or whatever. So I ended up paying for the diagnostics, which I'm obviously not happy about and theres no chance that I'm forking out £400 for a replacement unit.

I contacted the dealer I purchased it from and a few hours later had an email from them saying they can arrange for an auto electrician to sort out the "permanent live" issue but it means that I have to take it to them, the problem being they're around a 3 hour drive away...

So I need some advice on where I stand;
- What should I do next?
- Should this be covered by warranty?
- Would the route of an auto electrician be sufficient? (I ask this as I've lost faith in this dealer and they might try and pull another fast one with it being a temporary fix)
- If VW are having none of it, who do I go to next? (Not going to let them get away with it)

Some advice would really be appreciated as I have no clue where to start, its not a minor issue that'll go away so it does need sorting, would also like to do it as soon as possible whilst I'm still within warranty just in case they try and use that as an excuse of not putting it right.

Thanks for reading, enjoy the bank holiday!  :smiley:
« Last Edit: 30 May 2016, 10:34 by Thatsnotme »

Offline SunnyGTI

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It should be covered by warranty. And the diagnostic check you shouldn't need to pay for and so I would go down route of getting refund.

I suggest you phone VW customer care and explain the situation and ask if they can help. I had similar issue and they phoned my local dealer and helped me and they told me name of who I should speak to.

My local dealer was the dealer I bought my car from.

Btw is it the das welt auto warranty? I'm sure you can go to any local dealer to get it fixed under warranty

Offline Thatsnotme

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It should be covered by warranty. And the diagnostic check you shouldn't need to pay for and so I would go down route of getting refund.

I suggest you phone VW customer care and explain the situation and ask if they can help. I had similar issue and they phoned my local dealer and helped me and they told me name of who I should speak to.

My local dealer was the dealer I bought my car from.

Btw is it the das welt auto warranty? I'm sure you can go to any local dealer to get it fixed under warranty

Thanks for the response, glad you've reassured me that it should be covered by warranty - the local dealer was insisting that I had to pay for the diagnostics and were refusing to release the car without payment, so to save hassle I just paid it but I'll definitely look at getting a refund.

Will ring customer care and see what they can do for me. Yes its the das welt auto 12 month warranty that I'm referring to (I should've have said).

Offline topher

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Diagnostics with warranties is always a strange issue, especially if you're using a different franchise/chain to the original place of purchase. You'll probably have more luck getting the diag money back from the dealer you bought the car from.

That being said, I'm dubious that they've diagnosed it correctly. If the 'off' amp drain is double the usual figure (approx. 150mA) then it shouldn't flatten the battery over night, it would take a few days. On top of that, if this "incompatibility" is causing the problem then it should have been evident from day 1 and not pop up 2 months later. Also when you key off, the infotainment functions are supposed to go to sleep and only retain enough power to keep your settings saved.. it shouldn't be searching for other units with the car off.

If you want it fixed (possibly bodged) for free I think you'll need to go back to where you bought the car from. Personally I'd seek out a decent independent specialist and get a second opinion.. not sure how far north west you are, closest one I can think of is possibly Awesome GTI in Manchester.

Offline Thatsnotme

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Diagnostics with warranties is always a strange issue, especially if you're using a different franchise/chain to the original place of purchase. You'll probably have more luck getting the diag money back from the dealer you bought the car from.

That being said, I'm dubious that they've diagnosed it correctly. If the 'off' amp drain is double the usual figure (approx. 150mA) then it shouldn't flatten the battery over night, it would take a few days. On top of that, if this "incompatibility" is causing the problem then it should have been evident from day 1 and not pop up 2 months later. Also when you key off, the infotainment functions are supposed to go to sleep and only retain enough power to keep your settings saved.. it shouldn't be searching for other units with the car off.

If you want it fixed (possibly bodged) for free I think you'll need to go back to where you bought the car from. Personally I'd seek out a decent independent specialist and get a second opinion.. not sure how far north west you are, closest one I can think of is possibly Awesome GTI in Manchester.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely get a second opinion on it and as I'm based in manchester will probably take it to Awesome GTI. When I said it happened over night it was over a period of around 22 hours? I'm only describing and explaining it the way they told me, my knowledge on cars isn't particularly great  :cry: either way I reckon VW are trying to pull a fast one and not sort it accordingly so it'll be more difficult to get to the bottom of than hoped.