Dealer issue

[Craig16v]

Morning guys

I have not been on the forum for a while but recently purchased another VW after many Years away from them. I bought myself a 2016 Golf gti.

I have only had the car for just over 6 months and have been loving it, however it has recently developed a few issues. Firstly the airbag light came on, then I had issues with a flat battery. I had VW assist out as I had a years cover to get the car started, which they did and advised that I replaced the battery. The tech also scanned the car for the fault with the airbag and it came up with the fault B10001b. He told me it was a faulty clock spring in the steering wheel.

I booked the car back into the main dealer I got the car from to have it repaired, I still had the remainder of my das welt auto warranty in place. As the battery wasn’t covered I had to pay £185 for it as they price matched Halfords.

When they investigated the airbag fault they told me it was a fault with the wiring harness and not the spring as the assist tech had said. As the wiring is not covered under the warranty I would have to pay for it. This would be another £200+ for the repair. The car is with them this week, they have replaced the wiring and contacted me to say it has not fixed the fault, they have now told me it is the clock spring that is causing the issue! The spring is getting replaced under warranty.

They are telling me the wiring had to be replaced, but if this did not fix my airbag fault. Should i still have to pay for the replacement of the wiring? I am rapidly losing faith in VW after sales service after forking £17k for the car with a warranty, 6 months later I am already having to spend over £400 in repairs.

[Finglonga]

Is the airbag light still on? You get many random codes when the battery is on the way out that may never appear again. If it is a one off then I wouldn't worry and leave it as they would have scanned it and had the same result.

Not sure where they got the price from for the battery but Halfords AGM is £127 or £106 with trade card and takes 5 minutes to code in. As usual the Dealers are ripping people off.

[Craig16v]

Yeah the airbag light is coming back after being reset every time, suggesting there is a fault?

The price for the battery is what Halfords are charging on there website fitted, VW wanted £270 before the price match.

[mcmaddy]

I wouldn't be paying for the wiring harness at all. VW assist told them what was wrong and they ignored it and thought they knew better. Get them to put your original wiring back on if they say anything as clearly nothing was wrong with it. Which dealer is this so others can avoid.

[Craig16v]

Yeah that’s what I’m thinking👍 It’s VW up in fife.

[Guzzle]

As mcmaddy says, they should have replaced the clock spring first and then asked you if you wanted to pay for a wiring harness if the new clock spring didn't fix the issue. 

You shouldn't have had to pay for the wiring harness, the misdiagnosis was their mistake and they should pay for it.

I wouldn't be happy with that level of customer service at all. 

[Ulysses31]

Even if it was the wiring harness, they cannot legally say that it is not covered by the warranty, so yiu have to pay. By law, a product must last a reasonable amount of time. No reasonable person would expect the wiring harness in £25,000 car to last 3 years before needing to be replaced. You might have to go through the small claims court (a faff), but yiu would win every day of the week and it would be a miracle if anyone turned up to defend the case.

As for paying for a harness you don't need, jog on! What if they had diagnosed a new engine, but that didn't fox it?

[monkeyhanger]

Stories like this are getting all too common. Not sure whether VW procedures are to blame or ineptitude of the techs.

Dealership techs receive the car to repair...

Are they duty bound to plug it into the computer and replace whatever the computer tells it to replace, or do they take it upon themselves to ignore VW Assist diagnosis?

I also find it incredible if true that the Das Welt warranty excludes wiring, unless it's been butchered to fit some aftermarket device and they made you aware of that butchery before you bought it.

1. They shouldn't have made you pay for the wiring harness, it should be under warranty, it's supposed to last as long as the car, it's not a consumable.

2. It's their diagnosis that caused wiring harness replacement to happen, whether it should've been covered by warranty or not.

Although it may be completely useless to do so, you should get onto VW UK and report your treatment to them. They should confirm if Das Welt warranty should've covered wiring and if not, you can convey your dissatisfaction that the wiring harness was not a fix recommended by VW Assist and it didn't fix the reported fault, therefore it was unnecessary work.

I suspect that wiring is covered, when required and the deslership did unnecessary work that VW UK won't pay for therefore they're passing the cost to you.

Speak to VW Fife management first (get all the facts written down in chronological order to guide you). If you get no satisfactory resolution (no charge for the wiring loom), tell them you are going to VW UK to lodge a complaint. If they don't back down then go to VW UK. If VW UK prove themselves to be as useless as recent personal dealings with them leads me to believe then go to the small claims court.

[Finglonga]

From the warranty handbook....

What is not covered?

Replacement parts and labour will be paid for with the following exceptions:–
Routine servicing (all parts replaced associated with routine servicing are excluded)–     
All bodywork, glass (including heated) and seals –
Wear and perishable items as follows:–
All adjustments, cambelt timing, diesel timing or cleaning–   
Batteries     –     
Brake frictional material–
Bulbs and fuses     –   
Clutch frictional material– Coolant pipes and hoses–
CV boot gaiters–
Exhaust systems including diesel particulate filters (although catalytic converters are covered for internal failure only)–
Non-manufacturer’s original parts  or second hand parts–
Tyres and wheels–
Unencased drive belts–
Upholstery, interior and exterior trims–
Washer pipes and vacuum hoses–
Wiper blades, arms and washer jet
Wiring and connections (including HT leads and aerial coaxial cables)

So looks like they have covered themselves.

[mcmaddy]

So how come some people are having batteries replaced under warranty and I got my centre resonator pipe under warranty on my last car. Is Das Welt different to new car warranty. Either way they've replaced a part that didn't fix the issue so they can't expect the OP to pay and if it was me I wouldn't be paying for it.