Waited patiently all day for news about the R getting the ACC system recalibrated or needing a replacement, and finally cracked at 3pm and rang Pulman. It was just heading to the workshop to start work - "no chance of getting it back today" I thought. I suggested ringing back at 4:20 pm, a mere 10 mins away from my finishing time (the earliest I can leave, I usually stay longer). The switchboard couldn't get through to the service dept, so I hung on and gave it one last go at 4:45pm (the issue is that the dealership is close to work, but miles away from home, so I either go to the garage on the off-chance or go home and turn up for the R tomorrow after work.
I get through and they inform me the car is in the "wash queue". The fact they want to wash it seems to imply the work is done, so I head down there.
Once there the service guy informs me that my tyre with the screw in it has been repaired - great!
He also tells me that the ACC work has not been performed, apparently they could not replicate the fault after following VW testing protocol (whatever those parameters are). I said "surely the sensor fault has logged on multiple occasions?". He said that it had but they had not replicated the fault. I asked "what is the point of having these sensors which log faults, especially useful to diagnose intermittent faults if you choose to ignore the faults they flag up, or don't act upon them".
I also mentioned the fact that the system seems to be well under expected sensitivity by the lack of <car>!<car> alerts when following the car closely in front, the lack of red alerts, and the fact the ACC gets the car dangerously close to the car in front (even at the longest gap set) when in cruise control mode. I made sure he knew that i'd already had a MK7 GTD and so was well aware of the sensitivity to expect on a working system.
He said he'd go and speak to the tech again. 10 mins later he comes back and says the tech I explained everything to on the faults at drop-off was not the person "working" on my car.
I said that it was poor form that a useful system that is also a safety feature with logged faults was not worked on and they were effectively fobbing me off without doing the work. He went away again and came back to say that if I left the car with them, they would perform 4 wheel alignment and ACC recalibration tomorrow.
We will have to wait and see. If they don't do anything or they say they did and the fault is still there then i'll have to push for ACC sensor replacement. If they refuse then i'll have to start talking car rejection.
Why are 2 dealerships from different retail groups so reluctant to fix a logged fault that is happening on multiple occasions?
I'm guessing that at Pulman today, one of 2 things has happened:-
1. They waited so long to get on with it that it was never going to be ready by the end of today doing it properly, so fob the customer off and give back the car.
2. VW UK are reluctant to pay out for ACC related warranty work, so they are reluctant to perform it.
