Rust on mk5's, what's the deal?

[8vMatt]

Hi guys,

After owning mk2 gti's for 10 years, I know I will come back to Golfs. The mk5 gti being the one I would go for.

But having chats to friends and people who work on mk5's, I'm getting the impression they have a few weak spots as far as rust is concerned. Underneath being prone for it apparently. Hearing this surprised me for a newish car.

What's your experiences concerning this everyone? My Corrado is 17 years old with no rust at all, I don't want to have to deal with rust on a newer car.

cheers.

[Phil1980]

I have just noticed a small sign of rust on mine so it will be going to the dealers next week, I will update with a response.  Judging by some of the threads people have written on here, you can get any rust repaired free of charge as long as you are persistant and take it to VW customer care.  The common areas on older Mk5's seem to be the wings. 

[Snoopy]

Off the top of my head ive bound to have forgotton something
Rust checks.
1) Front arches were the liner rubs near the top of the arch, (the open cell foam spacer at the top of the wing does not help as it can hold water.)
2) Bottom of the wings near the door pillar were the wing bolts to the top of the sills. (design fault with arch liner meens rubbish gets in next to the strut and ends up in that corner.)
3) Top of the sill were it bolts to the bottom of the wing (same location as above but the sill top this time) As the robots at the factory would grip this location when moving the shell and could crack the paint. (effects early cars)
4) Bottom of the boot badge hole. Water sits in this location)
5) Jacking points on the sills, The sealent can be damaged when lifted on a wheels free ramp at the dealers or garage.
6) 18" Alloy wheel corrosion due to the polished design (corrosion known as white worm)
7) Wheel VW badges and also the earlier smooth boot VW badge also suffer white worm.
 

[Phil1980]

Second one is where I have noticed a small amount of corrosion.  Not happy will be going into the dealers this week.

[Silver-Leon]

The rust problem seems fairly common, my 05 has it on the near-side wing on the wheel arch and round the boot badge/handle.Have had it in to the local VW garage a while ago still waiting, they say VW can be slower than a week in jail when it comes to warranty claims so still waitin

[Phil1980]

I'm looking forward to speaking to them tomorrow, there is no way I'm paying for a repair.  I know it will probably take a while to get sorted but its their problem not mine.

[Marlowe]

I've just posted my experiences of the same warranty claim for the same issue (corrosion caused by wheel arch liner rubbing inside arch). I've put my experiences thus far over at http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=178211.msg1892626#msg1892626, so I won't repeat the full thing. Suffice to say If it's out of the 3 year warranty VW will refuse the warranty work and claim it's a 'mechanical defect' (also known as a 'cop out' in my opinion) - I've had a 30 minute argument on a phone with their customer service and the matter referred to their Claims Manager.

It looks like, based upon the experience of members across a range of forums with this issue, corrosion due to design flaws is a known issue to VW and they're automatically refusing work outside of the 3 year period, in the hope that disappointed owners pay up for the repairs / replacement panels out of their own pocket. The only way to achieve more seems, sadly, to kick up a fuss. Seriously disappointing given the reputation for quality that I thought I was buying into when I bought a GTI.

[kingbilly]

Take a read of this - http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/sogaexplained - paragraph 12 Guarantees/Warranties.

This is an official Government site.

Good luck.

[kuvalee]

The problem with the rusting now is they will try to get out of reparing it by saying that your car has to have a full service history by vw dealers to be elegable for repair. Rust problem areas are both front wings and front ends of the sills.

[Marlowe]

Right chaps, some good news on the rust front.

As some of you might have read, I've recently come a cropper for the increasingly common corrosion caused by the arch liners rubbing against the arch paintwork. My GTI is an 06 plate, has been serviced by an independant (not the VAG dealer) for the last 2 years and is an import - of which the VAG network were aware from its first two services with them.

This morning Volkswagen Customer Service rang me back. After a tiny bit of arguing in the first place their very courteous manager was happy to inform me that he had secured me a 100% coverage on the repair to the arch - basically the initial 'mechanical default' stance was dropped and they agreed to take full responsibility (to their credit) for the repairs.

As it stands my car is now booked in at the local VAG dealer for the repairs, have agreed to inspect the other front arch for any prospective corrosion, and have offered me a loan car until the work is complete.

I call that a result - and most importantly, evidence that you do NOT have FSH or a UK car to get the work done. Just be prepared for a bit of 'courteous disagreement' when you are fed the 'mechanical defect' line if your warranty claim is refused initially by VW. It's a shame they didn't accept responsibility immediately, but I'm pleased to say my faith in VW has been restored.