Tyres, rust and an RCD510....

[Stuthebean]

Just got my 2011 GTI back from my local VW and i'm disappointed with the outcome.

I've had a couple of issues with my RCD510 radio (Turning off randomly, detuning of stations etc) and had it replaced today  but my other issues we all fobbed off as normal.

The first being the rear tyres which are "lumpy" (I think known as saw-toothed)and badly worn on the inside edge. The dealer stated this is down to tracking being out and not their responsibilty, even though the car has only done 20k, I suggest that the car was sold to me in this condition as I have not marked either alloy so how can it be tracking? I had this issue with my MK5 so i'm going to challenge it as I don't want to keep wearing out my rear tyres prematurely. You would think the dealer would check the tracking to see if it is out but they refused to.

The second item was rusting There is rust/paint flaking off the rear suspension arm just behind the rear wheels. VW seem to think this is normal but surely it's not normal for a 18 month old car to be rusting underneath? Also the hubs of the discs are rusting quite badly on all 4 corners, VW state that as it's not a safety issue they won't do anthing about it. I think dissapointing that VW will not accept that it is reasonable to expect a new car not to show signs of rust in the first year, especially on painted surfaces.

So far i've had shockingly bad service from my local VW, I won't go into details but they've lost my paperwork twice (registering an import), booked in for a radio update when one didn't exist, booked into change the radio and knew nothing about my other faults they were supposed to be reviewing.

Not good VW, not good....

Anyone had similar issues, especially the rusting rear suspension arms?

[Buster73]

Rust on suspension arms , who would have thought that would happen.

If this "rust " appeared out of warranty would you pay for it all to be replaced ?

I thought not, usual double standards apply .

Stop being a fanny ffs .

[dubber36]

The radio if a one off problem and it seems it has been sorted.

Lumpy rear tyres are a common issue as you know. I had the same problem, so fitted some new tyres, then booked it in for a full geometry set up at VW for a cost of £100. Every single corner was out of factory tolerance, but now it's rectified it feels like a different car. VW will carry out this work free of charge for the first 6 months, but after that it's up to you. Having no marks on your wheels doesn't mean that you couldn't have hit a pot hole, or gone over a speed bump a little too quickly, both of which could knock the alignment out by even a fraction of a degree. Do that two or three times and the whole set up is out of line. No manufacturer can be expected cover this as there are so many variable causes to the problem. The main one being how it is driven.

As for rust on suspension components and disc hubs. This happens to every single mainstream car on the road. Unless you waxoil it from new, nothing is ever going to protect it from happening.

I think you may have set your expectations a little too high. It is just a car after all.

[joe6]

My car is coming up for 3 years old. I expect to deal with some rust spots on the wheel hubs at about this point after nearly 3 winters on the road. Simple job quickly sorted. Not got any rust on the suspension arms but again consider this fortunate. I think expectations are a bit high as said by previous respondents.

[RickS]

The first being the rear tyres which are "lumpy" (I think known as saw-toothed)and badly worn on the inside edge. The dealer stated this is down to tracking being out and not their responsibilty, even though the car has only done 20k, I suggest that the car was sold to me in this condition as I have not marked either alloy so how can it be tracking? I had this issue with my MK5 so i'm going to challenge it as I don't want to keep wearing out my rear tyres prematurely. You would think the dealer would check the tracking to see if it is out but they refused to.

The second item was rusting There is rust/paint flaking off the rear suspension arm just behind the rear wheels. VW seem to think this is normal but surely it's not normal for a 18 month old car to be rusting underneath? Also the hubs of the discs are rusting quite badly on all 4 corners, VW state that as it's not a safety issue they won't do anthing about it. I think dissapointing that VW will not accept that it is reasonable to expect a new car not to show signs of rust in the first year, especially on painted surfaces.

So far i've had shockingly bad service from my local VW, I won't go into details but they've lost my paperwork twice (registering an import), booked in for a radio update when one didn't exist, booked into change the radio and knew nothing about my other faults they were supposed to be reviewing.

Not good VW, not good....

Anyone had similar issues, especially the rusting rear suspension arms?

How long have you had the car? 20k is quite a lot of mileage on a 2011 car by my standards and I wouldn't buy one with that much mileage on. General condition depends upon how the car was treated by the previous owner not so much the mileage anyway. I never got any rust on the hubs of my previous GTI because I used to clean and wax them to prevent it. As far as the tracking is concerned it could be down to the previous driver who may have driven it very hard a lot of the time. Don't forget not everything is covered for the full 3 years of the warranty, several items are only covered for 6 months or 6500 miles, whichever comes first. The suspension arm could have been scraped or knocked which may be why it's rusty - why don't you clean up the rusty area and give it a coat of sealant?
Lastly, some dealers are better than others and give better service, it's not all down to VW.

[M3 SHAM]

As others have stated some of your exoectations are a little un-realistic 

[Keithuk]

I know of the VW Technical product information for these saw tooth rear tyre wear from another forum.

Not just the GT, GTD, GTI but ALL Golf 5 and 6 plus Passat 3C and anything based on these platforms. Some makes of tyre or more susceptible than others. This is VW's official line on the subject.

Technical product information   Transaction No.: 2019800/1

Saw Tooth Tyre Wear   Release date: 23-Dec-2008

Customer statement / workshop findings
Saw tooth tyre wear / tyre noise.

Technical background
A Major cause of annoying tyre / road noise is “Heal and Toe wear”. This is the outwardly visible (and audible) manifestation of various distortional forces at work on the tread. To explain this, it is better to first say something about “tread design”.
Tread grooves and sipes – a source of noise – are absolutely essential in ensuring safety on wet and flooded roads. In the case of low profile tyres in particular, a higher percentage of tread void is necessary to take up and channel the water, while a hydrodynamic tread pattern design is needed to ensure water displacement.
The upshot of this is “detached blocks” in the shoulders. Because of how the tyre rolls over the road, the blocks can suffer heel and toe wear under certain operating conditions.
When a tyre rolls, the individual blocks in the tread are deformed.
On entry into the contact patch, the blocks are compressed. In exiting the contact patch, the blocks rub against the road surface and spring back to their original shape, resulting in higher abrasion where the lug tapers off.
This wear pattern is more likely to occur on non powered wheel positions.
If the tyre is driven in compliance with the specific operating conditions, the difference in height between the front and rear edges of the block does not exceed 0.8mm, a level at which no noticeable deterioration in the tyre’s characteristics is to be expected. More conspicuous heel and toe wear points to specific operating conditions (improper inflation pressures, excessive toe in, driving style).
To arrive at an improvement in the tyre wear pattern and a relative reduction in road noise it is imperative that tyre pressures are maintained regularly in accordance with the manufacturers specification. Also rotating the wheels has the effect of evenly distributing wear, so that the tyre returns to its original favourable noise level after a certain distance.
Above all please remember that tyre wear is unavoidable as a frictional force must be present between the tyre and road surface.

Production change
No change.

Measure
No change.