Not another tension failure... That's whats wrong with my GTI!

[Jimmgc51]

So its official the tensioner has failed, engine has thrown some error codes, can't remeber from the call but something to do with cam and chain alignment. Now they want me to pay £1350 for engine strip down

Iv'e started asking about goodwill and he said at this stage they can't say anything until the strip down is done and then there is no guarantee I will be offered anything. Pretty upset at the minute I was hoping for some kind of deal on the table at this early stage!

So I have spoken to VW CC and opened a case the only thing in my favour currently is the call I made to them two months ago telling them I think my tensioner is going and being told there is nothing wrong with them and the fact the dealer was told this also and said they said nothing is wrong.

So more news to follow after the engine has been dismantled...

I can not believe this, not another.....How many is that now. Fricking ticking time bomb. Did you have any signs of it happening, rattle or owt?

Think im gonna pay that £269 and get it sorted before mine goes...

What was age and milage?

Yeah one day it just sounded different on startup, best I can describe is a rough start, then say if you stopped somewhere on a journey on starting it again (cos the engine is warm) it would start nicely.

That's what I noticed had changed but when you own a car you know when it starts differently then one day gone no warning!

I'd get it fixed I kinda regret not getting it done by an indy!!

[Jimmgc51]

Good to meet you today jimmy even tho it was a flying visit,
Your car was just getting its tow rope on and was looking pretty sorry for itself 

Put pressure on VWCS especially as you logged it a few months ago and they said not to worry all is fine  with the tensioners
Have you got full dealer History ?

Likewise mate.

Yeah full VWSH but I bought second hand private from London but he and me have always kept it VW, I think Iv'e just miss understood this £1350 Iv'e kinda committed to pay this but I don't see why they have to fully strip a broken engine, its like flogging a dead horse!

Surely once the heads off if its damaged engine gone 2-3 hours work instead of the quoted £15 at £90 per hour (this is getting verified by VWCS)

[Jimmgc51]

I can not believe this, not another.....How many is that now. Fricking ticking time bomb. Did you have any signs of it happening, rattle or owt?

Think im gonna pay that £269 and get it sorted before mine goes...

What was age and milage?

RocketRoss, if I were you I'd get yours sorted pronto before it goes

Just sent this to JCT600 Peugeot who i bought it from with 1 years warranty in April

Hello Paul,

I would just like to bring an issue to your attention. In April I bought a VW Golf GTI 2.0l TSI from you guys.

Now over the past few months these cars (2.0l TSI Engine) have been suffering from timing chain failure problem. When it fails it causes catastrophic damage to the engine.
The whole engine needs to be stripped down and rebuilt / replaced with new parts. This is not a wear and tear part as it is supposed to last the life of the vehicle.

The problem is they are prone to early MK6 GTI's on 09, 59 and 10 plate cars (mine is a 59 plate). VW admit there was a design flaw  and have updated the part twice since 09 but they are not willing to do a recall.

I am avid forum member on 3 Golf GTI forums and as you can see from the below post this is becoming a major problem. Over the 3 sites I visit, 3 GTI's have failed in two weeks.

VW have stuck them all with bills ranging from  £1500 - £2500!!!  dependant on damage.

At this point i am very scared, my engine sounds like it may have the early warning symptoms before it fails. As of now the engine is ok , but to prevent the timing chain failing it needs tightening and upgrading to the latest revision.

The cost of the upgrade from a VW specialist is around £480 all in. Now with the car been under warranty for another 7 months with you guys i think it would be a smart move to take preventative measures now, rather than it having to go under warranty.

I would be willing to contribute towards the costs as I am certain this needs to be sorted sooner rather than later.

Thanks for reading this email, I would be grateful if you could respond as soon as possible.

Thanks

Regards
Ross

Keep us updated on the reply!!

[andykram]

Sorry to hear this fella.

This is of no solace to you but I feared mine was going down the tensioner fail route - it's a very early June 09 model. It was making the classic rattly noise on start up so I was equally scared. Consequently, I  had a new revised one fitted along with a new water pump for £530 at a well known independent specialist up here in the north. Even they had to fit it twice because the first one was faulty and sounded worse than the original. Anyway, when they stripped it they could see signs of wear on the plastic housing which is usually an early sign of wear.
Touching wood and hoping for the best, it sounds back to normal now on start up so I'm hoping I've got away with it. Not happy with having to pay £500 odd but have reconciled myself with the fact that if it was a normal cam belt driven engine I'd have had that and the water pump changed at 4 years old so I have likened it to that in my own mind (even though I know it is not the same).
VW really need to come clean with this and compensate customers of these early cars otherwise they will lose plenty of repeat custom. However, I fear we all know that they won't - they just need to look at the Mk 7 section to know how many of them they can sell!!!

[Neil gti]

Having full VWSH is in your favour pal,
It's one excuse that they can't use against you 

[Jimmgc51]

Yeah no solace but I reckon in hindsight it would of been £500 well spent hopefully other people reading will take note and get there's done.

I made sure I got that line in though with VWCC "I have stuck to you service book and done every repair when asked, if you had put 4 year tensioner change in there I would of had it replaced 4 months ago"

Iv'e got a bit of ammo so just need to get the issue raised with VW directly now.

[Ratski]

What a nightmare, make sure you let us know the outcome from vw with labour and parts

I've got jan 2010 with 25k miles so reckon I have to start to think about what to do about this issue.

Would really like to know what others of similar aged cars have done and how much it cost them to rectify. If I can get for £300 I will probably get done for peace of mind I suppose.

Also need to add that doing a bit of reading on the net suggests the USA models are protected (and fully covered for this) under a 60k power train warranty. How come we don't get that in the uk?

[RocketRossUK]

What a nightmare, make sure you let us know the outcome from vw with labour and parts

I've got jan 2010 with 25k miles so reckon I have to start to think about what to do about this issue.

Would really like to know what others of similar aged cars have done and how much it cost them to rectify. If I can get for £300 I will probably get done for peace of mind I suppose.

Also need to add that doing a bit of reading on the net suggests the USA models are protected (and fully covered for this) under a 60k power train warranty. How come we don't get that in the uk?

Because in the USA they actually have decent customer service and they wouldnt stand for it...Not like us Brits, we just say "oh well, just one of those things"....

We are chumps if you think about it.....

[RocketRossUK]

Having full VWSH is in your favour pal,
It's one excuse that they can't use against you 

Neil can you send me the guys Number and website where you got yours done please - and what was the amount you paid again?

[Neil gti]

Having full VWSH is in your favour pal,
It's one excuse that they can't use against you 

Neil can you send me the guys Number and website where you got yours done please - and what was the amount you paid again?

Pm on way