Another update on the now concluded saga of the on-going problem with my stalling GTI manual...
After rejecting my original Golf GTI manual (now over 5 months old) on 13/8/19 I picked up my new Golf GTI DSG on Friday afternoon. So despite a 4 day delay due to the WLTP/RDE problem, it's still only taken 3.5 weeks for the rejection to be accepted and to pickup the new one.
I'll summarise the main things below - apologies for the length - it's definitely a summary but I guess you may be interested in some of the details:
* Due to a cool spring and not using the car very much the stalling problem didn't re-occur again till early July and it was taken into the supplying dealer on 22/7. I've been supplied with a couple of loan cars since then.
* The dealer has been able to consistently replicate the problem even in cooler weather but only by driving it hard to get the engine temperature up. They also noticed an occasional problem with the gear shift indicator not showing the correct gear
* They found a sporadic Neutral position fault and swapped over the sensor but it didn't help
* The problem was escalated to VW by the dealer and after various tests of fuel, checks for remapping, trackers, etc VW asked for the engine speed sensor to be changed but it made no difference
* On 7/8 I escalated to VW directly including to one of their directors to ask for their responses to be quickened and I spoke to them the next day when they confirmed that they didn't know what the problem was but that they were confident the fault would be found, and could possibly send one of their engineers to check it or ship the car down to their own workshop
* Later on the 8/8 VW asked for the camshaft actuator to be changed which again made no difference
* On the 12/8 I was told VW had asked that the oil sump be removed and that "swarf or metal filings" had been found there and in the oil. VW then asked for the oil to be refilled and the car tested again, and if swarf was found again then the camshafts would have to be replaced
* It was at that point that I made an appointment to see the dealer Business Manager of the dealer and formally rejected the car as I didn't want a car that I had wanted to keep long term to have a potentially serious engine problem which could cause problems after the warranty ended
* Following a lot of really great work by the Business Manager, VW quickly accepted the rejection and then the dealer located a new DSG car that they had in stock. So in the end I paid the extra for the DSG but the car came with Santiago Wheels, Dynaudio and 90% tinted windows which, in effect, I didn't have to pay for so a great deal and some compensation for the hassle
* Despite the negative sentiment I've read about the attitude of VW when people have problems and the difficulty in getting them to accept rejections, I must say that VW have also been very helpful throughout.
I genuinely have nothing but praise for the dealer, JCT600 York, who not only gave me a great deal when I purchased the car but have done absolutely everything they could have done quickly and professionally throughout the whole saga and then for them to find me a replacement so quickly was great - I would most definitely recommend them.
