EPC fault

[SRGTD]

My golden rules whenever my car goes back to the dealer for servicing / repairs or warranty work;

• Take a photo of the instrumentation dials to record the mileage; there’ve been instances of customer cars being used for errands, and extended test drives by techs when there was no reason to drive the car.

• Take photos or a video of your car as evidence of its condition, tell the dealer you’ve done this and get them to agree your car’s condition. Makes it more difficult for the dealer to deny they damaged it if it picks up damage while in their custody.

• Do not let the dealer wash your car, unless you like the swirled paintwork look. Put a ‘do not wash this car’ notice in a prominent place in the car, tie a tag with a similar instruction written on it to the keys and get the service advisor to also write a ‘do not wash’ instruction on their work sheet It’s also easier to record and check the car’s condition if it’s clean, and to spot any damage when you collect it.

Overkill? Maybe, but it seems to work for me. As has been said, some dealership staff don’t appreciate some of us take pride in our cars, so they seem to think it’s OK if it picks up the odd mark or two, or the wheels get scuffed while in their custody.

[kmpowell]

A day of two phone calls:

1. It started mid morning when the service dealer principle rang me all hugely apologetic and said he has launched an internal investigation. He has agreed to order me 2x new wheels and tyres FOC and they will be available for me to pick up in a few days. I am then able to take them or he will ask his workshop to fit them FOC and do an alignment FOC. Suffice to say I declined and I'll get my local garage to do them once they have been ceramic coated by my detailer. He said I could keep my old wheels and tyres so they will stay on whilst the new ones are at my detailer.

2. Then the icing on the cake... I took the car on the motorway for the first time today and the same fault came appeared once I hit 50mph! Furious didn't even come close to how I felt, especially as I had my kids in the car! I rang the same service manager who read out what the technician had done, and then it became clear this wasn't in line with that the VW assist man diagnosed, so it would appear they have replaced the wrong part and/or not fully gone through the sequence the VW Assist man did to find the offending item! He offered for them to look at it again, but I declined and I've booked it in with my local dealer instead who will be investigating it with all the info I have given them. It goes to them tomorrow morning 9am (great service!), and apparently I am getting a Polo DSG of some sort as a courtesy car.

[kmpowell]

So my local dealer has confirmed the original dealer didn't follow the testing plan correctly, and the part that should have been replaced was not replaced. Should be all fixed by early next week, fingers crossed.

In the mean time, courtesy car number two. Beige (although they were at pains to tell me it was "silver" when my 5 year old boy said it was Gold brown! ), DSG 1.0 Petrol...

[SRGTD]

So my local dealer has confirmed the original dealer didn't follow the testing plan correctly, and the part that should have been replaced was not replaced. Should be all fixed by early next week, fingers crossed.

In the mean time, courtesy car number two. Beige (although they were at pains to tell me it was "silver" when my 5 year old boy said it was Gold brown! ), DSG 1.0 Petrol...

Yes, it’s Ivory Silver. Another of those VW colours that don’t necessarily look like the colour they’re meant to be; it looks a bit ‘pensioners gold’ to me . IMO Limestone Grey is another (can look a mushroomy-beige in certain lighting conditions), and Isaac Blue can look grey in dull light.

[sjw]

So my local dealer has confirmed the original dealer didn't follow the testing plan correctly, and the part that should have been replaced was not replaced. Should be all fixed by early next week, fingers crossed.

In the mean time, courtesy car number two. Beige (although they were at pains to tell me it was "silver" when my 5 year old boy said it was Gold brown! ), DSG 1.0 Petrol...

Yes, it’s Ivory Silver. Another of those VW colours that don’t necessarily look like the colour they’re meant to be; it looks a bit ‘pensioners gold’ to me . IMO Limestone Grey is another (can look a mushroomy-beige in certain lighting conditions), and Isaac Blue can look grey in dull light.

Don't even bother with Champagne Silver. It's brown.

[hobbes22]

Oh my go KM, I hope once you get your car back that will be the end of it. Sorry to hear the trouble you've been through.

[Splashalot]

DSG 1.0 Petrol...

I had one of these as a loan car last week.  It was surprisingly good in some areas, surprisingly bad in others.  The ride, handling and general feel of the car was very much 8/10ths Golf.  Very refined and comfortable.  Performance was very good - pretty much the same as the Golf's 1.4TSi.  But the DSG and 3-cylinder 1.0 turbo engine was not a good combination.  At least the ridiculous gear selections.  The DQ200 DSG would routinely lug the engine, often sitting around 1300-1600rpm, which caused terrible NVH from the 3-cyl - vibrating through the seat, pedals and all touch points.  And the stop/start mechanism was appalling - causing the whole car to shake violently on both shut-down and re-start.  In short, if I were to buy one of these, it would have to be a manual transmission.  And stop/start would have to be permanently turned off.

[Exonian]

if I were to buy one of these, it would have to be a manual transmission.  And stop/start would have to be permanently turned off.

Interesting thoughts and observations Splashalot.
My son has the Ibiza version of the 1.0 TSI with a manual box and the gearing on it is silly high.
In all other respects it’s a great car and I agree with you about it being 8/10ths Golf.

So much so I’d happily have a Polo GTI or Cupra Ibiza if they release the latter.
The interiors are quite similar in dimensions to a Golf and the exteriors are slightly more compact making the Golf feel a bit bulky afterwards.
I think I could forego flock lined door bins and a bit of soft touch lower dash which to some on here would be the end of the world. 90% of my driving is done in darkness anyway so I don’t think I’d notice too much!


******************

kmpowell I really hope this gets sorted very soon. You deserve a medal for what you’ve had to put up with in the incompetence stakes. 

[kmpowell]

Picked up the GTI yesterday, and it's good to have it back. Wimbledon VW confirmed that West London Volkswagen hadn't replaced anything or completed the proper testing plan that would have seen all the issues identified. Not only had the Oil switch failed, but another item had failed which would have also been picked up if done properly. All done under warranty, thoroughly tested and back to being as it should.

As for the Polo, I did 500 miles in it, and not once did I get the judders gearbox described above. I put that down to me being used to DSG. If you drive a DSG like you think, then you'll struggle (I know I did when I first drove one a few years ago), but if you drive a DSG as a DSG needs to be driven then it's a great box. Gaming the DSG is very rewarding, especially in such a small engine. It was a little gutless, but nippy enough to get around town. Gripes for me were the manual handbrake, it felt like going back in time and with the DSG box throws the sequence you expect right out of kilter.

Size wise, again I disagree with the comments above. It's smaller, much smaller on all levels, to the golf. The door cards are much thinner and the days is shallower, making it feel bigger inside, but it's a bit of an illusion when you actually come to put stuff in it.

A [very] small thing that made me glad I went for the 7.5 rather than wait for the 8... with the new generations of infotainment up on the dash high, the 2x vents are moved down, and no matter what position I put the vents in, when driving along the cold air simply made my hand/arm cold as it blows directly across/up/down where your hand is for the gearstick and handbrake, especially as there was no arm rest.

VW penny-pinching at it's worst however was when I was driving along and tried to use my washer jets, only for nothing to come out... I got home, checked and saw the reservoir was empty, but I didn't;'t get a warning. I checked the manual, and low & behold there's no low washer warning. 

All in all, great to have the Golf back.

[mcmaddy]

The low washer warning used to only be on the top end models or even part of the winter pack. Not necessarily penny pinching just model being too low down the range?