Also not wishing to tempt fate, mine has been silent over the warmer months and not so much as a bong since the new steering wheel was fitted (touch wood)
https://youtu.be/sDO6l8MqPsg this says it all
So true. I have a 1994 S2 Avant with zero rust, a 1999 A4 Avant with zero rust. My wife's 2010 Passat is riddled with rust and VW refused a warranty claim when it was 9 years old saying it was "through rust"!
‘Through rusting’ should be covered under the corrosion warranty, assuming the cause of corrosion was a manufacturing defect - e.g. insufficient protection applied on the production line when the car was built. It’s surface corrosion that generally isn’t covered and VW will probably decline a warranty claim for surface corrosion on the basis that it was caused an ‘external influence’ rather than the result of a manufacturing defect (e.g. an unrepaired stone chip removing paint down to the bare metal, leaving the bare metal exposed to the elements).
Having said that, IMHO most car manufacturers’ corrosion warranties aren’t worth the paper they’re written on, and VW have a history of trying to find a way of wriggling out of fixing legitimate warrantable corrosion damage.
This is from VW’s website;
Body protection warrantyAll current Volkswagen vehicles are fully protected during manufacture against through corrosion for 12 years from the date of first registration.The only preconditions are:
- The defect must be reported to a member of the Volkswagen Authorised Repairer network as soon as it is discovered and within the warranty period.
- The perforation must not have been caused originally by damage, neglect, insufficient care or maintenance or by external corrosion (rusting).
- A member of the Volkswagen Authorised Repairer network must be advised about any rusting as soon as it is found.
- All body repairs will be carried out promptly in accordance with the manufacturer's specification and procedures, using only approved parts and materials, so the original level of anti-corrosion protection is maintained.
