Volkswagen - Engine Failure after 3 years
Dear Volkswagen
My name is Venashree Reddy and I have been a loyal customer of VW since early 2006. Thus far I have had the pleasure of owning 3 different VW vehicles (1.9 TDI, Polo GTi and the Golf 7).
I have been struggling with my current vehicle for a while now whereby the following faults have been noted since I have had the car:-
• Catalytic converter light comes up • Auto stop/start error message appears randomly • The engine shudders upon start-up • The oil consumption over the past 6 months has been quite high
I have reported these faults at various service intervals and was told that a software upgrade was required. Apparently a software upgrade is the solution to all engine associated problems at Alpine Volkswagen.
I took my car in on Monday the 9th October to Alpine VW as the result of the catalytic converter light appearing and the shuddering of the vehicle upon start up. I was told once they had diagnosed the vehicle that the engine was misfiring due to low compression on cylinder 3 as well as Engine Control Unit (ECU) being problematic. The total repair to the vehicle could potentially cost me up to R 100 000 depending on the severity once they strip the engine. The vehicle is barely 3 months out of warranty and has a total of 81 000 km on the clock.
There is no way that I have contributed to the ECU failing nor the cylinder 3 giving a low compression reading. These particular parts failing are not due to poor driving but rather poor quality of the manufactured goods. There are plenty of complaints regarding the 1.4 TSi engine failing and more particularly cylinder 3 on the engine misfiring which is exactly the problem I am faced with today. I hardly think it is fair that I pay for the repair to my vehicle due to VW producing substandard engines/vehicles. The gesture offered by VW Alpine to see what discounts could be offered on the parts and labour once the engine has been stripped is rather hollow. Needless to say I am very disappointed in VW’s response to my situation. When I purchased this vehicle, I bought it based on the fact that Volkswagens are meant to be reliable. And that the engine should not fail after a mere 3 years irrespective of whether I have opted for an extended warranty or not. This will ultimately be a financial disaster for me. Also note that you have lost a loyal customer. I will never purchase another VW again and I will ensure that everyone I know is aware of the problematic engines on these vehicles. Kind Regards Venashree