2012 Volkswagen GTI Complaints

THE TIMING CHAIN BROKE ON MY VW GTI 2012 EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO INSTRUCTION FROM VW TO REPLACE THE CHAIN AT 97 K MILES. IT IS ESTIMATED TO COST ME $7000.00 TO FIX THIS CAR. I SEE THAT THE TIMING CHAIN HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR THE VW GTI CARS AND IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED WITH THE MANUFACTURER.

ON THE MORNING OF NOVEMBER 29, 2017 I FOUND THAT MY 2012 VOLKSWAGEN GTI WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE HAS 73,530 MILES AND HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY A VOLKSWAGEN DEALER SINCE I PURCHASED IT IN SEPTEMBER OF 2013. I DROVE THE VEHICLE AND PARKED IT IN MY GARAGE THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 28 WITH NO ISSUES OR INDICATIONS THAT ANYTHING WAS WRONG. THERE WERE NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO BETTEN IMPORTS IN GRAND RAPIDS, MI FOR INSPECTION. THE TECHNICIAN, KEVIN, FOUND THAT THE TIMING CHAIN HAD JUMPED TIME DUE TO A FAILED TENSIONER WHICH RESULTED IN DAMAGE NOT ONLY TO THE TIMING CHAIN BUT ALSO THE HEAD. THE ESTIMATED COST OF THIS REPAIR IS $3700. I CALLED VOLKSWAGEN CARE AND SPOKE WITH PAUL ON THE AFTERNOON OF DECEMBER 4, 2017. HE INFORMED ME THAT SINCE I DID NOT PURCHASE THE VEHICLE FROM AN AUTHORIZED VOLKSWAGEN DEALER, VOLKSWAGEN WOULD NOT OFFER TO COVER ANY OF THE REPAIR EXPENSES EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE AWARE OF AN ISSUE WITH THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER AND HAVE ACTUALLY ISSUED...

ON OCTOBER 9TH, I ATTEMPTED TO START MY CAR. IT WOULD TURN OVER BUT WOULD NOT START. I HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE NEAREST VW DEALERSHIP. AFTER INSPECTION, I'M TOLD THAT THE TIMING 'MYSTERIOUSLY' ADVANCED AND DESTROYED ALL THE ENGINE VALVES. AND NOW MY ONLY TWO OPTIONS ARE TO EITHER REPLACE THE ENGINE OR THINK ABOUT BUYING ANOTHER CAR. MY CAR HAS LESS THAN 85K MILES, ALWAYS MAINTAINED AT A VW BRANDED MAINTENANCE FACILITY, AND EVERYTHING KEPT FACTORY STANDARD (NO AFTERMARKET OR THIRD-PARTY COMPONENTS). THANKFULLY THIS DID NOT OCCUR WHILE I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY EARLIER IN THE DAY. ACCORDING TO NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS BY OTHER VW OWNERS, THERE WAS A COMMON CULPRIT THAT LED TO THIS VERY SAME PROBLEM. MANY REPORT A DEFECTIVE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER THAT BROKE AROUND THE SAME MILEAGE, WHICH THEN LED TO IMMEDIATE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENGINE. I CONTACTED VW HQ DIRECTLY AND PLEADED MY CASE. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY WILL DO NOTHING TO ASSIST ME FINANCIALLY IN REPAIRING/REPLACING MY CAR. NOW I'M SEEKING OTHER AVENUES...

WATER PUMP FAILED ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. HAD THE FUEL PUMP FAIL, AIR INTAKE, EXCESS CARBON BUILD UP ON VALVES, AND NOW TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE. THE ROCKER ARM FOR NUMBER 3 CYLINDER BROKE IN HALF CAUSING TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION DURING ALL OF THE EVENTS. VW WON'T ASSIST IN REPAIRS EVEN THOUGH THE 2.0 TSI ENGINE HAS A WELL DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF ENGINE FAILURE WHEN THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILS. THEY WON'T FIX IT UNLESS IT IS UNDER WARRANTY. IF YOU HAVE THIS MODEL OF ENGINE GET IT CHECKED BEFORE YOU ARE OUT AN ENGINE.

P2015 INTAKE MANIFOLD RUNNER POSITION SENSOR/SWITCH CIRCUIT RANGE/ PERFORMANCE BANK 1.