MK5 Golf GTI
All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: MikLSP on April 10, 2014, 10:20:33 pm
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Today I had my first dealings with the VW warranty on my Golf as I took the car in to Lookers VW at Preston for investigation of the slow coolant leak and the turbo siren noise (something I didn't realise was a bad sign until the other day).
I was a little disappointed to find myself being fed precursors to cop outs all the time and lined up with several potential charges of £65 for investigation but when I was told that the turbo would be looked at and usually only replaced in the case of sudden mechanical failure, I had to voice my dwindling faith in this warranty.
Anyway, as it happens, my prior scepticism was not fully warranted (pardon the pun) and I hope to be getting some good news tomorrow. They tested the turbo and found "enough to mean there shouldn't be a problem" when putting it to VW for a new one so I am very hopeful that I will get a call tomorrow to book it in again. :happy2:
The coolant leak was unfortunately not yet resolved as no leak was found and the system passed pressure testing. Obviously coolant IS going somewhere and they have agreed to test the system again but can anyone suggest what is the most likely problem and why no pressure is lost? Is it simply such a small leak that the pressure test would need to run for longer to detect it?
I also asked them about the front wing corrosion which is starting to show but I forgot to follow this up so I will have to ask again when the car is next in.
As an unfortunately sour end to the day, upon taking the car back I noticed a texture on my leather steering wheel that I had not felt before. Sure enough, I found the following nasty scratch at the 9 o'clock position:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-N-lKgGy0na0/U0cJqAQ1cGI/AAAAAAAAUmY/2sUWFvjyFB0/w963-h1284-no/IMG_20140410_183500%257E2.jpg)
I went straight back and in fairness there was no dispute and I have been told it will be sorted which I sincerely hope it will.
So, a mixed bag today but I will certainly be happy about getting the turbo replaced, has anyone else had theirs done on warranty?
EDIT: A Short time after my first visit, I had a dash warning on the car saying "Engine fault Workshop!" along with the glow plug light flashing amber. VAG-COM shows a couple of sensor faults, boost pressure and intake air temperature, and the engine runs Ok but feels underpowered.
This is now going back in for additional diagnosis and hopefully to be resolved quickly.
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That looks like someone with a wedding ring on May have caught your wheel.
My front wings were both beyond repair but had been previously bogged so vw wouldn't even entertain a pair of replacements. Common issue though and the company who supplied my new ones said they sell a couple of pairs a week.
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if the engine's using coolant but has no visable leaks, i'd check the front floors firstly to see if the carpets are wet, (faulty heater matrix) or secondly i'd say possible headgasket, ask if they can remove the plugs and put the camera into the cylinder and see if theres one that's far cleaner than the others, is there any sign of water out of the exhaust?
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My first thougt was a ring but it looks like it may have been something heavier like the edge of a laptop or something.
My wings are not bad yet but I thought I'd mention them while the car was in and try to get things rolling.
I don't have wet carpets and the car doesn't suffer from steaming up as a bit of moisture in the cabin would cause. It's a GT TDI so there's no plugs to remove though the VW technician did suggest a small head gasket leak and obviously had no problem with sorting that should it be needed.
Not noticed and water or steam coming out of the tail pipes but there is a slightly sweet exhaust smell sometimes when the car runs from cold.
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I can 99.9% state that the scuff on the steering wheel will have been done when someone was getting in or out of the car (clothing).
I have done that with my jeans a fair few times. It happens as I try to avoid wearing out the seat side bolster. Studs on the jeans catch the leather on the wheel!
They do go down with a nice warm massage. Usually at traffic lights but I don't think that contributes. I'd be surprised if they do more than some leather balm and a gentle warm with a heat gun to sort it.
Needless to say I was not in the best of moods when I first did it. Not exactly pleased when I do it now but they do go with time. :happy2:
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I will have a look for who is wearing rings next time I go, first call will be the girl from the service desk who brought my car round to the front entrance. I refrained from making any cheap joke about her damaging it but maybe I should have ha :wink:
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Looks like they've fed the wheel through their hands then let it rest at the normal position to me.
Also you'll still have glow plugs with it being an oil burner. Nuisance or not they need to find the route of your issue.
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If it's a 2.0 TDI then the slow coolant leak, if there is no external leak, is probably a porous cylinder liner.. a "common" problem. Need a new head.
All the turbos can be quite noisy , noise in itself is not a bad thing.
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See this issue with porous heads was supposed to be dealt with by the 2006/7 mark.
The heads marked with an A number on the part I'd stamp were all no good, those with a B had a 50/50% fail rate and the Cs were meant to be bullet proof.
It's not impossible but needs proper investigation.
I'm on a B with -115k done :surprised:
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Not a 50/50 fail rate. Just less likely than an A.
It's a logical issue.. If it was a head gasket the oil would be mayo-like or/and the coolant may also have oil in it. If it was heater matrix you would see water leaking around the back of the block, or possibly have wet carpets.
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When they leak it's into the exhaust ports of the head so you see no cross coolant to oil contamination (or visa versa), just some steam and the loss of coolant. Also when the matrix splits it wets the underlay of the carpet first, so difficult to detect without stripping first.
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Wasn't it the 140PS cars that suffered the porous head? Mine is a 170PS on a 56 plate. Also there is no mayo at all but that just means the water isn't reaching the oil and not necessarily that it isn't leaking to another exit route.
I haven't pulled up the carpets to check the underlay but, as I said, there is no problem with it steaming up the windows which I would expect with any meaningful amount of moisture inside.
Either way, wouldn't any such leak expect to be picked up when pressure testing? Even if the coolant was not visualised, the pressure should be lost somewhere I'd have thought.
As for the turbo, they have found enough to make them pursue a replacement so I'm more than happy to let that happen! I will ask for more details on the failings of the current turbo on my next visit when I should have more time.
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It was more of an issue for the early heads 2003-2005. The design and manufacturing process was altered to resolve the matter but some can still slip through, you never know!
Pressure testing is sometimes a wasted task as many coolant leaks never show until the lump is mad hot. The 140s for instance only, usually dropped coolant after a long run so cold pressure tests prove un fruitful.
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Wasn't it the 140PS cars that suffered the porous head? Mine is a 170PS on a 56 plate. Also there is no mayo at all but that just means the water isn't reaching the oil and not necessarily that it isn't leaking to another exit route.
I haven't pulled up the carpets to check the underlay but, as I said, there is no problem with it steaming up the windows which I would expect with any meaningful amount of moisture inside.
Either way, wouldn't any such leak expect to be picked up when pressure testing? Even if the coolant was not visualised, the pressure should be lost somewhere I'd have thought.
As for the turbo, they have found enough to make them pursue a replacement so I'm more than happy to let that happen! I will ask for more details on the failings of the current turbo on my next visit when I should have more time.
when i mentioned head gasket i meant water into the cylinders ect, and i wasn't sure if it was petrol or diesel, but they all have plugs, so even removing the glow plugs and looking down isn't a big or long job, only other thing worth mentioning is if it's early days like it's just started to go, and it's using very little coolant, it might only use the coolant when up to full working temperature and when everything has slightly expanded, this will be very hard to detect as i very much doubt they've carried out a pressure test when it was hot, they've proberly just pulled it in and done it from cold, maybe suggest fitting the pressure tester ect then run the engine upto temperature, this way they won't get burn't or loose your coolant all over when they remove the expansion tank cap.
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I had wondered about it being temperature dependant; and conversely whether the leak only occurs while cold and essentially seals itself as things warm up and expand.
They are looking into it again anyway so I'll be sure to suggest every possibility.
I am surprised not to see any mention of the EGR cooler as that seemed to be the most common diagnosis in search results on here.
The coolant is dropping from the max to min marks on the reservoir over about 4 weeks by the way.
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how many miles are you doing roughly in them 3 to 4 weeks?
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Well it's varying quite a bit now since the Mrs started her maternity but probably anything from 100-500 a week.
The most regular use at the minute is short trips to the shops or nursery.
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Plugs on a 16v are a bit of a bugger to pop out.
Egr cooler is not one to rule out and can be removed and tested.
A chemical block test is also a good way of indicating an internal leak but relies on exhaust gas to coolant contact and this often isn't the case.
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Well, it seems there will be more for VW to investigate now as I just got this warning as I was nearly home today:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pg9whH5HMCY/U0628sKpYqI/AAAAAAAAU18/bdf7sKWIclA/w913-h685-no/IMG_20140416_175840.jpg)
I've not tried my old VAGCOM cable to check for faults yet but it's a cheap blue ebay job so I doubt it will work. Has anyone had this and what was the cause? Some searching suggests sensors or wiring but I wonder if it may be related to the turbo flaws VW already identified. Naturally I will be ringing them in the morning and hopefully it will be safe to drive 20 miles to get it to them but Easter weekend is one hell of an inconvenient time for it to happen.
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That's a glow plug light.
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Yes, it is the glow plug light but it is also used as a general engine management warning lamp on the diesels.
Apparently it can appear amber or red and can be just lit or flashing.
My old VAG-COM cable managed to find two fault codes which were for boost pressure sensor and inlet air temperature sensor. It's going in tomorrow so hopefully all will be resolved.
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So today I spent all day wandering around Preston waiting for VW to diagnose the engine fault and by 17:30 they finally had an answer. The problem is a broken wire, or wires, within the engine wiring harness and I have been advised that the whole thing should be replaced. Unfortunately, wiring is considered a perishable item and is not covered under my "All Component Warranty " so I'm looking at ~£350 to get that done. Has anyone had similar work done with our without warranty and does that cost seem fair?
Also was there a recall on the wiring harness or just the injectors, they have been done btw.
The car obviously need to go back in again and this time they have requested it for at least a couple of days, partly to get the wiring done but also because VW are requesting further evidence on the turbo including detailed photographs of the wear in question. The engineer informed me that he doesn't doubt the turbo needs replacing and that the siren noise is caused by movement in the balance bar, whether directly or by consequence I'm not actually sure, but VW want to be sure I guess so it has to be done.
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Anyone had any experience with the engine wiring harness at all?
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I would complain to VW Customer services as you might get a contribution.
Remember, Sale of goods act is the overriding factor :smiley:
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Anyone had any experience with the engine wiring harness at all?
Yeah, quite a common fault on the BMN engine. The harness is not properly shielded from the heat in the engine bay so it causes the map sensor reading to go ape sh*t, hence the 2 map related faults.
A new, more robust harness is fitted to counteract the heat soak and prevent further issues.
It's a pig of a job as the ecu harness plug needs striping to replace the faulty wires and the new loom routing.
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Thanks for the replies.
The faults are constant, not just when the engine is hot but I guess constant heat cycling would lead to damage in the wires.
They did say it would be an awkward job and reckoned about 5 hours.
I don't know whether customer services would be willing to help out as wiring is specifically listed as something that is not covered but there's never any harm in asking, especially if it is a common problem which has led to an updated part as a replacement.
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Have you had the injector and wiring loom recall done?
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Yes, that was done before I bought it but I have all the documents.
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VW parts carry a 2 year warranty. When was it done?
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Yeah, I thought of that. January 2012 :-(
Isn't the recall just in the injector wiring though? I assumed the wiring loom in question now was different anyway.
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VERY good point. I'll back away now :ashamed:
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Haha, no worries I appreciate the input. I went through the same thought process myself and I think I will still point it out to them that there was a wiring harness replaced just over two years ago and let them convince me that they're replacing a different one now :wink:
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The two looms are completely different I'm afraid.
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Thought as much when I saw a picture of the injector loom and it certainly didn't look like a 5 hour job.
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An hour if you're dragging your feet to be honest. The map sensor loom is a pig though.
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By the way, does the loom just go to the ECU or will they need to take the dash out too?
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Just to the ecu in the plenum chamber, dash removal is not required.
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Thanks, I'm glad they don't need to risk causing any damage to the interior :wink: