[Mark Dreyer]

Brought my 2010 Touareg TDI (which I had bought new there) to them a year ago complaining of an exhaust leak. It is now in their shop for the 5th time for the same issue, which has gotten worse to the point that I almost can't drive it because of the fumes.

The Audi dealer where I took it for a second opinion found that VW had used JB Weld on previous repair attempts. I'm not mechanically saavy, but was led to believe by them that this was not a professional thing to do. Since then I've consulted with a few other mechanic acquaintances and have gotten the same feedback on the ethics of a dealer using JB Weld. The Audi mechanic thought the issue was a cracked cylinder head.

I involved VW customer advocate person, and after taking it back to Napleton as the advocate requested, she communicated with the dealer liaison, and bottom line is VW is willing to replace 2 cracked cylinder heads, but is asking me to split the cost. I feel they should take care of this for free since this issue was brought to their attention while still under warranty (I had purchased the 100k extended warranty from the dealer when I originally bought the Touareg.)

Does anyone on this board have contact info for someone higher up in VW who may be more perceptive as to the potential liability they may have who may overrule the lower level people who decided not to "make me whole"? I'd prefer not to involve an attorney, but am willing to do so if needs be.

 

[lml999]

Dealers have a fair amount of flexibility in how they handle warranty repairs. If I were in your shoes, I would send a certified letter, simply stating the facts, and asking to discuss potential ways to resolve the issue, to the dealer General Manager. You bought the car in his shop, his service guys munged a repair, give him an opportunity to make things right. The buck ultimately stops with him. You've said nice things about his dealership in the past (mention your positive purchase experience), give him an opportunity to do the right thing.

Keep emotion out of it. Look at the GM as someone who can help you with your problem. If that goes nowhere, then you can escalate within VW Corporate.

Speaking of doing the right thing...you should be clear on what you want. If the engine failed under warranty, then it should be properly fixed under warranty. An improper repair does not absolve the dealer from future warranty claims (even after the warranty expires).

Talk with an independent mechanic (maybe your Audi guy). Is a new cylinder head sufficient? What else needs to be done for a proper repair?

And by the way, be clear that you're not asking for a cylinder head under warranty...you're asking for your engine to be properly repaired, whatever they find once they open it up. Until the engine is opened, you won't know what's necessary.

Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[Drifter]

Brought my 2010 Touareg TDI (which I had bought new there) to them a year ago complaining of an exhaust leak. It is now in their shop for the 5th time for the same issue, which has gotten worse to the point that I almost can't drive it because of the fumes.

The Audi dealer where I took it for a second opinion found that VW had used JB Weld on previous repair attempts. I'm not mechanically saavy, but was led to believe by them that this was not a professional thing to do. Since then I've consulted with a few other mechanic acquaintances and have gotten the same feedback on the ethics of a dealer using JB Weld. The Audi mechanic thought the issue was a cracked cylinder head.

I involved VW customer advocate person, and after taking it back to Napleton as the advocate requested, she communicated with the dealer liaison, and bottom line is VW is willing to replace 2 cracked cylinder heads, but is asking me to split the cost. I feel they should take care of this for free since this issue was brought to their attention while still under warranty (I had purchased the 100k extended warranty from the dealer when I originally bought the Touareg.)

Does anyone on this board have contact info for someone higher up in VW who may be more perceptive as to the potential liability they may have who may overrule the lower level people who decided not to "make me whole"? I'd prefer not to involve an attorney, but am willing to do so if needs be.

Just FYI, I had a FL VW dealer do a $1,700 repair on my AddBlue system. The repair failed after just 200 miles of driving. Took it to a different VW dealer, they fixed it correctly for just $700 bucks and change, and the first dealer gave me full credit back on their botched repairs. Something tells me that VW has been getting on their dealers asses over customer service issues. I was treated like a VIP at both the dealers - fee loaner car, the works.

 

[Mark Dreyer]

Hopefully the final update to this story. The diagnosis was changed from cracked cylinder heads to crushed o-rings under the injectors, which was allowing exhaust gas to leak. All of them were replaced and I took delivery of the truck this morning. For the first time in over a year, there is no exhaust smell! And Napleton did the right thing, comping the repair since this issue was brought to their attention while the truck was covered by my extended warranty.

 

[FSJ Guy]

Good to know that they took care of you, even if it did take way too long.

But sometimes repairs are like that. :- /

 

[Built4Sin]

Mark what did the cost end up being? I have a buddy with the V10 that has a leak and the mechs in Germany can't find it.