GOLF R: Water Pump MADNESS!!!!

[speeedfrk]

my build date is 3/12 and my engine build date is 3/13/2012.

[B0000rt]

my build date is 3/12 and my engine build date is 3/13/2012.

Look on the bright side, atleast it wasn't a Friday!

[b-R-ad]

Wow...I hope the rest of you all are lucky and the problems are isolated to a few rogue bad pumps.

Just checked my dates and my Engine was 1/06 and car build date of 1/12...whew.

[wayneGTI]

13k miles on my March build date R, no issues so far.

[RBRSY986]

2/12 Chassis, 1/3/ Engine Date (sticker on cover, so water pump would have been installed)

[RBGolfR]

That could be it but I have been in touch with VW Canada via customer service phone. They said that "chipping the car voids the warranty." The guy said he'd look into it. At this point I am not sure whats going on. The dealership seems kinda quiet about it and not overly willing to do much on my behalf. VW Canada seems a bit confused as to why the dealer would dirct me to call them so quickly. I'm waiting till next week to see what pans out.

Well I hope VW Canada step up to the plate for all our sakes here!

[DudeLePowSki]

Well I hope VW Canada step up to the plate for all our sakes here!

I have conviction and am willing to do whatever is necessary in an effort to get the right and ethical decision. Continuing to deny me is like saying that my APR tune somehow caused the water pump failures on all the bone stock R's taking place in North America.

VW CANADA, my conservative APR Stage 1 ECU tune DID NOT CAUSE THE WATERPUMP PULLEY TO SHEAR OFF.

[PABers]

Its really disappointing that VW is not standing by their product; it is a good way to lose customers.

[SHO'NUFF]

has anyone with a tune put it back to stock out of fear of a voided warranty? just read through this thread, this is very disconcerting

[bgor]

just wondering, with the people that have had this problem.. are there any symptoms before it explodes, or it just happens, and thats it? Ive read that some guys had a whining noise and some grinding before the engine complete shuts down on them.

[Heresy64]

has anyone with a tune put it back to stock out of fear of a voided warranty? just read through this thread, this is very disconcerting

I'm considering it. I had mine flashed about a week ago, and then I saw this thread. I'm still within 30 days, so I could still get a full refund. I love the extra power, but the thought of possibly having to pay for a new engine is powerful, as well. And yes, my car was built in March.

[PABers]

It is much more difficult to deny a warranty claim in the states, but still possible. It would be nice if VW treated tunes like their subsidiary Audi and do them onsite. Considering the engine is already detuned from the Euro specs or TTS it seems ridiculous.

[VeeDubDriver]

It is much more difficult to deny a warranty claim in the states, but still possible. It would be nice if VW treated tunes like their subsidiary Audi and do them onsite. Considering the engine is already detuned from the Euro specs or TTS it seems ridiculous.

Audi doesn't do them on site, they are done by the dealers who provide the tune from an independent company (Stasis) that many Audi stores are dealers for. However, the warranty is through Stasis and not through AoA. Plus, the R is only detuned on paper. In reality, it makes the same power as a TTS.

[PABers]

I had my Audi tuned at the dealership; many of them tune onsite.

[VeeDubDriver]

I had my Audi tuned at the dealership; many of them tune onsite.

Yes, it is done at the Audi dealer, but Audi has nothing to do with the tune.

[DudeLePowSki]

Its really disappointing that VW is not standing by their product; it is a good way to lose customers.

I just don't get it. They put so much money into making VW owners proud of their cars. Cool ads, refined design, special events for owners. It really is a well sculpted culture of people that I am proud to be part of.

Then they take an enthusiast driver and long time VW owner who buys their highest performing flagship enthusiast car and denies them a legitimate claim. At this point me and my family are going to be without a vehicle for several weeks and might have to bare an out-of-pocket bill of over $11,000 dollars just to get my car running.

My family and I do not deserve to have to pay for this factory created manufacturer defect. We did not cause this problem. I am very sad, very disappointed and very stressed out.

[PABers]

That is true; it was still an APR tune. I think it depends on the dealership, but from my experience Audi is much more tune friendly.

[erose914]

just wondering, with the people that have had this problem.. are there any symptoms before it explodes, or it just happens, and thats it? Ive read that some guys had a whining noise and some grinding before the engine complete shuts down on them.

I caught mine before it caused a ton of damage. When i started my car up it whined and you could hear grinding, so I immediately turned it off and had it towed.

The dealership is currently fixing it and said the engine itself is okay, but they still have to replace the water pump, timing pulley system, and serpentine pulley system. That's still a lot of damage for catching it 'early'. I considered taking it into the dealership to have them check it out two weeks before it happened because I was planning on going to H2Oi, but I never did and never went to H2Oi. I'm glad I didn't go now because I definitely would have ended up breaking down on the way there based off mileage driven between then and how far OCMD is from me. I didn't take it to the dealership because I didn't think they'd bother to do much just because I read something on the internet.

[jsausley]

I just don't get it. They put so much money into making VW owners proud of their cars. Cool ads, refined design, special events for owners. It really is a well sculpted culture of people that I am proud to be part of.

Then they take an enthusiast driver and long time VW owner who buys their highest performing flagship enthusiast car and denies them a legitimate claim. At this point me and my family are going to be without a vehicle for several weeks and might have to bare an out-of-pocket bill of over $11,000 dollars just to get my car running.

My family and I do not deserve to have to pay for this factory created manufacturer defect. We did not cause this problem. I am very sad, very disappointed and very stressed out.

Print out all of these threads and go to the highest level you can. There is no way they will deny your warranty.

Period.

[erose914]

Got my car back today. Took me 10 miles and 15 minutes to get there in my crappy Nissan Altima rental and 70 miles and 2 hours to get back home in my car .

[lovecarsDrV]

Has anyone been proactive and taken their car to the dealer for an inspection?
I'm wondering if doing that would make the process any easier later, should failure occur.
I'm at Stage 2+ and reside in Canada, so I am certainly concerned that I'd be stuck with a very expensive repair if it happened to me.
(5,500km and Jan 12' build)

[ESA31.8T]

I just don't get it. They put so much money into making VW owners proud of their cars. Cool ads, refined design, special events for owners. It really is a well sculpted culture of people that I am proud to be part of.

Then they take an enthusiast driver and long time VW owner who buys their highest performing flagship enthusiast car and denies them a legitimate claim. At this point me and my family are going to be without a vehicle for several weeks and might have to bare an out-of-pocket bill of over $11,000 dollars just to get my car running.

My family and I do not deserve to have to pay for this factory created manufacturer defect. We did not cause this problem. I am very sad, very disappointed and very stressed out.

You seriously need to get verbal with VW corporate - this is unacceptable for them to deny a warranty claim with an APR tune. Have you thought about asking APR to write you a letter indicating that this could no way affect your water pump self destructing.

Seriously - don't pay this, fight it!

[35mphgolf]

You seriously need to get verbal with VW corporate

Seriously - don't pay this, fight it!

^Agreed. I recently contacted corporate about a water leak issue I had. They were amazingly helpful and even compensated me with a "gift card" for my troubles. I was surprisingly shocked to see their level of customer dedication.

Don't be upset with them in your tone or what you say - respect them and they will respect you. What I'm not saying is don't communicate your frustration... you need to do that, just do it in a calm manner that looks nothing like last night's presidential debate.

And don't hesitate to push the issue higher, the first tier phone people can only do so much to help. Explain the truth and the facts, and I'm sure VW will come to their senses about this - at least I hope they do.

Good luck!

[DudeLePowSki]

I have been in touch with VW Canada a few times now. Their customer support is very friendly and actually quite understanding. After my dealership requested support on my behalf, VW Canada elevated the claim to the next level of diagnostics. They instructed the dealership to dismantle the area around the water pump and inside the cylinders and submit photos.

At this point it seems that efforts are being made to diagnose the actual cause of the failure. It does not by any stretch mean I will get the right decision. As a loyal customer, all I can ask is that they objectively look at the facts and it appears as if they are doing that.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Thedude4bides]

I have been in touch with VW Canada a few times now. Their customer support is very friendly and actually quite understanding. After my dealership requested support on my behalf, VW Canada elevated the claim to the next level of diagnostics. They instructed the dealership to dismantle the area around the water pump and inside the cylinders and submit photos.

At this point it seems that efforts are being made to diagnose the actual cause of the failure. It does not by any stretch mean I will get the right decision. As a loyal customer, all I can ask is that they objectively look at the facts and it appears as if they are doing that.

Thanks for the help everyone.

I know it's hard to be patient so while you are waiting you may find this entertaining:

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38362

It's a 30 page thread about a poor guy who had his GTI totally effed by a dealer that wouldn't own up to their mistake. The VW enthuisiast community rallied support and in the end the little guy won!

Good luck Dude!

[dm328is]

13k miles on my March build date R, no issues so far.

This seems like good news for those of us with March & later build dates (mine is Apr). Perhaps at some point during March a better batch of water pumps were substituted in to production, and later March & beyond Golf Rs won't experience this particular problem. Seems logical, we can hope.

[DudeLePowSki]

I know it's hard to be patient so while you are waiting you may find this entertaining:

...

Good luck Dude!

Thanks man.

So even though I am sitting waiting for my warranty plea, it must really suck for everyone else to be driving around in their 'R' knowing that at any moment they could hear a high pitched whine and bam...good bye engine? That's stress that shouldn't exist when purchasing a flag ship car.

[cosmic_beetle]

so... I went down today to look at replacing the water pump (out of pocket). ECS Tuning sells an all metal (no plastic impeller) pump for our cars for ~90 bucks (with shipping). labor however is 6 hours!! hard for me to swallow a heavy labor bill for "peace of mind". May check into doing it myself.

good luck!

~ J

[DudeLePowSki]

so... I went down today to look at replacing the water pump (out of pocket). ECS Tuning sells an all metal (no plastic impeller) pump for our cars for ~90 bucks (with shipping). labor however is 6 hours!! hard for me to swallow a heavy labor bill for "peace of mind". May check into doing it myself.

good luck!

~ J

As far as I'm concerned it should be a recall but if that doesn't happen, 6 hours labour for that kind of piece of mind seems well worth it to me man. Just my opinion.

Sent via Nerdroid mobile.

[erose914]

My engine build date is 2/27/12 (12/2/27 on the sticker). Just an update for whoever was keeping track. I have driven about 200 miles since getting my car back Tuesday and my baby tears up the road like she used to. I actually have also seen noticably higher mpgs since I got the car back too, but I doubt the water pump was the cause. I'm getting 28+ on highway now when I couldn't get above 25 previously. I still drive spirited and the same way I used to. My guess is they checked my tires again and the oil is now broken in so I'm getting better mileage.

[GOLF-R-METAL]

My replacement engine has 12.01.31 on the engine which I guess translates to January 31 for a build date. I just broke 1000 miles on the new engine and I'm getting the exact same mpg. Erose, I'm willing to bet the weather has gotten quite a bit cooler in the north east. Here in south Florida, the weather is still mid-high 80s. That probably is the biggest factor in the fuel economy of your engine.

Question: on your engine sticker, does it say CRZ or CRZA?

To DudeLePowski, I just got back from a 350 mile round trip drive, primarily because I was still breaking in the engine (700-1000 miles). I do not plan to take my R on any other road trips until I get past 10000 miles on the new engine. I certainly am concerned that it could fail any time.

[HardKnox]

Rabble rabble!!

I hope this is made right for you soon. It certainly makes me, uh, uneasy.

[DudeLePowSki]

Monday morning still no updates. Called VW Canada and they said they are still waiting on work to be performed at the dealer for examination. I've been to the dealer and the engie is partially disassembled and hanging in the engine bay.

How much more work could they possibly need to diagnose that a $70 part seized? I'm starting to get really angry.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-thread-Update

[ilimit]

Just found out my build date: 03/12.

Currently at 1500 miles. Now I'm afraid for drive it -_-

[DudeLePowSki]

Finally got the right decision from VW:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-thread-Update