New 2018 - build quality concerns and paranoia

Hi all,

New member here. I bought a 2018 GTI SE about two weeks ago and have already put about 1000 miles on it. It's a fantastic car to drive and I'm enjoying it a lot, but I've also accumulated some concerns about build quality and other possible issues...what's finally driven me to post is that while checking the oil tonight I noticed something odd (I think?) in the engine bay.

There appears to be some kind of gooey, waxy substance oozing out of the passenger side frame rail near the right engine mount:

https://i.imgur.com/2lSqjxs.jpg

No idea if this is normal or not, but it looks strange to me. I can remove it very easily with my finger, it's like melted wax, so it doesn't appear to be an adhesive. Is it some kind of anti-corrosive compound?

There are 2 more issues I plan to raise with the dealer regardless:

1) Quite nitpicky I suppose, and only visible from some angles, but the driver's door and front fender do not line up quite right. It may be an indication that some damage occurred before delivery, but I see no signs of repair - the paint is very consistent on both panels, no flaws that I can make out and the color matches - so it could be a manufacturing defect I suppose. I can live with it if necessary but I'd like to see what the dealer can do about it, if anything.

https://i.imgur.com/2aVR4VK.jpg

2) Less nitpicky are these milky spots in the paint along the A-pillar and going up into the roof. They appear on both sides of the car and are about 6 or 7 in total, though only a couple of them are really noticeable. I assume this is from some moisture that got trapped under the clearcoat at the factory, since I've seen that happen around the GTI logo, but I'm wondering if anyone else has seen these little spots around the A-pillar and elsewhere:

https://i.imgur.com/tmWyFdF.jpg

Hope you guys can put my mind at ease a bit. I'm enjoying the car but am rather disappointed in these defects and worried that there could be some issue lurking underneath (car damaged/repaired at port or by the dealer?)

Obviously your only recourse is to Lemon Law it.

K.A.I.N. said:

Obviously your only recourse is to Lemon Law it.

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The lube is what they use to pack the kilos into the frame of the car. Duh.

Jeez guys, the poor dude's first post, with some legit questions, and you come back at him like drunken Civic owners. Let me try to be helpful...

1. That's probably Cosmoline. Nothing to be concerned about.

2. That fit does look slightly off. I'd take it back to the dealer and see if they can adjust it for you. Sounds like it's just a slight alignment issue, since there's no sign of repair/paint work.

3. I suspect you are correct and those spots are probably just moisture that will go away fairly quickly. Nonetheless I'd document them and make the dealer aware of them now, in case they don't. If you want a month or two to bring it up, it might be a tough sell convincing them that they were there at delivery.

It's not a lemon law candidate, relax.

On 3 of my previous VW’s I’ve had slightly misaligned panels (hood, hatch front grille) that really should have been picked up as part of the pre delivery inspection. Dealer soon sorted them once I pointed them out - on one car, they did it there and then while I waited, rather than me having to book the car in.

KevinC said:

Jeez guys, the poor dude's first post, with some legit questions, and you come back at him like drunken Civic owners. Let me try to be helpful...

1. That's probably Cosmoline. Nothing to be concerned about.

2. That fit does look slightly off. I'd take it back to the dealer and see if they can adjust it for you. Sounds like it's just a slight alignment issue, since there's no sign of repair/paint work.

3. I suspect you are correct and those spots are probably just moisture that will go away fairly quickly. Nonetheless I'd document them and make the dealer aware of them now, in case they don't. If you want a month or two to bring it up, it might be a tough sell convincing them that they were there at delivery.

It's not a lemon law candidate, relax.

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100% agree...show some respect here fellas. Nicely written first post with valid questions.

My primary concern would be the fender/door alignment. It does look a bit off. That should be relatively easy to remedy by the dealer as much as it does suck having to have this done to a new vehicle.

As far as the spots, there have been multiple posts here about spots appearing temporarily under the clear coat (happens to mine whenever I remove my factory roof racks). If the spots have been there since day 1 and have not gone away, then I personally would follow KevinC's advice.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Front fender easily adjusted. Take back and they can work on.
Show them the paint and they can improve.

Reason for warranty, so take it in and give them a chance to correct.
See about a loaner. But it is always a hot Jetta!

Do yourself a favor and remove that waxy shhh now before it melts and collects dirt. I wish I removed mine when new.

I saw that gooey substance in between my doors! Good to know it's normal.

SugarMouth said:

Do yourself a favor and remove that waxy shhh now before it melts and collects dirt. I wish I removed mine when new.

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Cosmoline is an industrial grade long-term rust preventative substance. It's placed into and on your car for a reason.

Not sure I'd go removing it just because it looks unsightly in your engine bay unless you live someplace where moisture simply isn't ever an issue.

That being said, cosmoline has also dripped onto my transaxles/cv boot and made me think I had a leak.

Thanks everyone! Glad to know that goop is normal. I figured it was some kind of anti-rust thing. Will update on the other issues once I take the car to the dealer.

SV100 said:

Thanks everyone! Glad to know that goop is normal. I figured it was some kind of anti-rust thing. Will update on the other issues once I take the car to the dealer.

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I wanted to let you know that my 2018 Se does not have the panel alignment issue. I just triple checked for you. I also checked my coworkers 2017 and it appears to be 100% flush.

Hard to tell from the picture but I wouldn't have the dealer touch the door fender alignment unless it's really bad. They might fck it up

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They will.