TWO Blown turbo's with less than 13k miles!

[imthanick_a]

I’m referring to the K&N air filters. Just so that’s clear. Not oil filter. K&N uses oil to trap debris. That’s my understanding. I will ask my tech friend if he can better explain the issue.


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I know, the P-Flo intake I have uses an oiled pod filter very similar to K&N's design

http://www.neuspeed.com/neu300-neuspeed-p-flo-filter.html

Only issue I've heard of with oiled intakes is the oil can coat sensors in the intake tubes and manifold and ruin them or make them not work correctly. I'm definitely interested to hear of other issues they can cause

 

[Hoon]

This may have no factor in your turbo issue, but I was told not to use a K&N filter on this car due to the “oil factor” by a friend who worked as a service tech for VW. He now works at a Euro mod shop. You may want to look into that also.


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K&Ns do suck, but the filter oil is not a problem.

These cars do not have MAF sensors.

 

[carchrism5]

I'll just leave this here.

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/compa...ght-gti-sport-after-owning-wrxs-14-years.html

Some quotes for those that don't want to click.

"But you can bet your ass, I'm gonna flash it back to stock if I have a problem..."


"But in regards to the ECU reflash you can actually get it at the dealership. And you get a 5 year warranty with it. However the dealership below is the one that told me about it. Unfortunately, they wouldn't work with me on the price, so I bought elsewhere. I'll have to stop by and see what they can do, but might be awkward.

Herzog-Meier Volkswagen is now an official APR Plus Dealer!"

 

[ebg18t]

I'll just leave this here.

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/compa...ght-gti-sport-after-owning-wrxs-14-years.html

Some quotes for those that don't want to click.

"But you can bet your ass, I'm gonna flash it back to stock if I have a problem..."


"But in regards to the ECU reflash you can actually get it at the dealership. And you get a 5 year warranty with it. However the dealership below is the one that told me about it. Unfortunately, they wouldn't work with me on the price, so I bought elsewhere. I'll have to stop by and see what they can do, but might be awkward.

Herzog-Meier Volkswagen is now an official APR Plus Dealer!"

Lol. That’s fun reading.

.....

In reality this car shouldn’t have blown 2 Turbo’s unless there is some type of issue. Whether it be abuse by the owner or some type of oil starvation issue. It just seems very odd & fishy.


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[ElectricEye]

I'll just leave this here.

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/compa...ght-gti-sport-after-owning-wrxs-14-years.html

Some quotes for those that don't want to click.

"But you can bet your ass, I'm gonna flash it back to stock if I have a problem..."


"But in regards to the ECU reflash you can actually get it at the dealership. And you get a 5 year warranty with it. However the dealership below is the one that told me about it. Unfortunately, they wouldn't work with me on the price, so I bought elsewhere. I'll have to stop by and see what they can do, but might be awkward.

Herzog-Meier Volkswagen is now an official APR Plus Dealer!"

Bingo.

 

[TheGreekFreak]

Imagine how pissed OP would have been with a damaged engine 1000 miles from home....

I sympathize with the situation, it sucks. Still, like subies, there are known weak points on the mk7. Mainly the turbo and clutch. If I was tuned, I would be pissed if anything but those components failed but would not be super suprised with those two.

This is why I like to leave power mods last. Gives me a chance to take care of other areas that won't cause a big mechanical failures while saving enough on the side for a worst case scenario after I tune. You need a solid $3K set aside for shit like this when you're tuned imo, especially if you don't do your own work.

Honestly, it would have been better, cheaper, and less frustrating to find an indie shop that would throw on a new one for $500-600 labor, especially since you depend on the car as a main means of transportation.

Lesson: no flash tunes if you can't afford to fix a big issue while on a road trip.

 

[kgmm/sss]

I really don't understand how people think it's ok modifying an engine to produce more power and not expect vw or any manufacturer be ok with it. Warranties cost money and the engineering that goes into matching robustness vs cost is one of the biggest drivers in the design process. Part of what you pay for that golf r is stronger intervals and more cash set aside for a accepted higher rate of warranty service.

The way I see this you modified the car the first time and got a get out of jail free card because of bad faith sales of a dealerships tuning department. You modify the car again but using a jb4 and have another failure. Regardless as to if the jb4 contributed or not it muddied the water and morally you are trying to cheat vw here.

Just because many people get away with modifications and get warranty work approved does not make it "ok" with regards to the warranty agreement. This effect is called confirmation bias and leads people to taking larger risks with cars they have invested significant money to purchase and may not be able to swing a large repair. With a stock car the manufacturer recognizes this fact and provides a warranty, they should not be expected to pay for people who violate said warranty.

As an aside a had a 2010 stage 2 WRX for 90k miles without a single issue. It was a truly great car but long in tooth by the time I sold it. Had Subaru still sold hatch wrxs I'd have gotten another, heck of the interior was half as nice as my gtis I may have even gotten a sedan.

Anyway this is just the perspective of a professional engineer that deals with what happens when things break after being modified outside of design conditions.

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[echelonphoto]

The more I read this thread...the more I realize what a value a used corvette is! I came to the gti from owning 7 corvettes over the past 10 years...they were daily drivers and I bought them all used, mostly from private owners. Kept most of them stock, although had a highly modded one briefly....generally, they are indestructible...only major repair I had to do was on a 2000 vert. that had 130k miles and needed a new clutch...if you want performance per dollor...you can buy a used...c5 zo6 for about 15k....do a custom tune and drive the heck out of it...take it to the track and run high 11's...then drive to the grocery store the next morning and purr around all day...they never break! Still I am happy with my gti right now...needed more seats and maybe a break from getting in and out of the vette, as I am 71 now and they do sit kind of low...but for a young guy who wants to go fast for cheap...even the most expensive one I had , a 2012 loaded grand sport was under 30k to buy and was so fast, I never even needed a mod.

 

[Jamie007]

I'll just leave this here.

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/compa...ght-gti-sport-after-owning-wrxs-14-years.html

"

Yeah, the good old days... When I was excited about the car... Nice detective work... I should have mentioned, where I bought the my car originally, I asked them as well, if a reflash would void the warranty, they emphatically said "NO." Mind you, this was the finance guy, who sold me an extended warranty (which I later cancelled). I said, "if I buy this warranty, and reflash the ECU, will that effect the warranty?" He said "Why would it?..." Then other other dealership who actually did the work, said "they were mod friendly." Yes, I should have known better, Yes, I should have listened to the peeps on clubwrx... Just from MY EXPERIENCE with flashing cars, it was never an issue before. It just seems like there is no safe way to mod this car, which I just have to accept. If I do want to mod, I have to get something else. Thing is, not a lot of choices for a turbo hatch, I really don't want a Ford or Hyundai...

All I want is answers. If they aren't going to cover it, I just want them to tell me, so I can get it taken care of myself. Spending $250 a week on a Hyundai rental, really sucks. Once they do give me an answer, I need to fly back and take care of it. Then a two drive back home.

 

[Strange Mud]

the finance guy, who sold me an extended warranty (which I later cancelled). I said, "if I buy this warranty, and reflash the ECU, will that effect the warranty?" He said "Why would it?..." Then other other dealership who actually did the work, said "they were mod friendly."

I know you prob aren't saying these were direct quotes but that is the kind of answer a less than honest dealer will give you. Partial truth for the 2nd highlighted bit. I understand mod friendly to be it you tune your engine and have a problem with your radio or suspension (maybe) then it still is covered by wtty.



good luck but I wouldn't pay for your repairs if I was VW (unless there is something in writing you haven't mentioned) The writing I know you have is the wtty book which mentions stuff like this. They phrase it differently but you are probably up a creek sans paddle.

 

[ElectricEye]

I know you prob aren't saying these were direct quotes but that is the kind of answer a less than honest dealer will give you. Partial truth for the 2nd highlighted bit. I understand mod friendly to be it you tune your engine and have a problem with your radio or suspension (maybe) then it still is covered by wtty.



good luck but I wouldn't pay for your repairs if I was VW (unless there is something in writing you haven't mentioned) The writing I know you have is the wtty book which mentions stuff like this. They phrase it differently but you are probably up a creek sans paddle.

Finance Managers are Satan's spawn.

 

[vj123]

I'll just leave this here.

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/compa...ght-gti-sport-after-owning-wrxs-14-years.html

OP: Even other Subaru owners warned you that the tune on a GTI would void your warranty long long ago. So you were totally aware of the consequences.

Guy 1 - "On Volkswagen, it absolutely will have any warranty claim for the engine, transmission, and drive line denied. It isn't worth arguing though. They are stringent about everything and much like Subaru, most of the mod friendly dealership talk is loose."

Guy 2 - "Congrats! Great car. Be very careful with the tuning. The tune can absolutely cause a warranty denial and will cause issues over time. Secondly, these cars have well documented turbo failures, specially when tuned so again be very careful because the dealer CAN and most likely will deny a warranty claim and can even "flag" your car so you can't go to another place."

 

[Tsi7]

Yeah, the good old days... When I was excited about the car... Nice detective work... I should have mentioned, where I bought the my car originally, I asked them as well, if a reflash would void the warranty, they emphatically said "NO." Mind you, this was the finance guy, who sold me an extended warranty (which I later cancelled). I said, "if I buy this warranty, and reflash the ECU, will that effect the warranty?" He said "Why would it?..." Then other other dealership who actually did the work, said "they were mod friendly." Yes, I should have known better, Yes, I should have listened to the peeps on clubwrx... Just from MY EXPERIENCE with flashing cars, it was never an issue before. It just seems like there is no safe way to mod this car, which I just have to accept. If I do want to mod, I have to get something else. Thing is, not a lot of choices for a turbo hatch, I really don't want a Ford or Hyundai...

All I want is answers. If they aren't going to cover it, I just want them to tell me, so I can get it taken care of myself. Spending $250 a week on a Hyundai rental, really sucks. Once they do give me an answer, I need to fly back and take care of it. Then a two drive back home.

I don't understand why you're still giving us examples of what a dealer told you, especially the people in the sales department.... they will tell you lullaby stories so they can sell you that extra paint and fabric protection.

There is no safe way to mod ANY car, period. You mod under warranty, you take the risk of voiding your manufacture warranty, regardless of what the dealer or tuner tells you. Warranty work NEVER comes out of dealer pocket (unless they screwed up and the manufacture won't cover them)

If you want to safely mod under warranty, you call the manufacture head office, you ask to speak to someone in the warranty department and you get a written statement saying your warranty will not be voided if you tune your car, OR, you get the dealer to write something, and even if it does void your warranty, at least the dealer is on the hook for eating the costs of the repair, but then you're stuck to that one dealer to fix your car when it breaks... simple as that

 

[Jamie007]

OP: Even other Subaru owners warned you that the tune on a GTI would void your warranty long long ago. So you were totally aware of the consequences.

Guy 1 - "On Volkswagen, it absolutely will have any warranty claim for the engine, transmission, and drive line denied. It isn't worth arguing though. They are stringent about everything and much like Subaru, most of the mod friendly dealership talk is loose."

Guy 2 - "Congrats! Great car. Be very careful with the tuning. The tune can absolutely cause a warranty denial and will cause issues over time. Secondly, these cars have well documented turbo failures, specially when tuned so again be very careful because the dealer CAN and most likely will deny a warranty claim and can even "flag" your car so you can't go to another place."

Yes, you are right... However, even though my car was Stage II, Subaru absolutely took care of me. My car had 80k miles, way outside of the warranty, and my firewall welds broke. They knew my car was stage II, and they told me to flash it back to stock, which I did. They then, not only re-welded and reinforced my firewall, but they also replaced the clutch, free of charge. They blamed my clutch on the firewall, and got it all taken care of. That's why I love Subaru.

Going back to my original point, when I blew the first turbo, I was told I had a full warranty. "EVEN IF THE TURBO BLOWS AGAIN..."

 

[JC_451]

"I was told..."

isn't the same as

"I have it in writing"