Failed Thermostat Housing/Coolant Loss Info Gathering

[Golfer883]

I also called a few other places and this P version doesn't seem to be a superseded part to the M from everyone I have talked to.

 

[joeblonewjersey]

Is anyone willing to start a class action yet? It's out of control.

 

[tigeo]

I know folks will lose their minds on this but....this sorted the slow loss for me. Mine was leaking from the joint between the water pump and therm housing intermittently. I had it in to the dealer and they pressure tested and of course, no dice. It would only spurt coolant once in a while when hot. Figured at 65K, turbo swapped, etc. I'm almost out of warranty anyway (6/72) on my Sportwagen anyway and I'll have a walnut blast done at some point before 100K...will just have my shop replace it then. However, this has fixed it. It's just a pencil thin gasket between these too parts that is leaking (on mine).

 

[jimlloyd40]

I know folks will lose their minds on this but....this sorted the slow loss for me. Mine was leaking from the joint between the water pump and therm housing intermittently. I had it in to the dealer and they pressure tested and of course, no dice. It would only spurt coolant once in a while when hot. Figured at 65K, turbo swapped, etc. I'm almost out of warranty anyway (6/72) on my Sportwagen anyway and I'll have a walnut blast done at some point before 100K...will just have my shop replace it then. However, this has fixed it. It's just a pencil thin gasket between these too parts that is leaking (on mine).

View attachment 224654View attachment 224655

Whatever works.

 

[tigeo]

Whatever works.

That's how I look at it. I think these new-school products are a bit better than what we had back in the day and won't cause any issues. Generally, Liquimoly makes v. good additives etc. with the R&D to back it. We will see.

 

[turbo_dreams]

I've owned the car for almost exactly a year now. I've been wondering when I would have the water pump/thermostat issue.

I've checked the reservoir every time I change the oil or open the hood and just made a mental note of the level. Today it was looking pretty low. I had to run some errands, so I stopped at the stealership to see how they would try to not cover it.

I spoke with a service advisor who told me that my car (2017 GTI 55k miles) was only covered by a factory powertrain warranty for 3yrs/36k miles. I told him that I was under the impression that the powertrain was covered for 5yrs/60k miles. He then told me that even if that was the case, the water pump wasn't covered by the powertrain warranty. After some more back and forth, he told me to go sit down while he figured out exactly what my warranty was and what it covered.

A little while later, he came back and told me that they could take the car in to attempt to determine if the water pump or thermostat housing were leaking. This would come with a $155 diagnostic fee. If the water pump was leaking, it would be covered. If the thermostat housing was leaking, it would not be covered.

I made an appointment for next week to have them look at the car.

I walked out of the stealership not having a great feeling about the whole experience and the possibility of paying $155 for nothing, especially if the car "passes a pressure test."

I called a local VW/Audi speciality shop and explained the situation. They're pretty cool and offered to take a look at the car for free so I could go back to the dealer (if needed) with a little more info.

They didn't find any leaks, which isn't exactly a good or a bad thing, just means that when it's time for that repair, it'll come out of my pocket.

 

[ReadTheBook]

I've owned the car for almost exactly a year now. I've been wondering when I would have the water pump/thermostat issue.

I've checked the reservoir every time I change the oil or open the hood and just made a mental note of the level. Today it was looking pretty low. I had to run some errands, so I stopped at the stealership to see how they would try to not cover it.

I spoke with a service advisor who told me that my car (2017 GTI 55k miles) was only covered by a factory powertrain warranty for 3yrs/36k miles. I told him that I was under the impression that the powertrain was covered for 5yrs/60k miles. He then told me that even if that was the case, the water pump wasn't covered by the powertrain warranty. After some more back and forth, he told me to go sit down while he figured out exactly what my warranty was and what it covered.

A little while later, he came back and told me that they could take the car in to attempt to determine if the water pump or thermostat housing were leaking. This would come with a $155 diagnostic fee. If the water pump was leaking, it would be covered. If the thermostat housing was leaking, it would not be covered.

I made an appointment for next week to have them look at the car.

I walked out of the stealership not having a great feeling about the whole experience and the possibility of paying $155 for nothing, especially if the car "passes a pressure test."

I called a local VW/Audi speciality shop and explained the situation. They're pretty cool and offered to take a look at the car for free so I could go back to the dealer (if needed) with a little more info.

They didn't find any leaks, which isn't exactly a good or a bad thing, just means that when it's time for that repair, it'll come out of my pocket.

Tell that service advisor to pound sand. He’s completely full of shit. Ask to speak to the service director and get that in writing from him. Then call VW CARE and tell them you’re being denied warranty coverage. They’ll love that. Or just call them anyway and tell them that.

This is a coveted repair under 5/60 powertrain. Period. How they can’t know this or want to perpetuate that this isn’t covered 6 years into this issue is completely beyond reason.

Show them this 32 page thread and all of the people who have this covered under powertrain, including myself, the OP, who has had thermostats replaced 4 times on 3 cars under powertrain.

Reading this kind of thing fucking infuriates me because dealers are just out there trying to rip people off.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I've owned the car for almost exactly a year now. I've been wondering when I would have the water pump/thermostat issue.

I've checked the reservoir every time I change the oil or open the hood and just made a mental note of the level. Today it was looking pretty low. I had to run some errands, so I stopped at the stealership to see how they would try to not cover it.

I spoke with a service advisor who told me that my car (2017 GTI 55k miles) was only covered by a factory powertrain warranty for 3yrs/36k miles. I told him that I was under the impression that the powertrain was covered for 5yrs/60k miles. He then told me that even if that was the case, the water pump wasn't covered by the powertrain warranty. After some more back and forth, he told me to go sit down while he figured out exactly what my warranty was and what it covered.

A little while later, he came back and told me that they could take the car in to attempt to determine if the water pump or thermostat housing were leaking. This would come with a $155 diagnostic fee. If the water pump was leaking, it would be covered. If the thermostat housing was leaking, it would not be covered.

I made an appointment for next week to have them look at the car.

I walked out of the stealership not having a great feeling about the whole experience and the possibility of paying $155 for nothing, especially if the car "passes a pressure test."

I called a local VW/Audi speciality shop and explained the situation. They're pretty cool and offered to take a look at the car for free so I could go back to the dealer (if needed) with a little more info.

They didn't find any leaks, which isn't exactly a good or a bad thing, just means that when it's time for that repair, it'll come out of my pocket.

FYI if the thermostat housing is leaking it will pass a pressure test. It only leaks when driving and the coolant is hot. It's also a very small leak and is found by the staining on the housing.

 

[tigeo]

Still no leaks after the LM product.

 

[gixxerfool]

I've owned the car for almost exactly a year now. I've been wondering when I would have the water pump/thermostat issue.

I've checked the reservoir every time I change the oil or open the hood and just made a mental note of the level. Today it was looking pretty low. I had to run some errands, so I stopped at the stealership to see how they would try to not cover it.

I spoke with a service advisor who told me that my car (2017 GTI 55k miles) was only covered by a factory powertrain warranty for 3yrs/36k miles. I told him that I was under the impression that the powertrain was covered for 5yrs/60k miles. He then told me that even if that was the case, the water pump wasn't covered by the powertrain warranty. After some more back and forth, he told me to go sit down while he figured out exactly what my warranty was and what it covered.

A little while later, he came back and told me that they could take the car in to attempt to determine if the water pump or thermostat housing were leaking. This would come with a $155 diagnostic fee. If the water pump was leaking, it would be covered. If the thermostat housing was leaking, it would not be covered.

I made an appointment for next week to have them look at the car.

I walked out of the stealership not having a great feeling about the whole experience and the possibility of paying $155 for nothing, especially if the car "passes a pressure test."

I called a local VW/Audi speciality shop and explained the situation. They're pretty cool and offered to take a look at the car for free so I could go back to the dealer (if needed) with a little more info.

They didn't find any leaks, which isn't exactly a good or a bad thing, just means that when it's time for that repair, it'll come out of my pocket.

Absolutely covered. I had mine covered under power train. Find a new dealer. There is likely a trail of coolant coming down the block from the housing.

 

[turbo_dreams]

Tell that service advisor to pound sand. He’s completely full of shit. Ask to speak to the service director and get that in writing from him. Then call VW CARE and tell them you’re being denied warranty coverage. They’ll love that. Or just call them anyway and tell them that.

This is a coveted repair under 5/60 powertrain. Period. How they can’t know this or want to perpetuate that this isn’t covered 6 years into this issue is completely beyond reason.

Show them this 32 page thread and all of the people who have this covered under powertrain, including myself, the OP, who has had thermostats replaced 4 times on 3 cars under powertrain.

Reading this kind of thing fucking infuriates me because dealers are just out there trying to rip people off.

I bolded the key takeaway here.

Yeah, I absolutely LOATHE having to go to the dealer for ANYTHING. Most service advisors talk to me like I don't know which end of the screw driver to use, and this experience was no different.

I forgot to add this in my initial post...I asked if they see a lot of repairs for this issue on MK7's, and he and another service advisor agreed that they DO NOT see many water pump/thermostat housing failures. What a joke. The speciality shop said they see "lots" of water pump/thermostat housing failures.

My initial plan was to kinda do exactly what you said. Let them do the "diagnosis," If they found that the thermostat housing was leaking and would not cover it, immediately call VWoA and file a complaint. I also think that their plan was that if the water pump needed to be done, to find a way to charge me for the thermostat housing and claim something like "well, we should change it since we're in there."

The speciality shop said that there wasn't any staining to indicate that my car has been leaking.

In a weird way, I was almost hoping that it would leak before I hit the 60k mile limit, so it would be covered under the warranty.

I guess now my plan is to keep driving the car, resist the urge to get a used IS-F, avoid the dealer, and pay out of my pocket when it needs to be replaced.

 

[turbo_dreams]

Absolutely covered. I had mine covered under power train. Find a new dealer. There is likely a trail of coolant coming down the block from the housing.

The speciality shop said that it's not actively dripping and there isn't any staining to indicate old leaks, etc.

I don't have any reason not to trust the shop, but I might put the car on the ramps tomorrow and have a look.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Yeah, I absolutely LOATHE having to go to the dealer for ANYTHING. Most service advisors talk to me like I don't know which end of the screw driver to use, and this experience was no different.

I forgot to add this in my initial post...I asked if they see a lot of repairs for this issue on MK7's, and he and another service advisor agreed that they DO NOT see many water pump/thermostat housing failures. What a joke. The speciality shop said they see "lots" of water pump/thermostat housing failures.

My initial plan was to kinda do exactly what you said. Let them do the "diagnosis," If they found that the thermostat housing was leaking and would not cover it, immediately call VWoA and file a complaint.

The speciality shop said that there wasn't any staining to indicate that my car has been leaking.

In a weird way, I was almost hoping that it would leak before I hit the 60k mile limit, so it would be covered under the warranty.

I guess now my plan is to keep driving the car, resist the urge to get a used IS-F, avoid the dealer, and pay out of my pocket when it needs to be replaced.

If the specialty shop didn't see any staining on the thermostat housing it's not leaking.

 

[Mk_GTI]

The motor needs to be running for a while before it begins to leak. If you can smell a coolant odor after a long drive and the level in the tank is dropping, it's either leaking externally or internally (bad head gasket). First time I took my R in for this problem, they said a pressure test revealed nothing. Second time, they said it was definitely leaking and replaced it under warranty.

FYI - Warranty work pays less per hour than customer paid work. The service writer was clearly in the wrong about the warranty coverage period. If it is indeed leaking, sounds like they would rather get a $155 diagnostic charge out of you than have to deal with a warranty claim.

I recommend contacting VWoA corporate and making a complaint. This is a well-known issue and giving you that runaround about the warranty coverage is suspect. Then, find another dealer for service.

 

[Johaan]

It seems to me I still have a leak. Photos show the coolant reservoir at time of service in December, and now after ~10 months and only 1,700 miles. I haven't gone anywhere this year with the pandemic. The problem is maddening for a car with only 22k miles on it.

To date I've replaced:
Oil cooler (Jan 2020)
Whole Thermostat housing assembly (M revision) (Dec 2020)
Radiator due to road hazard puncture (Dec 2020)

Is there anything else left? I still have an antifreeze smell, and the level is now dipping below the top line faster than before it was replaced. Replace the housing again? My super-nose puts the odor near the manifold, so my sense is it is still that but would have to be defective from the get-go.

Trying to get the dealer to call me back but I think they are short-staffed and I'm not having much luck. It took them a few weeks to get my Taos recall looked at and that was a fire hazard. Really just want to get it done before the holiday rush... frustrating.