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New law suit over VW water pumps

gixxerfool

Autocross Champion
Location
New Jersey
Car(s)
2016 Golf R
Most class action lawsuits result in a much less than reasonable outcome like a $25 coupon towards a replacement part, $100 off a ticket to Hawaii but only on Wednesdays, a $5 rebate, etc. Never have any of the ones I've ever been a party to provided me any real "relief". Mostly they are never worth my time and postage stamp to submit a claim.

The only proper outcome is a fully covered replacement (parts and labor) WHENEVER it fails, in or out of warranty and replacement with a part that won't likely fail within 10 years or more - like a real metal water pump. Out of all the cars I've owned,. the only water pump that failed was in my then 17 year old Camaro. So I'd expect that kind of longevity in a replacement. But, as I've said, no class action lawsuit has ever really provided me any real value. They are usually less than useless. Just money for the lawyers.
On the whole, I would agree. I once got a $.06 refund from eBay. I did however get a free extended warranty for a Samsung tv issue I had. Also a couple of other items over the years with extended coverage, those I used. I also had two or three free years of credit protection, which actually was useful as well.
 

Mk_GTI

Go Kart Champion
Location
Hellinois
Car(s)
2018 Golf R
Glad this expanded to more vehicles. Brought my 2018 R to a VW dealer for an oil change, inspect for low coolant level and coolant odor at 20k miles. Tech said they pressure tested and found no leaks.

Asked why is there an odor and the level is at the MIN line at 20k miles? He said that is normal. I told him that is definitely not normal. They refused to do anything. Odor is still present every so often, but the coolant level is ok. I'll have them check again at the next service.
 

AAnton

New member
Location
ND
Car(s)
MK6 GTI
Glad this expanded to more vehicles. Brought my 2018 R to a VW dealer for an oil change, inspect for low coolant level and coolant odor at 20k miles. Tech said they pressure tested and found no leaks.

Asked why is there an odor and the level is at the MIN line at 20k miles? He said that is normal. I told him that is definitely not normal. They refused to do anything. Odor is still present every so often, but the coolant level is ok. I'll have them check again at the next service.
Yeah I don't get it. Same thing I've experienced in the past with more than one vehicle, mention low coolant levels and they say it's normal I don't get it. It's not normal.
 

SteveRedGTI

Ready to race!
Location
Vermont
Car(s)
2020 GTI S
Yeah I don't get it. Same thing I've experienced in the past with more than one vehicle, mention low coolant levels and they say it's normal I don't get it. It's not normal.
It's been my experience with most German car dealers that if any fluid is being "used", it's always Normal. If you complain, you're either stupid, or just not worthy. :rolleyes:
 

aloha_from_bradley

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Glad this expanded to more vehicles. Brought my 2018 R to a VW dealer for an oil change, inspect for low coolant level and coolant odor at 20k miles. Tech said they pressure tested and found no leaks.

Asked why is there an odor and the level is at the MIN line at 20k miles? He said that is normal. I told him that is definitely not normal. They refused to do anything. Odor is still present every so often, but the coolant level is ok. I'll have them check again at the next service.

Yeah I don't get it. Same thing I've experienced in the past with more than one vehicle, mention low coolant levels and they say it's normal I don't get it. It's not normal.

There's another thread that goes into more detail about this issue. You are leaking coolant, regardless of whether they say so or not. Even pin hole droplet sized coolant leaks will have a pretty strong odor. You are more than likely seeping coolant onto a hot part of the engine and it's burning off to fast to have any visual signs.

As far as the pressure test, my car passed the first time around as well. I took the car to a different dealership with more competent techs who left the tester on the car for over an hour. Eventually there was a notable pressure drop on the system, it just took some time for the readout to show. I was having the same issue, slowly losing coolant. Water pump / thermo housing replaced under warranty. To this day, I still smell coolant, but I'm not losing any at this pint.

Please also note that there is a vent on the top of the coolant reservoir as well. Little arm like looking piece of plastic covering a small vent hole. I'm not sure why it's designed this way as coolant systems are supposed to be considered "sealed" systems, and if they are pressure testing them, I don't know how it would be possible unless it was sealed. This is just what I've been told by the dealership.

Raise hell and tell them to leave the tester on the car for longer. If you are losing coolant over time, you have a leak.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
There's another thread that goes into more detail about this issue. You are leaking coolant, regardless of whether they say so or not. Even pin hole droplet sized coolant leaks will have a pretty strong odor. You are more than likely seeping coolant onto a hot part of the engine and it's burning off to fast to have any visual signs.

As far as the pressure test, my car passed the first time around as well. I took the car to a different dealership with more competent techs who left the tester on the car for over an hour. Eventually there was a notable pressure drop on the system, it just took some time for the readout to show. I was having the same issue, slowly losing coolant. Water pump / thermo housing replaced under warranty. To this day, I still smell coolant, but I'm not losing any at this pint.

Please also note that there is a vent on the top of the coolant reservoir as well. Little arm like looking piece of plastic covering a small vent hole. I'm not sure why it's designed this way as coolant systems are supposed to be considered "sealed" systems, and if they are pressure testing them, I don't know how it would be possible unless it was sealed. This is just what I've been told by the dealership.

Raise hell and tell them to leave the tester on the car for longer. If you are losing coolant over time, you have a leak.
The little vent is for overflow if your engine overheated.
 

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
Most class action lawsuits result in a much less than reasonable outcome like a $25 coupon towards a replacement part, $100 off a ticket to Hawaii but only on Wednesdays, a $5 rebate, etc. Never have any of the ones I've ever been a party to provided me any real "relief". Mostly they are never worth my time and postage stamp to submit a claim.

The only proper outcome is a fully covered replacement (parts and labor) WHENEVER it fails, in or out of warranty and replacement with a part that won't likely fail within 10 years or more - like a real metal water pump. Out of all the cars I've owned,. the only water pump that failed was in my then 17 year old Camaro. So I'd expect that kind of longevity in a replacement. But, as I've said, no class action lawsuit has ever really provided me any real value. They are usually less than useless. Just money for the lawyers.
The previous water pump class action lawsuit wound up giving owners an extended warranty on the water pumps up to 100,000 miles, as long as the owners had kept up with scheduled maintenance.
 

aloha_from_bradley

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
I mean, yeah. Like I said earlier, VW should be fixing things that are know persistent issues. Specifically parts that have had several revisions. The warranty is just that, peace of mind.
 

the

Autocross Champion
Location
Alabama
Car(s)
GTI
I’m at 37k on my 19 and it’s started to leak…
40k seems to be the magic number. Mine is 5 years old now and I never heard a peep until the odo rolled into the 40s.

Seems like mechanical miles are much more important than age of the vehicle
 

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
Glad this expanded to more vehicles. Brought my 2018 R to a VW dealer for an oil change, inspect for low coolant level and coolant odor at 20k miles. Tech said they pressure tested and found no leaks.

Asked why is there an odor and the level is at the MIN line at 20k miles? He said that is normal. I told him that is definitely not normal. They refused to do anything. Odor is still present every so often, but the coolant level is ok. I'll have them check again at the next service.
Even though the cooling system is called a "closed system" (i.e. no fluid is supposed to enter or leave it), the radiator catch can is vented so as to allow the overflow in and out. The air which is forced out of that vent when the catch can is receiving heated coolant also carries some coolant vapor. This is usually a very tiny amount of coolant loss, but over time it does add up. Everyone eventually has to add some radiator fluid after a while. I typically have to do so about every other year so far in my R (knocks on wood). A more common culprit, and a more likely one if you're smelling the coolant is at a junction of one of the hoses in the cooling system (there's more than just the one coming from the radiator and one leaving it) such as at the tube leaving the coolant bypass valve. These are known to leak from time to time on VWs and Audis, typically in such small amounts that they are often difficult to detect, and only when the bypass valve is open. So it's possible that you may have a coolant leak from your engine, just not at the water pump.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Even though the cooling system is called a "closed system" (i.e. no fluid is supposed to enter or leave it), the radiator catch can is vented so as to allow the overflow in and out. The air which is forced out of that vent when the catch can is receiving heated coolant also carries some coolant vapor. This is usually a very tiny amount of coolant loss, but over time it does add up. Everyone eventually has to add some radiator fluid after a while. I typically have to do so about every other year so far in my R (knocks on wood). A more common culprit, and a more likely one if you're smelling the coolant is at a junction of one of the hoses in the cooling system (there's more than just the one coming from the radiator and one leaving it) such as at the tube leaving the coolant bypass valve. These are known to leak from time to time on VWs and Audis, typically in such small amounts that they are often difficult to detect, and only when the bypass valve is open. So it's possible that you may have a coolant leak from your engine, just not at the water pump.
The thermostat housing leak is the number one source of a leak. It passes a pressure test because it only starts leaking after the engine is hot. And it's a minor leak and is found by a visual inspection.
 
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