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Thermostat housing and water pump fail.

elwood1

Ready to race!
Location
Highland Park, IL
Car(s)
2024 GTI SE DSG
Just giving you heads up my 2016 Golf R thermostat housing and water pump started to leak at 25,000 miles. Was fixed under warranty.

This is an ongoing problem, so much so that water pumps are on national backorder. Mine was diagnosed on March 23rd, still waiting for the water pump. The first ETA was April 20th, still waiting. At least it is a small enough leak that I am able to still drive my car.
 

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
Location
Florida
This is an ongoing problem, so much so that water pumps are on national backorder. Mine was diagnosed on March 23rd, still waiting for the water pump. The first ETA was April 20th, still waiting. At least it is a small enough leak that I am able to still drive my car.

All I can say is, Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu... I'm glad you can still drive your car. Is it just oozing? No overheating? How much coolant have you added per week?
 

elwood1

Ready to race!
Location
Highland Park, IL
Car(s)
2024 GTI SE DSG
All I can say is, Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu... I'm glad you can still drive your car. Is it just oozing? No overheating? How much coolant have you added per week?

The dealer topped it to the full line in the reservoir when it was in last. It has only gone down to the mid point between full and low in all of this time, but the dealer confirmed the pump is weeping and ordered a new one. I can smell the coolant, haven't really seen it on the ground. No change in the temp gauge, it sits where it always sits. This is a daily driver, I'm over 43000 miles. At this point, it's more of an irritant to me than anything else.
 

Firstboost

Go Kart Champion
Location
East Bay Area
A lot of owners, myself included, have this issue. Smell of coolant, but nothing on the ground. Car is completely driveable with no overheating. I haven't even topped mine off yet.
 

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
Location
Florida
A lot of owners, myself included, have this issue. Smell of coolant, but nothing on the ground. Car is completely driveable with no overheating. I haven't even topped mine off yet.

I think it's a slight leak that many times eventually crusts up.
 

Firstboost

Go Kart Champion
Location
East Bay Area
I think it's a slight leak that many times eventually crusts up.

You're right. I've seen some photos from people showing the nasty red/white chalky residue left behind. I need to have mine done before warranty runs out.

I wonder if you've setup a diagnostic, they confirm that it needs replacing, but the back order goes beyond the warranty period, they'll still warranty the work.

Does anyone know how that works?
 

Aussie R

Ready to race!
Location
Australia
I had mine replaced last Dec outside of warranty�� Was only small leak too, no overheating, water on ground and didn't need topping up. I saw the old unit and was totalled cracked on the plastic area. The replacement updated part no longer plastic so shouldn't fail again.

I'm glad OP got his under warranty with stage 2 mods. Mine was stage 2 but also 6 months outside of warranty. Car had only done 40k km though 2014 model.im not sure when the upgraded part standard I think mid 2017 so cars from then hopefully won't have this issue.
 

cb1111

Newbie
Location
Virginia, USA
You're right. I've seen some photos from people showing the nasty red/white chalky residue left behind. I need to have mine done before warranty runs out.

I wonder if you've setup a diagnostic, they confirm that it needs replacing, but the back order goes beyond the warranty period, they'll still warranty the work.

Does anyone know how that works?
Of course. If a problem is diagnosed during the warranty period then it will be repaired under warranty regardless of when the parts are in.
 

only1harry

Ready to race!
Location
NY state
Sorry to hear that guys. I hope they have the non-plastic water pumps in the '17-'18 models.

It's the hassle taking off from work a few hours, driving to the dealer and having no car for the day, etc. Do most VW dealers give you a loaner when your car is in for warranty repairs?

Harry
 

cb1111

Newbie
Location
Virginia, USA
Sorry to hear that guys. I hope they have the non-plastic water pumps in the '17-'18 models.

It's the hassle taking off from work a few hours, driving to the dealer and having no car for the day, etc. Do most VW dealers give you a loaner when your car is in for warranty repairs?

Harry
Depends on the dealer and how long the repair will take.
 

TheWombat

Go Kart Champion
Location
Vermont
Speaking of recalls, when I did my winter wheel swap the service folks told me there was a recall on batteries for the Tiguan and the R. Though my dealership had zero instances of problems on any cars they've sold, they went ahead and gave me a new battery.

Now I get to wonder about a pump. Whee!
 

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
Location
Florida
Depends on the dealer and how long the repair will take.

Even my Fidelity extended warranty won't pay for waiting for parts. The only time I seen a dealer pay for a rental was if the wait for parts was short and they were making enough to absorb the costs.

Back when I had my MK5, I was getting a passenger seat fault. I figured it was caused either by the connector or the switch in the seat cushion. It went away but I figured I'd get it replaced under warranty, just in case it came back (it never did). I was told the seat switch was special order because it was embedded in the foam and they need to replace the entire seat bottom, and it would take months. I didn't care about that but I was told they would need to keep the car. So I never had them do a diagnosis.

Is the R water pump/thermostat the same as the GTI? I remember back when I had my MK4. If you had one, you'll remember the ignition coil fiasco and the backorders. I had two fail shortly after I bought the car. It was a very early build. I limped to the dealer, they had them in stock then. About a month later, the two they replaced failed. I limped back again, and by then they were not available. They went out to the parking lot and took two from a new GTI. I figure I wasn't the only one they accommodated this way. I can't help but think VWoA reimbursed them for having a new car they can't sell sitting on their lot.
 
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