***Update****Add me to the statistics (Water Pump fail and Sunroof creak)

[Keehs360]

When I spoke to my service advisor about it after my second replacement he straight up told me that they were told the thermostat housings failing were due to a “supplier issue”. Who knows.

@OceanJack can you tell us what part number was used in your thermostat replacement? I’m interested to know if there has been any further revisions. Thanks.

Good info thanks

 

[ReadTheBook]

Good info thanks

Sure thing. Just made an edit to that comment to indicate what revision I knew to be “current”.

 

[Chogokin]

I sometimes smell coolant and can't see any residue under the car or around the thermostat housing. I only have 19k on the car. I really don't want to take the car to the dealer...lol.

 

[jimlloyd40]

When I spoke to my service advisor about it after my second replacement he straight up told me that they were told the thermostat housings failing were due to a “supplier issue”. Who knows.

@OceanJack can you tell us what part number was used in your thermostat replacement? I’m interested to know if there has been any further revisions. The last part number revision I knew of ended in “M”. This was February 2020 but they were using that same part as far back as at least April 2019.

Since this has been going on for years and years across different generations of cars if the thermostat housing is a supplier issue you would think that VW would have found a reliable supplier.

 

[ReadTheBook]

I sometimes smell coolant and can't see any residue under the car or around the thermostat housing. I only have 19k on the car. I really don't want to take the car to the dealer...lol.

It has been shown that the coolant tanks do have a small vent on them so you may not be leaking and just may be smelling it.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Since this has been going on for years and years across different generations of cars if the thermostat housing is a supplier issue you would think that VW would have found a reliable supplier.

Agree. I’m wondering if he meant that the design was from a supplier. I suppose it’s possible VW contracted that out?

I also wonder why no company has done an aluminum aftermarket one yet for the MK7. Someone sells them for the previous gens.

Other thing is that VW has had cooling system leak issues ever since the MK1. I got old diesel rabbit flanges for the side of my block and the thermostat flange on our Cabby, both of which are aluminum. The front side flange on the motor I got an aluminum one from China and it always leaked. It was garbage. I tried a second one and it cracked during install! Cheap chinesium. I went back to the OE composite one for that position.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Agree. I’m wondering if he meant that the design was from a supplier. I suppose it’s possible VW contracted that out?

I also wonder why no company has done an aluminum aftermarket one yet for the MK7. Someone sells them for the previous gens.

Other thing is that VW has had cooling system leak issues ever since the MK1. I got old diesel rabbit flanges for the side of my block and the thermostat flange on our Cabby, both of which are aluminum. The front side flange on the motor I got an aluminum one from China and it always leaked. It was garbage. I tried a second one and it cracked during install! Cheap chinesium. I went back to the OE composite one for that position.

Pretty sure the same guy who designed the RMS upgrade for the MK7 (iABED) is currently prototyping an upgraded water pump/thermostat housing.

 

[dequardo]

2020. No issues

my wife’s GLI is also a 2020. And in 5k miles I caught the fluid at the bottom line twice. I refilled it with radiator fluid to the top line (engine cold) and the dealer is saying it’s fine

Same with my GLI. Dealer said it held pressure for 25 min. We’ll see.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Same with my GLI. Dealer said it held pressure for 25 min. We’ll see.

It always passes a pressure test. Different situation when it's driven and the coolant is up to temperature.

 

[SnailpowerMk7]

Bought my CPO 2017 GTI back in June with about 34k miles, it was an off lease car and super clean.

First 6 months were problem free, only thing I had to do was just an oil change. Dealer changed the DSG fluid, threw on OEM pirellis which are awful and basic things before they put it up for sale. I enjoyed the car a lot, but then started seeing a small coolant leak around September.

Didn't think much about it nor did I fill it as I wanted to watch the speed it leaked, which was very slow. I live in the NJ/NYC metro and don't drive too often except for when we visit my in-laws in Upstate NY, typically I save this time for installing mods and doing service.

So it's now got about 40k miles on it, I am still here up north and the car took forever to heat up one morning. Usually I get heat within a mile of driving, I drove about 5 miles and the oil temp was 160 and the coolant was only 158, which was super strange. But as I turned the car off and came back later to go somewhere, it was fine.

Finally I made an appointment and dropped it off at the local dealer here and just a call this morning, welp no surprise it's the Water Pump, they're replacing the thermostat as well. I told them about my sunroof creak and will apply a "modification" to fix the creak.

Said it should take about a day or two since they need to order parts. I'm not mad since it's a CPO but I never had a car with such an early failure in it's life, I don't feel that it's unreliable as any other car but to be honest, it's not like a completely brand new engine they just came out with.

Kinda amazes me that Germans cannot get cooling system reliability down like the Japanese (I had owned a E39 at one point).

So you got to 40k and then waterpump went bad? I bought my 2014 GTI brand new. At 7000 miles my waterpump took a sh!t... I thought, NOPE, I won't be part of those water pump talks and there I was, lol.

At least it's still covered...

 

[GTIfan99]

Well it's been happening for years and with the 1.8 engines also.

But they have an aftermarket fix for the 1.8l. Seems like the 2.0l will be harder because there's some type of sensor embedded in it.

And there's a reason I didn't buy a sunroof in either mk7.5 GTI. I've been down that road too many times with past VAG products. I'll never get a sunroof in a VW.

 

[gixxerfool]

I’ll add to the data point. My 2016 thermostat just failed. It has 22,000 on the clock. Was inside warranty by about a week.

 

[steveaustin]

For the sunroof creak, buy some Gummi Pflege. Tilt it up and run it along the back end of the sunroof where the rubber is. You are going to need it for the summer the creaks will come -- run inside the flap on the top of each front door - passenger and driver. I have zero creaks this forum has been very helpful.

 

[OceanJack]

Hey everyone!

Just posted my update on the first comment.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Same with my GLI. Dealer said it held pressure for 25 min. We’ll see.

LOL 25 min is not enough. My dealership pressure tests overnight. Always leaks.