2010GTI4me
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- NJ
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Autobahn
Hey everyone. I haven't been active on the forum for a while, but wanted some advice. I purchased my 2017 GTI back in January 2020 from a dealership group that I will keep unnamed for the time being. At the time I purchased THEIR extended warranty and tire/wheel package, which I later found out was through a third-party company (also keeping them unnamed). I've had no issues with them for the past 4+ years. I've had quite a few items warrantied, wheels refurbished, tires patched or replaced at zero cost. So overall, it was well worth the additional cost I paid as part of the vehicle purchase price.
However, I recently had a catastrophic failure of the passenger side engine mount that cracked the engine block. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership on a Tuesday and didn't hear back from them until Friday afternoon. I went to the dealership that same day to have the tech show me the extent of the damage. At first, the dealership told me that nothing was going to be covered under my extended warranty because "the warranty company is going to reject the claim due to the aftermarket modifications you have". For a little background, my modifications are limited to Eibach lowering springs, H&R front and rear sway bars, SuperPro front control arms, APR red-top coil packs, and 034 upper and lower dogbone mount inserts. No tunes, no other performance or engine mods. I replied with "what modifications do I have that would cause this?" and got the reply "well, because of the lowering springs your vehicle is sitting lower, so you may have hit something that caused the engine mount to fail". I looked at the service advisor confused and said "how would I have hit something that broke the METAL engine mount, but there is zero damage to the PLASTIC belly pan, PLASTIC oil pan, or anything else at the front of the vehicle?" to which the tech chuckled and the service advisor looked at me with a blank stare. I replied with "please contact the warranty company before making any assumptions of what they will or won't cover."
After 6+ weeks of back and forth with the dealership, separate [from the warranty company] third-party adjuster, and the warranty company, they did warranty the entire engine and replaced it with another engine with lower mileage, not a new long block, short block or new engine. They are warrantying the engine separately for 12 months/12,000 miles since I have no idea what engine I am getting, the service/maintenance history of it, and my extended warranty through them expires in January 2025.
On to the more concerning part and my request for advice...
I received my car back after 6.5 weeks. While in service, they also performed the 20UF suction jet pump recall. I was told they drained the fuel tank, which had a little over 1/2 tank, and refilled it after performing the recall. My car was taken on many road tests due to the new engine, so when I got it back it had a little less than 20 miles of range I was willing to accept that. However, I was given no information about how many miles were put on the car so I can't verify what road testing was done or if the fuel tank was even refilled at all. Again, I wasn't going to nitpick about $15-20 worth of fuel after getting all the other work done for $0 out of pocket.
But the larger concern occurred a few days later. I drove the vehicle home on a Friday afternoon. I didn't drive it all weekend, then worked from home on Monday. I went to and from work Tuesday (13 miles each away), then drove to work on Wednesday. On my way home from work on Wednesday I began feeling and hearing a slight thumping noise around 45mph. This noise and thump progressively got worse as I was driving. It sounded similar to a flat tire but the tire pressure light never came on. I stopped about half-way home and inspected the tires as best I could in the dark, but noticed nothing. By the time I got home, the noise and vibration was occurring as low as about 15mph. I pulled the car into the garage to inspect the tires, wheels, brakes, etc. Before even getting the car jacked up or on stands, I checked the lug bolts... only to find that all 5 on the driver-front wheel were loose! I was able to tighten all 5 bolts 2+ turns before torquing them down. I did the same for the passenger-front wheel and was able to turn each 1-1.5 turns as well. The back lug bolts were fine (because they were never taken off during service).
I stopped by the dealership to address this in-person a few days later and they essentially did nothing. They put the car up on a lift, pulled both front wheels, inspected the hubs, wheels and bolts, and put them back on. They asked that I come back this Friday so they can check the torque again. However, I feel like there should be more done. If they road-tested the vehicle extensively after replacing the engine, how did they not check and re-torque the bolts? How did I get my car back in this state? What would have happened if the bolts sheered and the wheel(s) fell off while driving? Who would have been responsible then? What if my 3 MO child was in the car with me at the time? Luckily, I don't live that far from work and don't have to get on any major NJ highways, so my commute is typically never above 50mph, but this could have been a disastrous situation.
Do I bring this to the attention of ownership of the dealer? Do I reach out to VW of America? Do I reach out to a regional VW Service Manager or Customer Care member?
Or am I simply overreacting? Any opinions or advice is appreciated, and sorry for the long read.
However, I recently had a catastrophic failure of the passenger side engine mount that cracked the engine block. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership on a Tuesday and didn't hear back from them until Friday afternoon. I went to the dealership that same day to have the tech show me the extent of the damage. At first, the dealership told me that nothing was going to be covered under my extended warranty because "the warranty company is going to reject the claim due to the aftermarket modifications you have". For a little background, my modifications are limited to Eibach lowering springs, H&R front and rear sway bars, SuperPro front control arms, APR red-top coil packs, and 034 upper and lower dogbone mount inserts. No tunes, no other performance or engine mods. I replied with "what modifications do I have that would cause this?" and got the reply "well, because of the lowering springs your vehicle is sitting lower, so you may have hit something that caused the engine mount to fail". I looked at the service advisor confused and said "how would I have hit something that broke the METAL engine mount, but there is zero damage to the PLASTIC belly pan, PLASTIC oil pan, or anything else at the front of the vehicle?" to which the tech chuckled and the service advisor looked at me with a blank stare. I replied with "please contact the warranty company before making any assumptions of what they will or won't cover."
After 6+ weeks of back and forth with the dealership, separate [from the warranty company] third-party adjuster, and the warranty company, they did warranty the entire engine and replaced it with another engine with lower mileage, not a new long block, short block or new engine. They are warrantying the engine separately for 12 months/12,000 miles since I have no idea what engine I am getting, the service/maintenance history of it, and my extended warranty through them expires in January 2025.
On to the more concerning part and my request for advice...
I received my car back after 6.5 weeks. While in service, they also performed the 20UF suction jet pump recall. I was told they drained the fuel tank, which had a little over 1/2 tank, and refilled it after performing the recall. My car was taken on many road tests due to the new engine, so when I got it back it had a little less than 20 miles of range I was willing to accept that. However, I was given no information about how many miles were put on the car so I can't verify what road testing was done or if the fuel tank was even refilled at all. Again, I wasn't going to nitpick about $15-20 worth of fuel after getting all the other work done for $0 out of pocket.
But the larger concern occurred a few days later. I drove the vehicle home on a Friday afternoon. I didn't drive it all weekend, then worked from home on Monday. I went to and from work Tuesday (13 miles each away), then drove to work on Wednesday. On my way home from work on Wednesday I began feeling and hearing a slight thumping noise around 45mph. This noise and thump progressively got worse as I was driving. It sounded similar to a flat tire but the tire pressure light never came on. I stopped about half-way home and inspected the tires as best I could in the dark, but noticed nothing. By the time I got home, the noise and vibration was occurring as low as about 15mph. I pulled the car into the garage to inspect the tires, wheels, brakes, etc. Before even getting the car jacked up or on stands, I checked the lug bolts... only to find that all 5 on the driver-front wheel were loose! I was able to tighten all 5 bolts 2+ turns before torquing them down. I did the same for the passenger-front wheel and was able to turn each 1-1.5 turns as well. The back lug bolts were fine (because they were never taken off during service).
I stopped by the dealership to address this in-person a few days later and they essentially did nothing. They put the car up on a lift, pulled both front wheels, inspected the hubs, wheels and bolts, and put them back on. They asked that I come back this Friday so they can check the torque again. However, I feel like there should be more done. If they road-tested the vehicle extensively after replacing the engine, how did they not check and re-torque the bolts? How did I get my car back in this state? What would have happened if the bolts sheered and the wheel(s) fell off while driving? Who would have been responsible then? What if my 3 MO child was in the car with me at the time? Luckily, I don't live that far from work and don't have to get on any major NJ highways, so my commute is typically never above 50mph, but this could have been a disastrous situation.
Do I bring this to the attention of ownership of the dealer? Do I reach out to VW of America? Do I reach out to a regional VW Service Manager or Customer Care member?
Or am I simply overreacting? Any opinions or advice is appreciated, and sorry for the long read.
