What's happened VW?

[Tim Stevens]

Well I'm 7 months into owning a low milage 2015 Mk 7 estate and i cant say I'm impressed.
At month 3 all seemed well apart from a quirky fault with a rear window which would open when i pressed the drivers window switch. This happened on my old Polo so i was a bit surprised that VW hadn't improved the reliability of their switches!
Month 4 the infotainment system started to get the wobblies including unprompted switching of radio stations but worse still scrolling through the contacts list and making phone calls at random when on the phone screen was selected ...except of course when it decided to select it on its own.
Month 5 heater packed up ..apparently blocked matrix , now being repaired .
Month 6 power steering packed up suddenly. That's going to be expensive...saving up for that!
To cap it all it has one of the most uncomfortable seats I've ever known in a car..on a par with my old 1936 Vauxhall light 6.
On the plus side the fuel economy is excellent although the savings on diesel are somewhat tempered by the huge bills and the amount of time the vehicle will need to be off the road to complete the repairs.
So now maybe you can see why I've titled this thread 'What's happened to VW ?'!!

 

[golfdave]

Basically you've bought a second hand car, which was at least 3yrs old & could have been messed around with by the previous owner and/or whatever dealerships/garages that did the work on the car.

1. the switches are not interlinked they just go to the door controller, of which the drivers door controller is the master (along with the main central convenience module), so a fault with that controller easy to detect with OBD11 or VCDS
2. Infotainment units have required software /firmware updates to fix known faults, just like computers.
3. Does the coolant expansion tank state "mitt silikat" on it, if so there is a known problem with the silica bag in the tank breaking causing the silica beads to clog up the heater matrix.

I have a bad back but find the sports seats very comfy (mine in GT spec) & even the more bolstered ones in the "R".

 

[Tim Stevens]

Yes possibly but does have main dealer full service history, updated firmware ...and obviously some quite significant design / construction flaws!!
Thanks for your reply though.

 

[Diggs24]

It was made in Germany. Honestly the Mexico made ones have better quality.

 

[seanmcd1]

Sounds like you need to go back and ask the people you bought it from?

 

[MSchott]

Yes possibly but does have main dealer full service history, updated firmware ...and obviously some quite significant design / construction flaws!!
Thanks for your reply though.

it’s unfortunate that your car is having issues. Surely that’s very frustrating. But it’s not enough data to say there are design and construction faults, at least not across the board. If that was true it would happen frequently and that’s not the case.

 

[jimlloyd40]

On the plus side he didn't say that the water pump housing was leaking. ?

 

[George Ab]

Sorry to hear it Tim. I purchased my 2015 in late 2014 and have 60K miles on it. I had a ignition coil pack go tits and needing a new oil fill cap, but other than that it has been faultless. Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Tim Stevens]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. Yes i am a bit frustrated by the car to say the least. The car came from a respected dealer with warranty and was a single owner car with dealer fsh. They replaced the cam belt and water pump for me when i bought it but i must admit i never tested the heater ( yes stupid on reflection). That seems to be a fairly common fault as the vw specialist garage currently booked had 3 vw mk 7's awaiting new matrixes!. The rack failure to me is the most disappointing issue. I am currently trying to find another rack but am struggling with a part number. Maybe someone out there can help . The VIN is WVWZZZAUZFP503042.
Eng. No. CLHA482925
I've typed that into Google so often i have it memorized!!!! Hope someone can help. Anyway thanks again for the interest and comments . Happy Christmas.

 

[golfdave]

Dealer parts dept will tell you for the exact VW PR codes for the car...which they have from the VIN....

 

[vulticGTI]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. Yes i am a bit frustrated by the car to say the least. The car came from a respected dealer with warranty and was a single owner car with dealer fsh. They replaced the cam belt and water pump for me when i bought it but i must admit i never tested the heater ( yes stupid on reflection). That seems to be a fairly common fault as the vw specialist garage currently booked had 3 vw mk 7's awaiting new matrixes!. The rack failure to me is the most disappointing issue. I am currently trying to find another rack but am struggling with a part number. Maybe someone out there can help . The VIN is WVWZZZAUZFP503042.
Eng. No. CLHA482925
I've typed that into Google so often i have it memorized!!!! Hope someone can help. Anyway thanks again for the interest and comments . Happy Christmas.

You purchased it with warranty but you have to save up for the power steering issue?

 

[Tim Stevens]

Well lets just say the car is currently owned jointly by me and Santander!!

 

[Carlosfandang0]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. Yes i am a bit frustrated by the car to say the least. The car came from a respected dealer with warranty and was a single owner car with dealer fsh. They replaced the cam belt and water pump for me when i bought it but i must admit i never tested the heater ( yes stupid on reflection). That seems to be a fairly common fault as the vw specialist garage currently booked had 3 vw mk 7's awaiting new matrixes!. The rack failure to me is the most disappointing issue. I am currently trying to find another rack but am struggling with a part number. Maybe someone out there can help . The VIN is WVWZZZAUZFP503042.
Eng. No. CLHA482925
I've typed that into Google so often i have it memorized!!!! Hope someone can help. Anyway thanks again for the interest and comments . Happy Christmas.

Sounds as if you have been particularly unlucky with this car, maybe it has had a hard life prior to your purchase!, I understand that the power steering is faulty but what makes you think it is the rack? What are the symptoms? The infotainment issue is likely a software or touchscreen issue, it is possible to calibrate the screens touch input, I’m sure I’ve read of this screen Issue on the forum before?!

 

[gtifisherman]

Month 4 the infotainment system started to get the wobblies including unprompted switching of radio stations but worse still scrolling through the contacts list and making phone calls at random when on the phone screen was selected ...except of course when it decided to select it on its own.

I had this same problem. I thought my car had a mind of its own. The screen thinks you are touching it. I fixed it by spraying dust off all over around the edges of the touch screen and it seemed to cure it. Either moisture or dirt of some sort was causing the screen to malfunction. Give it a shot, can’t hurt. If you don’t have dust off you could try nitrous because race car.

 

[Tim Stevens]

Thanks ery much gtfisherman. Will give it a shot.
Regarding the steering symptoms . Apart from extremely heavy steering and the solid red warning light and an audible alarm, the computer says internal ECU failure. A specialist has confirmed this and indicated a new rack is needed as the only option. This car apparently has the first generation of racks (pr-1n3) which is prone to failure on Audis and Seats as well according to the literature out there. So much so that VW etc have issued an upgraded replacement part. Thanks for your comments.