Volkswagen Problems

We couldn't agree more. The dealer who did the pre-delivery should be sacked, and VW's attitude to its customers needs to be improved. The brand is being trashed by stories like yours.

Oil contamination of the wiring loom is a common problem with the DSG gearbox, one that VW is well aware of, but I'm guessing that the dealer has guessed at the cause of the problem and arrived at the wrong conclusion. I would refuse to pay for the work done in arriving at that diagnosis. Why should you pay for their incompetence? With respect to the gearbox itself, I would ask VW to cover the costs. They will possibly make you an offer of part payment, it's then up to you to accept or reject it. You are correct in believing the gearbox should last more than 71,000 km, but from the evidence we have it doesn't seem to. Your case should be a warning to anyone considering buying a VW with the DSG gearbox.

We put your complaints to VW and received this response from a company spokesman:

"As Simon has mentioned, he had two warranty claims on his vehicle, one in June 2010 and subsequently in March 2012. The diagnosis of a misfiring concern has been isolated to the fuel-injectors, which were scheduled for installation this week. All the work has been covered under warranty."

As you can see from the response VW feels that it has met its obligations by repairing your car under warranty, and for them, it seems, that is the end of the matter. But I agree with you that having spent a good deal of money on a supposedly quality-built car it is very disappointing to find you have to regularly take it back to fix what are quite serious problems. Waiting a long time for parts is also a regular complaint we hear from VW owners. In my view the company just doesn't get it.

It is disappointing when you have spent a lot of money buying what you believed was a quality product to find the truth to be something else. Getting the runaround from the company just adds to the frustration. The only thing you can take some comfort from is that the problems to date have been fixed, and you really can't predict what might or might not happen in the future.

You're a member of a large and growing club of disgruntled DSG owners. We have received lots of reports about DSG gearboxes malfunctioning, and we know VW has issued at least one service alert about oil contaminating the gearbox wiring and ECM, but it would appear that VW isn't the most responsive company when it comes to complaints from its customers. I can only suggest that you maintain the pressure on the dealer/company, and perhaps consider legal action.

It's impossible to say without seeing the car, but it's unlikely to be a faulty connection. It's more likely the controller.

It's impossible to say whether or not you have bought a lemon, but I would strongly urge you not to sell it, that would be the wrong thing to do at this stage. If you look on the positive side, VW has repaired the failures that have occurred, so they have backed the vehicle. The downside is that you would not expect a new car to have issues of the sort yours has had, and that's both disappointing and frustrating. But having bought the car, it's best to stick with it.

That's a lot less than the VW dealer quoted you, and speaks volumes for the value of independent mechanics.

Yours is a hard case because the car is out of warranty, you've used a non-factory mechanic, and fitted secondhand parts. All of that stacks up against your claim for compensation, although I can understand your frustration.

Press your case with the company, they should come to the party with a replacement, after all, the car has only done 33,000 km.