VW TOURAN 1.9 TDI gearbox gone on the blink

[yvonne6]

today our Touran kind of packed in - it was making a whirring noise when you turned the engine on but disappeared once you pressed the clutch. we called the AA man who drove it a little and said it sounded as though the gearbox had gone and would need to be towed to a VW dealership, they kindly towed it to the place of purchase. Before buying the car we checked that it was suitable to tow our Bailey Ranger 550/6. What worries me is that the dealer will tell me sorry its not under warrantly cause it has a towbar on it. the car is only 2 and half yrs old but it was first registered to VW group. would this affect the warranty as i have been told it will cost alot to repair - money which i dont want to spend! anyones help and thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Yvonne

 

[Angus1]

Hi Yvonne,

I can`t see how a towbar will make any difference to the warranty at all.

As long as your service book is stamped up (preferably by a dealer, but strictly speaking not necessary as long as its done properly using bits).

The only potential difficulty is in the mileage, as several years ago VW went from three years unlimited mileage to three years/60,000 miles. If you`re inside that you should be o.k.

Word of warning - find a decent dealer!! My previous Passat had a few problems going in for a 60,000 service which I told them about (I told them what the problems were not the symptoms) and after a bill for

 

[hgv dave]

hi yvonne

when you bought the car did you say that it was to be used for towing a caravan? if you did, then the car was not fit for the purpose that you bought it for.im not sure if this argument will work but its worth a try

hgv dave

 

[GeorgeB]

Yvonne,

The warranty on your Touran is made up as follows;

Factory (VW) 2 years unlimited mileage. you do not have to have the vehicle serviced within the VW dealer network to maintain this factory warranty.

Year 3 is an additional benefit supplied by VW GB and is conditional on the vehicle being serviced within the dealer network , and is capped at 60,000 miles.

So, at two & a half years old, providing the vehicle has been serviced at the correct intervals the repairs should be covered under warranty, unless the damage is caused by impact damage or misuse/abuse.

There is no way fitting a tow bar and towing a caravan (thats within the manufactures towing limits) can invalidate the warranty on a gearbox!

If you have any problems with the repair not being covered, email the mod & ask him for my email address & i'll see what I can do to advise you in approaching your dealer for an out of warranty goodwill (I have inside knowledge as I'm a senior manager for a large garage group that has VW & Audi garages)

 

[yvonne6]

thank you all for the replies - this is the update the car must have its gearbox stripped down (i had to give them permission to do so as the problem may not be warranty covered, a catch 22 if you ask me)then i got a phone call saying yes the warranty will cover the gearbox being stripped down but not necessarily the problem - this is a bit confusing to me anyway at least i wont have to pay hundreds. The lady i have been dealing with is very nice and helpful and it is a VW dealership in Glasgow. I didnt say anything about the towbar though we did buy the car to tow but didnt say it at the time of purchase as i think dealership go all funny when it comes to towing a van.

I shall keep you all posted

Ps the car has only covered 31,000.

Yvonne

 

[yvonne6]

Yvonne,

The warranty on your Touran is made up as follows;

Factory (VW) 2 years unlimited mileage. you do not have to have the vehicle serviced within the VW dealer network to maintain this factory warranty.

Year 3 is an additional benefit supplied by VW GB and is conditional on the vehicle being serviced within the dealer network , and is capped at 60,000 miles.

So, at two & a half years old, providing the vehicle has been serviced at the correct intervals the repairs should be covered under warranty, unless the damage is caused by impact damage or misuse/abuse.

There is no way fitting a tow bar and towing a caravan (thats within the manufactures towing limits) can invalidate the warranty on a gearbox!

If you have any problems with the repair not being covered, email the mod & ask him for my email address & i'll see what I can do to advise you in approaching your dealer for an out of warranty goodwill (I have inside knowledge as I'm a senior manager for a large garage group that has VW & Audi garages)

GeorgeB thank you kindly for the offer of help, hopefully i shall be fine but if not i shall get in touch with you via the Mod.

Yvonne Gardiner

 

[Icemaker]

It will be very interesting to know what the problem is as the manual box seems to be pretty reliable. the auto on the other hand does have its inherant faults when used for towing.

The only fault i know of that gives problems is the dual mass fly wheel which is a pain in the proverbial and should be banned from production, my 17000 mile alhambra is having problems with this flywheel allready and when it does go south i will be having it replaced with a good old solid one.

Keep us informed as a lot of people use this tdi engine and six speed box for towing, best of luck with the warranty claim.

 

[ProfJohnL]

HelloYvonne,

It is my view that provided the caravan you have used falls within the MPTLM specified by the vehicle manufacturer, then the warranty should stand.

If the manufacturer specifies a maximum towing limit (Which yours does) then it is unreasonable to claim that towing any thing up to that limit infringes warranty.

More importantly, as the manufacturer specifies a towing limit, and they make provision for the fitting of a tow-bar, and they approve certain makes/design of tow-bar, then clearly the manufacture is by default assuming the car may be used for towing. (If the manufacture did not wish it to be used for towing they would not set a trailer MPTLM, so the fact that one exists endorses the activity)

These facts are undisputable and set out as part of the specification for the vehicle. It establishes the purpose for which the car can be used.

Unless the seller has specifically excluded these applications, and can support their exclusion with reasonable written reasons as part of the contract of sale, it is implicit that the manufacturers specifications stands and represents the vehicle you purchase.

The seller cannot reasonably claim later that the vehicle is not suitable for towing up to its stated limit as this is a clear breach of the trades descriptions act and would also mean that the seller admits to selling a product that is not fit for purpose. Or as faulty at time of sale, both of which are breaches of the sale of goods act.

So the car is designed to accept trailer towing up to the manufacture stated limit. Thus of the gearbox fails and it is then claimed by the seller it is directly or indirectly due to towing, then the failure means the product is not fit for purpose, and that is subject to warranty.

If you have any difficulty in having the necessary repairs carried out by your supplier under warranty, contact a solicitor who will advise you of the best course of action.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I forgot to add that your contract is with the seller, not the manufacture, so the opinions of the manufacture regarding the fault are not necesarily teh last word on the matter, your solocitor will explain.

 

[yvonne6]

Dear All, I collected my Touran today and wait for it - repairs covered by the warranty!! no quibbles, no questions just lots of apologies for the inconvenience and the offer of a refund for my train ticket to the dealership. A 'washer' inside the gearbox had broken and sent metal shavings throughout the box which caused it to completely breakdown. The gearbox is to be sent to VW in Germany to find out why this happened. I am so pleased that i didnt have to pay! If anyone is interested the dealer is in Jordanhill, Glasgow and is also known as 'Uncle Arnold'

Thank you all for the advice and help, it was much appreciated.

Yvonne

 

[yvonne6]

Sorry i should have said that the car was fitted with a new gearbox which comes with its own 18mths warranty.

Yvonne

 

[Icemaker]

great news and glad to hear it was something simple rather than a major problem that could be inherant. and a good dealer too, a rare find indeed.

 

[GeorgeB]

Yvonne,

Glad to hear its all been resolved under warranty.

Sorry to disillusion you, but the replacement gearbox doesn't have a 18 month warranty, if the dealer told you that, then I'm afraid they're mistaken. Here's how it works;

If you have made no contribution (no matter how small)towards the cost of repair you do not enjoy the benifit of parts warranty, which for VW group products is 2 years unlimited mileage.

This next bit applies to all car manufacturers, if a part is replaced under the vehicles warranty, that part only enjoys the benefit of the remainder of the original part's warranty.

Simply put. If the warranty is 1 year and a part is replaced under warranty on day 1 then that part has 364 days warranty, if the part is replaced under warranty on day 364 then that part has 1 days warranty, harsh I know, but thats the way it works.

Thats why when I was a service manager, if a major component was replaced near to the end of the vehicles warranty I would get the owner to contribute

 

[yvonne6]

GeorgeB i shall enquire at the dealership on Monday and get back to you. Thanks

Yvonne

 

[ProfJohnL]

Yvonne,

Glad to hear its all been resolved under warranty.

Sorry to disillusion you, but the replacement gearbox doesn't have a 18 month warranty, if the dealer told you that, then I'm afraid they're mistaken. Here's how it works;

If you have made no contribution (no matter how small)towards the cost of repair you do not enjoy the benifit of parts warranty, which for VW group products is 2 years unlimited mileage.

This next bit applies to all car manufacturers, if a part is replaced under the vehicles warranty, that part only enjoys the benefit of the remainder of the original part's warranty.

Simply put. If the warranty is 1 year and a part is replaced under warranty on day 1 then that part has 364 days warranty, if the part is replaced under warranty on day 364 then that part has 1 days warranty, harsh I know, but thats the way it works.

Thats why when I was a service manager, if a major component was replaced near to the end of the vehicles warranty I would get the owner to contribute

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Yvonne,

Great news!