Volkswagen

I am the owner of a 2012 Volkswagen GTI. I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with your 12-year corrosion warranty and with the service at Centre-Ville Montréal (324 Peel St, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 2G8). I first noticed corrosion in 2018, which is consistent with online claims that corrosion appears on VW vehicles in Montreal after 6 years. My previous car, a Toyota Tercel, did not have any corrosion on it after 15 years. One of the panels for which I claimed repairs (the right quarter panel) had been damaged by another car and had been repaired by a body shop that had been recommended to me by my insurance company. VW refused to pay for the repair of that panel because the body work had been performed by another auto body shop. I paid for the repairs of that panel.

In 2019, 2021 and 2022, I requested corrosion repairs under VW’s corrosion warranty. There was rust in 2020 but I could not reach VW because of the pandemic. Only some of the repairs were performed at VW’s cost. In 2022, my car had rust on 4 different panels, 3 of which had already been repaired by VW Centre-Ville for corrosion (including the right quarter panel). The request to have these repaired under my warranty were declined. The self-serving explanation provided by your evaluator was that the "paint thickness was out of factory range", making it "no longer eligible for the corrosion warranty as it was no longer in factory condition".

I am unsatisfied with VW because my car developed corrosion every year starting in 2018. I am unsatisfied with VW because I was prevented from protecting my car with a rust protection treatment because, I was told by VW Centre-Ville, it would void my warranty. I am unsatisfied with VW because every time I requested repairs under the warranty, it was a long and tedious experience even when it was finally covered and done. It took an enormous amount of persistence to have the work performed even though it was supposed to be covered by your warranty.

Finally, I am unsatisfied with VW because the corrosion warranty did not cover much of the corrosion problems I had with my car. The most recent repairs were declined because the paint was out of factory range. How can you demand that the paint be in factory condition up to 12 years after the beginning of the warranty? I have heard that poor service is prevalent because it is cheaper than good service. This is the message that has been conveyed to me by my experience with VW.

Also I have a scratch on the bonnet which was there when I bought the car, it was returned to be repaired and they had it for ONE day, the repair lasted a couple of car washes, I did report it to the Person who sold me the car and was informed WITHOUT looking at the car that it was not the same scratch. I showed it to the service agent at the dealership when I collected the car from having unnecessary work carried out, a bodge job was obviously carried out as the car was sent to a back st garage to be repaired which was confirmed by the service agent, he said he would look at the previous paperwork and get back to me, TO THIS DATE HE HAS NOT. Volkswagen you are disgusting and I will NOT recommend your cars to anyone, your aftersales service is deplorable.

This is the second serious problem I've had with VW service. First time was a major engine failure where the dealer got warranty money to fix the issue and then baited and switched me into an $1,800 bill for additional service. VW dealers do not conduct themselves ethically nor do they care about their customers. I believe this is characteristic of the brand and that they encourage this kind of conduct. I'll be offloading this car ASAP. STAY AWAY FROM THIS BRAND!

I had to replace my Evap Canister ($1400 part) and after that didn't work I managed to convince my mechanic to go inside the tank to look for this small plastic pump. It took days of my own research to find out this could be the problem, weeks without my car, endless calls to VW and VW mechanics/specialist with no answer. YouTube led me in the right direction when I found someone with the same issue on their Audi (same engine). The cannister needed to be replaced because the suction pump failed and allowed 4 litres of live fuel to enter my evap system (huge fire hazard). Once live fuel is in this charcoal filter, it degrades and cannot be dried or reused.

My mechanic was incredible when it came to digging into this issue. He called everyone he knew that worked at VW to try and figure this out. And he did fix my problem eventually, and tried his absolute best to keep the costs as low as possible. I was lucky. I have been in touch with VW and they will not help, will not admit wrongdoing and insist that they can only include this in a recall if enough people flag this little hidden pump as an issue. Which, of course, no one can because as far as any official documentation goes, it does not exist. So unless someone is digging deep into forums and Youtube to find their own answers, they just end up swapping out their entire tanks.

Since then I have connected with multiple people who have had the same issue, taken it to a dealership they replaced the charcoal / EVAP canister but the issue wasn't resolved. They then told him they wanted to order in a new fuel tank at another $1200 as that was the only fix in their VW system. He luckily found my forum post and convinced VW to investigate the suction pump before they replaced his entire gas tank.

In Canada there are approximately 160,000 of these cars on the road. They are a huge fire risk. Of course it's unlikely that all of these cars will fail like mine did, but for argument's sake, let's say they did. And for VW mechanics to fix it based on their official system information, it would cost all those 160,000 owners a collective $480 million to have their entire fuel systems replaced. If they admitted they snuck in a faulty part and added these models to their recall, it would cost them around 6 million to repair.

So instead of a huge corporation (with a super dirty past btw) taking the hit on $6 lousy million dollars, they are putting owners at risk of literally catching on fire and collecting an additional nearly $500 million in parts and repair sales. Please share this info and let me know if I can help or if you have any idea who to inform to get the word out. #vwcanada #Volkswagen #volkswagengolf #VWRecall

I spoke with VW Tableview regarding a lift kit, they recommended Seikel as a VW approved lift kit supplier. I did my research and established that the Seikel parts are approved and fitted by VW and are marketed as such by both Seikel and VW. Seikel parts have been, and continue to be marketed and installed on new VW vehicles across the country by VW Service Centres. When the vehicle was on 2000km, a Seikel Lift Kit was installed on the vehicle.

During 2021 a fault appeared on the vehicle's brake pad replacement sensor. This will be recorded on the VW VIN system. VW Tableview refused to warranty the part as there was a VW Premium Partner Seikel Lift Kit fitted on the vehicle. I paid for the replacement part and labour. At 22000kms the vehicle began shaking so violently that I am unable to drive it. Rola VW Malmesbury, who themselves install Seikel parts, collected the vehicle and tested it. The Service Manager believes it is the drivetrain.

VW refused to honour the warranty on the drivetrain due to the VW-approved Seikel suspension kit being fitted. This is the response from VW warranty manager via Rola VW Malmesbury - "The Seikel kit fitted afterwards by sublet agent or by a VW franchise dealer is seen as a suspension modification and any subsequent damage to the drive train are not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty."

It is not the suspension that is faulty, but the drivetrain. Yet the warranty is not honoured. I was not made aware the warranty would be nullified by either VW or Seikel when deciding to install the parts. I am 100% convinced that all other Seikel customers are not aware that their VW warranty is voided as soon as the parts are fitted. This is a gross misrepresentation by VW. After the brake sensor failure and now the drivetrain failure and VW's failure to honour both warranty cases, I can only assume there is absolutely no warranty on the vehicle.

I was not made aware by either Seikel or VW that fitting these parts would nullify the VW warranty. In fact, the advertising on the internet alludes to precisely the opposite. There is gross misrepresentation by many VW dealers regarding the installation of Seikel parts. The costs to repair this issue are certainly going to be higher than the Seikel suspension kit originally cost to install.

The problem now exists where even if this issue in particular is resolved, I remain exposed with a vehicle that has no warranty on the drivetrain - in spite of the fact that I paid for an extended warranty. This problem goes further in that the suppliers of the Seikel suspension kits are also not aware that their parts effectively nullify the VW warranty.

There are only two outcomes available to me in order to have hassle-free motoring and a VW vehicle under warranty and maintenance plan: Option 1. VW must honour the warranty for this issue and any further issue associated with any part other than the Seikel parts installed. Option 2. VW must return the vehicle suspension to its original state in order to reinstate the warranty. This option has far-reaching repercussions as VW agents around the world are currently recommending and installing Seikel parts without informing customers that it nullifies their vehicle warranty. I find this action borderline criminal.

VW grossly misrepresented Seikel parts by recommending and installing parts that nullify their warranty - even when it is not those parts that fail. Similarly, Seikel markets parts globally without the knowledge that their own parts nullify the VW warranty.

Imagine a new car after 3 weeks failed working, how it could be frustrating! They fixed my car but I requested VW, for a replacement or repurchase. They haven't gotten back to me after a month yet. I am totally unsatisfied with both the customer service as well as the quality of car how it jeopardized my and my family's lives while stopped working in the middle of the road.