2009 Volkswagen GTI Engine Problems

VEHICLE HAS 140,455 MILES ON IT AND WAS WELL MAINTAINED. AT APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH HEARD LOUD SOUND AND HAD TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE. CAR WAS TOWED TO A VOLKSWAGEN SPECIALIST AND SAID THAT THE TIMING CHAIN THREW DUE TO THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER, A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THE 2.0 TSI ENGINES FROM 2008-2012. MINIMUM FOR REPAIR WOULD BE $4,000 DUE TO BENT VALVES; MAXIMUM WILL BE ENGINE REPLACEMENT (~$9,000). GIVEN CAR'S AGE AND VALUE, NEITHER OPTIONS ARE WORTH FIXING AND I WILL HAVE TO SELL CAR FOR PARTS. AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE, THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH 2.0 TSI ENGINES YET VOLKSWAGEN DID NOT ISSUE A RECALL RELATED TO THE ISSUE.

FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, I NOTICED OCCASIONAL MISFIRES UPON STARTUP AND ACCELERATION. THEN, THE VEHICLE BEGAN RUNNING LOUDLY AND CONSUMING A LOT OF OIL. THE VEHICLE ALSO SHUDDERED WHILE DRIVING. ONE MORNING, THE CAR SHUDDERED AND BUCKED WHILE I ATTEMPTED TO START IT, AND ULTIMATELY FAILED TO START AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THIS IS NOT A BATTERY ISSUE; THE BATTERY IS ONLY A FEW MONTHS OLD AND WAS TESTED IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS (HOLDS CHARGE AT 100%). I HAVE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO TWO MECHANICS AND THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE LEADING TO CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. ACCORDING TO THE FIRST MECHANIC, THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED FOR APPROXIMATELY $4500. ACCORDING TO THE SECOND MECHANIC, THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER NEEDS REPLACING AND THE TOP HALF OF THE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED, LEADING TO A QUOTE OF $2800 FOR REPAIR. THE MECHANIC STATED TO ME THAT HE HAS ALREADY PERFORMED APPROXIMATELY 8 OF THESE REPAIRS ON VOLKSWAGENS IN THE LAST YEAR AND DIRECTED ME TO INVESTIGATE A PENDING NEW JERSEY LAWSUIT AGAINST VOLKSWAGEN FOR THE SAME ISSUE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON COMPLAINT. IF MY ENGINE HAD FAILED WHILE AT SPEED ON A ROADWAY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

PREMATURE ENGINE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING DUE TO A KNOWN DEFECTIVE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER WHICH VW HAS SENT A TSB ABOUT BUT REFUSES TO DO A RECALL TO REPLACE. INSTEAD THEY EXPECT CUSTOMERS TO PAY $1500 TO HAVE THE NEWLY UPDATED TENSIONER INSTALLED. ENGINES ARE FAILING BOTH UNDER AND JUST OUT OF WARRANTY. SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND CONTROL OF THE ENGINE WHILE DRIVING CAUSING THE ABILITY TO STEER AND MANEUVER THE VEHICLE TO A SAFE STOP IN TRAFFIC.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILED TO MAKE NOISE OCCASIONALLY BEFORE THE VEHICLE STARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR THE SAME FAILURE IN APRIL OF 2014. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,800.

SECONDARY AIR INJECTION HOSE FOUND TAPED AFTER VW WARRANTY EXPIRED. HAD TAKEN CAR IN SEVERAL TIMES TO THE WOODLAND HILLS VW DEALERSHIP AFTER THE UPC AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED TO NO AVAIL.

WHILE TRAVELING AT 55 MPH IN SIXTH GEAR ON THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY, I SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND THE ENGINE ABRUPTLY TURNED OFF. I CONSEQUENTLY QUICKLY DECELERATED AND WAS ALMOST REARENDED BEFORE BEING ABLE TO TURN ONTO THE SHOULDER. I SMELLED A BURNING ODOR AND GOT OUT OF MY CAR. EVENTUALLY, THE VW DEALERSHIP ADVISED ME THAT THE #2 COIL HAD FAILED AND CAUGHT FIRE. CONSEQUENTLY, THE WIRING HARNESS FOR THE IGNITION COIL AND PLASTIC COVER SURROUNDING THE COIL HAD BEEN DESTROYED BY THE FIRE. THIS IS THE SECOND INCIDENT INVOLVING AN IGNITION COIL ON THIS VEHICLE. APPROXIMATELY 12 MONTHS AGO, THE #4 IGNITION COIL FAILED LEADING TO RAPID DECELERATION AS I WAS DRIVING. THIS APPEARS TO BE A CHRONIC PROBLEM WITH THE IGNITION COILS THAT MAY RESULT IN OTHERWISE AVOIDABLE ACCIDENTS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN I REACHED A SPEED OF 55 MPH WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHERE THE GUY TOLD ME THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD HAD GONE BAD. I'VE READ MULTIPLE THREADS ONLINE AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON FACTOR IN 2009 GTI'S IT ALSO SAYS THEY MAY HAVE EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR 10YR/120K MILES. *TR

TWO OUT OF THE FOUR ENGINE COILS WENT BAD AT THE EXACT SAME MOMENT CAUSING THE CAR TO LOOSE TWO OUT OF FOUR CYLINDERS. THIS MADE THE ENGINE NOT ABLE TO IDLE OR RUN. HAD THIS HAPPENED WHILE TRYING TO CLEAR AN INTERSECTION OR SAY MERGING ON A HIGHWAY THE RESULT COULD BE CATASTROPHIC. VW INSISTS THAT THIS IS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR AND NOT EVEN COVERED BY IT'S 5-YEAR 60K MILE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. EVEN THOUGH THESE COILS THAT PROVIDE SPARK TO THE ENGINE, AND VITAL TO IT'S SAFE OPERATION, THEY INSIST THAT ARE ONLY COVERED BY THE VEHICLE'S 3-YEAR 36-K MILE WARRANTY. LOOKING AT VW CHAT LOGS IT CLEAR THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH VW GTI FOR NUMEROUS YEARS AND NEEDS TO REVISITED FOR THE 2009 MODEL YEAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 VOLKSWAGEN GTI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING BETWEEN 40-60 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AFTER THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES WHERE THE DEALER CONFIRMED THAT THE IGNITION COIL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 36,600 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 47,000.