[tchow]

Hi - just test drove the above as was considering it as a replacement car. However, just been reading reviews and came across a warning blog on cars guide.com.au about this particular model. There have apparently been more then a hundred cases of the engine blowing up!! One owner has had his engine replaced 4 times with a new engine within 2 years and 41k done. Honest john in uk has had readers experiencing similar problems!! Quite worrying so reconsidering options. Wanted to know if any owners here have experienced problems with their cars? Am wondering if the new polo gti engine will suffer similar problems!! Read that VW will not be using these twin turbo engines in the next generation due to it's complexity and cost - wonder if these problems reported have anything to do with their decision?

[ongwc5]

Hi - just test drove the above as was considering it as a replacement car. However, just been reading reviews and came across a warning blog on cars guide.com.au about this particular model. There have apparently been more then a hundred cases of the engine blowing up!! One owner has had his engine replaced 4 times with a new engine within 2 years and 41k done. Honest john in uk has had readers experiencing similar problems!! Quite worrying so reconsidering options. Wanted to know if any owners here have experienced problems with their cars? Am wondering if the new polo gti engine will suffer similar problems!! Read that VW will not be using these twin turbo engines in the next generation due to it's complexity and cost - wonder if these problems reported have anything to do with their decision?

No such thing, I doubt that!

[nikkokl]

No such thing, I doubt that!

The response is obvious: don't buy lah.

[Kevin]

Hi - just test drove the above as was considering it as a replacement car. However, just been reading reviews and came across a warning blog on cars guide.com.au about this particular model. There have apparently been more then a hundred cases of the engine blowing up!! One owner has had his engine replaced 4 times with a new engine within 2 years and 41k done. Honest john in uk has had readers experiencing similar problems!! Quite worrying so reconsidering options. Wanted to know if any owners here have experienced problems with their cars? Am wondering if the new polo gti engine will suffer similar problems!! Read that VW will not be using these twin turbo engines in the next generation due to it's complexity and cost - wonder if these problems reported have anything to do with their decision?

It is clear that the twin-charged engines cost a lot of money to make. VW's decision to drop the engines is all due to cost and the fact that VW's new range of turbo engines are deemed good enough.

[tchow]

No such thing, I doubt that!

Hi - just did some further checking by googling on the net. seems not isolated to golf - scirocco 1.4 suffers same problem. Read on one blog about a NZ owner having problems and in replies to his query, one said the problem had been brought up in Italian and german owners forums. The NZ owner reported the VW were shipping a new replacement engine for him. Various speculations as to problems including VW tuning the engine too lean to meet Euro 5 emission standards which cause pistons to clog etc. He speculated that this was why the previous generation of twin turbos didn't suffer same problem.

seems to be too many reports for it not to be true- no smoke without fire! I must admit I've just been reading reviews and was very impressed until I came across report in Australian blog. I have since been looking for user/owner reviews which gives a more accurate picture of what they're like to live with. Not trying to run VW down or anything - my very first car was a golf mk2 which I loved

No such thing, I doubt that!

Hi - just did some further checking by googling on the net. seems not isolated to golf - scirocco 1.4 suffers same problem. Read on one blog about a NZ owner having problems and in replies to his query, one said the problem had been brought up in Italian and german owners forums. The NZ owner reported the VW were shipping a new replacement engine for him. Various speculations as to problems including VW tuning the engine too lean to meet Euro 5 emission standards which cause pistons to clog etc. He speculated that this was why the previous generation of twin turbos didn't suffer same problem.

seems to be too many reports for it not to be true- no smoke without fire! I must admit I've just been reading reviews and was very impressed until I came across report in Australian blog. I have since been looking for user/owner reviews which gives a more accurate picture of what they're like to live with. Not trying to run VW down or anything - my very first car was a golf mk2 which I loved

[kenso]

Hi - just did some further checking by googling on the net. seems not isolated to golf - scirocco 1.4 suffers same problem. Read on one blog about a NZ owner having problems and in replies to his query, one said the problem had been brought up in Italian and german owners forums. The NZ owner reported the VW were shipping a new replacement engine for him. Various speculations as to problems including VW tuning the engine too lean to meet Euro 5 emission standards which cause pistons to clog etc. He speculated that this was why the previous generation of twin turbos didn't suffer same problem.

seems to be too many reports for it not to be true- no smoke without fire! I must admit I've just been reading reviews and was very impressed until I came across report in Australian blog. I have since been looking for user/owner reviews which gives a more accurate picture of what they're like to live with. Not trying to run VW down or anything - my very first car was a golf mk2 which I loved

Hmmm, I didn't find that thread till you mentioned it and reading those postings does seem rather alarming. From the few posts of engine misfiring, cylinder failure, unable to start, etc, the postings gives me the following picture:-

1) Primary issue lies with the laid-back attitude of VW Australia dealers in handling the owner's issues. Imagine the owners are already at a state of agitation. To tell them the problem is repaired when it is not or that it's normal when misfiring is really asking for trouble. So far, no issues with the local dealers (VGM even went as far as firing a dealer when they find that the dealer was causing far too much problems than providing solutions to their customers)
2) Country of origin of the Australian Golfs seem to be from S.Africa. Malaysian Golfs are confirmed from Wolfsburg, Germany. Production issue at the plant in S.Africa?
3) Earlier batches of DSG failures are valid and true. Apparently related to one supplier of the mekatronic component which governs the dual-clutch system. Since the sacking of that supplier, DSG failures have become less.
4) (this is purely speculation on my part), car modifications in Australia is common. In fact, some MKV ECU flashes can be done virtually undetectable. Push the gear box more (I read TSi dry-clutch DSG can only handle 250Nm) may potentially cause premature failure.
5) Notice one thing? Most of the problematic cars were purchased in 2009 .... MKVI is much newer and most of the problems (if not all) are already ironed out. Also, it's kinda unfair for anyone to compare pre-MKVI wet clutches with the newer MKVI dry ones.

So far, I've not heard of anyone's MKVI develop any kind of engine or GB problems here in Malaysia.

[pat1988]

No such thing, I doubt that!

Yeah man! My one also no problem and using RON95 petrol and can go up Genting like a rocket. Even E90 325i have trouble keeping up on the slopes up to Genting! Hee-hee, but mine must be slower than ongwc5's as his is on RON97. Sorry, your secret is out!

[kenso]

mine must be slower than ongwc5's as his is on RON97.

Got difference meh? I tried both grades and they feel the same to me

[tchow]

Hmmm, I didn't find that thread till you mentioned it and reading those postings does seem rather alarming. From the few posts of engine misfiring, cylinder failure, unable to start, etc, the postings gives me the following picture:-

1) Primary issue lies with the laid-back attitude of VW Australia dealers in handling the owner's issues. Imagine the owners are already at a state of agitation. To tell them the problem is repaired when it is not or that it's normal when misfiring is really asking for trouble. So far, no issues with the local dealers (VGM even went as far

as firing a dealer when they find that the dealer was causing far too much problems than providing solutions to their customers)
2) Country of origin of the Australian Golfs seem to be from S.Africa. Malaysian Golfs are confirmed from Wolfsburg, Germany. Production issue at the plant in S.Africa?
3) Earlier batches of DSG failures are valid and true. Apparently related to one supplier of the mekatronic component which governs the dual-clutch system. Since the sacking of that supplier, DSG failures have become less.
4) (this is purely speculation on my part), car modifications in Australia is common. In fact, some MKV ECU flashes can be done virtually undetectable. Push the gear box more (I read TSi dry-clutch DSG can only handle 250Nm) may potentially cause premature failure.
5) Notice one thing? Most of the problematic cars were purchased in 2009 .... MKVI is much newer and most of the problems (if not all) are already ironed out. Also, it's kinda unfair for anyone to compare pre-MKVI wet clutches with the newer MKVI dry ones.
So far, I've not heard of anyone's MKVI develop any kind of engine or GB problems here in Malaysia.

Hi - I thought it was probably isolated to cars brought into Australia from south Africa too - but it appears to be a worldwide problem from what I can find - even in China! However- as you mentioned, it may possibly be isolated to earlier batches (2009-2010) In most forums it appears that VW Germany has not acknowledged that there was a problem and only issued service notices for them to have a software update. I haven't found anything to confirm that the problem has been definitely sorted as even those who have had the software updates have still had recurring problems (including those who had their engines replaced) From what I can gather - the current advice is to ensure you bring the cars in for the latest software updates if you experience any problems such as misfiring pistons, erratic gear changes etc which could be symptomatic of further problems. Others have just advise to stick to the 2 litre pot - which sadly isn't within my budget. On one blog, someone mentioned various parts like the injector had been redesigned to give a better spray pattern etc so these changes may have resolved the issue. I would find it far more comforting if VW would just acknowledge the problem exists and confirm whether the problem has been resolved. In UK, one blogger was concerned that the resale value of his scirocco would be affected by a used car reviewer site giving the thumbs down for his model because of the engine problems. Refusing to acknowledge the problem would result in a bad rap for future owners especially if the problems have already been resolved.

[pat1988]

Got difference meh? I tried both grades and they feel the same to me

Dunno leh. Must race with ongwc5 to find out. But I can say there is no perceptible difference in a Merc CGI engine.