My experience too with VW has been very very good. I put about 200K on every car I drive and so far all have had their fair share of problems - VW and Honda specifically...we currently own an 08 2.0 Passat, a 2010 2.5 Jetta and an 05 Audi A4 3.2...the audi has 129K miles and the only odd repair was an AC condensor. On the other hand, only my 05 JCW mini wreaked havoc - just over $16,000.00 in non-warranty repairs in 183,000 miles of driving. I would never own another one. Thankfully this was a company car.
More ruined cam followers using VW oils & VW OCI
- Thread starter saaber1
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My "VW experience" with my 04 Jetta has been a smooth one. Only warranty work I had done was for a bad coil module and plugged up rear window washer hose. No major issues other than a fuel pump failure at only 50K miles-which seems kinda early. I do my own servicing and repairs, so I don't have to deal with the VW dealer for anything other than parts if I can't get what I need elsewhere.
A couple more to add:
This one was at 30k miles with oil changed every 5k. Looks excellent. Don't know what oil type. More evidence for a 5k OCI.
This one is off a different car at 12k. Oil was changed every 3k.
And the same follower at 14.5k
An aftermarket high pressure fuel pump was used the last 2000 miles. So clearly we need to identify any of the followers using aftermarket fuel pumps as those can accelerate wear which is what appears to be the culprit here. This potential cause was also mentioned earlier in the thread.
This one was at 30k miles with oil changed every 5k. Looks excellent. Don't know what oil type. More evidence for a 5k OCI.
This one is off a different car at 12k. Oil was changed every 3k.
And the same follower at 14.5k
An aftermarket high pressure fuel pump was used the last 2000 miles. So clearly we need to identify any of the followers using aftermarket fuel pumps as those can accelerate wear which is what appears to be the culprit here. This potential cause was also mentioned earlier in the thread.
I think VWs are "hit or miss" If you get a good one, great, of you get a bad one, you are hating life. I worked for a VW dealer for 8 years. My personal experience:
'74 Super Beetle- Decent, after I repaired all of the previous owners cludges.
'84 Rabbit GTI- No trouble
'91 Fox- No trouble
'94 Jetta GL (Ex Wife's Car) No Trouble
'93 Corrado SLC:
Manual Trans rebuild at 10,000 miles (grinding going into second)
Numerous window regulators (a plastic part tended to deform from heat on dark cars.)
Numerous foglight lenses (they cracked when running the lights in cold weather.) I think the part was over $400 IIRC
Heater Core
Head Gasket
Radiator Fans
I remember the 60000 mile service was nearly $800.00
It is the only car I have ever purchased an extended warranty on- I made out like a bandit. I traded it when the 6 year/100000 mile bumper to bumper warranty was about to expire.
I like the current GTI, but I would think long and hard before buying one and then probably wouldn't.
'74 Super Beetle- Decent, after I repaired all of the previous owners cludges.
'84 Rabbit GTI- No trouble
'91 Fox- No trouble
'94 Jetta GL (Ex Wife's Car) No Trouble
'93 Corrado SLC:
Manual Trans rebuild at 10,000 miles (grinding going into second)
Numerous window regulators (a plastic part tended to deform from heat on dark cars.)
Numerous foglight lenses (they cracked when running the lights in cold weather.) I think the part was over $400 IIRC
Heater Core
Head Gasket
Radiator Fans
I remember the 60000 mile service was nearly $800.00
It is the only car I have ever purchased an extended warranty on- I made out like a bandit. I traded it when the 6 year/100000 mile bumper to bumper warranty was about to expire.
I like the current GTI, but I would think long and hard before buying one and then probably wouldn't.
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I can't say it enough .....
Modding a modern VW, like the newest Golf GTI should not be taken lightly!!!!!!
VW engineers their cars very specifically and unless the add on is approved by the factory you are risking severe damage to your car, and a voided warranty to boot.
If we were talking 20 years or more ago I would not be saying this...but these modern cars are so exacting that any modifications that are not tested by VW or an approved performance provider will often times result in a disaster.
Modding a modern VW, like the newest Golf GTI should not be taken lightly!!!!!!
VW engineers their cars very specifically and unless the add on is approved by the factory you are risking severe damage to your car, and a voided warranty to boot.
If we were talking 20 years or more ago I would not be saying this...but these modern cars are so exacting that any modifications that are not tested by VW or an approved performance provider will often times result in a disaster.
Give me a break. There are thousands and thousands of modded VWs out there. Many are even modded by the VW dealer who sells things like software chipping as an upgrade such as REVO, GIAC, and APR all of which I have seen at dealers. There are hundreds upon hundreds of examples of modded cars being serviced by the dealer and they are not voiding warranties. Also there are numerous examples of modded cars with cam followers with no increased wear.
No need to spread paranoia or be scared of one's own shadow. Saying things like: "You are risking sever damage to your car", "unless the add on is approved by the factory" "an approved performance provider" sounds like scare tactics to scare people into believing how you believe. Stop trying to grow fear.
If you believe that, that is fine, but the facts do not support severe damage due to modding, or voiding warranties, etc. at all. The dealer cannot "void your warranty" anyway. Your car is still covered. If there is a failure due directly to the mod then those specific fixes due to that failure could be denied if the dealer really wanted to. It has nothing to do with the rest of the car and everything is still under warranty. And that is only if the dealer was not mod friendly, and only if the dealer wanted to deny the claim.
Dealers vary widely in how they treat modded cars. Talk to the dealer service dept. to see if they are mod-friendly. But for Pete's sake, stop the scare tactics. Spend the time researching the facts instead.
No need to spread paranoia or be scared of one's own shadow. Saying things like: "You are risking sever damage to your car", "unless the add on is approved by the factory" "an approved performance provider" sounds like scare tactics to scare people into believing how you believe. Stop trying to grow fear.
If you believe that, that is fine, but the facts do not support severe damage due to modding, or voiding warranties, etc. at all. The dealer cannot "void your warranty" anyway. Your car is still covered. If there is a failure due directly to the mod then those specific fixes due to that failure could be denied if the dealer really wanted to. It has nothing to do with the rest of the car and everything is still under warranty. And that is only if the dealer was not mod friendly, and only if the dealer wanted to deny the claim.
Dealers vary widely in how they treat modded cars. Talk to the dealer service dept. to see if they are mod-friendly. But for Pete's sake, stop the scare tactics. Spend the time researching the facts instead.
They are great driving cars, but I really wish I could say they were as reliable as they should be.
I drove a 97 GTI a while back and even though it was only rated at 112 hp or so, man...it threw it all at you just off idle.
Fun cars for sure, hope the new ones are a little more durable.
I drove a 97 GTI a while back and even though it was only rated at 112 hp or so, man...it threw it all at you just off idle.
Fun cars for sure, hope the new ones are a little more durable.
125K on our 97 Jetta. Awesome.
Man - VW ought to send there engineers over to Japan and have them trained by the motorcycle manufacturers.
You never see any wear on motorcycle followers.
You never see any wear on motorcycle followers.
Another possibilty is, I have heard, that some service companies charge for the service but don't do it.
I kind of forgot about this thread and should have been updating the follower failures. There have been lots of new photos since the last photos I posted on this thread. I'll try to remember to go back and update but in the meantime here is a recent one at 50k miles. OCI was 5k since 20k miles on the odometer and he believes the dealer uses syntec 5w40. You can see the wear groove (more on that in next post).
The follower was replaced with a new one at 50k miles and here is a photo of that new follower after 25k miles (75k miles on car).
The follower was replaced with a new one at 50k miles and here is a photo of that new follower after 25k miles (75k miles on car).
Here is an example of one with the same wear circle where the surface is only scratched/etched and not yet heavily worn.
and an example that has punched through at the circle:
I assume the wear circle develops from the taper of the cam lobe (read text in figures below).
Or from the metal being thicker in the center and thinner on the outside (the wear circle would fall at the interface of the thick and thin portions). This has been postulated on another thread.
Here is another look at the wear circle at the very early stages of wear. The "wear circle" is the two thin circles just at/below the 4 holes. This follower appears totally black (except maybe the very center) when viewed head on. I held it in the light so it would exaggerate the wear.
[/QUOTE]
and an example that has punched through at the circle:
I assume the wear circle develops from the taper of the cam lobe (read text in figures below).
Or from the metal being thicker in the center and thinner on the outside (the wear circle would fall at the interface of the thick and thin portions). This has been postulated on another thread.
Here is another look at the wear circle at the very early stages of wear. The "wear circle" is the two thin circles just at/below the 4 holes. This follower appears totally black (except maybe the very center) when viewed head on. I held it in the light so it would exaggerate the wear.
Originally Posted By: saaber1
This one was at 29k using a group V oil with high anti-wear additives changed every 5k:
I'm resurrecting an old thread because I just pulled my cam follower today. I couldn't get my photo to load but my follower looked almost identical to the one above, except I am at 44,000 miles.
The car is a 2007 VW Passat 2.0T FSI. It has a manual six speed and I drive it moderately hard. Sees 5-6000 rpms fairly frequently. I used Valvoline Synpower 5w-40 since the factory fill was replaced and change at 3-5K intervals. I think the oil did a pretty good job at these intervals.
This one was at 29k using a group V oil with high anti-wear additives changed every 5k:
I'm resurrecting an old thread because I just pulled my cam follower today. I couldn't get my photo to load but my follower looked almost identical to the one above, except I am at 44,000 miles.
The car is a 2007 VW Passat 2.0T FSI. It has a manual six speed and I drive it moderately hard. Sees 5-6000 rpms fairly frequently. I used Valvoline Synpower 5w-40 since the factory fill was replaced and change at 3-5K intervals. I think the oil did a pretty good job at these intervals.
I replaced the Cam Follower on my '07 Jetta at 77K KMS in 2011 when I purchased. Vehicle is at 165K KMS now......Been using Mobil 1 0W40 or GC 0W30/40 and doing twice yearly OCI...roughly at around 8K KMS per cycle.
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Originally Posted By: Scum_Frog
I replaced the Cam Follower on my '07 Jetta at 77K KMS in 2011 when I purchased. Vehicle is at 165K KMS now......Been using Mobil 1 0W40 or GC 0W30/40 and doing twice yearly OCI...roughly at around 8K KMS per cycle.
Have checked it recently to see how it's holding up under the Mobil/Castrol regime?
I replaced the Cam Follower on my '07 Jetta at 77K KMS in 2011 when I purchased. Vehicle is at 165K KMS now......Been using Mobil 1 0W40 or GC 0W30/40 and doing twice yearly OCI...roughly at around 8K KMS per cycle.
Have checked it recently to see how it's holding up under the Mobil/Castrol regime?
Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
Originally Posted By: Scum_Frog
I replaced the Cam Follower on my '07 Jetta at 77K KMS in 2011 when I purchased. Vehicle is at 165K KMS now......Been using Mobil 1 0W40 or GC 0W30/40 and doing twice yearly OCI...roughly at around 8K KMS per cycle.
Have checked it recently to see how it's holding up under the Mobil/Castrol regime?
I haven't....it was under warranty for 75K KMS so to be honest I haven't really given it much thought. I'm past that period now so this post is a good reminder to check it out.
Originally Posted By: Scum_Frog
I replaced the Cam Follower on my '07 Jetta at 77K KMS in 2011 when I purchased. Vehicle is at 165K KMS now......Been using Mobil 1 0W40 or GC 0W30/40 and doing twice yearly OCI...roughly at around 8K KMS per cycle.
Have checked it recently to see how it's holding up under the Mobil/Castrol regime?
I haven't....it was under warranty for 75K KMS so to be honest I haven't really given it much thought. I'm past that period now so this post is a good reminder to check it out.
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