So I have a dilemma
Back in February 2023 my 2013 VW Passat started making weird noises . Would not accelerate. Local mechanic said they could not repair it . Looked like a timing chain . Sent the car to a dealership. Diagnosis, timing chain , oil leak and some recalls . We took the hit and paid 4500 for the repair . Dealer said all was fixed . Took the car home . Car drove fine for 5 weeks or so then started making the exact same noise , wouldn’t accelerate. We parked the car immediately, called dealership. Dealership could not get the car in for another five weeks. We made the appointment. Got the car in. Dealership has had the car for two weeks now. They ran a diagnostic. Technician called us and said the code that it’s reading says it needs a new engine.
At that point obviously I had several questions for the technician, was the original repair done correctly? . Why was it making the exact same noise? And so on. You can imagine my frustration. If it was fixed correctly the first time then why now would it need a new engine which they estimate being $5500.
After all of my questions to the technician, he said that he will need to speak to the maintenance manager to look at the work history on the vehicle, and do a deeper dive into what happened. Still to this day no answer. I’m ready to go to the dealership and demand Book value for the vehicle based on the fact that if I had sold it after the repair had been done correctly. If the repair had been done correctly, I should’ve been able to sell it . At this point I don’t trust them and don’t want them working on the vehicle. I just want money for the vehicle. Am I crazy and thinking that? Any advice that anyone could give about my situation would be very helpful. I’m looking at going to the dealership today to get things sorted out. I understand that they’re not gonna want to fix it or do anything. But my car is being held hostage at this point. Please help ! It is now July 5th and I don’t have a vehicle
There is no code that says this. They have the diagnostic codes, they could tell you which ones they read. You can then look those up and/or ask here.
If it was me, I would visit in person and ask to speak with the most senior person in the service department. Remain calm but firm. Explain briefly what the problem is and that having the car for so long without any definitive answers is unacceptable. Telling you they read a diagnostic code that indicates it needs a new engine is silly and unprofessional, that there is no such thing and you feel they are not being forthright with you regarding the problem. You paid $4500 for a repair that appears to be unsuccessful and expect it to be repaired properly or your money refunded. If they can’t provide an answer in two days, You’ll have your car towed to another shop and then you’ll be looking to be made whole in court. However, you’d like to give them one last chance to do the right thing. Then see what they say…
One common cause for timing chain problems is oil starvation. You mentioned an oil leak, which could correlate with that. Did the oil level get extremely low before the first occurrence? Have you been checking the oil after you got the car back and was it always at the correct level?
I’m guessing you actually had both a timing chain problem and a variable valve timing actuator problem. Replacing the timing chain fixed the first, but not the second. I wouldn’t call that a shop error, just comes with the territory for a 10 year old car, what with all the complexities cars have these days. The shop technician is probably saying that a variable valve timing function malfunction probably means oil sludge has developed inside the engine, and replacing the engine is less expensive than removing all the oil sludge and fixing any adverse effects it has caused.
If you have a record of all the engine oil & filter replacement dates and verifying receipts, show that info to the shop tech. If they were all done on schedule, that might change their minds about needing a new engine.
Since you paid $4500 for the initial repair, and replacing the engine is the best solution now, I’ll expect they’ll agree if you ask for a discount on the labor fee.