Volkswagen Golf VI - Air Conditioning Compressor Bolt Sheared 70k Miles

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Thu 14 Nov 2013 22:16
Volkswagen Golf VI - Air Conditioning Compressor Bolt Sheared 70k Miles - Damian37

Hi,

New member here and I would be very grateful of any opinions you may have on the following...

I have a VW Golk Mk6, 3 1/2 years old with 70,000 miles. It's been in for a service at the main dealer today (the last one was only in May given the mileage) and they contacted me, amnongst other issues, to state that a bolt has wound out of the air conditioning pulley but in doing so has sheared the socket thread and it will need the compressor unit replacing at a £1,000 plus cost.

After I'd picked myself up off the floor and said I was dissapointed that I would have not expected a situation like this in a family car to develop so soon, they went off to contact VW. I then got a call back saying that the dealer and VW would contribute to the cost of the repair (important customer, etc) and that it would now cost me around £200 to resolve the issue.

I'm perfectly reasonable and obviously put my trust in them that this is a genuine issue that only a replacement of the unit can rectify but I am wavering between its just bad luck and its a kind offer to this sort of thing shouldn't really happen in 70,000 miles of mainly motorway driving. It wouldn't be so bad but this is on top of brake pads and other smaller items that have been advised, although I could probably start using the independents for this work.

I'm guessing this is just one of those things and I don't really have any grounds to argue otherwise, but any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Damian

Edited by Damian37 on 14/11/2013 at 22:16

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Fri 15 Nov 2013 00:47
Volkswagen Golf VI - Air Conditioning Compressor Bolt Sheared 70k Miles - Avant

It's annoying for something like this to happen on a youngish car - but strictly it's out of warranty both on time and mileage.

If the bill is £1,000 and you are going to pay only £200, this is quite generous (more so than usual for VW) and I think you should accept the offer with alacrity.

I'm not being defensive, and I have no connection with any manufacturer, but there are some people (not you I'm sure) who abuse or neglect their cars, and so it's understandable that not all out-of-warranty 'goodwill' claims can be agreed to.

Maybe your next car needs to be one with a 5 (Toyota, Hyundai) or 7 year (Kia) warranty.

Edited by Avant on 15/11/2013 at 00:48

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Fri 15 Nov 2013 07:25
Volkswagen Golf VI - Air Conditioning Compressor Bolt Sheared 70k Miles - The-Mechanic

Up until I left the VW main agent I worked for last year, there was a known issue for this problem and VW issued a workshop action (not recall) that the bolt can (and indeed) does loosen.

I don't know if the action has now been revoked seeing as the Mk 7 Golf is out, but it's worth mentioning it to see if VW will replace it FOC seeing as they knew there was fault ?

Good luck and keep us updated on progress please.

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Fri 15 Nov 2013 09:33
Volkswagen Golf VI - Air Conditioning Compressor Bolt Sheared 70k Miles - nortones2

It's a known issue, VAG wide. My 2 year old Yeti recently had to have the compressor replaced, no quibblling, under warranty. However, I won't have the vehicle out of warranty. SOGA might apply, but I don't want the bother of a struggle to get something fixed. Replacement will probably not be VAG though!

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Sat 16 Nov 2013 19:14
Volkswagen Golf VI - Air Conditioning Compressor Bolt Sheared 70k Miles - Damian37
Thanks all for the feedback.

Emailed Volkswagen expressing my disappointment with the situation and will see what their initial response is. Will keep you posted...

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Sun 17 Nov 2013 14:41
Volkswagen Golf VI - Air Conditioning Compressor Bolt Sheared 70k Miles - corax

It's a known issue, VAG wide. My 2 year old Yeti recently had to have the compressor replaced, no quibblling, under warranty. However, I won't have the vehicle out of warranty. SOGA might apply, but I don't want the bother of a struggle to get something fixed. Replacement will probably not be VAG though!

So the aircon compressors(made by Valeo I believe) failed on the Mk 5 Golf and other derivatives, and now they are failing on the Mk 6's, but for a different reason.

Good to see that VAG never learned from their mistakes and are up to their usual tricks.

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