VAG 1.4 TSI turbo failure

I own a March 08 VW Golf 1.4 TSi GT 170 which is now just over 3 years old, has covered 24,000 miles and been maintained on the VW three year maintenance plan.

Earlier this week the car ground to a halt and would not restart. The car is now at the VW dealer. Their diagnostics found two sensor related isssues (N75?) but when dismantling commenced it was clear that the turbo had failed big time. The impelor waggled about completely freely. I presume the bearing had failed completely.

My questions are:

Is this a rare occurence or something that is a known issue?
What could be the likely extent of the damage?
What is likely to have happened to the elements of the bearing. Could they be ingested into the engine?
Would the "cat" be damaged by oil or other parts from the turbo?

What sort of good will claim would be reasonable for such a failure so soon out of warranty and with such lowish mileage and full VW service history. Obviously I feel they should meet the full cost - is that unreasonable?

Asked on 26 June 2011 by PBC

Answered by Honest John
First TSI water cooled turbo failure I've heard of. You have to hope that none of the bits have been ingested by the engine. Yes, any bits of metal in the cat will cause hotspots. Will now note this in car by car breakdown.
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