Why won't Volkswagen contribute to the cost of a turbocharger repair on my Touran?
I was recently driving my 2003 Volkswagen Touran 2.0 (26,500 miles) when the turbo stopped and the car went into limp mode. I called out the AA who diagnosed a turbo overboost fault, so I had the car taken to a Volkswagen dealer in Brighton. I informed the garage of the fault code and all details, and was told it was the master clutch cylinder switch that needed replacing, but as it was out of warranty by four days Volkswagen would not help out. Although the car had full service history, the work had not always been carried out by a Volkswagen dealer.
I had the part fitted and the garage gave me a 20 per cent discount (it still cost £175). We drove it home only for the fault to happen again two miles from the garage. We had the AA tow the car back to the dealer, who said the car had been on a test drive and fully tested. They now tell me the fault is the turbo and will cost £1300 to replace with no help from Volkswagen. It makes me sick to think Volkswagen won't deal with the problem due to the fact it has not been serviced by them. Any ideas?
That's what happens when you take the cheap route for servicing, which is why I warn against it in the FAQ. There are many reasons why the turbo could have failed, but the most likely is a problem with the oil supply to the turbo bearing and that may be due to the type of oil used by the independent servicing outfit.
Answered by Honest John on