Eos still leaks after lubrication and "fix"

[pjgraham86]

Hi all,

My first Eos (TDI) went back for a full refund after the dealer got the spec wrong and water getting in. The second (T-FSI DSG) was delivered in January 07 and was letting in water (drips on shelf behind driver's shoulder). It went to a dealer 30 miles away from Glasgow (my local dealer didn't have the tooling or trained staff) who applied an unspecified fix.

The car seemed Ok for a while but then the drips re-appeared. The special VW lunbricant was applied and again all was well until heavy rain here in August when the drips reappeared and, more worryingly, the headlining where the roof closes was soaked. The car went back to the dealer for 4 days last week (they now have a trained tech and the tooling) and "separators" were fitted "to deflect the water the right way" (!!) - based on a sheet from VW which was shown to me briefly pinpointing various areas for attention. I was assured that these were all checked.

I picked the car up last Friday and on Sunday morning (after fairly light rain)guess what - more drips in the original location. Was out all day Monday but phoned dealer brand manager yesterday to ask what he thought next step was (incidentally I am a lawyer so I have a fair idea what I am looking for ultimately!). He reckoned that the car needs to go backl in for them to have another go and I suppose I am willing to give them that chance, even though it suggests that their tech didn't get it right in the 4 days he had it last week.

I have read on this forum that one or two of you have heard that new seals have been fitted from March 07 - do any of you have any confirmation of that or is it purely rumour ? The dealer brand manager claims not to be aware of this and in fact said to me that on his most recent trips to meetings at VW there has been no mention of Eos problems !! It strikes me as more than a coincidence that quite a few owners on this forum who have post March cars have had no leak issues as far as I can tell.

Lesley Stoddart and Netherfield - I was interested in your posts regarding rejection of your vehicles. Particularly interesting was the comment from VW Customer Serice (to lesley I think) that "no leak was acceptable" - that is precisely the stance I will be taking and will keep you all posted.

Otherwise the car is brilliant - looks, engine, wow factor all excellent - I just need a new one that doesn't leak !!

Peter
I'll keep you all posted.

[lesleystoddart]

Hi Peter

Despite having now got our new Passat in replacement of our Eos, I still like to keep up to date with the happenings of leaky eoses (in the hope that one day we can buy one knowing it won't leak)!

Having been through the rejection process, I would recommend you register your complaint with VW HO now. We did this by e-mail while our car was away for repair just in case and they sent an acknowledgement by e-mail giving me a contact name and a direct dial phone number, advising they would give a full reply when they had investigated but they didn't actually get the chance to do this. When our car came back from repairs and was still leaking, I actually contacted them before I discussed rejection with our dealer, to get their views on it and yes, their rep said that no leak was acceptable.

Having read other threads on the subject, I do seem to have landed lucky with our dealership and HO. HO said that although we would have to deal with our General Manager at the dealership over the rejecton process, they would back us 100%. They did this by following up my calls to the dealer and I do think they had more influence over the dealer than just another disgruntled customer! I think the fact that we said early on in the negotiations that we would take another VW helped.

I hope you get your leaks resolved. The Eos is a fantastic car, looks, feel, everything, the leaks (if you'll pardon the pun!), just put a dampner on the joy of having a new car that cost of a lot of money.

Good luck

Lesley

[pjgraham86]

Hi Lesley

Thanks for your prompt response - very interesting. Having read your earlier posts about involving them I decided to send a fax (don't have e-mail address for VW Customer Service - do you?) to VW Customer Service last night. I told them the whole sorry tale and said I would keep them advised of developments. I gave them my e-mail address and phone number and I'll wait for an acknowledgement.

The service manager phoned this afternoon and wants to take the car in again next week. I think it will help my case if I give them one more shot at it, although in one sense I'm praying that they can't fix it and I can then reject it. He says they will liaise with VW as to what investigations they are making and as to the outcome, although I think that is only to inform VW of how leaks might be fixed. I have no confidence that they will sort it, although their willingness is not in question.

My own suspicion is that there will be no fix and that I will end up in a rejection argument. If I get backing from VW then so much the better. Having said that I am a commercial property lawyer and my brother is a litigation lawyer so should have a decent chance of ultimate success - or serious egg on my face LOL !! I haven't yet revealed that I want another Eos (provided I have assurances that the leak has been addressed at factory level somehow) but will do that when we get to the rejection stage.

Many thanks again for your helpful comments - I'll keep posting updates on here (at the risk of boring all the leak free owners!!).

Cheers

Peter

[lesleystoddart]

Hi again,

Just been looking through my old e-mails for vw's e-mail address but being a bit of a hoarder, anything before August has been deleted by my ISP! I wish I could remember where I got it but it escapes my memory, sorry!:confused: If I find it will post it.

We actually only gave VW one chance to repair the car and told them we didn't want the car back unless it was 100% perfect. They wanted it in again but we refused. This was mainly because they had cured the major leaks but left a few minor one's and we felt that if the car went in again it might come out leak free, but how long would it be before it leaked again, and the older the car got, the more difficult the rejection process would be.

I think you have given them more than their fair chances to repair your car. The only negative is that you have had your car since January. Our's was only 3 months old when the leaks were discovered. Being a lawyer you will probably know more about legal timescales than me though!

Look forward to seeing your updates and never mind boring the lucky leak-free eos owner's - if it wasn't for the postings on this forum I personally think the rejection process would have been a daunting process!

Lesley

[lesleystoddart]

Just found it - looked in my e-mail address book - doh!

volkswagencustomercare@volkswagen.co.uk

Dunno where I got it from but it's the only vw e-mail address I seem to have so must be the one!

Lesley

[pjgraham86]

Lesley

Thanks again for your comments.

I'll need to see how it goes if it comes to rejection. I've actually e-mailed my brother tonight letting him know that the dealer wants the car back - if he advises against giving them another chance then that's it - we'll be into battle ! Part of me wants them to fail to fix it and to admit defeat but the chance I take if I do that is the one you allude to ie they might fix it short term and then if the leaks re-appear months down the line, I suspect I won't be able to reject it because as you rightly say there is a limit (albeit not a fixed one) to the timescale for rejection.

Thanks for the e-mail address - I'll e-mail the next time as I think it tends to be dealt with quicker.

Cheers

Peter

[davidp]

.....Many thanks again for your helpful comments - I'll keep posting updates on here (at the risk of boring all the leak free owners!!).

Cheers

Peter

No worries about boring us Peter, as we all want to see the problem resolved. Mine has been leak free despite torrential rain, although I do get occasional creaking (but I havnt applied any krytox yet). I have read elswhere that seals were chaged in march/april time but its unconfirmed.

I did find VW cust service very helpful over problems on a late delivery. The number is 0800 711 811, all calls are given a ref number and the history logged. Lets know how you get on.

Cheers, david

[pjgraham86]

Nothing really to report after another week (car went in on Monday 10 Sept). I haven't phoned the dealer at all since a week past Friday - I e-mailed the service manager that day to say that he was to contact me before any proposed remedial action was taken since I want chapter and verse in writing as to what proposed fix is and why.

Hope everyone else is enjoying their Eos.

Peter

[pjgraham86]

Hi all,

Spoke to service manager today. He openly admitted that the car is still leaking and last Thursday/Friday they took digital photos of the areas in question and have sent them to VW tech people for further advice. They hope to have some feedback from VW tomorrow. Should be interesting given that all known fixes have been applied and have failed......

Peter

[pootle]

I haven't yet revealed that I want another Eos (provided I have assurances that the leak has been addressed at factory level somehow) but will do that when we get to the rejection stage.


You have now, that's the problem with the internet anyone can read what you post.

[pjgraham86]

That's fair comment but from my conversations with them it's clear that no -one at the dealership reads what is posted here or on any other forums. Anyway, on reflection I don't think it'll make any odds as to the final outcome whether they know or not that I'll probably re-order.

P

[pjgraham86]

Well after 6 weeks (which to be fair included a week on holiday for me) my Eos should come back today with new offside seals fitted. I collected it on Monday but it has gone back to have damp carpets dried out - apparently water was still getting in after the new seals were fitted because numerous adjustments were needed after the seals were fitted.

Oh and the dealer managed to scratch the frame above the driver door so I'm hoping they can polish it out whil they have it today.

I'll let you know if the car survives its first proper wash this weekend ! If it doesn't I'll be rejecting it without any more messing around.

Peter