Pre heater- can I disconnect it?

[Gary M]

Our Touran's pre-heater has already been 'fettled' under its VW used car warranty, no problems until a cold morning a few weeks ago when the car again started chuffing out white 'smoke', which I presume is unburnt diesel, but this time it started coming into the cabin through the air vents.

The service receptionist at the local dealer said they would take it in again to look at it, but because the car is now out of its used warranty (it now has a VW extended used warranty) the work would not be covered under warranty. I has always thought that any dealer work had in itself 1 years worth of warranty.

I do not see the point of the pre-heater - can it be disconnected?

The situation with this unburnt diesel coming into the cabin is completely unacceptable, not to mention the reaction of other drivers who clearly regard the 'smoke' as meaning the car is on fire !

Thanks

[kenney]

Hi Although it is very usefull the heater can be disconnected by removing the auxiliary heater operation relay.There was a campaign on the Webasto heaters,which included fitting a longer exhaust pipe,which took the fumes away from the engine compartment,which in turn stopped the fumes being drawn in through the fresh air blower.Have you had a fault code read to find out what is wrong?

[STEWY L]

i would think that in undertaking the "warranty" repair,the dealer was being reimbursed by vw. they would pay the dealer to carry out the work in order to fulfill their warranty commitment of what ever length it was,(3mth,6mth etc.)-just quoted those numbers as an example-
however, that work in itself would not normally be guaranteed beyond the original warranty
period. it would end there,with the vehicle being repaired,at no cost to your goodself, within that period.
in my experience,not with vw,but with the caterpillar dealer of the time, that would be the ruling. other wise,the customer would have "never ending warranty",which,amongst other things would result in disputes between dealer and manufacturer,as regards responsibility
for payment.
yes, every nut and bolt we fitted,as a dealer,and that the customer had paid for,was guaranteed for six months and with large claims was always,but always open to discussion,
often being resolved by the "one third"rule,in cases where the dealers repair had outlasted the "dealer warranty"(totally devorced from manufacturer),but not deemed to have given an expected lasting repair. the dealer would contribute one third,the manufacturer one third,and the customer the other third.
obviously,that "arrangement"requires both dialogue,and commitment from all parties.
something that is obviously missing when we hear the dealer being refered to as the "*******".
regards,
stewy.

[sayloday]

Switch off the aircon when the webasto kicks in, that should switch off the pre-heater in cold weather.

Dave

[Fourbears]

VW are well aware of this problem and all Tourans suffering this problem should have modified. All from 07 on came from the factory with a rerouted heater exhaust and modified software. I bought a new Touran in Sept 06 and due to this problem it was replaced by the supplying dealer in March this year. I suggest you a). photograph and if possible video it, b), show these to the dealer and don't let them tell you its normal, as my local dealer tried to do, c). contact VW Customer Services and open a complaint. Depending how old your Touran is, (less than 3 years then VW warranty applies) VW should help to find a solution. Don't forget to be polite and pleasant as you get further with the ********. Best of luck!