Recall/Field Campaign 13D8

[mikecb1]

After this problem (which I understand relates to balance shaft gears), was mentioned by Quatrelle and others a while back, I contacted my dealer to see if my Nov 2006 TDi Sport 170 was affected. It seems that it is . My dealer says that it will be attended to at my next service, and that since it is a Field Service Campaign, not a Recall, they can't book it in before then as a separate job. This is worrying, since my next service isn't due until October, and I will be covering a lot of miles before then (including a continental holiday).

has anyone experienced a failure due to this problem and if so, what are the warning signs?

TIA

Mike

56 TDi sport 170.

[mhurer]

Interesting how they won't attend to this outside of a service. My 170 SEL was affected by this campaign, and I was only made aware of this after the dealer I bought the car from rang me up and asked me if I wanted to book the car in specifically for this work. I suspected they were looking for extra business in these difficult times. In the end I explained I would go to my local VW dealer, who also agreed to do the work no problem.

So, two different dealers wanting to do the work without having to do other work on the car, such as service. Suggest you try another dealer.

[satshah123]

wouldnt worry too much about failure - the recall replaces parts that deal with vibration, etc. It also makes shifts in the first couple of gears smoother.

do your thing, I wouldnt worry about failure.

[Philler Cap]

Hi. I had this work done recently - the dealer phoned me to book in the car specifically for it. Not only that, but they collected the car from my home (25 miles plus round trip) at no cost. So dealers do vary a lot and can perhaps be persuaded by the example of others!

[Quatrelle]

I'm told that it's advisable to change the engine oil when this recall is done, so perhaps they want to do it when they do the service so they can charge you for that oil as part of your service.

If you do get it done outside of a service, insist they change the oil.

[mikecb1]

Spurred on by the above replies, I had another conversation with my local dealer. I got a different "adviser" this time, and a very different story. After mentioning 13D8 she said that there was definitely a Recall, and that they were about to start sending letters out to affected customers "who had been missed"!

Car is booked in for the job to be done in 10 days time. I'm told the work will take 1/2 day, so a courtesy car has been laid on.

Thanks to Quatrelle for originally flagging up the issue, and all who replied to my post.


Mike

[mikecb1]

Well, just got the car back after the 13D8 "recall" work. Took the opportunity to have the dealer try to find a rattle from the O/S B pillar which has just started up again now that the weather has warmed up a bit. It was very noticeable in the hot weather in France last summer, but went away over the winter

Can't say that I can tell any difference in the smoothness of the engine after the work on the balance shaft gears, but then it was pretty smooth to start with. Kidding myself that the engine sounds generally noisier, so I'm wondering if they've opened up an exhaust leak during the work. Does anyone know if this is a possibility? I've been driving the 1.2 Polo courtesy car (very basic and totally gutless) all day, which was very quiet, so it's hopefully just paranoia!

They couldn't get the B pillar rattle to co-operate (cold today), but for luck they stripped the doors and "fitted foam inside". Seemed quiet driving home, but time will tell. They did say that the B pillar rattle is a known fault, and there is a TPL (?) that relates. The approved fix involves a 2-day booking to strip and refit the headlining, airbags etc. Someone mentioned this in an earlier post. Like them, I think I'll see if the rattle comes back, and how bad it is, before submitting to this. Warranty doesn't run out until November!

Mike

56 Sport TDi 170. Arctic Blue. 25k miles

[Quatrelle]

Mike - the car shouldn't really feel any smoother, the 'recall' was to replace parts that might fail (the gears driving the balancer shaft). Did they change the engine oil?

The B-pillar rattle was discussed at length on a US VW forum - might have been VWvortex?

[mikecb1]

Quatrelle

I don't know if the oil was changed. To be fair I didn't ask. I always check the car over when I get it home after a garage visit, and the oil was (very) full, so it's possible. Colour is no guide because I know from previous experience that new oil is black by the time I've driven the 15 miles from the garage!

I'll look up the Vortex thread on B pillar rattles. My dealer was very happy to do the work, and assured me that everything would go back seamlessly, but.............

Mike