Volkswagen of Palmdale CA review: The service department ruined my 2010 volkswagen jetta sportwagen tdi

2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen Tdi

VIN# 3VWPL7AJ6AM693108

I am going to email you customer complaint center all of the work orders from the dealership to show proof of what I am telling you. I will make sure I email them to you as soon as I submit my complaint.

First let me start off by saying this is the worst experience I've ever had with Volkswagen and me and my family are VW fanatics, and then this happened. I am at a total loss for words, and now I am without a vehicle due to the service manager and his technicians negligence, and lack of professional mannerism, and let's not forget the technicians apparent lack of job training.

Before anything let me say what their idea of resolving the issue consisted of. It was anything they worked on will have in house warranty, they stated the terms of this condition will be 12 months or 12,000 miles and it was whichever one came first, and once that time frame hit whatever was broken was now in my hands as far as responsibility and/or cost remaining. However, I am not a permanent California resident so when I went back home and my car was needing attention I then could not have it fixed because I was in another state and another state I highly doubt is going to consider working on someone else's problem. To be honest I never want that dealership touching my car again. Every time they touched something went wrong and is was back in the dealership fixing repeating problems over and over again.

Here is a list in order from the day of the incident to current with that Dealership.

8/4/18- Brought car in for 120,000 mile service recommendation which consisted of oil change and timing belt service, paid $1,996.36 for service done. I picked up my car about two hours later from dropping it off. Car was picked up on 8/4/18.

After I picked up my car I then proceeded to drive myself to work, and it all happened while driving home from work. I was driving about 70mph on the freeway and all of a sudden my car stalled and would not restart. I then called a tow truck because I was stuck in the fast lane completely stopped and not going anywhere. When the tow truck arrived we drove to the dealership and dropped off the car and I was given a rental and I left. Luckily I have so much experience working in repair shops for about ten years of my life I already knew by the sounds of things what just happened.

8/7/18 They finally were able to get my car in the bay and begin to diagnose the problem and see what the cause of all this was. Tech stated that he found a broken bolt for the idler pulley to the timing belt system causing the belt to jump time and damage the cylinder head. The end result of this decided by the service manager mind you who was a real big mean not nice man, and wouldn't listen to anything I had to say nor would his technicians take anything I had to say with a grain of salt. I had begged them to do what I was asking but they refused. All I asked was if they could please just drop the oil pan and then do whatever else is needed to check and see if the valves are bent and were needing replacing which would mean the entire engine needed replacing, the tech responded to me and said dropping the oil pan wasn't necessary and that it "should be good" what in the good lord kind of answer was that, well I will tell you it was not reassuring at all and made me wonder what kind of guys we got working on our cars back there. So the tech working on the car stated that the end result was they were going to replace the cylinder head and all needed gaskets, seals, and hardware, and that the test drove the car and it drove and operated as designed. Car was picked up on 9/23/18.

Any real certified mechanic knows that when the timing belt comes off a car especially one that is a zero clearance engine that 100% of the time the valves are bent and the cylinder head is damaged and at that point you need a whole new engine, because if not fixed properly you will have major problems later on if not right after whatever repairs they have done. But the service manager and techs were refusing to do the correct and certified way of diagnosing a car when it is damaged like this, and the reason nobody wants to have to do the right thing is because, nobody is getting paid for the repairs done to my car because it was there negligence that put my car in the position it is in now, and so why would they want to work on it? That's a lot of work on something to get no money on, and not to mention the reason this happened was because the tech working on the car forgot to tighten the bolt there for it finally came all the way loose until it fell off and then damage down. Why are these techs racing through what jobs they do have and not insuring the work that they are doing is satisfactory, because I know if I was put in they're position I would be working on customers vehicles as if they were my own. So, if you cannot fulfill your job duties to there fullest potential then you shouldn't be working where you are, because then things like this happen. Lastly I would like to know if anyone was even reprimanded for this incident or was it just brushed off and I was looked at like the bad guy.

11/17/18- Brought the car in due to some type of fluid leaking. Tech confirmed my concern and told me that the oil return seal was leaking at the turbo. The service Dept. also stated that the repair will be done as a parts warranty and I was to return with the car on 12/4/18. Also if this repair was done under warranty then every thing should be on the dealership as far as cost goes, however they charged me $140.00 for the rental car they gave me yet it wasn't my fault that the car was in the shop again so why should I have to pay for the rental car. Then after they were all done were the car I noticed they had added something else to the work order. The tech stated that there was a smell coming from the oil leak on job A, so he checked and re-torqued the exhaust hardware. Car picked up same day 11/17/18

11/24/18- Brought car back to dealer because my car was still leaking oil. Tech stated that the oil leak was coming from the turbo oil return pipe, so they replaced all gaskets and the seal on the oil return pipe from the turbo cleaned up oil and test drove found no leaks. The Tech again stated that he could smell something coming from the oil leak on job A, so again he re-torqued exhaust hardware. This is and concern of mine was that when my car was in park you could here whistling noise and smell fumes on the outside of the vehicle. # D *Diag C was never looked at or diagnosed. It was put in the work order but nothing was ever made of it. I do not consider that professional at all. Car picked up on 11/28/18.

So far I've been in the dealership repeatedly for the same problem multiple times and they continue to fix it the same way each time, well, anyone in there right mind would know its insanity when you continue to do the same things over and over again expecting different results. Alright lets get to the rest of the story now.

They service department stated that they wanted me to come back in on 12/4/18 to install some parts, but I never received a phone call or even a call back and this was going on now for three days straight.

1/29/19- Brought car into dealership again, because while I was driving through town and out of nowhere the dash light for the glow plug was blinking repeatedly, and then my car just looses all power and stalls completely. When I arrived at the dealership the tech told me that they could not verify any of the faults that were popping up on the dash, and that they test drove the car, performed all GFF test plan and no faults stared. Could possibly be related to a fuel leak. The tech also found a vacuum line that was installed incorrectly due to it being installed backwards, so he removed it and reinstalled it correctly. I was curious how does one install a vacuum line on backwards, now that's one for the books. After that I then stated that I was smelling a strong odor of what may be exhaust, but they were unable to verify that concern as well. I then told them that the car continued to turn off on me while driving, and how dangerous that is considering its not only myself driving around in my car but its also my four year old son. Tech was again unable to verify my concern, and they did a leak test and the exhaust system has no leaks found. I then began to tell the tech the last three issues I was having with the car, and they were that the car would stall on me constantly, but the tech couldn't verify the concern but said that it was probably related to the fuel leak, so I proceeded to explain that I had noticed a leak on top of the valve cover, on the fuel pump, and on a hose under the engine, the results for this issue are that they cleaned the valve cover, and believe it was suspect residual oil/ fuel not leaking at this time the metering valve securing bolts were found loose on pump. The tech tightened the bolts and cleaned up any fuel and checks ok, Then the tech the oil leak found on the engine is probably residual from oil leak. Then my concern was that there was a leak coming from the throttle body, and so the tech confirmed my concern and replaced the gasket at the throttle body for the EGR pipe and checks ok.

2/12/19- Brought car to the dealership due to there being a fuel leak at the high pressure fuel pump, Tech states that the cause of this is due to the fuel supply line leaking, so there response to fixing the problem was to remove the temperature sensor and then reinstall it, and then stated that they replaced the high pressure fuel pump supply line and checks ok. My next concern was that there was smoke coming from the back of the engine and a exhaust smell and then the car would lose power, Tech stated that there were faults P00AF Turbo Boost Control Performance and P2563 Boost Control Sensor Circuit, test drove and verified the customers concern, performed GFF checked vacuum supply to the solenoid and actuator and it is now operating as designed, checked system for charge pressure leaks, found leak soot build up on waste gate arm of turbo, replaced the turbo and cleared the faults test drove and checks ok. Now if you noticed that's the second turbo I have had now. Car was picked upon 2/25/19.

4/13/19- Brought car to dealership because there was another oil leak coming from the cylinder head. Techs response was no active leaks found, normal seepage no repairs done. Clearly these mechanics don't have a clue because this car never had any seepage until they broke it and attempted to rig it back together. Then I stated that the DPF icon flashes when key is in cycle mode, Tech states that there are no warning lights on and no faults DPF system operating as designed, test drove engine and turbo operating normal. Car picked up on 4/9/19.

5/6/19- Brought the car to the dealership because the fuel system failed. Tech stated the high pressure pump confirmed customers concern, found fault codes for P0087 and P0191. Found TSB #23-17-06 relating to the concern. As per TSB checked the N290 valve, found excessive metal shavings on the valve and in the fuel pump housing. Got fuel sample and used VAS 6774 to test. Fuel passed with a happy face. As per TSB replaced the fuel pumps, fuel lines, fuel filter housing, fuel rail and fuel injectors. Drained out fuel from tank. Cleaned out the fuel tank, cleaned out lines to fuel tank, added new fuel. Vented fuel system and performed required adaption. After repairs vehicle starts and runs, cleared out faults and road tested the vehicle, checks ok. Car was picked up on 5/13/19.

8/26/19- Brought car into dealership due to the check engine coming on. Tech stated that they found a fault code and confirmed my concern, and that the fault code was P2015 Found intake manifold runner position motor to be the cause of the removed and replaced the intake manifold, Cleared faults and codes and test drove checks ok. I then stated to the tech that hot air was blowing out of my vents and that I could not get it cold, tech came back out and told me that the AC compressor had failed internally and caused contaminants in the system. He recommended that I replace the compressor receiver dryer and expansion valve with an AC system flush, which would cost me $2,000. But here is the kicker, I had my dad look at the car and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the compressor, somehow the AC system was filled up with too much freon so all that we did was release all the freon out of the system and then refilled to the recommend amount and it worked perfectly. So I would like to know why that tech was trying to sell me something that I did not need and especially for $2,000 because I do not have that kind of money, so makes me wonder how many customers are being lied to and taken advantage of and fooled into paying more than necessary, which is considered fraud.

11/11/19- car brought in due to the throttle body and the EGR pipe had a huge gap and it was getting so hot it was turning a copper color, there was also a leak at the cylinder head top of the head was leaking oil. Techs repositioned the hose between the throttle body and EGR pipe and then the confirmed my concern regarding the oil leak and found oil leaking from the high EGR assembly, so they just removed and replaced the high EGR, my next concern was that the turbo was not boosting correctly or at all for that matter and the tech confirmed my concern and stated that the turbo to take excessive time to boost, and he could also hear a whining noise coming from the turbo assembly, found the turbo assembly to be the cause. So they had to replace my turbo. Received car back on 11/20/19.

This is the end of the work done by Palmdale Volkswagen. However, I would like to have these issues resolved, because I am now currently without a vehicle due to the knocking sound the car makes because of the damage done to the valves in the beginning, and what I really don't understand is why not fix it right the first time instead of doing it your way which was completely wrong and done only half way, which doing it your way put me back in your shop pretty much every single month in an entire year. Makes no sense at all, and if for some reason this is not taken care of in a reasonable manner then I have no choice but to file a complaint with the Bureau Of Automotive Repair/ Complaint Intake Unit, and this complaint would be going straight to the Governor Gavin Newsom, and I truly thought with me being one of your valued customers as well as both my parents too. I truly believed that I would have been taken care of properly and treated with respect, but sadly it was the very opposite. Please do not take the things that I am saying as a threat by any means they are the complete opposite they are just promises to ensure that any wrongs made will be fixed and oil resolved where both parties will be satisfied. Even with all this said I still eagerly look forward to speaking with you and whomever else will be a part of this what I hope it to be a memorable moment in my life done by my favorite place of all time you guys.

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Alexis Hermann-Whitman

13504 N. Bermuda grass Ln

Rathdrum, Idaho 83858

Mobile # [protected]

Note: My fathers name is Michael Hermann, and he was the owner of the vehicle before I was so you will see his name on a good majority of the work orders and that is because I never changed the info over except for my email address and my phone number sometime during all this just recall exactly when. Just wanted to make sure you were aware so you didn't think this was some kind of scam or joke because you do not see my name but I will provide a picture of the vehicles title of ownership for you along with pictures of all work orders.