65 plate T6 California 204DSG with endless engine warning lights

[Hatbat]

I've had a range of engine fault lights on my T6 204 DSG which appear to be being hard to fix. It is currently having it's fourth stay at the garage.... which is an hour away.

Nov 30th - got the yellow coil light and also lost power whilst on the M4 - I expect this is limp mode as it wouldn't go over 2000 revs. Rang Cardiff VW as that's where I was who were unhelpful and advised VWassist and abandoning my 1 night escape. But by the time I had finished talking to them and restarted the van, the light had gone so I hoped for the best and carried on with my overnight trip to the Brecon Beacons. During this trip when idling in Park the engine kept on over revving.

9th - 15th Dec It then went to the garage twice. The throttle was said to be faulty and replaced and we got it back. 20 miles later the same issue recurred, yellow coil light and back it went. This time something to do with the pins of the throttle cable being an incorrect distance apart....

Late March after not using the van much over the rest of the winter, got the yellow coil light again and limp mode. Again we were recommended to abandon our trip and call vwassist. Back it went to the garage, who couldn't find anything wrong. I insisted that they kept it and drove it about to get the issue to recur. They eventually found something that was "out of range" which was the air intake flap, but that would take a few weeks to get the part in. We were also told that we could carry on driving it & ignore the light.

We have since had a couple of trips in which we have experienced what is now a range of warning lights - the coil, engine management, front assist and ESP. I can't say I have much confidence in it which is hugely disappointing for such an expensive vehicle.

It is currently back at the garage who are also dealing with at least one recall item too. After the various fixes they have noticed that it continues to idle with the revs too high and are now investigating that too. I have very little confidence they have a clue what the underlying problem is... and wonder if this saga will ever end. It's miserable being told on about 50% of your trips in your new van that you should abandon.

Any thoughts?

 

[T6 Dave]

Escalate to vw UK..

 

[T6 Dave's Dad]

@Hatbat if you haven't spent a lot of money on additional extras or modifications you should give serious consideration to rejecting the vehicle and demanding a replacement.

 

[Davenjo]

Does this sound like a similar problem to that reported on some 150 DSGs?

 

[Roadrunner]

Mine always seems to be idling a little high but apart from that I'm happy with the way it runs

 

[Hatbat]

The only modification to standard is a tow bar. I don't think it has reached the reject point yet but it's getting that way.

As it happens I also had a truly atrocious dealer experience buying it ex demo, the only reason I didn't make an official complaint was because we went to Scotland for a month and I was chilled out when I got back. I'll have to stick to buying cheaper vehicles...

 

[T6 Dave's Dad]

@Hatbat Please forgive my atrocious manners in not welcoming you to the Forum where you will find many lovely peeps only too willing to help and advise if asked .

 

[DaveyB]

Wow @Hatbat you must have the patience of a saint. Reckon I'd have lost the plot by the second occasion. I am getting so fed up with hearing about the problems other folk are having with these vans. Like many say, they are not cheap, but VW don't seem to give a toss that we make so much more out of them than your average builder who throws tools and bricks in them all day long.
The manufacturers attitude is one of "it's a van, what's it matter"!
The problem is they've got away with lying to people for years, been found out and it's hardly dented their reputation as they carry on as normal. Any decent company found shafting millions of customers would at least be apologetic and bend over backwards to kiss up to their loyal followers. VW just seem to be raising a middle finger to all those poor souls who are finding some significant issues with these T6's.
Anyway, I really hope you get it fixed, and if not you reject it and get a full refund for being sold one of many lemons.

 

[Hatbat]

The other thing I forgot to mention was when the VW dealership it was at suggested that it was doing all this work as a gesture of goodwill.....on a 16 month old vehicle. Which did make me see red.

 

[T6 Dave]

Hmmm not good that... Think I'd have lost it at that point..

 

[T6 Dave's Dad]

The other thing I forgot to mention was when the VW dealership it was at suggested that it was doing all this work as a gesture of goodwill.....on a 16 month old vehicle. Which did make me see red.

Cheeky f***ing b*****ds! They will be being paid under warranty by VW. I would report that little comment to HQ VWCV and express your dissatisfaction with the Dealership, especially if it is the one that you purchased from.

 

[former member]

I had a load of issues with our last van - a T5.1 180 California.
Get onto someone senior at VWCS but also at the dealership chain - a least the Dealer Principal. You need people that can make decisions not some script reading goon. Make it clear it's not good enough but don't get angry (easier said than done). Mention this forum and their Facebook page - no one likes a social media sh*t storm.
"Suggest" a solution but don't force it; demanding a replacement probably won't happen and won't get you very far BUT it's absolutely not good enough and you need looking after.
Clock mileage and lost hours; don't give them a bill but mention the amount of wasted time/fuel.

This should get you somewhere - I got us a years warranty extension and they ended up delivering courtesy cars to us. We sold it in the end but the warranty helped.

 

[rmo69]

@Hatbat I found myself in very similar circumstances with a '66 plate 150 DSG, including some genuinely appalling dealership behaviour. I was given a VWCS contact who, in fairness, was a nice bloke, but he had less technical knowledge than i did. You are right to have no confidence in the dealership sorting the problem out, as all they do is plug the thing into their system and it gives a test plan. If there's no test plan there's no fix and they end up just blindly swapping parts if an effort to get something to stick. I demanded to see the head of business at my dealership, told him I wasn't prepared to put up with it anymore, and to my astonishment, he didn't put up a massive fight. Got a replacement on order as I write this, and hopefully that will be that. @Polzeylad is right, head to the top of the dealership with thinly veiled, calmly delivered threats of creating a real racket. I think this is your best shot at a happy ever after.