Worth replacing chain tensioner in a 59 vRS 2.0 tsi as precaution?

[liquid ideas]

So having read quite a few horror stories about the chain tensioner failing which results in a new engine being required i'm considering changing mine as apparently the updated ones hopefully fix this issue. My car has only covered 24k miles and was just recently serviced by Skoda, no issues at all so far but hearing these thing things does cause some concern. I have an extended warranty through the Skoda dealer but its not a Skoda warranty as I was led to believe but a third party one. Past experiences with these type of companies is not good so i wouldn't rely on them to foot the bill if a failure were to occur.

Anyone done this or know how much it should cost?

[brown_d9]

After having suffered from the dreaded tension failure, I can see your logic.

My question would be, if you were to pay for a new tensioner to be fitted, which subsequently failed at some time in the future, would Skoda have to replace your entire engine as part of the warrantly claim for the faulty tensioner?

[Gazman]

I've got a 57 pre FL 1.8TSI with 55'000 miles on the clock and someone else mentioned to me the same thing, makes me wonder how often they go, and is it worth the cost of replacing the tensioners if just say 1 in a 1000 fail...Alternatively would i reduce the chances of the problem occuring if i switched from Flexible to fixed yearly servicing, i do about 10'000 miles a year..

Edited 13 February, 2013 by Gazman

[brown_d9]

My car had been serviced every 10,000 miles with the very best oil (3 services a year minimum with my mileage)

The fault with the tensioners is of a mechanical nature, no amount of servicing would or could stop them from failing.... Just a **** poor design.

[D@z]

IIRC you get 2 years on parts with Skoda, so if you were to replace it and it fails, surely that has to be worth something

[liquid ideas]

Im going to speak with the Skoda garage and see what they say regarding their liability if it does fail. Will keep you posted

[Zillio]

Why is this not a recall? Because the issue is to rare to justify it? Why should the customer foot the bill for damage caused by a design flaw?

[DGW]

HS Tuning in the States does a kit consisting of OEM parts which gives some idea of cost.

http://www.hstuning.com/product_info.php?products_id=3619

And this is an interesting thread on timing chain failure:

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46284

[JB-)]

I've had concerns about this but you have to remember just how many of these engines are out there. I don't that it's a high percentage of them failing. If it does it's sheer bad luck. Put it in perspective, timing belts that have been changed as recommended can still fail.

Rather than replace the tensioner I took out an extended warranty, which has the obvious benefit of covering other components at the same time. I emailed the company first, and asked if this specific failure would be covered. They said it would be so I took out the policy.

[Gti Jazz Blue]

Yes the odds are fairly low to you getting a failure that takes out the engine, but that is no consolation if you are the poor sod facing a 5K bill to replace the engine because they got the design of a £50 part wrong.

If the odds are that low of a failure it wouldn't cost the VW Group that much to underwrite the issue and take the worry aware from TSi owners.

[rob_e]

Why is this not a recall? Because the issue is to rare to justify it? Why should the customer foot the bill for damage caused by a design flaw?

I think there have been about five failures reported on the forum IIRC? Skoda have fut the bill 100% where the cars were still under warranty as far as I can see and on mine they paid the majority of the cost under goodwill as I was out of the warranty period but had a full main dealer history.

Having said that if I had an early car out of warranty it would seem a good idea to upgrade to the later design.

There is no way vag would do a recall on all of these engines if the failure rate is so low.

[JB-)]

Yes the odds are fairly low to you getting a failure that takes out the engine, but that is no consolation if you are the poor sod facing a 5K bill to replace the engine because they got the design of a £50 part wrong.

If the odds are that low of a failure it wouldn't cost the VW Group that much to underwrite the issue and take the worry aware from TSi owners.

You could say that about every component on the car. They provide a warranty, like every other manufacturer. Once that warranty has expired, it's down to the owner, like every other manufacturer. If the turbo collapsed and the engine ate half of it you might be looking at similarly expensive issues. Turbos have been know to fail sooner than you might expect, but I'm not going to go replacing it every 20k just in case it does.

[Gti Jazz Blue]

Yes but the crux of the issue here is that they got the design wrong, it is clearly evident that we are on the third version of the part.

[JB-)]

Yes but the crux of the issue here is that they got the design wrong, it is clearly evident that we are on the third version of the part.

Also the same as scores of other components. You'll find that when you buy new parts they are quite often a later part number and are modified in some way.

[PC1212]

As the owner of said engine, I have searched the net for this problem and can find nothing that causes me alarm...

I imagine that the replacement tensioner fitted would be quite a price and possibly money would be better spent on a warranty?

[JB-)]

As the owner of said engine, I have searched the net for this problem and can find nothing that causes me alarm...

I imagine that the replacement tensioner fitted would be quite a price and possibly money would be better spent on a warranty?

I haven't looked in to how much the tensioner costs but I would imagine to have the job done would be at least £200 probably more. My warranty was £930 for 3 years. This is quite a lot of money I know, but it covers every component of the car, including for premature wear.

[PC1212]

I haven't looked in to how much the tensioner costs but I would imagine to have the job done would be at least £200 probably more. My warranty was £930 for 3 years. This is quite a lot of money I know, but it covers every component of the car, including for premature wear.

Is it transferable if you sell it on, and who is it with ?

Just had a look at warranties ....£700 for two years seem best I can get for my 4 and half year old 1.8 Tsi

I NEVER trust warranties as they always try an wriggle out of it, you need to keep your nerve especially if your car is dead and you need it repairing

Not sure a warranty is a good idea on this car as the problem is very very rare...

[JB-)]

Is it transferable if you sell it on, and who is it with ?

Just had a look at warranties ....£700 for two years seem best I can get for my 4 and half year old 1.8 Tsi

I NEVER trust warranties as they always try an wriggle out of it, you need to keep your nerve especially if your car is dead and you need it repairing

Not sure a warranty is a good idea on this car as the problem is very very rare...

Yes it's transferable to the next owner, or you can transfer it to your next car. Mine is with Warranty Wise. I did a lot of reading and as expected you can find stories of people having claims rejected, but the positive ones outweigh the negative.

I emailed them and specifically asked about cover for the tensioner issue, and also the mechatronic on the DSG, despite both being known to fail. They told me that both would be covered so I took out the policy.

The warranty does cover everything except trims. All mechanical and electrical items are covered, including for premature wear. Admittedly their idea of premature and mine may differ, but it's there. They also replace things in pairs, so if a spring breaks, they replace both sides.

[liquid ideas]

I spoke with the after sales manager this morning at Sibury Skoda in Cramlington near Newcastle. Basically my warranty is a Skoda approved warranty so would cover this type of failure. He hasn't had any failures come through their dealership and they have sold a few TSI vRSs. His advice was not to worry about it as I'm covered, the cost of doing the work would be in the hundreds with the labour rates a main dealer charges. So for now I'll leave it but it still hasn't alleviated my concerns that my engine could destroy itself with no warning.

[rob_e]

Also might be worth checking with skoda the build date when the octavia got the revised part?

[Gazman]

I'm sure i asked this recently however where can i see the build date in the car ?

[DGW]

The production date for mine is on the vehicle data printout - ie list of all PR numbers (option codes) - which i asked a dealer for.

[JB-)]

I'm sure i asked this recently however where can i see the build date in the car ?

I tried to find this for mine but still don't know. Skoda UK were no help.

[liquid ideas]

On the alternator side of my engine there is a sticker on one of the covers which has 01/09/09 on it. Maybe the engine build date?

[MrMatt]

My 59 plate VRS TSI engine failed today. I have owned the car for less than 3 weeks. The dealer I bought the car from have been very good so far so fingers crossed there. I was only reading this post last night and was going to get the tensioner replaced/upgraded very soon. With mine it takes the engine failures to 6. I am amazed that skoda have not said something about this potentially expensive issue. I will keep you updated on how it goes and also what will need replacing.