Had enough of the mk5 after less than a year!

[r5gtt]

Just discovered that the alarm siren no longer works too.

My old £300 banger Celica worked better!

Consider yourself lucky and the cars still running with no engine faults. 
Internal batteries in VAG car alarms leak acid and burn the internals and they fail. mine isn't working but boight one off a member so will fit that in due course. should have bought a new one £38 with extended wiring to relocate the alarm.

[ReflexRob]

It's a good job it is a damn fine car to hussle along when it is working well!

Lots to do but hopefully it will stay fixed when I'm finished!

[pudding]

It's all part of the fun, surely?

I've replaced the dv, pcv, cam follower, cam belt & water pump, it's going in for a new clutch and flywheel in a week or so, and I haven't even had the car a year!

I try to keep my cars as long-term projects, so 5 years at the very least. For me, all these jobs are just part of the bigger picture in eventually getting to the point where it looks good, handles like it's on rails, goes like a stabbed rat, stops well, and of course is clean, tidy and reliable.

It'd be great if the whole of my budget went on upgrades and shiny bits, but that's just not the way it is unfortunately.

If I wanted a car I could just get in, drive, and not worry about maintenance, I'd have bought a brand new far eastern sh*tebox with a 9000 year warranty.

That just doesn't appeal to me though.

Agreed.  I used to look forward to things breaking so I can fix them     Not so much anymore as things are harder to get at these days.  It's almost like VW (and other car makers for that matter) just tipped a load of bits into the hole and slammed the bonnet down.  Job jobbed. Next.

I don't understand the poor German quality / design comments tbh.  VW don't make chains or thermostats, or any of the engine bits.  They literally just cast the block and head and assemble components bought in from OEM suppliers.  It's not their fault a chain made by JWS wears out, or a chain tensioner made by INA fails, or a damper made by SACHS wears out, or bushes made by Febi perish etc etc

Any car is only as reliable as the maintenance and care it receives.  I've seen my fair share of Japanese car failures over the years too. It's not just German cars.

[ReflexRob]

It's all part of the fun, surely?

I've replaced the dv, pcv, cam follower, cam belt & water pump, it's going in for a new clutch and flywheel in a week or so, and I haven't even had the car a year!

I try to keep my cars as long-term projects, so 5 years at the very least. For me, all these jobs are just part of the bigger picture in eventually getting to the point where it looks good, handles like it's on rails, goes like a stabbed rat, stops well, and of course is clean, tidy and reliable.

It'd be great if the whole of my budget went on upgrades and shiny bits, but that's just not the way it is unfortunately.

If I wanted a car I could just get in, drive, and not worry about maintenance, I'd have bought a brand new far eastern sh*tebox with a 9000 year warranty.

That just doesn't appeal to me though.

Agreed.  I used to look forward to things breaking so I can fix them     Not so much anymore as things are harder to get at these days.  It's almost like VW (and other car makers for that matter) just tipped a load of bits into the hole and slammed the bonnet down.  Job jobbed. Next.

I don't understand the poor German quality / design comments tbh.  VW don't make chains or thermostats, or any of the engine bits.  They literally just cast the block and head and assemble components bought in from OEM suppliers.  It's not their fault a chain made by JWS wears out, or a chain tensioner made by INA fails, or a damper made by SACHS wears out, or bushes made by Febi perish etc etc

Any car is only as reliable as the maintenance and care it receives.  I've seen my fair share of Japanese car failures over the years too. It's not just German cars.

I think it is VW's responsibility to pick and choose robustly manufactured parts from other suppliers, certainly to test them before adding them to their cars. No doubt things like chain tensioners aren't actually made by VW but VW ultimately carry the success of reliability ratings on their products as a whole, not just parts. Lets put it this way, if camshaft followers wearing through after 25k and destroying camshafts is the fault of the independent supplier parts then VW should test alternative suppliers parts otherwise it makes them look bad.
There is nothing in the service book saying that you should replace the follower every 25k yet we have all seen on here that unless you check you could land yourself with a massive repair bill just because you ran your car to maintenance schedule guidance for 50k. That is not acceptable in the slightest.

This 2.0 TFSI engine is not ground breaking technology. It is pretty straight forward in design. Aside from the cam follower issue you have the carbon issues with the valves getting coked up. Pretty poor design in my opinion to have to de-coke a 2005 vehicle! Another £250 spent on a so called well designed reliable vehicle.

Every manufacturer has its faults I agree but the Mk5 GTI seems to have a lot for a mass produced non-ground breaking engine.

Coming from another German brand I am surprised by how fragile these cars seem to be.

[glasgowdubber]

I worked out the other day I've spent close to £1300 since December putting the car I bought for £5,500 right. I suppose it's to what level you want the car to be right, some people turn a blind eye to stuff aslong as the car runs from A to B, unfortunately for you and me, sounds like both our previous owners were these kinda people.

[Juliand]

It's all part of the fun, surely?

I've replaced the dv, pcv, cam follower, cam belt & water pump, it's going in for a new clutch and flywheel in a week or so, and I haven't even had the car a year!

I try to keep my cars as long-term projects, so 5 years at the very least. For me, all these jobs are just part of the bigger picture in eventually getting to the point where it looks good, handles like it's on rails, goes like a stabbed rat, stops well, and of course is clean, tidy and reliable.

It'd be great if the whole of my budget went on upgrades and shiny bits, but that's just not the way it is unfortunately.

If I wanted a car I could just get in, drive, and not worry about maintenance, I'd have bought a brand new far eastern sh*tebox with a 9000 year warranty.

That just doesn't appeal to me though.

Agreed.  I used to look forward to things breaking so I can fix them     Not so much anymore as things are harder to get at these days.  It's almost like VW (and other car makers for that matter) just tipped a load of bits into the hole and slammed the bonnet down.  Job jobbed. Next.

I don't understand the poor German quality / design comments tbh.  VW don't make chains or thermostats, or any of the engine bits.  They literally just cast the block and head and assemble components bought in from OEM suppliers.  It's not their fault a chain made by JWS wears out, or a chain tensioner made by INA fails, or a damper made by SACHS wears out, or bushes made by Febi perish etc etc

Any car is only as reliable as the maintenance and care it receives.  I've seen my fair share of Japanese car failures over the years too. It's not just German cars.

I think it is VW's responsibility to pick and choose robustly manufactured parts from other suppliers, certainly to test them before adding them to their cars. No doubt things like chain tensioners aren't actually made by VW but VW ultimately carry the success of reliability ratings on their products as a whole, not just parts. Lets put it this way, if camshaft followers wearing through after 25k and destroying camshafts is the fault of the independent supplier parts then VW should test alternative suppliers parts otherwise it makes them look bad.
There is nothing in the service book saying that you should replace the follower every 25k yet we have all seen on here that unless you check you could land yourself with a massive repair bill just because you ran your car to maintenance schedule guidance for 50k. That is not acceptable in the slightest.

This 2.0 TFSI engine is not ground breaking technology. It is pretty straight forward in design. Aside from the cam follower issue you have the carbon issues with the valves getting coked up. Pretty poor design in my opinion to have to de-coke a 2005 vehicle! Another £250 spent on a so called well designed reliable vehicle.

Every manufacturer has its faults I agree but the Mk5 GTI seems to have a lot for a mass produced non-ground breaking engine.

Coming from another German brand I am surprised by how fragile these cars seem to be.

My thoughts exactly. Only 3 weeks in and I'm wondering if I've made a wise purchase! I don't do many miles and only time will tell

[r5gtt]

Vw have expensive parts and even the lower mileage ones have failed something or another on them, eg cv boots common for splitting, console bushes engine mounts and dog bone bushes perishing cracking. dv splitting, pcv failing, rusty wings or starting to rust nymore?. that's what I've had when I bought my 67k motor Jan 2015 10 years on so I'd expect that although should have all been done by the garage but was never done. apart from the pcv and alloy refurbishment. £7000 k plus what I've spent call it 8k on and the cars still very strong and running well.

Regards what parts they use, they don't care as theyll always sell and people love the cars regardless.

[Beej]

I don't even want to think at money I've spent, included in amongst it is a mechatronics! Still annoyed at the clunkyness of the box, more so when cold. Engine issues are another matter!

[r5gtt]

@Beej have you checked all your mountings?.

I get a slight clunk but have since stopped worrying after fitting the dog bone insert and still to fit the vibra technics torque link bush dog bone smaller bush. hopefully get the bigger one at a later stage when funds permit. £175 odd so have to be patient. 

[Beej]

@Beej have you checked all your mountings?.

I get a slight clunk but have since stopped worrying after fitting the dog bone insert and still to fit the vibra technics torque link bush dog bone smaller bush. hopefully get the bigger one at a later stage when funds permit. £175 odd so have to be patient.  opcornsoda:

I have a dogbone insert in place, and the gearbox mount and engine mount both seem to be in good order. It's more so when cold, so I couldn't see why it would be a mount really

[r5gtt]

@Beej have you checked all your mountings?.

I get a slight clunk but have since stopped worrying after fitting the dog bone insert and still to fit the vibra technics torque link bush dog bone smaller bush. hopefully get the bigger one at a later stage when funds permit. £175 odd so have to be patient.  opcornsoda:

I have a dogbone insert in place, and the gearbox mount and engine mount both seem to be in good order. It's more so when cold, so I couldn't see why it would be a mount really

Have you taken the mounts off to check for play in them?. When I had similar issues with my gears even the twatty stealers missed it but I finally got around to taking the gear box side off and found ridiculous amount of play in it and after replacing it stopped the nasty jerking and now my gears and car feel a lot more sturdy and less jerky.

[Beej]

@Beej have you checked all your mountings?.

I get a slight clunk but have since stopped worrying after fitting the dog bone insert and still to fit the vibra technics torque link bush dog bone smaller bush. hopefully get the bigger one at a later stage when funds permit. £175 odd so have to be patient.  opcornsoda:

I have a dogbone insert in place, and the gearbox mount and engine mount both seem to be in good order. It's more so when cold, so I couldn't see why it would be a mount really

Have you taken the mounts off to check for play in them?. When I had similar issues with my gears even the twatty stealers missed it but I finally got around to taking the gear box side off and found ridiculous amount of play in it and after replacing it stopped the nasty jerking and now my gears and car feel a lot more sturdy and less jerky.

Mmm, I did price a genuine mount, but was then advised to rock the engine to check for play, and the engine is pretty solid when trying to rock it. I don't really want to take it off as I would need to buy bolts first, as they are stretch bolts aren't they?

[r5gtt]

@Beej have you checked all your mountings?.

I get a slight clunk but have since stopped worrying after fitting the dog bone insert and still to fit the vibra technics torque link bush dog bone smaller bush. hopefully get the bigger one at a later stage when funds permit. £175 odd so have to be patient.  opcornsoda:

I have a dogbone insert in place, and the gearbox mount and engine mount both seem to be in good order. It's more so when cold, so I couldn't see why it would be a mount really

Have you taken the mounts off to check for play in them?. When I had similar issues with my gears even the twatty stealers missed it but I finally got around to taking the gear box side off and found ridiculous amount of play in it and after replacing it stopped the nasty jerking and now my gears and car feel a lot more sturdy and less jerky.

Mmm, I did price a genuine mount, but was then advised to rock the engine to check for play, and the engine is pretty solid when trying to rock it. I don't really want to take it off as I would need to buy bolts first, as they are stretch bolts aren't they?

Yes they are stretch bolts but I've reused mine and they don't seem to be causing any trouble. torque them down properly and try not to over tighten them and you'll be fine.

[Beej]

The gearbox mount I'm sure was coming in at 80 odd quid from tps I'm sure.....more costs...

[r5gtt]

Yes this is correct and always more costs buddy always it's a golf 

I'm going to save for the vibra technics mounts now as I'm looking for firmness and not worried about a little extra vibration  .