AA Zone

I've just had to replace the engine on my VW Golf 1.4 2003, despite having it regularely serviced and the day after I had booked it in, the following week, for a cambelt change at a conservative 50,100 miles despite the Owner's Handbook service recommendation stating 'inspect cambelt at 60,000 miles and take action accordingly...'.

The AA Breakdown towed me to my garage, advising me that it was highly likely the car had suffered cambelt failure. I actaully filmed my mechanic removing the cambelt cover and was amazed to see mutliple shards of plastic fall out, but that the cambelt was intact, albeit with burred teeth.

Honest John's website and blogs advise that this is a 'known problem' with VW 1.4 & 1.6 engines, because instead of using industry standard metal pulleys on the tensioner, VW in Germany decided to use cheaper plastic ones which have proven not to be durable. After a number of years, the plastic deteriorates and can shatter, causing the cambelt to skip and catastophic engine failure. Instead of recalling all affected vehicles to rectify the desing fault, nor writing to all Golf owners, VW instead issued new Cambelt Service Instructions in 2007 stating the belt has to be changed after 4 years regardless of mileage (the belt, which also means the faulty tensioner) so if you only do 2,000 miles a year, after 8,000 miles, you have to go through the expensive task of changing the belt (and therefore duff tensioner) to conceal the inherent design fault - WORSE, the new tensioner pulley IS STILL MADE OF PLASTIC, SO IS NOT DURABLE PAST 4 YEARS OLD! VW in Bristol serviced it just before it was 4 years old and they failed to change the cambelt, so they will be joining the party to explain themselves.

When I complained to VW Head Office and asked them to advise me in writing why they had subsequenly changed their manufacturer's service advice, they said it was to "improve customer service and they reserve the right..." etc etc not answering a simple question- i.e. CLEARLY, IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM, but they must have worked out financially it is better to deny any complaints and hope the victims go away and forget their thousands of pounds loss! VW's arrogance is overwhelming...

If you have a circa 2003 1.4 & 1.6 VW Golf, Polo are other derivative, please check you have changed your cambelt at 4 years old or get your garage to check it immediately

Has anyone had similar experience, as I am going to take VW to the Small Calims Court on this, with the evidence I have? Can anyone recommend a Consulting Engineer with experience of this particular design problem, to provide me with an Expert Technical Report to present as evidence when I go to court?

hi ,

a few months ago my girlfriend get a VW gOLF 1.4 from her parents as a gift.
car was 6 years old with regular service every year.car had only around 40,000 miles.
car had suffered cambelt failure and we replaced the engine.it cost me 1800 euros.

only good thing was that motor died after she came back from 2000 miles trip to italy and back,just a mile away from our apartment.it didnt died on motorway.

vw sucks!!!