blinker_fluid
New member
I got this 2014 GTI 6 months ago. 65,000 miles on it. My first "new" VW so I admit I'm not the most knowledgeable about it. I did a manual carbon cleaning, had the injectors professionally cleaned, replaced the spark plugs and coil packs, and several other minor things. But as you can see if you look at my previous post here, I was still chasing some misfires. Nothing I found online pointed me to the timing chain. Nobody I talked to mentioned the chain as a possible culprit for misfires. I even brought it to a local Volkswagen mechanic (VW master technician - decades of experience) who told me that there was nothing wrong with the car, despite the misfires. Then, last night, it started very hard and would barely stay running. The car was shaking. The CEL was blinking. I checked the codes - P0016.
So after reading some horror stories about the P0016 code, and given how the car is running, I'm certain that the timing chain skipped a tooth. The fact that it still ran (terribly, but still) tells me that maybe it only jumped 1 tooth and MAYBE the engine isn't trashed.
Also, the first thing that I did when I bought this car 6 months ago was take it to the local VW dealership and asked for a used car inspection. They told me it needed things like a break fluid flush, a new oil pan... but they said nothing about the timing chain or tensioner. I have the printout from that inspection (it doesn't specify that they were checked, but it doesn't say anything about them being bad). And, again, I took it to a local mechanic and pointed out the misfires, and he told me that the car was fine. Of course, I didn't get that in writing, so that's not going to get me anywhere.
So what would you do if you were in my shoes? Even though I knew it wouldn't do any good, I called my insurance company who told me to file a claim before letting anyone do any work on it. And I called VW of America, who started a case and told me someone would get back to me on Friday. But I don't expect them to go out of their way to help either. I figure if I try blaming the mechanic or the dealership for missing the signs of the timing chain/tensioner wearing out (the misfires) they'll tell me to take a hike. I feel like I don't have much of a leg to stand on with the mechanic, and I doubt the dealership would willingly do anything for me.
Also, would you even bother putting money into trying to fix this engine, even if it shows no signs of damage? Or would you automatically go for an engine swap? I saw another post where a guy paid for the new chain and tensioner (which wasn't cheap labor) because he couldn't find any signs of damage, and he still had to swap out the engine later because problems kept coming up.
Thanks.
So after reading some horror stories about the P0016 code, and given how the car is running, I'm certain that the timing chain skipped a tooth. The fact that it still ran (terribly, but still) tells me that maybe it only jumped 1 tooth and MAYBE the engine isn't trashed.
Also, the first thing that I did when I bought this car 6 months ago was take it to the local VW dealership and asked for a used car inspection. They told me it needed things like a break fluid flush, a new oil pan... but they said nothing about the timing chain or tensioner. I have the printout from that inspection (it doesn't specify that they were checked, but it doesn't say anything about them being bad). And, again, I took it to a local mechanic and pointed out the misfires, and he told me that the car was fine. Of course, I didn't get that in writing, so that's not going to get me anywhere.
So what would you do if you were in my shoes? Even though I knew it wouldn't do any good, I called my insurance company who told me to file a claim before letting anyone do any work on it. And I called VW of America, who started a case and told me someone would get back to me on Friday. But I don't expect them to go out of their way to help either. I figure if I try blaming the mechanic or the dealership for missing the signs of the timing chain/tensioner wearing out (the misfires) they'll tell me to take a hike. I feel like I don't have much of a leg to stand on with the mechanic, and I doubt the dealership would willingly do anything for me.
Also, would you even bother putting money into trying to fix this engine, even if it shows no signs of damage? Or would you automatically go for an engine swap? I saw another post where a guy paid for the new chain and tensioner (which wasn't cheap labor) because he couldn't find any signs of damage, and he still had to swap out the engine later because problems kept coming up.
Thanks.
