The Itty Bitty NOVA VW Committee

[D_Eclipse9916]

More details later, but the GTI continues to be an absolute monster on the track. I started having brake issues in my last two sessions, but letting my brakes cool off help. I was wondering how they were getting so hot, and it seems it's because they were SUPER THIN. As I was leaving the track, I heard the brakes and new either my pad had fallen apart, or I was rubbing metal on metal. Got home and pulled off the pads....



Anyway, my year GTI (2018 SE) has unique brakes as far as GTIs go. This is because the 2018 Golf R and higher trims of GTI share the same brakes. I'm having a very hard time finding anywhere that says that replacement pads for this car even exist. I don't know anything about Golf Rs. Does anyone know if the Golf R has used the same brakes 15-18?

FYI based on that pad, you have destroyed your rotors as well.   I suggest if you keep going down this path you get a sperate set of front pads and rotors for tracking and another set for daily.  Slapping some race pads on the stock rears should be fine.

[Senor_Taylor]

More details later, but the GTI continues to be an absolute monster on the track. I started having brake issues in my last two sessions, but letting my brakes cool off help. I was wondering how they were getting so hot, and it seems it's because they were SUPER THIN. As I was leaving the track, I heard the brakes and new either my pad had fallen apart, or I was rubbing metal on metal. Got home and pulled off the pads....



Anyway, my year GTI (2018 SE) has unique brakes as far as GTIs go. This is because the 2018 Golf R and higher trims of GTI share the same brakes. I'm having a very hard time finding anywhere that says that replacement pads for this car even exist. I don't know anything about Golf Rs. Does anyone know if the Golf R has used the same brakes 15-18?

FYI based on that pad, you have destroyed your rotors as well.   I suggest if you keep going down this path you get a sperate set of front pads and rotors for tracking and another set for daily.  Slapping some race pads on the stock rears should be fine.

I inspected the rotors and they don't look great, but not unsafe. I do not plan to DE this car anymore after this event, but if I do, I'll get new rotors too. For now, I'm just calling the dealer and getting part numbers for the pads and going from there.

[rherold9]

Shout-out to your brake fluid for holding it down. Rip your pads and rotors!

[.RJ]

https://media.vw.com/en-us/releases/1075/

Golf Alltrack
The 2019 Golf Alltrack is available in three trims—S, SE, and SEL. The S trim adds standard Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Monitoring (Front Assist), Blind Spot Monitor, and Rear Traffic Alert.
SE models offer an available Driver Assistance and Appearance package, which includes Lane Keeping System, (Lane Assist), Park Distance Control, Parking Steering Assistant (Park Assist), High Beam Control (Light Assist), LED headlights with the Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS), auto-dimming rearview mirror, and 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels. The top-of-line 2019 Golf Alltrack SEL gains a six-speed manual transmission.

Well thats interesting.  I thought the seats in the S/SE blow goats and were a big reason I passed on buying one of these last year - the SEL gets something closer to a GTI seat with real bolsters and support.  

Also needs this... https://www.goapr.com/products/turbo_18t...0_mqb.html

[Sijray21]

You sure about the SEL Alltrack seat bolstering? I didn't think the seats were different than the lower trims aside from the 12-way power adjustment. The LED headlights are a must because the halogens are abysmal for light output.

That 6yr/72k warranty would be nice in a top trim model though. I hear rumors that vw won't be making the wagon golf in the near future and switch to more suvs...

ninjaedit: if you're going to tune or IS20 the thing you may want to save up for a clutch replacement

[Senor_Taylor]

Okay. Update. I nutted up and spent money on pads from the dealer. I spoke to a lot of people who source parts and no one was sure what would fit my car except EBC and StopTech, which I wasn't too keen on. I don't plan on Tracking the GTI anymore (hopefully) and these pads did VERY well and never faded, so I think it's a safe bet to throw them on.

I'll report back if they don't fit, but I'll post the part numbers here:
Front: 8vo-698-151-c
Rear: 1k0-698-451-k

ECS claims these fit the A3, the M7 GTI, Mk7.5 GTI and the Mk7/7.5 Golf R. This would imply the PP from the Mk 7 has the same calipers from the Golf R, which I don't think is right. VWPartsVortex lists these pads as "Description:
Golf R. GTI. With r. With performance brakes." Oh well. Let's see if they fit.

Also checked and my head unit screen is in, so I'll schedule yet another dealership visit to have that installed. I need to leave my car overnight so they can witness the seizure inducing flickering/flashing my LED map lights do when the car is ice cold. Not sure when I'll have time to do that. Do I have any recourse here? Can I write a letter to VW explaining how much trouble this car has caused me? I like the car and would buy it again (I think) given the chance to do everything over, but I feel like I want at least like a free hat or something for my trouble.

- Taylor

[Jake]

What happened to the extensive list of pads that FCP sells? Seems like there are two rotor sizes and you pick the pad that fits your rotor, no?

Given all the things you've mentioned seem to be annoyances (which, should be made right regardless) and not affecting drivability, I don't think you'll get very far with VW. They're fixing stuff at your request under warranty which is exactly what they should be doing. If you needed a loaner car at any point, I would suspect they could put you in one. I've had to take the F150 in a few times and don't expect a thing beyond the dealer making it right.

[Senor_Taylor]

What happened to the extensive list of pads that FCP sells? Seems like there are two rotor sizes and you pick the pad that fits your rotor, no?

Given all the things you've mentioned seem to be annoyances (which, should be made right regardless) and not affecting drivability, I don't think you'll get very far with VW. They're fixing stuff at your request under warranty which is exactly what they should be doing. If you needed a loaner car at any point, I would suspect they could put you in one. I've had to take the F150 in a few times and don't expect a thing beyond the dealer making it right.

Sure these sites list them as fitting my car, but nothing is definitive. My car is completely out of commission until I get brakes on it, so I don't really have the time to risk getting the wrong pads and waiting another week for another set.

Also, as I've already said, there's not enough data out there to take a gamble on pads I don't know anything about. Who knows how these pads will behave. Will they be better than the Audi Performance pads already on the car? Will they be better and destroy my rotors and be trash in 10,000 miles? The VAG pads are a known good product.

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[Sijray21]

Also checked and my head unit screen is in, so I'll schedule yet another dealership visit to have that installed. I need to leave my car overnight so they can witness the seizure inducing flickering/flashing my LED map lights do when the car is ice cold. Not sure when I'll have time to do that. Do I have any recourse here?

I'd ask the dealer for a loaner. If they're doing warranty work on your car and you are without it for a day i'd expect this. We got one for work on my wife's car when warranty work was done. All the warranty work done by Stohlman VW was close enough to work that i just dropped it off early and picked it up at the end of the day through use of their shuttle service. Lindsay VW was the only place that ever needed it for more than just a day for either of our cars and they didn't hesitate to give me a loaner at my request (that they obviously would pay for). I think the loaner thing is dealer-dependent in terms of how easy it is to get one.

[Senor_Taylor]

Also checked and my head unit screen is in, so I'll schedule yet another dealership visit to have that installed. I need to leave my car overnight so they can witness the seizure inducing flickering/flashing my LED map lights do when the car is ice cold. Not sure when I'll have time to do that. Do I have any recourse here?

I'd ask the dealer for a loaner. If they're doing warranty work on your car and you are without it for a day i'd expect this. We got one for work on my wife's car when warranty work was done. All the warranty work done by Stohlman VW was close enough to work that i just dropped it off early and picked it up at the end of the day through use of their shuttle service. Lindsay VW was the only place that ever needed it for more than just a day for either of our cars and they didn't hesitate to give me a loaner at my request (that they obviously would pay for). I think the loaner thing is dealer-dependent in terms of how easy it is to get one.

They've denied me on loaner cars multiple times now. Maybe I'll make a big fuss this time and see. I usually drop mine off and walk to work, but there aren't many days in a row where I don't need a car. I'm playing with fire DDing the E30 with people scheduled to come look.

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[Apoc]

FWIW, my VW doesn't do loaners either.

[.RJ]

You sure about the SEL Alltrack seat bolstering? I didn't think the seats were different than the lower trims aside from the 12-way power adjustment.

Base/SE



SEL

[ViPER1313]

Back when I had my VW, loaners were only given if the car was going to be kept overnight.

[Senor_Taylor]

I'm going to call and pitch a fit, but I am getting tired of bringing it in for issues and being told they aren't issues. Or telling me they're ordering parts and either not doing it, or not ever telling me they came in.

Examples:
Took the car in for clutch squeak, speaker rattle, map light issues, and some other things. I was told these are all not issues. I doubled down on the speaker when I took it back later and they said they'd order a speaker. They never contacted me again, and I had moved to another dealer, so I gave up on that.

I checked with Stohlman as well and make a note of the speaker rattle and map light flicker almost every time I take it in and they claim they can't reproduce it even though the lights flicker like a fucking rave party whenever I leave work. I don't want to leave my car over night because they refuse to give me a loaner.

So this time around, I give up on those and tell them that my head unit is missing a column of pixels. It's so noticeable that it's a joke they would say this. Tyler got in my car without knowing and pointed it out within 15 seconds. The service advisor calls me and says they don't see an issue. I get mad and tell them I'll walk over there right away and show them. He immediately backs off and says they'll order a screen. I go to pick up my car and look at what the service advisor wrote and it says "CS screen is fading". Are you fucking serious? I didn't say anything even remotely close to that. I told him specifically " There is a vertical column of dead pixels an inch from the right side of the screen". I hate those guys.

So they never call me back about the screen. I had to ask the parts guy when I got the pads and he said it had been in. So now I'm scheduling yet another appointment and I'm going to raise a fit because I want the speaker and light issue fixed. I get in the car and turn the speakers up and point out the rattle to people and it's very obvious. However they refuse to let me demo anything. Why?

[JustinG]

Go to a different dealer again? Aren't there like 80 up there?

I drive 30 minutes for the Mazda, cause the dealer 15min away was hot Garbage on Casey's CX7.....cracked cam, over filled oil, etc, etc.

[Apoc]

Welcome to working with dealers?

[.RJ]

take it to VW corporate and stop letting these dipshits ignore you. hammer them on the surveys.

[Sijray21]

As inconvenient as Lindsay is for you they've been great to me and both of our vws.

Plus you bought the car there, right? They may treat you better.

[ViPER1313]

Taylor’s experiences mirror my own. Having a warranty to cover stuff seems perfect until you constantly have to leave your car at the dealer, the dealer techs can’t reproduce reported issues or the dealer hassles you on issues they can reproduce but don’t feel like repairing.

I found it easier to buy a car that worked.

Edit: although, in fairness, my issues were slightly more severe than Taylor’s.... like the car was leaking transmission fluid from the case halves and the car would just fail to start when it felt like it.

[ViPER1313]

For the lights flashing, can’t you record a video to show the dealer?