Trying to get a virtual second opinion on a repair quote - a mechanic tells me that the center support bearing is gone - and that there's no aftermarket (OEM) parts available for this - the assembly has to come from the VW dealer - and that parts on this runs about $1000 - couple hunderd more for the labor - make sense?
Thanks!
BTW - I checked the VIN with VW and there are no recalls or extended warranty provisions for this car.
Googled around, couldn't find an aftermarket part. Did see a reference to Colorado Drive Shaft
Todd
Yikes! A "tough" SUV has a critical drive-line failure at a mere
80,000 miles???Here are my questions/concerns:
"A mechanic" - not VW? A failure of this nature would have me on the phone to the VW Zone manager as quickly as I could find the number. And I would want that diagnosis in writing from VW before I acted on it.
Have you in any way abused the vehicle, towed too much weight, overloaded it or anything of that nature? Have you 'bottomed' it on rough terrain? Has it been in an accident? If the answer is -NO- to the above, then this failure flatly should not have happened at least in my opinion. Although even a minimum of research shows that these bearings are failing in some quantity worldwide at a range of about 70
- 100 miles, so yours seems to fall right in that area. VW had better do something about this - it is an egregious design flaw that a critical part should fail so quickly.
My feeling when it comes to the Touareg (apologies in advance) is that it is a particularly ill-conceived vehicle well past its time, over priced and under-tough but nicely polished on the surface. The M-Class Mercedes is superior in every way including price, the Volvo XC70 is far more practical, burns regular gas, and so forth. Both have drive- trains that will last at least several times that 80,000 miles with no trouble at all - from direct experience. Both will go well in all but 'stupid' weather and driving conditions, and both will handle all but 'stupid' off-road situations - also from direct experience.
Good luck with it. Be tough. Be assertive and direct. VW should not get away with this if it is a common defect - worse if the replacement part is identical and 'unimproved'.
Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
These bearings are prone to failing, some as early as 20K. VW parts catalog does not have the bearing, entire driveshaft must be replaced.
Thanks for the information - bottom line, VW Worldwide checked the VIN and there have been no recalls or warranty extensions.
I didn't have the time for an extended battle over the issue with VW - we needed the car for work on a daily, right-away basis.
The car hadn't been abused or bottomed out - we had the mechanic get the part from VW and do the repair work.
Thanks!
No reason you can't chase them after the fact. That this bearing seems to have a considerably history of vastly premature failure as compared to its peers from other marques is more than sufficient grounds for you to be as persistent as may be required. The fact that it cannot be replaced except as part of a larger (and more expensive - therefore more profitable) assembly is piss-poor planning from VW - at their customers' expense. Either way, VW should step up to the plate and make good on this part.
Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
I have to defend Mother Volkswagen here. The fact that they don't stock the bearing as a separate part has nothing to do with "piss-poor planning". Take a look at where the bearing is on the shaft. It's in the middle of the shaft with larger diameter components on either side. The only way to replace it is to cut the shaft, replace the bearing, reweld the shaft and rebalance it - hardly something that a typical repair shop is going to do. Yes, it would be nice if they used a heavier-duty bearing that would last longer.
See picture here, bearing is just to the left of the letter V:
Todd:
WOW!
You do miss the point.
Either the shaft should have been designed so that the bearing was replaceable - OR, perhaps, as you suggest, the bearing should have been designed to handle the anticipated load. Ideally, both.
These sorts of things are why engineers get the big bucks - to plan them out. So that such failures should not be 'discovered' on the backs of their customers. Further to that *when* such discoveries take place Mother Volkswagen ought to step up and *FIX* it.
Repeat: Piss-poor planning. Add: Piss-poor response to the results of piss-poor planning.
The OP's bearing is not the first one of its kind to have failed. It is apparently endemic to the species.
Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
YIKES!
First, excuse if this is a repeat - I posted earlier to an apparent black hole.
"Mother" VW designed this shaft as an integrated system not able to be repaired easily. They could have a) designed it so that the bearing was repairable as a single piece or b) specify a much heavier bearing to justify the design as-built, or c) preferably both.
"Mother" VW has many, many engineers on their payroll to anticipate this sort of thing and plan for it. The OP's bearing is only one of a great many also suffering from premature failure, some much sooner than his. To-date, Mother has done nothing about it other than sell lots of replacement parts to her sucker..., uh, customers.
Repeat:
Piss-poor planning, piss-poor response to premature failure.
I wonder if their recent design is any different for this part? Apparently not - listings all show "2003 and up".
It would be bad enough if this were a low-end VW, but for it to be in their TOL entry (of the time) is unconscionable.
Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.