Hello,
I bought a new 1600 VW Golf SE in the summer of 2001 from a main dealer in Glasgow. After approx 16000 miles, on the M74 on the way to my wedding, the engine decided to pack up - completely. The error message was "Emission workshop" and the yellow engine light came on.
The car was duly towed to Dumfries, where the diagnosis was that constant misfiring had eventually caused the number 1 piston to deteriorate to the point of failure. At the speed I was travelling (motorway speeds), the damage was devastating. The main dealer there replaced the short block while we were away on honeymoon. Unfortunately when they replaced the unit, they did not set the engine mounting gaps correctly and sliced into a number of cooling system hoses.
About half a dozen trips to my local dealer in Glasgow and the problems were sorted. Or was it? Just this morning on my way to work, the same "Emissions workshop" error message and the yellow engine light came on. The car felt like it was running on three cylinders and I managed to park the car up close to the train station. I guess the lower speed meant that the engine didn't do itself as much damage as before.
It has been more than a year since the first engine replacement, and more than three years since I bought the car. Where do I stand? Do I have any comeback against VW? I feel that there was something obviously wrong with the car when it left the factory - and obviously the repair done after the first breakdown did not solve the problem.
This was the first car I had bought new, and I went for a VW because I intended to keep it for a long time. Certainly longer than three years!
Best regards
Neil