NHTSA Complaint #10549663 — 2008 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

MY TIMING CHAIN JUMPED TIMING AT 74K MILES. THIS CAUSED THE PISTONS TO HIT THE VALVES AND CAUSED $6K WORTH OF DAMAGE. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THERE WAS NOTHING PREVENTATIVE I COULD HAVE DONE. THEY ACTUALLY CONTACTED VW TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD DO TO HELP WITH THIS ISSUE. INITIALLY, THEY OFFERED TO CONTRIBUTE $1,000 TOWARD REPAIRS. I CONTACTED VW BECAUSE I SAW 2 SEPARATE SERVICE BULLETINS ON THIS MODEL REGARDING THE TIMING JUMPING. MY TIMING JUMPED DUE TO A FAULTY TENSIONER. WHEN I SPOKE WITH VW, THEY DIDN'T EVEN OFFER THE $1,000 ANYMORE AND SIMPLY GOT THE DEALERSHIP TO REDUCE REPAIRS BY 15%, THIS WAS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE CONSIDERING A) THEIR TENSIONERS ARE FAULTY AND ARE CAUSING CONSUMERS TO SPEND OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY ON REPAIRS B) THIS IS NOT A NORMAL WEAR-AND-TEAR REPAIR FOR THE AGE AND MILEAGE OF THE CAR, PER THE DEALERSHIP. THE FAILURE OF THE TENSIONER CAUSES A JUMP IN TIMING WHICH IMMOBILIZES THE CAR, WHICH IS DANGEROUS IF THE CAR IS OPERATING AT THE TIME. IT IS COSTLY BECAUSE IT CAUSES SIGNIFICANT ENGINE DAMAGE. SEE SERVICE BULLETIN NO.: TB-15-12-01 SERVICE BULLETIN NO.: TB-15-11-04 . *TR