NHTSA Complaint #10956215 — 2009 VOLKSWAGEN GTI

FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, I NOTICED OCCASIONAL MISFIRES UPON STARTUP AND ACCELERATION. THEN, THE VEHICLE BEGAN RUNNING LOUDLY AND CONSUMING A LOT OF OIL. THE VEHICLE ALSO SHUDDERED WHILE DRIVING. ONE MORNING, THE CAR SHUDDERED AND BUCKED WHILE I ATTEMPTED TO START IT, AND ULTIMATELY FAILED TO START AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THIS IS NOT A BATTERY ISSUE; THE BATTERY IS ONLY A FEW MONTHS OLD AND WAS TESTED IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS (HOLDS CHARGE AT 100%). I HAVE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO TWO MECHANICS AND THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE LEADING TO CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. ACCORDING TO THE FIRST MECHANIC, THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED FOR APPROXIMATELY $4500. ACCORDING TO THE SECOND MECHANIC, THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER NEEDS REPLACING AND THE TOP HALF OF THE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED, LEADING TO A QUOTE OF $2800 FOR REPAIR. THE MECHANIC STATED TO ME THAT HE HAS ALREADY PERFORMED APPROXIMATELY 8 OF THESE REPAIRS ON VOLKSWAGENS IN THE LAST YEAR AND DIRECTED ME TO INVESTIGATE A PENDING NEW JERSEY LAWSUIT AGAINST VOLKSWAGEN FOR THE SAME ISSUE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMON COMPLAINT. IF MY ENGINE HAD FAILED WHILE AT SPEED ON A ROADWAY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.