NHTSA Complaint #11104184 — 2012 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED (COMMON ISSUE WITH VW TSI ENGINE) AND CAUSED AN INTERFERENCE WHICH RESULTED IN A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE ENGINE DURING A REGULAR ENGINE START-UP. THIS ISSUE HAPPENED AT ABOUT 115,000 MILES AND RESULTED IN AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY AND WAS WORKING PROPERLY EARLIER IN THE DAY. THE CAR WAS UP TO DATE WITH ALL RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE/ SERVICE TASKS. UPON SEARCHING THE WEB, IT WAS NOTED THIS WAS A COMMON ISSUE TO A POINT THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL SITES THAT OFFER "KITS" TO REPAIR THE ENGINE (JUST SEARCH "TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER ISSUE + VW TSI" ON GOOGLE). ONE EXAMPLE OF SUCH SITE IS THIS ONE: HTTPS://WWW.SHOPDAP.COM/BLOG/2-0T-VW-AND-AUDI-TSI-TIMING-CHAIN-TENSIONER-PROBLEMS.HTML THIS FAILURE RESULTED IN A REPAIR JOB OF OVER USD 5000 TO REPLACE THE ENGINE ON A RELATIVELY NEW CAR THAT SUPPOSEDLY HAS A TIMING CHAIN SYSTEM THAT SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE ENGINE. THIS IS A KNOW ISSUE TO VW AS THEY HAVE UPDATED THE TENSSIONER DESIGN. I WISH VW WOULD HAVE ISSUED A TSB/ RECALL TO UPDATE THE TENSIONER TO THE LASTED DESIGN AND PREVENT SUCH FAILURE.