Seven problems related to timing tensioner have been reported for the 2010 Volkswagen GTI. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Have a Gti where there is a known issue with the timing chain tensioner failing. Vw recommends replacement of these parts which cost over $1300. There is a service bulletin for this issue. And of course vw knowing this was a problem changed the design in newer cars.
Vehicle was purchased from a Volkswagen dealer with 61557 miles and maintained through service at dealership including regular oil changes. Less than two years later, at roughly 106,000 miles the timing chain tensioner failed randomly while driving resulting in valve damage and ultimately full engine failure. Vehicle was coming out of a turn at approximately 24 mph, safely in 3rd gear, and failed about 2 seconds after throttle was applied. No possible warning from vw or their service techs and no scheduled maintenance interval for this part. Had this happened in a more traffic filled area, there may have been a very high chance of a collision or other safety concern.
The timing chain tensioner slipped and blew the cams. The clutch was also bad. Every person I talked to when I had to buy a new engine knew that vw Gti or golfs had this notorious issue. We had only owned the car for 9 months and had to buy an entire new engine because of this problem that everyone in the car industry knew about already.
I was driving in traffic when the engine started to run rough and loud. I had to pull over and turn it off. When trying to turn it back on it started up and continued to run rough. I had the vehicle towed to the shop. When they looked at it they told me the engine needed to be replaced due to the timing chain tensioner failing. When I asked about when I was supposed to have this service done they told me its not listed in the owners manuel or at any service interval up to this point. The part is not on any list of service for the car yet failed at 93k miles. Vw should issue a recall for this problem because they didn't report it to me as something that could break. I was told when I bought the car that the timing chain and tensioner should last the life of the vehicle which should be much higher then 93k. This is a common issue in all vw tsi engines and can happen as early as 40k, vw needs to fix this and warn existing customers.
Vehicle was stationary and parked. It would not start. The engine tried to turn over but would not stay running. It was taken to a Volkswagen dealer service department for diagnosis. The result is a timing chain tensioner failure and very large $2200 repair fee with the potential for a significant rebuild of the engine if more damage is found. After some research it appears that this is a known design issue with the tensioner part and there is a technical service bulletin (TSB 1512-01) issued for it but no recall. It is very like to occur for all Volkswagen models with the 2. 0 tsi engine produced between 2008-2013. This could have been life threatening if the failure had occurred while the vehicle was in motion, especially at higher speeds.
Timing chain tensioner failure - the car was parked for the night. In the morning I went to start it. I would not start. There were no lights or error codes. Towed to the dealership. The dealership stated zero compression and bent valves. They stated I need a new engine. 7400. 00 called vw of american. They offered no help what so ever. Volkswagen of America just keeps stating the car was out of warranty. There is a TSB, multiple complaints on the internet regarding tiguans, Gti's and passats. This engine has had this problem happening for years from 2008 to 2013 vw will not accept any responsibility.
Vehicle was running very rough. Hard to start. Had it towed to north penn vw. They diagnosed it as a defective timing chain tensioner. Two managers and a tech said the part failed and it should not have. They said it was of no fault of my own. They suggested I contact vw since it was a defective part. I did and they said they would not be able to help me since it out of warranty. It is a known problem on all 2010 vw's. The dealership admitted it and there is a service bulletin(TSB) addressing the exact part.