Driver's side rear shock absorber (O/S/R) failed..again!

[Astonbarlow]

Hi all,

Recently I had to have my aircon sorted due to the annoyingly common problem of the clutch plate spline wearing away too easily. Anyway, I took it to my local garage to be repaired and they noticed quite abit of oil leaked down the drivers rear shock.

Now my car is a 63 plate with 55,000 miles on and has adaptive chassis, so its not a nice cheap shocker (£240 for the part from the stealer)! Annoyingly the same damper has been changed not too long back, actually just about 12 month ago by VW as the previous one failed.

So my question is that now i'm out of warranty, do I stand any chance of getting a repair/goodwill out of VW for a component that has failed again when the other 3 are still original? Id accept wear and tear if it was the passenger rear damper, as at 55,000 I could sort of expect it. But for the same damper to fail again and before the passenger side has failed once, id be reluctant to say that's the cause. Has anyone had any issues with the active dampers? Also does anyone have the part number for the active dampers for a DSG diesel roc?

Cheers all!

[Steffydog]

Yep, I'd deffo go back ASAP and state the issues, and the last repair.

[Gaz r]

All genuine VW parts fitted by a main agent are covered for 2 years from fitment I believe. You should be covered.

[Cuprabob]

As above, all genuine VW parts carry a 24 month warranty.

You can get part numbers from here
http://www.oemepc.com/vw/main_group/mar ... 651/lang/e" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Don't know if it's still the case but the adaptive shockers are only available from dealers or TPS

[Astonbarlow]

The shock absorber was fitted durIng the manufacturers warranty and the website states that the 2 year parts and labour isn't covered because of that annoyingly. I've found the part number now, I used the link above, the adaptive shocker is 1K0513046F. I keep seeing a P/N that is 1K0512010H for sciroccos but the link above doesn't recognise it. Got the car booked in for Friday to get checked out by VW. Had a lie under earlier and the drivers side rear looks significantly more worn and rust compared to the passenger, quite strange seen as it's 3 years younger!

[Cuprabob]

Ah...if it was replaced under the manufacturer's warranty then the warranty on the part expires with the manufacturer's warranty, as you say.

[Astonbarlow]

Yeah it's abit of a nuisance. I'll see if I can gain any goodwill from them but just have to see how it goes. Usually I'm quite keen on changing both dampers on the axle but after recently paying for the air con to be sorted running short on funds to pay for both sides!

[Cuprabob]

I would be pushing hard to get some sort of goodwill. The sad thing is, if you were allowed even to pay just 1p towards the replacement it would have been covered by the 2 year warranty.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Harry_VW]

interesting. My drivers side rear shock is leaking a small amount of fluid

[Astonbarlow]

If it's leaking at all I'd get it checked out and fixed. Last thing you want is any additional damage because you've left it. Usually if the seal has broken its game over for the damper and you'll need a new one.

[Harry_VW]

I was actually told it was leaking by VW when it went in for some warranty work and they did one of those walkaround videos. They said it was fine?

[Astonbarlow]

That's really strange, I've never heard of a leaking damper being classed as fine. Actually as an MOT guideline it's a failure if oil residue can be seen on the damper.

Anyway, I have some sort of good news! After an inspection by VW were they confirm its pretty much gone. They let me know that it was £320 to repair. No goodwill, no warranty... but was told to ring VW directly. I did that and they instantly said it has nothing to do with them when the car isn't in warranty but told me that the service assistant should never have passed me there number and should have assisted me better. They contacted the bloke and I got a phone call around 10 mins later with him telling me he will speak to the service manager. This morning I got an email stating that the are willing to pay 50% and I'll pay £160 total for the repair, and as I've paid I will also get 2 years parts and labour warranty, which I'll probably need at this rate! So I suppose a good end all in all!

I would say though, my job specifically is a component test engineer, and for a damper to fail at less than a year old on 9000 miles is awful. Inwould tend to expect dampers to last a minimum of 60,000 even on our shitty roads, as the tests for them are full stroke harshness test. I did a little research into the monroe stuff and they are not very well respected for quality, so it's a shame that VW took that route, especially with adaptive suspension when the other companies lean towards Bilstein.

Ah well I hope it's just a one off and other people don't have ridiculously early failures! Cheers for the input guys!

[Cuprabob]

I'm glad you got some sort of resolution you were happy with.

[xjay1337]

I'm on 180k with OEM DCC dampers without any issues and no leaks.

[Astonbarlow]

I wouldn't say happy, more gutted! Just fixed the aircon and now this damper. I was planning on re-mapping the car with that money but will have to wait again! Maybe one day it'll get mapped...

180K on originals! Some good going that, hopefully I can make the rest last that long!