Cambelt policy changed by VW now 100,000 miles no age limit

[oilydavid]

Quite by chance I have discovered from my local VW dealer that their gravy train changing belts every 5 years has come to an end..it is now 100,000 miles with no age limit specified so make sure you dont get conned into an unecessary bill. Very few people in the general motor trade are aware of this change. I spent £800 having belt and water pump changed last year at 4 years old and less than 30,000 miles!!!

 

[Corradobrit]

Quite by chance I have discovered from my local VW dealer that their gravy train changing belts every 5 years has come to an end..it is now 100,000 miles with no age limit specified so make sure you dont get conned into an unecessary bill. Very few people in the general motor trade are aware of this change. I spent £800 having belt and water pump changed last year at 5 years old and less than 30,000 miles!!!

It was worse. Required every 4 years irrespective of mileage. Finally the ruse is up

 

[Ozzy Pete]

This has been talked about for a few months now. I took my van in for a minor service in march and £206 wasn’t enough for them they (Reminded) me that it was 4 years since my last cambelt/water pump change but only 7k miles. I think they wanted about £700 including the tensioner. I declined and only a month later they have the new directive Of 10 years or 120k miles. These amounts vary depending who tells the story.
what was once a nice little earner, is no more.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

Grrr I had mine done around 2 months ago and did question why they need changing every 4 years. They bleated on about it needs the same service regime as a transporter and there is nothing they could do to change the time scale. I also had to get this done to qualify for the All in one package to keep the full service history up. Most cars I have had are at least every 7 years or the 100K mark

 

[Daggartukvan1]

Quite by chance I have discovered from my local VW dealer that their gravy train changing belts every 5 years has come to an end..it is now 100,000 miles with no age limit specified so make sure you dont get conned into an unecessary bill. Very few people in the general motor trade are aware of this change. I spent £800 having belt and water pump changed last year at 5 years old and less than 30,000 miles!!!

Interesting info - do you know of any written documentation that owners could draw to the attention of dealers? Cheers.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

Could have been worse for me I suppose. They advised me that I didn’t need the water pump changing at the same time as I had a revised newer one in my Cali. That saved me a couple of hundred pound I imagine

 

[stationmaster]

Quite by chance I have discovered from my local VW dealer that their gravy train changing belts every 5 years has come to an end..it is now 100,000 miles with no age limit specified so make sure you dont get conned into an unecessary bill. Very few people in the general motor trade are aware of this change. I spent £800 having belt and water pump changed last year at 5 years old and less than 30,000 miles!!!

Excellent detective work Can you post a link to a VW official directive/web page - worth doing a screenshot, or printing this out to put in my/our California service file!

 

[WelshGas]

Excellent detective work Can you post a link to a VW official directive/web page - worth doing a screenshot, or printing this out to put in my/our California service file!

I presume the different milage are for use in harsh/normal conditions. No time limit just milage.

 

[Bobby D]

Finally aligned with Europe and Citroen etc. You do feel 40K in the UK was a slight scam

 

[stationmaster]

View attachment 113262

I presume the different milage are for use in harsh/normal conditions. No time limit just milage.

...or a carefully worded response that allows for the "old policy" (4 year 40,000 advice) and the "new policy" (10 year 100/120,000 advice). It is a shame as it serves to undermine confidence. Transparency is often best.

 

[WelshGas]

Finally aligned with Europe and Citroen etc. You do feel 40K in the UK was a slight scam

It was 80k miles or 4 yrs in the UK. It was the 4 yrs that caught out California/Campervan owners who generally do significantly lower milage than Transporters used for commercial reasons.
I had mine done 1st time at 4 yrs but I had also covered 80k miles. Next one was due about now having covered 123k miles now I can officially wait until 180k miles.

 

[stationmaster]

Finally aligned with Europe and Citroen etc. You do feel 40K in the UK was a slight scam

"slight scam"...can you have such a thing? Don't get me wrong, i have had three of these vans, and i've got a new one on order, but things like this serve to make me feel sad. The back up is not always there.

 

[WelshGas]

...or a carefully worded response that allows for the "old policy" (4 year 40,000 advice) and the "new policy" (10 year 100/120,000 advice). It is a shame as it serves to undermine confidence. Transparency is often best.

The old policy was 4 yrs OR 40k in harsh conditions or 80k in normal conditions.

 

[stationmaster]

The old policy was 4 yrs OR 40k in harsh conditions or 80k in normal conditions.

...so, as you say, the issue is mainly the years bit. Either way, it has been less than transparent.

 

[stationmaster]

It was 80k miles or 4 yrs in the UK. It was the 4 yrs that caught out California/Campervan owners who generally do significantly lower milage than Transporters used for commercial reasons.
I had mine done 1st time at 4 yrs but I had also covered 80k miles. Next one was due about now having covered 123k miles now I can officially wait until 180k miles.

...so you are doing a fair few miles in yours, have there been any significant component failures/issues? And who does your servicing/repairs? Good service?

 

[WelshGas]

...so you are doing a fair few miles in yours, have there been any significant component failures/issues? And who does your servicing/repairs? Good service?

Apart from an EGR replacement at 900miles/2 weeks due to an electrical fault only wear and tear. Brake pads and front discs at 75k miles.
South Hereford VW look after the van. It's a combined VW car/commercial dealership. 1 showroom and 1 workshop for all.

 

[stationmaster]

Apart from an EGR replacement at 900miles/2 weeks due to an electrical fault only wear and tear. Brake pads and front discs at 75k miles.
South Hereford VW look after the van. It's a combined VW car/commercial dealership. 1 showroom and 1 workshop for all.

You're light on the brakes Yes, i had an EGR on my T6, but other than that my (T5 and then a T6) have been fine. South Hereford is a little far for me to go, but a combined car/van dealership is probably a good thing.

 

[oilydavid]

View attachment 113262

I presume the different milage are for use in harsh/normal conditions. No time limit just milage.

The vw website is not clear but suggests its still 4-5 years and yet the dealer tells a different story for my Golf 100,000 no time limit!!! Vague statements about commercials are misleading and confusing VW really need to get there act together. I have asked my dealer to provide evidence of new policy and am going to challenge VW UK to give clarity for my Golf and California Ocean

 

[oilydavid]

Excellent detective work Can you post a link to a VW official directive/web page - worth doing a screenshot, or printing this out to put in my/our California service file!

 

[stationmaster]

Thanks for following up on this

VW California - All years of manufacture.

No time/years on road recommendations/requirement to change your cambelt.

Cambelt change recommendations/requirements are to be based solely on miles driven.

For a UK California what is the miles driven figure? Is it 100,000 miles?

 

[Corradobrit]

For a UK California what is the miles driven figure? Is it 100,000 miles?

Ultimately it should be a judgement call. Depending on usage, storage, location of use. I would get it inspected once in a while and then replace around the 75-80K mark, which is also a good moment to replace the water pump.
If the belt snaps and the engine is toast, VW will not be picking up the tab outside warranty.

 

[stationmaster]

Ultimately it should be a judgement call. Depending on usage, storage, location of use. I would get it inspected once in a while and then replace around the 75-80K mark, which is also a good moment to replace the water pump.
If the belt snaps and the engine is toast, VW will not be picking up the tab outside warranty.

Good advice.
I have sent an email to VW customer services to ask them for an additional confirmation on this.
An interesting development. Thanks to oilydavid for bringing it to our attention

 

[WelshGas]

Good advice.
I have sent an email to VW customer services to ask them for an additional confirmation on this.
An interesting development. Thanks to oilydavid for bringing it to our attention

Good luck with this. I've tried 4 times get automatic acknowledgement but no information.

 

[oilydavid]

Good luck with this. I've tried 4 times get automatic acknowledgement but no information.

 

[stationmaster]

View attachment 113336

View attachment 113336

This information is pretty clear, with some luck i will get a reply to my email too! Then we can be doubly certain