Fuel pump disintegrated

[Mrs J.H]

My cali is 8 years old but has only done 50,000 miles. it died on my hubby last week, got towed by a very helpful AA recovery guy to our local garage they are vw approved but not main dealer. AA guy & garage both said fuel pump has disintegrated. AA guy said shouldn't happen at only 50,000. Repair bill by local garage £4,400 to include new cam belt and genuine vw parts or £3100 for Bosh parts. Breeze main dealer quote £7000 cam belt not included! We would normally insist on genuine parts but now unsure due to hefty costs. Have logged a call to VW service centre to see if they will pay any goodwill contribution towards it, as its only done 50,000. Having to wait til Monday for call back, but we may have to pay for it to be transported to Breeze for further investigation. Has anyone had this problem? what would you do pay the local garage or hold out for main dealer to maybe get any goodwill payment & warranties that main dealer should issue??????

 

[Lightning]

My cali is 8 years old but has only done 50,000 miles. it died on my hubby last week, got towed by a very helpful AA recovery guy to our local garage they are vw approved but not main dealer. AA guy & garage both said fuel pump has disintegrated. AA guy said shouldn't happen at only 50,000. Repair bill by local garage £4,400 to include new cam belt and genuine vw parts or £3100 for Bosh parts. Breeze main dealer quote £7000 cam belt not included! We would normally insist on genuine parts but now unsure due to hefty costs. Have logged a call to VW service centre to see if they will pay any goodwill contribution towards it, as its only done 50,000. Having to wait til Monday for call back, but we may have to pay for it to be transported to Breeze for further investigation. Has anyone had this problem? what would you do pay the local garage or hold out for main dealer to maybe get any goodwill payment & warranties that main dealer should issue??????

£7000 for a fuel pump? What else are they replacing? Is there valve damage or something? This sort of thing makes me reluctant to own this van out if warranty.

 

[MartG]

Wow, for a fuel pump!...Am I missing something? I'd have expected about £150 + fitting... Why the cam belt change?

 

[WelshGas]

Wow, for a fuel pump!...Am I missing something? I'd have expected about £150 + fitting... Why the cam belt change?

Unfortunately Direct Injection Diesel fuel systems are a little more involved. They run at very, very high pressures and if the pump fails then the injectors etc: have to be checked and possibly replaced. The High Pressure pump can generate upto 2000 Bar pressure.

Not like the old days I’m afraid.

 

[KGCali]

Sounds like the pump disintegrating may have done major damage to the engine at that repair cost but you could get a quote from http://www.dieselbob.co.uk/index.aspx as they can rebuild most fuel pumps. They have had good reviews on other T4/T5/T6 forums so worth getting a quote

 

[AlanC]

Were the cambelt and water pump replaced at 4 years? If not then the garage may well be wanting to do this because
a/ it is well overdue
b/ it may have been overstressed by the fuel pump failure.

None the less that is usually around £400 mark. It doesn't account for the rest of the £4K. Labour will be expensive as I guess it is a time-consuming rebuild.

Alan

 

[MartG]

I had assumed the pump at the tank end, not the one mounted on the block, which I'm guessing is cam belt driven...
Searching online, the pump cost is at least over £1k from aftermarket suppliers.

Does this mean that the pump is also a replacement item on a time / mileage criteria? or just a bit of bad luck...

 

[WelshGas]

I had assumed the pump at the tank end, not the one mounted on the block, which I'm guessing is cam belt driven...
Searching online, the pump cost is at least over £1k from aftermarket suppliers.

Does this mean that the pump is also a replacement item on a time / mileage criteria? or just a bit of bad luck...

Judging by posts on other Forums “ Bad Luck “ I’m afraid, but prolonged periods of inactivity may not be helpful.

 

[WelshGas]

Hpfp Failed. Vw Want Nearly £6k

3 weeks ago my van failed to start. Vw assist came out, diagnosed and no fuel pressure at the injectors or high pressure fuel pump. I know the hp fuel pump failed and they are the single most unreliable thing in today's cars. Transported to vw in Notts. It took them 3 weeks to get a fuel...

www.t6forum.com

 

[MattBW]

An independent VW garage may be able to do the job cheaper, it is rather an eye watering bill.

 

[Mrs J.H]

£7000 for a fuel pump? What else are they replacing? Is there valve damage or something? This sort of thing makes me reluctant to own this van out if warranty.

Price includes: HP & LP Fuel pumps, All Injectors, tank out & full system flush. Cambelt for good measure. Labour is approx 25 hours!
Told common causes are: Miss fuelling or running system dry. Although we haven't done either of these but purchased van at 2 years old!!

Will keep you updated

 

[Lightning]

Price includes: HP & LP Fuel pumps, All Injectors, tank out & full system flush. Cambelt for good measure. Labour is approx 25 hours!
Told common causes are: Miss fuelling or running system dry. Although we haven't done either of these but purchased van at 2 years old!!

Will keep you updated

It’s like a delicate experimental prototype not yet ready for release to the public. If you simply run out of fuel or put petrol in it by mistake you get a £7k bill.
The cost of a serious failure like a cam belt snapping must be truly astronomical.
I feel your pain.

 

[Lightning]

If VW won’t contribute to the repair, if it was me I would opt to use the Bosch parts. This may be where VW source their parts from anyway, and if not, the VW part disintegrated so the Bosch part cannot be any worse. I would certainly not be paying £7k+ to contribute to the upkeep of a VW gin palace.
I’m annoyed about this on you behalf!

 

[westfalia]

Will keep you updated

I wouldn't be too hasty to make a decision.
First see what the consensus is on here.


7k

 

[Volkywagen]

You will get a Replacment re con engine fitted for less than 7k

 

[jts46]

Does she mean "water pump"

 

[MartG]

Does she mean "water pump"

No, I think it is something like this - https://www.pfjones.co.uk/volkswage...rds-new-delphi-diesel-fuel-pump-28472762.html

 

[Eber123]

Good morning,

I am sorry to hear of the problems and the cost to fix it.

Now and then it comes up that some repairs of the California are catastrophical high - more than a normal household can (easily) afford. Obviously, this is very annoying. I expected that the Volkswagen Transporter is not only a very reliable machine, but that the cost of repairs (that includes service and wear and tear) is affordable. Howelse could a small one person craftsmen survive? If an electrician or plumber is confronted with this kind of repair bill, how can he manage? First, I bet the van is gone for a week or longer (because it is a repair out of warranty a replacment vehicle is charged) and second out of the blue paying EUR 8K is unaccaptable.

Are these only the "rare" cases that come to light because they are so bad, or are there more? If it is more, is the Volkswagen Transporter the best base vehicle for a camper? I wonder if the situation with Fiat, Renault or Mercedes is differently?

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[Lightning]

Good morning,

I am sorry to hear of the problems and the cost to fix it.

Now and then it comes up that some repairs of the California are catastrophical high - more than a normal household can (easily) afford. Obviously, this is very annoying. I expected that the Volkswagen Transporter is not only a very reliable machine, but that the cost of repairs (that includes service and wear and tear) is affordable. Howelse could a small one person craftsmen survive? If an electrician or plumber is confronted with this kind of repair bill, how can he manage? First, I bet the van is gone for a week or longer (because it is a repair out of warranty a replacment vehicle is charged) and second out of the blue paying EUR 8K is unaccaptable.

Are these only the "rare" cases that come to light because they are so bad, or are there more? If it is more, is the Volkswagen Transporter the best base vehicle for a camper? I wonder if the situation with Fiat, Renault or Mercedes is differently?

Regards,
Eberhard

I also wonder if the repair bill VW charge for transporter vans is the same as they charge for Californias.

I would also be questioning if all that work is really essential. It may what is recommended, but the injectors and LP pump may not actually be damaged. Is there any way of replacing the HP pump, flushing the system and trying it without risking further damage?

 

[Loz]

I think the problem is that if the HPFP breaks down and small metal parts get everywhere, the fuel system circulates back to the tank so contamination goes around and around the system.
Any garage doing the work has to provide a warranty for the work done so they obviously want to be thorough.

 

[WelshGas]

I also wonder if the repair bill VW charge for transporter vans is the same as they charge for Californias.

I would also be questioning if all that work is really essential. It may what is recommended, but the injectors and LP pump may not actually be damaged. Is there any way of replacing the HP pump, flushing the system and trying it without risking further damage?

See my post above from T6 forum. Same costs. Not a common problem but it happens. If a VW dealership does the work then you get a 2 yr warranty on the parts and 1 yr on the work. Not so if using an independant or non-VW parts.

 

[WelshGas]

Good morning,

I am sorry to hear of the problems and the cost to fix it.

Now and then it comes up that some repairs of the California are catastrophical high - more than a normal household can (easily) afford. Obviously, this is very annoying. I expected that the Volkswagen Transporter is not only a very reliable machine, but that the cost of repairs (that includes service and wear and tear) is affordable. Howelse could a small one person craftsmen survive? If an electrician or plumber is confronted with this kind of repair bill, how can he manage? First, I bet the van is gone for a week or longer (because it is a repair out of warranty a replacment vehicle is charged) and second out of the blue paying EUR 8K is unaccaptable.

Are these only the "rare" cases that come to light because they are so bad, or are there more? If it is more, is the Volkswagen Transporter the best base vehicle for a camper? I wonder if the situation with Fiat, Renault or Mercedes is differently?

Regards,
Eberhard

My neighbour with a Fiat based motorhome would say it is exactly the same if not more so and a much smaller independent network.

 

[jts46]

Could it be the lack of use, (120 miles weekly)? On average . Could the pump have seized due to this. After all the transporter is a commercial vehicle

 

[Legin]

Im assuming this is a 2.0 engine and not the 5 pot. The HPFP is a well known issue for failure , the v6tdi has v twin version on about its 4th redesign. Really think your being bent over by the indy and the main agent. If its the CR 2.0 single cylinder then I would have the pipes flushed and filters replaced then fit a new HPFP max £1500.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

I washed the van a bit this afternoon and thought about this issue.

In german camper van magazins I can read that people went onto a huge journeys to really remote areas. Those VW Transporters have 250k or even over 350k on the clock. That all seems no bother (of course if the service is done). But those VW vans are T3 or T4.

Could it be that the modern engines are more compliated because of consumption and emissions? To meet the targets manufacturers have to do a lot (including software). Because of this the reliability is not as high as it was before.

Regards,
Eberhard