# cam follower problems



## vw131999 (May 4, 2011)

Went to the dealer today because loosing power and found this, now their telling me I need a new engine WOW is this true? need help :banghead:


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## sagrati (May 11, 2011)

How many KM on on the car? How long have you had it? I assume you have the old 'A' version cam. For sure you will need a new cam follower, new High Pressure Fuel Pump and most likely the updated 'B' intake cam. www.ecstuning.com sells a stage 2 kit for your exact problem, It comes with everything you need, all parts, hardware, gaskets, seals and bolts. Thats if you dont have your engine filled with metal shavings from those worn out parts.


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## jbyronr (Jul 27, 2001)

If you are in the US and have less than 120,000 miles, this should be covered by a VW extended warranty. With the follower in that many pieces, it's better that they replace the cyl head or the whole engine.


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## vw131999 (May 4, 2011)

sagrati said:


> How many KM on on the car? How long have you had it? I assume you have the old 'A' version cam. For sure you will need a new cam follower, new High Pressure Fuel Pump and most likely the updated 'B' intake cam. www.ecstuning.com sells a stage 2 kit for your exact problem, It comes with everything you need, all parts, hardware, gaskets, seals and bolts. Thats if you dont have your engine filled with metal shavings from those worn out parts.


I have 65k and its the original rev a, I have read that vw has a extended warranty on them, I will be going to the dealer tomorrow because the vw tech has to approve the failures, which I had to return my car back to stock for them to value the extended warranty :thumbup:


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## vw131999 (May 4, 2011)

jbyronr said:


> If you are in the US and have less than 120,000 miles, this should be covered by a VW extended warranty. With the follower in that many pieces, it's better that they replace the cyl head or the whole engine.


I totally agree with you and also the dealer wants to replace the engine but needs the approval from a vw tech at head office and also they need to come to the shop to verify that the engine was not modified to honor the warranty, we will see what happens


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## sagrati (May 11, 2011)

Hopefully everything works out for you. Let us all now how it goes.


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## vw131999 (May 4, 2011)

sagrati said:


> Hopefully everything works out for you. Let us all now how it goes.


Got the call today from the dealer, they are replacing the head of the engine and the hpfp, cam follower, camshaft. I was hoping for a new engine


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## vw131999 (May 4, 2011)

Got the car back today with a new engine head, new cams rev b, cam follower, hpfp, also did the timing belt kit since the engine was apart, re-chipped it to 1+ for now. Will wait about a month just to make sure all is running smooth before I install my upgrades and then back to stage 2+. The total cost was $6200 which vw pick up the tab since I was under warranty.


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## A2JettaGLI18 (Oct 2, 2002)

Wow...you lucked out...

Here is my question. I have a 2008 FSI...does my original cam follower fall under the same 120,000 mile extended warranty? I understand my cam follower/HPFP/Cam are different or something right?


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## Bill6211789 (Dec 11, 2009)

A2JettaGLI18 said:


> Wow...you lucked out...
> 
> Here is my question. I have a 2008 FSI...does my original cam follower fall under the same 120,000 mile extended warranty? I understand my cam follower/HPFP/Cam are different or something right?


Prob not bc the 08s cam with a rev B cam and the only cars covered have the rev a cam. so keep checking your follower ever few oil changes!!


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## vw131999 (May 4, 2011)

A2JettaGLI18 said:


> Wow...you lucked out...
> 
> Here is my question. I have a 2008 FSI...does my original cam follower fall under the same 120,000 mile extended warranty? I understand my cam follower/HPFP/Cam are different or something right?


YOU SHOULD BE FINE ON THE 08's AS MENTIONED CHECK YOUR FOLLOWER EVERY 3 OIL CHANGES TO BE SAFE, BUT CHANGED EVERY 20K


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## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

If you are the original owner, VW/Audi sent letters to all those who are within the VIN range of the extended warranty.


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## jmj (Feb 6, 2001)

Bill6211789 said:


> Prob not bc the 08s cam with a rev B cam and the only cars covered have the rev a cam. so keep checking your follower ever few oil changes!!


My car had a Rev B cam and it was covered under the extended warranty.


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## jlang002 (Oct 4, 2010)

Bill6211789 said:


> Prob not bc the 08s cam with a rev B cam and the only cars covered have the rev a cam. so keep checking your follower ever few oil changes!!


Wrong.


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## jbrandon (Feb 15, 2003)

*Just had Cam, Cam Follower and HPFP replaced in 06 GTI and.........(BAD)*

my 2006 GTI has 73,000 miles on it and i was on vacation, and my cam follower failed throwing Low Fuel Pressure codes.

Brought it to dealer on Monday, Aug 8, they replaced the Cam, Cam Follower and HPFP all under the extended warranty.

picked up the car after work Wed Aug 10, so service was closed...as soon as I started the engine i knew something was wrong.

I wouldn't get any Boost from 1000-2500rpm, when it hit 25000rpm the turbo kicks in and it feels like im launching. 

Thur Aug 11, I called service manager the next morning telling them that something is wrong. the Service Manager says the car needs time to adapt, so drive it for 100-200 miles and if the problem isn't fix bring it back in. Well 2 days later......I go and start the car and now i can't rev over 3000rpm and when I do i get a Flashing CEL at exactly 3000rpm and harsh engine shaking. I call service and they say drop off car Aug 16, Tuesday its the earliest they can see me. 

So i had a buddy with Vag-Com and REVO SPS(check to see if i was in stock mode) scan my CEL and it keep saying multiple misfires on Cyl 3, so we thought it might be bad spark plugs or coil packs so we moved it around and still same thing, flashing CEL at and over 3000rpm. When idle the engine would choke every 2 seconds and jerk back and forth. Sounds like it was ready to just croak..

I get a call Aug 17 Wed, the SM saying that my Cam Exhaust and Cam Adjuster are shot because of the 2 bolts that attaches to the cam shaft or something like that are SHREDDED!!!. Im like WHAT!!! how is that possible? 

I have extended warranty that I purchase with the car new, so the dealer tried to go thru them to cover:

1. Cam shaft
2. Cam Adjuster
3. Cam Exhaust
4. 2 Bolts
5. Labor

Aug 17, Wed, My extended warranty sends out a rep to look at what happened, they take pictures and tells me my claim is DENIED, due to the fact that my extended warranty DOES not cover "BOLTS" it covers the Cam only!!! PLUS what was broken wasn't the Cam because it was just replaced by VW, my extended warranty guy goes on to tell me that due to the failure of the 2 bolts (which got shredded, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW) that is the reason why the Cam Adjuster and Cam Exhaust are broken and needs to be replace, they think the tech who did the replacement eff'd up the installation. 

So I call the dealership back and they tell me its going to cost me $2250 to fix all this.

At this point I am livid, because I told the SM that the car wasn't behaving correctly and he told me to keep driving it. 

I don't know how the Adjuster Screws could get shredded by me driving normally after having a the Cam replaced. 

So I said I'll call you back, Aug 18, Thurs I give VWoA a call explaining to them that I don't believe i should be liable for the failure of the BOLTS, since the only person that has ever been in that area is the Tech who performed the Cam Warranty. And explained to Customer Care everything that transpired b/w the dealer and my extended warranty. So i get my case esculated to the Northeast Regional rep. I was suppose to get an answer today, but he calls and says he needs more time to research what happened. And should have an answer for me by the end of the day Aug 22, Monday.

So the last 2 weeks I have no car and have been walking to the Commuter Rail to get to work I asked about getting a loaner, but they said no because I am out of the normal warranty and they are not sure if VW will cover the repairs.

I am extremely PISS atm.

Now my question is, when replacing the Cam, Cam Follower and HPFP, does the tech have to touch the Cam Adjuster and Cam Exhaust? 

P.S
on top of it all...there was OIL all over my engine..and smoke coming from behind my intake, the only clean thing was the new HPFP....=(

If VWoA doesn't cover this do people think I might have a case that the dealer was the one who eff'd up the install?


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## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

JBrandon,

Assuming you have all of the documentation and correspondence about the event and what you've said is legit, it sounds like the dealership screwed the pooch on the repair work. In lieu of blowing up at them, your first recourse is to speak with the service manager. If the SM refuses to do anything, you go to the dealership general manager. At each step you need to give them a finite deadline for a response (don't demand anything immediately).

While waiting for this response, you may need to enlist the help of an attorney. At this point in the game, if you have a family member or friend who is in the legal profession it may take nothing more than asking them to draft a letter on their stationery and sending it, certified, to the dealership, expressing your concerns, laying out the facts, and asking for a response within a specific date. Send it to the GM, the SM and if part of a larger dealership network, their home office. I know of people who also will send the letter to VoA corporate legal as well, because that tends to bring the heat on the dealers.

Nine times out of ten when you have someone trying to cover their ass, this final recourse will do the trick and get them to eat the mistake and fix it on their dime. That said, if you go this route be prepared to actually file a complaint against the dealership if the persuasive letter does not suffice.

Above all - you must document and date every correspondence, verbal and written, with the dealership to demonstrate a clear path of what has transpired.


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## Bill6211789 (Dec 11, 2009)

jlang002 said:


> Wrong.


If it is please explain insead of being an ass and saying "wrong" bc tht really helps no one. Only certain vins are covered and once your follower fails and you have the extended warranty done and you have a b cam that mean if you let it fail aging itll be covered? As far as i knew it was a one time thing. So if u have the revised b cam why would it covered? 

Sent from my EVO


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## Elwood (Aug 10, 2001)

The warranty extension will be honored if the damage is caused by failure of the camshaft or the cam follower. So if the follower causes the problem, resulting repairs are covered.


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## SorryIfarted (Mar 5, 2005)

My 2007 A3 with 50k miles was making this noise apon cold start up, then as the engine warmed up, it would go away. I took it to the dealer and after a week of starring at it, they claim it to be the Cam fallowers, which will be fixed under warranty. I should hopefully have the car back in a few days, so we'll see how it goes. 
Does this sound, sound familer to the people out there that have had issues with there cam fallowers as well?


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## bificus99 (Aug 2, 2008)

SorryIfarted said:


> My 2007 A3 with 50k miles was making this noise apon cold start up, then as the engine warmed up, it would go away. I took it to the dealer and after a week of starring at it, they claim it to be the Cam fallowers, which will be fixed under warranty. I should hopefully have the car back in a few days, so we'll see how it goes.
> Does this sound, sound familer to the people out there that have had issues with there cam fallowers as well?


Yeah could be, nice car from what I can see.


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## SorryIfarted (Mar 5, 2005)

bificus99 said:


> Yeah could be, nice car from what I can see.


 Thanks, here a full pic of it. 
















Build thread. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...iforms......&p=73528578&posted=1#post73528578


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## bificus99 (Aug 2, 2008)

Nice tuck action, good luck with the dealer.


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## SorryIfarted (Mar 5, 2005)

Be picking up my car tomorrow, they said my car was in the early stage of cam follower failure, so no other surrounding components where damaged, like the cam itself or fuel pump. We'll see whats up in the morning when i get there.


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