# APR Stage 2 Tiguan



## Mee1205 (Sep 15, 2015)

I would like some thoughts from the group on my situation with my Tiguan. I bought this vehicle used with 33,000 miles, according to CarFax the cylinder head was replaced at 29,000. I did call the dealership that did the work but all they could say was "noise".
Assuming it was done at a dealership I assumed it was repaired correctly and bought the vehicle. A few k after purchase I went ahead and did APR stage 2 ECU with the newly released cast downpipe. What a blast...for 2 weeks when the 2.0tsi failed from #4 connecting rod bushing spun, oil pan full of metal, engine destroyed. 
My time shop removed downpipe and reflashed to stock. I rolled into the dealership and engine was replaced under warranty. 
Question now is...what caused the problem? APR and my tune shop think it was not the tune but maybe an existing problem. 
I'm very nervous about putting the downpipe back on and stage 2....I don't get a second chance at this if it blows an engine. 
I can say that I am brutal with my Tiptronic. I drive in Tiptronic about 95% of the time. Mostly above 3,000 rpm for good throttle response and I love winding out each gear. Could it be my driving style? Or does everyone think I'm overthinking and there was a problem before and maybe tuning just accelerated the problem? 
Any thoughts greatly appreciated.
2013 Tiguan S FWD 6speed auto Tiptronic, 2.0tsi ea888 3rd gen (same as gti).


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## Chipperman (Aug 27, 2015)

If you spun a rod bearing it was either a bad bearing or no lubrication. Now, if you threw a rod from over revving, that is a different story. Maybe the "noise" they thought was a bad head was really a ticking bearing.

This won't make you feel any better, but it is a good lesson:
In the early 80's I was in a shop getting smogged and they had a Mazda (6 I think) up on the rack. The owner had spun a main rod bearing twice before on the same journal and it was fixed under warranty (new rod and bearing). When the same one went out a third time about 2000 miles later Mazda refused to warranty it (although still in warranty) so the owner took it to a private shop. The mechanic actually listened and it took him about 2 minutes to find the problem. When he pulled the rod he turned the crank to look at the oil hole for the bearing. Apparently at the factory the drill bit used to drill the hole had broken off in the crank. Therefore, the oiling was only by splash not pressure. He pulled the crank, took pictures, drilled out the hole and matched and chamfered the others to match. Ran perfectly after that. 

Even though the owner took the mechanic's statements and photos to Mazda, they still denied the claim because by then he was one month outside (but below miles) the warranty. The next step was a product liability lawyer. Don't know the resolution.

After that I always pressurized any crank we reground or rebuilt to make sure oil squirted out before reassembly. Better safe than sorry.


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## Mee1205 (Sep 15, 2015)

Thank you Chipper for the reply. After talking to several people they all come to the same conclusion...the aftermarket parts didn't cause the damage but maybe accelerated the damage already there. This does help ease my mind a little on putting my parts back on especially with the engine being new. 
BUT, now since the engine has been replaced, I'm now having transmission problems which were not there with the old engine. I'm getting a clear distinct metal clinking sound (especially on a cold engine) when shifting from park to reverse. Also a hair of a shutter when coming to a stop and the trans downshifts from 2nd to 1st (it's slight and doesn't always do it). 
Had it in the shop yesterday. Service mgr could hear the noise. I was now at 49,500 and trans service is scheduled maint for 50k. Went ahead and did that for 250 bucks. The engine/trans must've been warm because it did not display symptoms during test drive. This morning on a cold engine it made the click noise backing out of my garage. I'll also add that they reset the computer trans settings to clear up anything there.
After extensive reading I'm thinking a solenoid? 
Whatever the case maybe I'll get a new trans too haha but probably not. This Tiguan has been a disaster and I should get rid of it but it is a fun car.


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## Mihai_A4-B5_ (Jun 14, 2004)

I have a 2010 Passat 2.0t DSG. I could hear the same metal clunk especially on a cold engine. It happens when you come off the throttle and back on again and especially when downshifting in tiptronic mode. I have complained repeatedly while my car was under factory warranty. They had a look at the tranny and they said the oil inside was completely black (as if it had burned up on the inside). This was after just having the DSG service at about 70,000kms. The DSG trany was replaced at 77,000kms!! Now I have had about 18,000kms on a supposedly brand new dsg tranny, and I am hearing the exact same clunking noise....the transmission was flawless when it was brand-new...for the first few months it actually felt like dsg trannies that I have experienced on audis....now I am in the extended warranty period and I am hesitant to have them look at it because they have said they do not cover any diagnosis time. I hope you get it sorted out!


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## Mee1205 (Sep 15, 2015)

So the dealership diagnosed my clicking problem when shifting in and out of drive or reverse to be sticky calipers. I could get it to make the noise by giving it a little brake torque. Mechanic followed the noise to the driver front wheel. Originally he thought axle then after inspecting on lift he determined the calipers were giving a little. 
So I decided seeing as it no longer looked like transmission I had my tune shop put all new pads and rotors and brake line flush. And they reinstalled downpipe and stage 2 APR. 
I had a little fun the next day and no problems. Second day I remembered the click so decided to make sure that brakes were in deed the problem. Went to use launch control and click was still evident followed by check engine light. It's like this car refuses to be tuned.
Stopping by the tune shop tomorrow morning before work to see what code is thrown


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