Volkswagen Problems

It’s always worth contacting a carmaker’s customer service division in a case like this. I agree that 136,000km is far from a reasonable expected lifespan for a modern more vehicle of any sort. But exactly how Volkswagen Australia will view the matter will depend on the car’s service history and how it was used.

You might have some luck and perhaps financial assistance in getting the Amarok fixed, but VW could also point at the age of the vehicle and the fact that it’s way out of warranty. But, again, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know. Don’t bother pursuing this at a dealership level, either, go straight to head office.

The 2011 R-Line package for the Touareg included plenty of extra kit, so identifying one shouldn’t be a problem. Those extras started with a body kit with a deeper front spoiler, side skirts and a rear roof spoiler. The R-Line package also extended to 20-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, look for stainless-steel kick panels inside each door, a different steering wheel, lots of leather, aluminium gear-selector and pedals and a 12-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat.

It sounds like there’s not much left to change in terms of belts and pulleys on your vehicle. But did you change the relevant tensioners at the same time? Tensioners run on bearings which can start to seize up over time and kilometres, often contributing a squealing noise that is easily confused with belt-squeal. Also, simply changing the pulley on, say the alternator or the air-con compressor, will not cure the noise if it’s being caused by the alternator or compressor itself.

Other things to check include the correct belt tension and the alignment of the belt (is it running truly between the pulleys, or attempting to run slightly sideways?) Don’t rule out a coolant leak that is getting on to the rubber belt and causing it to squeal.

The VW 1.4 TSI engine uses a cam-chain rather than a rubber toothed belt which needs periodic replacement. As such, the cam-chain should last the life of the engine (and the rest of the car) but experience with this engine suggests that is not always the case and some early versions of this engine have required cam-chain replacement. The incidence of this seems a bit random, with no real pattern emerging with some cars going on to record normal mileages with no cam-chain problems.

The car you’re looking at, however, is a later version, so should be less prone to this. But even so, make sure the car has a perfect service record as poor maintenance can shorten the life of the cam-chain.

You need to get this vehicle to a transmission specialist right away. There’s clearly something not right either mechanically or electronically with the gearbox, and continuing to drive it in its wounded state is a big chance to cause more damage than has already been done.

Any vibration in an automatic transmissions suggests either torque converter or internal problems. It may already be too late for your vehicle, and the damage may already be done. But the sooner you get to a specialist, the less expensive, permanent damage will be done.

Some owners have had a great run with this transmission, others not so much. Highway driving will be kinder to the unit, and a lot of city driving will be harder on it (although the DSG gearbox is by no means alone there).

The main wear issues are with the clutch-packs that control the transmission. These can wear prematurely and require costly replacement. Any shuddering when taking off from rest is the first sign that this process has already started.

It’s possible to read too much into it, but it remains that VW itself dumped the DSG for a conventional torque converter for some of its Australian models, including the Polo, in 2021.

These old, air-cooled Volkswagens have a huge reputation for reliability and durability. And, back in the 1950s and '60s when they were most popular, they definitely were more reliable than a lot of their competition.

However, these days, even a relatively late-model Beetle such as a 1976 could be an absolute minefield of problems, starting with rust and a driveline with worn out mechanical bits and pieces. You haven't said how many kilometres the car has covered, but I'm betting it's plenty and that really plays against something like this car. You could wind up having to rebuild a large percentage of the car just to get it roadworthy, at which point, you could have bought something newer, faster and more comfortable.

In fact, that's another issue with old designs like the Beetle's; there's virtually no safety equipment beyond seat-belts. This is why cars like this have a place, but that place is as a weekend toy where you can relive your youth in small chunks on a Saturday morning before the shopping traffic has hit the road.

The seven-speed DSG transmission in your car is a known trouble-spot and has caused lots of grief for owners over the years. Failures can occur in the clutch-packs, the electronic control units or the gearsets themselves and, once the failure has occurred, it's usually time for a whole new transmission.

Mechanics can often become a bit jaded when they see multiple failures of the same component, but in this case, they're probably right. Your problem then becomes one of the cost of repairs being more than the repaired car is worth.

You could well be on the right track here. Many cars with transmission coolers place them in the car's radiator so that the liquid that cools the engine, also cools the transmission. But if the transmission cooler fails, that can allow transmission fluid into the car's coolant system which might account for the oil you're seeing in your coolant bottle. Many mis-diagnose this as a blown head gasket because the outward symptoms are very similar.

If this is the case, the bad news is that coolant has probably also entered the transmission potentially wrecking the mechanical parts and frying the electronic bits.

The trade recommends a fully synthetic oil for either the diesel or petrol engines of the Golf Mk 7. The correct grade and specification is 5W30 which will give you maximum engine protection and performance.

The other engine-oil recommendation for this car is to not skimp on checking the oil level with the dipstick. These engines – in particular the 2.0-litre petrol unit – are designed to sip a little oil between changes, so don't be caught out with too little oil in the sump as that can cause catastrophic damage to the engine. The engine does this because it's a low-friction design, but the small amount of oil you'll use will be more than offset by the fuel savings engines designs like this can deliver.

Make it a habit to check the oil level every Saturday morning; it's a simple thing to do and something that we all once had to do in the old days when most engines burned a little oil.