Assistance Please..2015 TDI Wagon Failure

Hey folks, long time lurker...new memeber. I need the sage wisdom of the forums so I finally registered. I had a 2009 TDi Sportwagen that i sadly turned in at the start of 2017. I had racked up over 300,000 miles on it with not a problem.

I bought a new golf hatch but it sucked, so when my dealer started selling used 2015 Sportwagens this summer I grabbed one. An S model with 45,000 miles on it. I have an hour and half commute everyday plus occasional trips to GA. The car never sits for long in 3 months since purchase I have put around 15,000 miles on it.
This week when I went to head to work every warning light imaginable came to life and the car wouldnt start. Brake warning and Parking warning as well as tire pressure and ESC. I fiddled around for a bit but nothing. I used VW roadside to tow it to the nearest dealer (not the purchase dealer) who began to try and figure out the problem. First they replaced the shifter mechanism...nothing. Then they checked the battery ( which i did and it was perfect) ... nothing. Finally after about 400 bucks worth of diagnosis time they found that a rodent had eaten the wiring harness behind the battery. A quote of nearly $10,000 was then given to me. There are no rodents small enough to do that in my area...I live in Baltimore we only have cat sized rats. My purchaaing dealer said that the cars had been stored on a lot for a while..but didnt seem to think that could be the issue. They are basically washing their hands with car saying its my fault. And that I must now call my insurance company and likely have the car totaled.

I'm at a loss...neither dealer seems to think months of sitting in field could lead to rodent damage. Has anyone heard of any other issues like this? I searched around but didnt see anything. Any suggestions about my possible moves forward would be welcome. My wife is taking a cab to get our son to school so i need to figure soemthing out.

Thanks and sorry for the extreme length.

I would go back to the selling dealer and try them. If that is a no go then get the wiring repaired. $10k is way overkill. They do this a for those jobs they don't want to do. How bad is the wiring? Pic?

The dealer is arguing over if they have to tow it or if I am responsible. I'm headign over there to take pics. They said the quote was because they have to replace the entire wiring harness( interior removal etc).

I bought my new old-stock '15 GSW from Heritage VW in Parkville. It had been sitting on their lot for a couple of years and had rodent damage to the wiring harness for the power steering/engine oil pressure sensor. They replaced the harness when they did the VW-mandated preparation work for new old-stock TDIs. Of course this was a new vehicle and so the cost was covered, but if you're dealing with Heritage VW, this might give you some ammunition. I can give you the part number and price for the harness if that would be helpful.

We got ours from Heritage too, and there was some black fluffy insulation on the head under the GP harness and fuel lines. I went over it with a flashlight and an inspection mirror, checking every harness that I could access, but couldn't see any exposed wiring. Fingers crossed...

The price of that repair at $10k sounds absurd. It sounds like the dealer gave you a "go away" price.

I suspect that Baltimore has plenty of mice capable of doing this damage, but I would try to assess whether its possible that this damage was existing when you bought the car. If the dealer couldn't find it easily then it wouldn't have been noticed on a PPI. If there is any corrosion on the wires it might be a sign that they've been exposed for some time. But it seems unlikely that damage could have existed and the car would be completely fine and then suddenly inoperable. Have you had any other electrical gremlins at all?

I'd call VWOA immediately if you haven't already done so. Stay calm. Emphasize how much you love the car and VW's in general and how great its been. And hypothesize that it seems likely that this was existing damage that just took some time to show up. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll step up.

If the harness is really fobar, maybe the insurance route under comprehensive is way to go....get one with 15-18 k on it for what you get. I'd be reluctant to let most dealers to screw with the harness.

The wiring VW, and most others, uses has vegetable based plastic for insulation. Makes a much tastier snack for the rodents. I too would question is the damage was there before you took delivery but if that were the case, I'm surprised it took so long to show up. You've basically put a years worth of miles on the car in three months. Oh, mice are every where, we just don't generally see them.

VWOFA had a really wonderful...go **** yourself response. I was on the phoen for with them for nearly 2 hours. No interest in working with me and I stayed calm the entire time. Well until the end at least. I ve relented and called my insurance. I am very dissapointed in VW willingness to even listen to the possibilty that they were at fault.

Your insurance should cover it. Very common when the weather cools down. Rodents, such as squirrels and chipmunk look for warm spots like your engine bay.

Did you get that picture of the chewed harness?

Repairing wires really isn't all that hard. With the right connectors and know-how you can effect a permanent repair for not a lot of time and effort.

<--- repaired many a rodent-chewed harness, never had to replace unless flood or corrosion damage.

No By the time I got there the dealer had buttoned it up and said it was behind the battery up against the firewall. I pulled out my wrenches to get into to but the tow truck pulled up as I was walkign back to the car. The Head of Service said he had regularly seen the cost range from 8 - 15 grand. We'll see when the adjuster has a look.

I'd get a second opinion before filing with the insurance, could wind up under $500.

Windex said:

Did you get that picture of the chewed harness?

Repairing wires really isn't all that hard. With the right connectors and know-how you can effect a permanent repair for not a lot of time and effort.

<--- repaired many a rodent-chewed harness, never had to replace unless flood or corrosion damage.

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I agree. I've repaired mouse chewed wiring many times. The repairs have outlasted the rest of the vehicle.

If you repair the harness I'd leave some "treats" packed around the harness to neutralize any returning rodents.

Do you have any confirmation of what the dealer is telling you? If a dealer told us that (her) new 2015 GSW had rodent chewed wiring, I'd say "prove it." If VW won't help, I'd never total it. Use one of our Gurus to take a look and give you an estimate.

Garage prophylactic for chewers

Garage prophylactic for chewers

The mice will play

.....sooooo

.... we keep fresh PIZEN in the garage.

.... it stays "fresh" until the chewers take the bate.

..... wife saw a "slow" mover last week in the garage.

.... one swat & swept it out.

.... EOM

Does EOM mean End of Mouse?

If so, I dig.


ez

I picked up a new to me 60k 2015 GSW Tdi today from a dealer, while inspecting the car, i saw nut shells and roden **** right by the battery... I still took the car and drove it home 1050miles.. I will check to make sure rodent didnt go into wires... scary.

yyamad1 said:

I picked up a new to me 60k 2015 GSW Tdi today from a dealer, while inspecting the car, i saw nut shells and roden **** right by the battery... I still took the car and drove it home 1050miles.. I will check to make sure rodent didnt go into wires... scary.

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Mice WILL eat your wires. And I do not know if they will hitch a ride to your place.

My hunch is squirrels will jump out when-if the car is moved.

Good luck

get a Cat!

Well I finally have the car back, after multiple calls to VW USA who gave exactly zero ****s, multiple calls to my dealer who some how gave even less than zero ****s I had to go through my insurance. I took the car to two other shops and had the same dollar amount quoted every time 9-12 grand. The rodent damage was located behind directly behind the engine..the main rubber seal to go through the firewall. Its about a 5 inch rubber oval that is completely gone and the main wire bundle has about 5 wires eaten through. To keep the car under warranty the only vw recommended repair is full replacement.
The main problem is that VW doesn't have these sitting on shelves. It has to be made...and it took three months to get one. During this entire ordeal I have become disgusted with VW USA and my dealer Sheehy VW in Springfield, Va. Today I went out to my car after having it back for two days and it would not start...just chugged and chugged with the entire car vibrating until you hit it off.
I will be taking the car to carmax this weekend and will never be buying another VW. I do have the old wiring harness if anyone wants one...theres pics in the for sale section.

So sorry to hear this very unhappy conclusion to such a long ordeal. I'm curious if the selling dealer was Heritage in Parkville?

I suspect the no-start situation may be diesel gelled in the fuel filter. It happened to my wife on Saturday morning. Lost power, died, and refused to start. Towed it home and let it sit until it warmed up to 40*F this afternoon and tried to start it. A few chugs and she fired right up and runs fine now.

Dumb me filled up in Baltimore 2 weeks ago and didn't think to add anti-gell when the temps plummeted and stayed well below freezing. The diesel here in the mountains is good to -10*F, Baltimore stations may be 10*F if you're lucky.

C C said:

I suspect the no-start situation may be diesel gelled in the fuel filter. It happened to my wife on Saturday morning. Lost power, died, and refused to start. Towed it home and let it sit until it warmed up to 40*F this afternoon and tried to start it. A few chugs and she fired right up and runs fine now.

Dumb me filled up in Baltimore 2 weeks ago and didn't think to add anti-gell when the temps plummeted and stayed well below freezing. The diesel here in the mountains is good to -10*F, Baltimore stations may be 10*F if you're lucky.

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That was my thought too. Especially with chet mentioning that the car has been at the dealer's for three months. That may have been before the blend turnover.

Good to know. Thanks