Turbo problem and VW won't honor warranty

Hi everyone,

Im new to the forums and I wanted to share my experience with my 2013 passat TDI SEL. I am a Canadian living in Toronto, Canada. I bought my passat in the US and imported it into Canada in May of 2013. About 2 weeks ago I was on the highway with the cruise on about 60 MPH when all of a sudden i had a flashing glow plug light, cruise control kicked me out and i had a loss of power so i had to gently drove my car off the highway.

With some basic inspection and some research i believe the impeller broke on my car, similar to what others here have reported. If you start the car or where to give abit of throttle you can hear this rattling sound which is coming from the turbo. Again I have no boost/power.

I have been in contact with the local vw dealership who refuses to service my vehicle under any kind of warranty in Canada. I did expect this to happen as the vw dealer I purchased the vehicle from told me I would have to go to buffalo (he recommended buffalo because it is the closest for me) for service, which I am fully willing to do.

Trying to get the vehicle repaired in Canada, I called vw usa, to see if they will work something out to my convince . In the manual it says that if I pay for warranty work in Canada I can bring the bill to the states and they will reimburse me. VW USA then went on to inform me that because I registered the car in Canada that my USA warranty is now void and that I would not be covered.

I am really frustrated with this problem and i was wondering if anyone had any advice. one thing that I did notice was that turbo failures is protected under the EPA as it is an emissions problem. should I be filing a compliant with the EPA now?

Just as an addition i phoned my dealer back and complained to the manager that the person that sold me the vehicle told me that i will have a USA warranty and that I would have to drive to the US to service the vehicle. The dealer now changed his story and is telling me that all cars brought to canada will have their warranty voided. the dealer does have record that i was bringing the car into canada based off of the emails exchanged, they never informed me of this and i would have never bought the vehicle to begin with if I knew this was going to happen.

I even asked if i bring the car back to them if they would service it and they told me no.

Ugh. This is tough.

I can't even imagine being in this situation. It's like your VW has no country. I'm unsure what the purpose of the decision to not honor warranty coverage for a US car that is registered in Canada.

I can kind of see VWoC not wanting to foot the bill, as VWoA got the sale and they also hold the bag for the after-sale service. However, it sure seems like a violation of the spirit of the warranty to void it if it were registered in another country. I guess it might be to protect against a situation where a high tech TDI is registered in a place like Mexico where ULSD is not prevalent.

However, I do have to ask... If you live in Canada, why did you buy a car in the USA? It seems like there'd be tons of hassles with importing and such, and now you've unfortunately lifted the warranty rock and found the bad news there.

dzcad90 said:

I'm unsure what the purpose of the decision to not honor warranty coverage for a US car that is registered in Canada.

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dzcad90 said:

If you live in Canada, why did you buy a car in the USA?

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The short answer to both: money...


Yuri

doesnt sound good! Id try another usa dealership and just hope that Vw didnt enter any info into their computers and was just telling you verbally that your warranty would be void. I was a turbo failure victim as well. very frustrating. and depending on what gets damaged it can be upwards of $5k to fix. Personally I would have the car diagnosed at another us dealer without going into the whole canada thing and then when they tell u whats wrong just say well thats covered under warranty right? if they say yes have them do the repair. If it comes out afterwards that they wont warranty it after the work is done then refuse to pay and have them remove the parts since theyre the ones that said it would be warranty. Hopefully you can slip thru the cracks and no one will catch the whole canada situation! take off your license plate! throw an expired American tag in the back window lol! maybe someone with dealership service experience can elaborate on the specifics of a warranty claim and the whole import situation and whether theyll catch it or not on a routine warranty job. Its not right that that they want to void your warranty over a technicality. sounds like vw is losing alot of $ on turbo failures and they're looking for any way to avoid paying. the less they know the better! play dumb and act like you have no idea whats wrong with your brand new car! good luck and keep us updated!

Well, that sucks. But then again, you went into the deal with eyes wide open.

Did you contact the dealer that sold you the car about this?

Regards

Old article but may be give these guys a try.
"Audi and VW cars bought in the US and brought to Canada can be repaired at any Canadian Audi-VW dealer, they are repaired under VW's North American Warranty," said Remi Lobo, VW Service Advisor for Agincourt Autohaus Inc."

Well it seems you have given them chances to resolve. If it were me I'd make it a PR problem for VW however you can. It isn't like people don't traverse the border have family on both sides and in some cases have worked on both sides.

Nothing a billboard won't solve.

It is pretty much the same for all manufacturers

This the reason for NEVER buying a new car in the US and bringing it to Canada. No matter who made it. Only buy US cars that are out of warranty to import into Canada. You still get a great deal, but spare yourself the jeopardy you are now facing. Don't think there is much hope for a satisfactory solution, but good luck.

It is also written in the manual that if you buy the car in Canada and have a claim in the us that you have to provide your main home adress in Canada to get your money back.

So in other word, you buy the car in the us, you repear it in the us.

Thats how cars company works.

Sorry, I think you are unfortunately SOL. Inside sources at VW Canada have told me that they won't honour VW USA warranties and vice versa, unless it is a situation of a traveller resident in one country and travelling in the other when a crippling problem arises, or if a resident of one country relocates to the other after having purchased a vehicle.

Both Canadian and US arms of VW have their warranties outsourced as basically insurance policies. Both insurers are apparently different and have different terms. Who exactly they are, I don't know.

Maybe you can get your vehicle towed south of the line for a repair? Not sure if they honour warranties that way. Dealership was irresponsible if they sold to you without advising he warranty would be void. If anything, try the warranty claim through them.

VW is not the only automaker to disallow cross border warranties, and they are far from the first to do so. And those who still do, I would be leery that when it came down to a big repair, they would turn around and say no.

Sucks to hear, but I think you're out of luck on this one. The only exception I know of where the warranty you have would still be valid is if you actually lived in the US when you bought the car, then moved to Canada. But if the car's first registration was in Canada...SOL

I can only see two courses of action for the OP, since warranty coverage has been denied on both sides of the border.

1. Suck it up and have the car fixed on your own dime (I wouldn't go near a VW dealer for this).

2. Secure legal counsel, and this one could easily become a money pit.

Good luck my friend. I would call all of the US dealerships closest to you and see what they say when offered your VIN. Other than that, you may just be SOL.

On that note, can you please fill out the info at this thread please. http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=375789

weebl said:

Sorry, I think you are unfortunately SOL. Inside sources at VW Canada have told me that they won't honour VW USA warranties and vice versa, unless it is a situation of a traveller resident in one country and travelling in the other when a crippling problem arises, or if a resident of one country relocates to the other after having purchased a vehicle.

Both Canadian and US arms of VW have their warranties outsourced as basically insurance policies. Both insurers are apparently different and have different terms. Who exactly they are, I don't know.

Maybe you can get your vehicle towed south of the line for a repair? Not sure if they honour warranties that way. Dealership was irresponsible if they sold to you without advising he warranty would be void. If anything, try the warranty claim through them.

VW is not the only automaker to disallow cross border warranties, and they are far from the first to do so. And those who still do, I would be leery that when it came down to a big repair, they would turn around and say no.

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VW outsources their warranties as insurance policies? This is news to me.

Should have made a written agreement with those idiots just for back-up because you can't ever trust them.

WOW, if that happened to me I would try this before loosing my **** and going redneck.
1. Find a member on here that lives near your dealer- borrow there plates and take it in for service using the members USA address.
2. Fully dual register the car.

jrm said:

1. Find a member on here that lives near your dealer- borrow there plates and take it in for service using the members USA address.

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Oh yes, this is great advice, become a criminal in two countries. Not to mention the service is performed by VIN, not license plate tag.

jrm said:

2. Fully dual register the car.

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You wanna explain how to do this? In order to register a car you need a place of residence, which requires proof you actually live there.

Ignore this moronic advice unless you want to add a fine and criminal history on top of the repair bill.

A turbo's not cheap and is worth the effort. I doubt Audi has jurisdiction/need to look up previous registration for the purpose of warranty work.

I'm surprised at hearing that even if you go to the states you wont be covered because your car is registered in Canada. When I was in the market for my passat, I also considered purchasing south of the boarder to save money, because my B7 A4 is American and all warranty and even Audi Care was covered here in Canada. But after doing some research, I found out that VW does not offer cross boarder warranty like Audi does, so I backed out thinking "ya, I can take it to Buffalo for warranty, but if I can't drive it there it will cost $ and be a PITA". According to this thread, I would not have been able to even do that.

There should be a few dealers close to Toronto on the other side of the border. Like others have said, play dumb, don't mention that your from Canada, give them a US address and phone number (motel) and your real e_mail. If they ask for your ownership, tell them you have the VIN with you and insist to give it to them vice giving them your ownership (obviously Ontario and NY ownership will look different). Take all your plates off , if they ask tell them the car is un-drivable, so u took it off the road and using the plates on another car.

GL, OP!

Try contacting Lemon Aid or the CBC show, the Fifth Estate.

I wouldn't buy a new car in the US without getting something in writing confirming the warranty will be honoured here, but I also don't believe any manufacturer will provide cross border warranty on a new car, going in either direction. It protects them for their cross border pricing policies.

On the other hand, if this is a known problem on this particular vehicle, I see not reason why VW USA should not cover you. You bought the car from them, they should honour the warranty. Find a US Lawyer?

Don

Abacus said:

Oh yes, this is great advice, become a criminal in two countries. Not to mention the service is performed by VIN, not license plate tag.



You wanna explain how to do this? In order to register a car you need a place of residence, which requires proof you actually live there.

Ignore this moronic advice unless you want to add a fine and criminal history on top of the repair bill.

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Sorry for going a bit rouge, but I dated someone back in college who was from Alberta and studying here. I helped her with her car troubles and decided to register it here. We walked into DMV with just her license and social insurance number. They looked at the car, checked the vin and We walked out with a title, plates and even a Oregon drivers license. Im pretty sure her old Canada plates are still laying under my fathers work bench.
Just my .02
Good luck!

I will try to contact this guy and ask ...Audi and VW cars bought in the US and brought to Canada can be repaired at any Canadian Audi-VW dealer, they are repaired under VW's North American Warranty," said Remi Lobo, VW Service Advisor for Agincourt Autohaus Incgarding to ...
Remi Lobo

Title: Volkswagen Service Consultant
Email:remi@vwmidtown.ca
Phone(888) 319-5617

I live a 2 minute walk from these Midtown Audi/VW formerly known as Agencourt Autohaus.
I've been taking my B7 A4 (American) there from the beginning. Depending on my location I also take my A4 to Queensway Audi/WV. I will be doing the same with my NMS. Both dealers are the best in GTA, as far as stealers go, I guess.

Midtown recently did an extended warranty (HPFP, Intake Cam Shaft and Cam Follower replacement and OC $2000) job on my APR Stage+ B7 A4.

If anyone wants the SA's name, PM me.

kulak said:

Well it seems you have given them chances to resolve. If it were me I'd make it a PR problem for VW however you can. It isn't like people don't traverse the border have family on both sides and in some cases have worked on both sides.

Nothing a billboard won't solve.

Click to expand...

I see this on this board all the time. You all want to modify, change, and do all kinds of stuff that you know will void the warranty and yes even buy in another country to save a few bucks and then complain when VW say NO.

Come on. They knew this going into it. You just hoped that some email thread would cover your butt. You gambled and you lost.

A Billboard? Really, it better include ALL THE FACTS of how you were warned and what exactly you did that caused VW to say no.

By the way, do you all cheat at sports and card too? Change the rules because you are losing? This is the same.

A recall reading a while ago that imported vehicles would not be covered under the warranty, specifically from the US into Canada. I guess that has been an issue in the past.

To the OP:

If you have the e-mail chain from prior to the purchase, then you have a solid case to take them to court for the "value" of the warranty you no longer have.

If I were you, I would immediately buy a 3rd party warranty that covers used cars. These are extremely prevalent in the US. The wording usually says something about their coverage starting at the end of the factory warranty period. Country of origin will be irrelevant.

Depending on how much money you saved on the initial transaction, you may still be ahead in the deal.

If you are completely devoid of warranty coverage, replace the turbo yourself, have friend do it, or take it to an indy shop. Take a video of the turbo and oil line being prefilled with oil - that is the most important part of a turbo replacement.

pshh i just wrote a nice reply, i hit submit and my internet shut down and i lost my reply. sorry guys ill respond back to some comments and questions soon.

ok so just to answer some questions and to respond to some comments.

I bought this passat in the states because it had 6000 miles or so on it, it was a loaded sel, for $28,000. this was when the dollar was closer to par and i bought the vehicle through my business to i saved on the tax. it was a great deal, a similar car would be about $40,000 + in canada.

just as a side note, i thought i was lucky to buy this car because vw wont sell new cars to canadians. this car was like new and it seemed like a great deal. it seems like good deal because the dealer specifically told me that he sells alot of cars to canadians and he even speciafially mentions that if i have car troubles that i can bring the car the vw in buffalo for repair under warranty no problem.

i am not a stupid person (not to say anyone called me one). But i bought a 2013 car outright for almost $30,000. who the hell would do that without out the assurance from the dealer that i would have a warranty. the reason why i went through with the deal is because i have a car trailer and i can very easily and i would be more than happy to drive an hour to the boarder in order to have warranty work done. I also figured with this being a modern day diesel, top of the line german car, that i shouldnt have many problems with the car. this car should easily last me the next 10 years. but for vw to shaft me like that is not right.

Im going to bring the car to my local dealer for a general inspection. im 99% sure the problem is the turbo went. i will bring the car to the states and hopefully theyll make everything right.

one thing i really find interesting is that the turbo is backed by the EPA regualtions. it says in the manual that if such an item like a turbo goes it could effect the emissions of the vehicle which is why we have a 2 year, 28,ooo km warranty on these specific parts. i guess ill give the EPA a call next.

ill probably never buy a vw ever again. my father bought a 2009 escalade and a 2007 z06 from the states and imported them into canada. he has had warranty work done to these cars no problem. im sorry but who the hell is vw not to honor a warranty period?

DogParkGuy said:

VW outsources their warranties as insurance policies? This is news to me.

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Unless my source is incorrect, it seems this is what they do. To the motorist bringing in the car, it will appear as though VW is paying directly, but the insurance paperwork and claim is done behind the scenes. Not sure if this is at dealership or corporate level though.