3.0 TDI owners...anybody experience issues with the starter?

[mrrhtuner]

Hey fella's,

My dad's T2 2010 Touareg recently left my mom stranded and wouldn't start. We had it towed to a local euro shop that determined the starter was at fault.

A used replacement was sourced from quebec and installed.

The touareg starts up great now, no problem.

My main concern is what could have failed in the starter so early? We have about 75,000km on it IIRC.

My dad mentioned that with the cold, it was having a harder and harder time starting. With the used/new one, it fires up great.


Anybody else have starter issues on the 3.0TDI?

Any idea's where it's located exactly? I would have loved to replace it but was told about this after the job was already done.

 

[mjhandy]

No issues on mine. Fingers crossed. How long did it take the shop to switch the starter?

 

[Dodoma]

Starters fail. You find that out by hammering to see if it can crank. If you hear click but the starter does not crank, than the starter is bad. It could be the bushing. But you can get a remanufactures starters easily and they are not expensive. Check with PepBoys.

 

[IFRCFI]

My main concern is what could have failed in the starter so early? We have about 75,000km on it IIRC.

It's a 6-7 year old vehicle, with relatively low mileage. Lots of short, stop/start trips per day? Lots of cold weather starts? Sits outside? Any preheat? Doesn't seem abnormal.

 

[mrrhtuner]

No issues on mine. Fingers crossed. How long did it take the shop to switch the starter?

Top Gear, a local polish euro shop charged 8 hours but that also included oil change IIRC.

It's a 6-7 year old vehicle, with relatively low mileage. Lots of short, stop/start trips per day? Lots of cold weather starts? Sits outside? Any preheat? Doesn't seem abnormal.

Well I was going by what I've seen with most other cars out there. My dad's T2 touareg sat for a year in a shop, so it's seen about 5 years on the road.

Not many short trips at all, my parent's don't go out driving just to drive. They are conservative. They go out, buy what they need and stay at home.

Sits outside, no pre-heat.

Still seem's pretty abnormal for me. I've requested the old starter back to take it apart and have a look.

 

[RebelTDI]

I'm hoping the starters on models with auto Stop-Start are more robust. My Q5 shuts off at stop lights, which definitely helps with mpgs. If they wear out more quickly, though, that would negate any fuel savings. In some situations I turn it off. I traded in a Jetta Hybrid for the Q5. The hybrid shut off when stopped, of course, but it used the electric motor as the starter.

 

[mjhandy]

8 Hours?? Doesn't that seem kinda high? I know it's not simple but makes it a crazy expensive job.

Let us know if you get back the starter.

 

[NoobyT]

You don't read about Touareg starters failing very often - they're normally pretty reliable.

But it's an electro-mechanical item - sometimes they just go tits up. I wouldn't waste a moment pulling it apart!

And I certainly wouldn't have fitted a used one with no known history especially if someone took the best part of 8 hours to fit it!

 

[mrrhtuner]

8 Hours?? Doesn't that seem kinda high? I know it's not simple but makes it a crazy expensive job.

Let us know if you get back the starter.

You know, we lack here a proper euro shop. We have some, but they charge about 95% of what a dealer charges...and the others...well they are the only thing we have.

I agree, 8 hours sounded like an ordeal...but my dad tends to trust his people and he foots the bill

You don't read about Touareg starters failing very often - they're normally pretty reliable.

But it's an electro-mechanical item - sometimes they just go tits up. I wouldn't waste a moment pulling it apart!

And I certainly wouldn't have fitted a used one with no known history especially if someone took the best part of 8 hours to fit it!

It won't hurt to play around with it now that we have it home. My dad picked up the old starter last night and I'll pop by in a day or so to snap some pictures and take a look.

 

[deeslman]

Top Gear, a local polish euro shop charged 8 hours but that also included oil change IIRC.



Well I was going by what I've seen with most other cars out there. My dad's T2 touareg sat for a year in a shop, so it's seen about 5 years on the road.

Not many short trips at all, my parent's don't go out driving just to drive. They are conservative. They go out, buy what they need and stay at home.

Sits outside, no pre-heat.

Still seem's pretty abnormal for me. I've requested the old starter back to take it apart and have a look.

In the shop for a year????

 

[mrrhtuner]

In the shop for a year????

Front end impact. The SUV was 2 years old and we had to source nearly all of the parts to rebuild it from Europe.