Balance Shaft Upgrade Shops

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
I looked at Washington State Laws, and the Lemon Law only applies multiple warranty repairs have failed. Not the situation we have.

I have contacted a prominent Seatle attorney, asking if they are willing to take on a class action lawsuit against VOA. I'll let you know what I hear back from them.
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
The "class" will be pretty small and probably not attractive for an attorney. There were only ~20,000 of these cars that were sold in North America (Canada and the U.S.) and given their age, most are out of warranty without BSM failures. I doubt if you could drum up 500 people who even know what the BSM is or had an issue with it in this population of cars.
 

WYTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2004
Location
Jackson, WY
TDI
2004 Passat TDI wagon
I doubt if you could drum up 500 people who even know what the BSM is or had an issue with it in this population of cars.[/QUOTE]

VOA seems to be sold out of at least 500 BSMs.?
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Oh yeah, there are plenty getting this done, or the parts shortage would not be happening... AGAIN. :eek:
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
Brian wtote:

Oh yeah, there are plenty getting this done, or the parts shortage would not be happening... AGAIN. :eek:
A similar shortage happened before??

Scott
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Yep, couple years ago shortly after we first found out about this upgrade. We quickly used up all the parts and had to wait for a shipment from Europe. Took VOA's warehouses by surprise. So much so, that the higher ups noticed. They still refused to acknowledge an actual problem, however. :rolleyes:
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Yep, couple years ago shortly after we first found out about this upgrade. We quickly used up all the parts and had to wait for a shipment from Europe. Took VOA's warehouses by surprise. So much so, that the higher ups noticed. They still refused to acknowledge an actual problem, however. :rolleyes:
The widely know in industry "ostrich effect"

 

greasejunkie

New member
Joined
Apr 11, 2010
Location
Evergreen State
TDI
2004 Passat
I still haven't had the upgrade done, and my '04 has about 45k miles on it now. No noise yet, but it is a constant worry. If there were a class action, I would join.
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
greasejunkie wrote:

I still haven't had the upgrade done, and my '04 has about 45k miles on it now. No noise yet, but it is a constant worry. If there were a class action, I would join.
Yes, it's a constant worry, as you said, Now my worry has become a bad reality at 97k miles with a very a noisy chain and tensioner. As I posted earlier, I think this may happen based as much on age as well as miles. Who knows, it's pretty much like a roll of the dice - will snake-eyes come up?

Before I have the balance shaft upgrade done on my Passat next week, I'm going to send a certified letter to VOA letting them know I am planning to have this engineering/manufacturing defect corrected, and I will give them the opportunity to correct it at their expense before I have the work done at my expense and seek reimbursement from them for my costs.

The fact that VOA completely re-engineered the faulty/defective chain drive oil pump drive unit to a gear drive unit makes a strong statement that they knew there was a serious problem with the original design, and (IHMO) opens the door for for compensation to owners of these vehicles. They acknowledge the problem, but do nothing for owners of these vehicles? Bull****!!! (can I say that here?)

My apologies if I violated the language barrier, but this issue really ticks me off. Plus that fact that I am driving a rented POS Ford Focus for the next week because I am afraid to drive my Passat with the noise it is making.

Moose
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Moose:

We admire your aggressiveness on this issue, but its all been done before to no avail. I'm not suggesting you give it up, but it probably makes sense to think about it.

If you are successful in squeezing out a payment for a "design upgrade" from VW (after your car is out of warranty), please let us know and the hoard will follow in your footsteps.;)
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
Aja, Is there a record of written correspondence with VOA on this issue, sent via certified mail with return reciept requested? Phone calls and emails mean almost nothing when it comes to legal matters.

I'm not trying to diminish the previous efforts of our TDI club members, I just need to understand if any formal written notification has been sent to VOA. If this hasn't been sent, let me know and I will prepare a letter for review of our members, and ultimately, send it via certified mail to VOA.

This issue is not about one BHW owner, (I don't want to file a claim on my own and leave everyone else hanging) it is about a nation of BHW owners who are experiencing the same problem, caused by faulty design. Together, I believe we can make a compelling case for compensation/remuneration from VOA.

BHW nation, please let me know thoughts about this. If you want me to back off, I will. But I'm pissed about my (and your) situation and I want to do something for our members, if I can.

Thanks,
Scott
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Aja, Is there a record of written correspondence with VOA on this issue, sent via certified mail with return reciept requested? Phone calls and emails mean almost nothing when it comes to legal matters.


Thanks,
Scott
Moose, I (and many others) was on the front end of this stuff in 2008. Lots of folks here sent certified letters which did nothing but get a reply to call WV Customer Care. Lots of calls were placed as requested and a certain woman with a canned spiel did the talking and basically shut it down. It's too late and most cars are way out of warranty.

Fix it and then worry about your torque converter like the rest of us. Oh, I just spent $4000 on a new rebuilt trans...slipped my mind....:eek:
 

truman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 18, 2000
Location
columbia,MO,usa
TDI
'05 Passat Variant, Still miss the 03JW
A limited warranty is designed to protect the manufacturer, not the consumer. VW's responsibility ends at the warranty limit, in spite of design flaws. Some battles aren't worth fighting- best wishes for your pursuit, however. I suspect the current HPFP issue will suffer the same fate.
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
My "new to me" 2000 Jetta ALH is looking better every morning when I get in it and head off to work. Simplicity at its finest in this line of cars. Plus, all the "bugs" are solved through the fine efforts of many here.
 

jryan11518

Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Location
San Diego
TDI
Passat 2.0 2004
truman
you are correct VW's responsibility ends when the warrantee expires. When these problems are obvious to everyone BEFORE the warranties expire, there is a moral responsibility VW has with the people buying their cars. This DOES NOT END when the warranties expires. I really believe many consumers that have lost their hard earned $$ on these vehicles will not purchase from VW for many years. I am one of those, and I am not that unique.
 

jryan11518

Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Location
San Diego
TDI
Passat 2.0 2004
I still haven't had the upgrade done, and my '04 has about 45k miles on it now. No noise yet, but it is a constant worry. If there were a class action, I would join.
greasejunkie just pay very close attention to it (noises). You MAY be ok for quite some time with it. I have 122k miles and have only now parked the car. I am waiting on parts to be delivered to Wild Rose Motors. It has been getting a little bit louder and I do not want to roll the dice any longer.

I have a large family and have purchased many automobiles over the years and have only had 2 cars or trucks not go well over the 200K mile mark with proper preventative maintenance only.
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
truman wrote:

VW's responsibility ends at the warranty limit, in spite of design flaws.
I'm not sure this is true, there are federal contract laws and legal precedences regarding "implied warranty" or " warranty of fitness for a particular purpose". See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implied_warranty

There are also laws and statutes regarding defects in design and manufacturing, where latent defects can be compensable to the consumer regardless of the length of the warranty. This may also vary from state to state (or province/country) depending where VW chooses to sell it's vehicles. Regardless of where VW sells their vehicles, they must abide by "the law of the land".

In addition to contacting VOA and requesting relief from them, I'm also putting in an inquiry with the Washington state Attorney General's office.

I'll let y'all know what I find out.
 

Zambee500

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI GLS, 2014 NMS Passat TDI SEL Premium
Lol. I'd be shocked if VWoA's lawyers overlooked the disclaimers for implied warranties. It's probably in the first page of the 3/36k warranty that VWoA does give to new buyers, right there in all caps.

We all know the chain-driven BSM is a design defect, but it's a tough argument to make when failures tend to occur over 100k miles, which many folks feel is already approaching the end of a vehicle's life expectancy. The B5.5 is approaching 8 years old now, and just "average" miles would put them past 100k. No states' lemon laws are going to apply anymore. And with several hundred pre-emptive replacements, those of us who have replaced the BSM before it broke have by default hidden (prevented) the evidence.

Look up the grief stages. Things get better around stage 5.
 

Eric Odle

Active member
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Location
Bellingham, WA
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon TDI (Chain Free!)
Ah, sure enough, I called my dealer and asked him about this whole BSM thing and he acted like he'd never even heard of the problem. Anyone know a good VW TDI guy in Northern Washington or in the Vancouver, BC area?

Looking on the Bora parts list, I see that the deluxe kit includes a new serpentine belt and tensioner. I just replaced mine because I had some slippage. So I may opt for the standard kit plus the timing belt, or would it make better sense to just go with the deluxe kit? I take it this is a good time to change the water pump, cam seal and crank seal... Should anything else be added to that list?
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
a good VW TDI guy in Northern Washington or in the Vancouver, BC area?
Don't know about balance shaft module replacements in the Vancouver, BC area, but going in the other direction, ZahnTech Import in Redmond is very highly regarded and has performed this operation in the past.

That said, there's a shortage of parts right now, so I'd keep that in mind... As for the parts... if you do wind up ordering the kit from Aaron, I'm sure he can discount the serpentine belt and tensioner...

All the best,

Yuri
 

Eric Odle

Active member
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Location
Bellingham, WA
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon TDI (Chain Free!)
Moose recommended ZahTech to me as well, though Redmond is a fair bit outside my normal stomping grounds.

Any other options for sourcing the parts besides Bora?

Oops, found it post #116.

Got a few options for installation in the Vancouver BC area it seems. That works out well for me since my wife lives in Burnaby. But do I understand correctly that I can source all of these upgrade parts at the dealer?
 
Last edited:

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
Ah, sure enough, I called my dealer and asked him about this whole BSM thing and he acted like he'd never even heard of the problem.
Heck, there are dealers out there that won't admit that VW made Passats during 04-05 with diesels! Mine gave me the deer in the headlights look.

Yah right...
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I think the dealer staff must be trained on the "deer in headlights" look, because they seem to do it so well. :cool:
 

Arch

Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2012
Location
Saskatoon
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
If anyone is aware of a repair shop in Saskatoon able to carry out the balance shaft & oil pump fix, please let me know.
 

Tang10

Active member
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Location
Regina
TDI
2010 Golf Wagon TDI
If anyone is aware of a repair shop in Saskatoon able to carry out the balance shaft & oil pump fix, please let me know.
Hi Arch,

I'm with you.......need the update done and I'm located in Regina.

Send me a PM with your number so we can be in contact.

Jamie
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
Arch and Tang,

Unless you have a local VW Wunderkind, you may need to travel quite a ways. I was fortunate to find a great VW mechanic 50 miles from my home; others have driven hundreds of miles to get the BSM done.

Check out the TDI 101 page, click on the Trusted TDI Mechanics thread, go to the state map. The nearest listed shops to you are in Brandon MB (European Auto) and Calgary AB (Mid Town Service). Also a couple in Montana, one in SD, and a few in Michigan. Some of these shops may have done this upgrade by now. Or take a trip to St. Louis and visit OilHammer's shop, he's probably done more of these than anyone on the planet.

Best wishes and Godspeed, and I would suggest you get this done sooner rather than later. There are too many sad and expensive stories of those who waited too long. I almost did.
 

Tang10

Active member
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Location
Regina
TDI
2010 Golf Wagon TDI
Top