204,000 miles presently and got it at 70,000 miles in Jan. 2020 just before pandemic. Timing Belt & water pump done at 135K (both belt and pump were still in good shape and could have gone to 150K). Extended Warranty Claims and NON-warranty items include:
1. Water Jacket Flange on side of the engine started leaking during a roadtrip to the Northeast. Repair done @ North Haven VW at 90,000 miles.
2. EGR replaced @ VW Clear Lake at 95,000 miles.
3. 2 sensors related to fuel injection system somehow ignited under the silver fire retardant cover sleeve next to the DEF injector replaced under warranty after about 4 weeks at the dealer as VWNA had to mull over the cause of the damage (almost $2,000 in repairs but all covered by VWNA) at 115,000 miles.
4. Timing Belt, Water Pump and Pulley replaced at 135,000 miles by indie mechanic. NOTE: Parts acquired from European Ebay parts reseller from Latvia. Parts at dealer at $800, but got them from EU Latvia by DHL Express all brand new for $250
.
5. Rear Brakes & Pads done as an emergency at a Midas in Sheridan, Wyoming after leaving Yellowstone Nat'l Park on way back to TX as they were
metal to metal on one side at 162,000 miles.
6. AC upper hose (sourced on EU Ebay from Lithuania from a salvaged Skoda for $110 delivered, dealer wanted $450 and only 2 available in the
entire US at that time @ 170,000 miles.
6. HVAC system completely renewed in later half of 2021 including compressor (make sure you go with factory Denso ONLY guys), evaporator which includes the drier (aftermarket), AC valve body (after AC overhauled it still was 20 degrees too warm, so after the valve body replaced ($40 from dealer) it was back factory temperature spec. @ 180,000 miles.
7. Replaced most of the suspension front & rear including H&R lowering springs, factory struts & shocks (Sachs), control arm bushings & ball joints, as well as the front drop links. Now looks and rides like a GTI or R but with a more pliant ride due to keeping the touring suspension in the Sachs spring rates @ 182,000 miles.
7. Presently CEL code of P0087 pointing to low fuel pressure at the fuel rail. Indie diagnosed no issues with HPFP or P295 valve and instead got weak readings from #3 & #4 injectors which might have slight debris in them. Thus decided to replace all 4 fuel injectors with a set of lower mileage ones with 47K miles on them from a salvaged A3 here in Texas (paid $400 for the set) @ 204,000 miles.
This car has touched 44 of the Lower 48 US states in the last 2 1/2 years since purchasing used at 70,000, completing 3 major roadtrips of (4,000 miles, 6,000 miles and 7,000 miles respectively). Never has it left me stranded (knock on wood) and consistently has been delivering 450 to 500 miles at each fill up on long distance cruises. She will be back on the road in August on a 5 week remote working roadtrip out West to CA, OR, WA, MT, WY and finally back to Texas.
Last thing I will note is the recommended oil used in our cars. Not sure what oils each of you are running, but I did find early on it is of the up most importance to use ONLY what is called for by the manufacturer OR face problems later on with your DPF potentially clogging or failing prematurely. VW calls for VW 507.00 for which I previously used Germany's LiquiMoly TopTec 4200 (can be gotten on Amazon), BUT I have sense switched to another brand also sold on Amazon called Triax and its EURO formula is good for 25,000 mile intervals. I have taken this oil upto 20,000 miles before replacement and I had the oils composition tested and upon completion the results were showing that the oils properties are almost as good as when it was first poured. So this is likely the best option if you want to go longer on your oil change intervals and btw the engine sounds MUCH quieter than when I was using LiquiMoly or other competitive brands.
Triax Euro Ultra VX 5W-30 Full Synthetic Ester, Compatible with VW 507.00/504.00, VW Audi 502.00, 505.01, BMW LL-04, Porsche C30, ACEA C3, Mercedes 229.51, 229.5, 229.31
