Spine
Well-known member
Hello all. Here is my story of my VW, it's radio problem, VW stealership's poor response and the solution to the problem.
I own a 2003 TDI Jetta Wagon that is just out of warranty (with 89,000 km of the 4yr/80,000k limit). Until last week my radio reception has been fantastic and in my opinion surpasses many other OEM solutions for other auto makers. Last week I noticed that my AM reception dropped to nothing while my FM reception had severely decreased to the point of only tuning in VERY local stations.
I thought at first it could be atmospheric and might have something to do with the warmer weather we are finally getting in Ontario. The second day it didn't appear to be any better so I searched TDIclub for similar problems. I specifically noted a possible solution where corrosion forms between the car body and the antenna base. I put my radio in service mode and found that the antenna was "off". I then checked for corrosion between the body of the car and the antenna base and there was none (and why should there be, the car is just coming out of winter #2 and about 23 months old). I then narrowed the problems down to the head unit, the coaxial cable between the antenna and HU or the antenna itself.
That night I disassembled the antenna base (if you are interested all it takes are two phillips screws (mine had red paint/wax type material on it) and the antenna base will seperate giving you access to the amplifier circuitry found in the base of the antenna) Immediately I could smell salt and could see that salt had been accumulating in the base of the antenna. My suspicions are that the O-ring in the antenna base assembly had failed and salt spray from winter road traffic had worked its way into the antenna base eventually corroding the circuitry away. The attached pictures demonstrate how much salt is on the circuitry and this doesnt include all the powdery stuff that came falling out.
Because I thought that this was clearly a defect in the antenna I went to my dealership where I bought my car and tried to get a "good-will" warranty exchange as I feel this type of failure is time based and not kilometerage based and should not have happened this fast on a 2 year old car. The service manager said that "This is my fault because I didn't keep the salt off my car, and even if it was under warranty he would make me pay". I told him that I disagree and then asked for the contact information for Volkswagen of Canada. I am offended by his comments in the fact that I keep my car as clean as possible in the winter and in no instance did salt water or slush with salt in it sit around my antenna on my car. In the end the dealership didn't even reduce the price and I ended up paying list price for the antenna (mast and base assembly) which is $80.42 CAD.
I have noticed there are many problems with radio reception with the A4 models and feel this is a potential design error. If it helps one person solve their reception problems than it is more than worth my time to type this up and take the photos
<Begin rant>
I would also like to point out my disgust with Crosby VW/Audi located in Kitchener, Ontario. The first time I went there for service (16,000km) I noticed on the bill that I was charged $3.95 for part # ZVW-817-001 with the description -40PRE MIX. I asked the service person what that was and he said it was windsheild washer fluid. I then pointed out to him that most dealerships top off WW fluid for free and even if they wanted to charge me, the would have only put a maximum of 2L in the tank because I remember the light coming on, on the way to get the car serviced. This price per/L extrapolates to $7.90/4L jug which is almost double what a gas station charges and quadruple to triple the cost of what a regular store charges.
While I was in the queue for the cashier, I also noticed them charging an old man $46 CDN to replace 2 lightbulbs in the tail section of his TDI golf. Terrible.
I would advise anyone in the area to avoid this dealership for service & parts if you can. It wasn't so much the $80 that I had to pay for my antenna, it was the response from the service rep that "I didn't keep salt off my car" that will in the future prevent me from returning to that dealership for service and purchase of new automobiles for my family.
I own a 2003 TDI Jetta Wagon that is just out of warranty (with 89,000 km of the 4yr/80,000k limit). Until last week my radio reception has been fantastic and in my opinion surpasses many other OEM solutions for other auto makers. Last week I noticed that my AM reception dropped to nothing while my FM reception had severely decreased to the point of only tuning in VERY local stations.
I thought at first it could be atmospheric and might have something to do with the warmer weather we are finally getting in Ontario. The second day it didn't appear to be any better so I searched TDIclub for similar problems. I specifically noted a possible solution where corrosion forms between the car body and the antenna base. I put my radio in service mode and found that the antenna was "off". I then checked for corrosion between the body of the car and the antenna base and there was none (and why should there be, the car is just coming out of winter #2 and about 23 months old). I then narrowed the problems down to the head unit, the coaxial cable between the antenna and HU or the antenna itself.
That night I disassembled the antenna base (if you are interested all it takes are two phillips screws (mine had red paint/wax type material on it) and the antenna base will seperate giving you access to the amplifier circuitry found in the base of the antenna) Immediately I could smell salt and could see that salt had been accumulating in the base of the antenna. My suspicions are that the O-ring in the antenna base assembly had failed and salt spray from winter road traffic had worked its way into the antenna base eventually corroding the circuitry away. The attached pictures demonstrate how much salt is on the circuitry and this doesnt include all the powdery stuff that came falling out.
Because I thought that this was clearly a defect in the antenna I went to my dealership where I bought my car and tried to get a "good-will" warranty exchange as I feel this type of failure is time based and not kilometerage based and should not have happened this fast on a 2 year old car. The service manager said that "This is my fault because I didn't keep the salt off my car, and even if it was under warranty he would make me pay". I told him that I disagree and then asked for the contact information for Volkswagen of Canada. I am offended by his comments in the fact that I keep my car as clean as possible in the winter and in no instance did salt water or slush with salt in it sit around my antenna on my car. In the end the dealership didn't even reduce the price and I ended up paying list price for the antenna (mast and base assembly) which is $80.42 CAD.
I have noticed there are many problems with radio reception with the A4 models and feel this is a potential design error. If it helps one person solve their reception problems than it is more than worth my time to type this up and take the photos
<Begin rant>
I would also like to point out my disgust with Crosby VW/Audi located in Kitchener, Ontario. The first time I went there for service (16,000km) I noticed on the bill that I was charged $3.95 for part # ZVW-817-001 with the description -40PRE MIX. I asked the service person what that was and he said it was windsheild washer fluid. I then pointed out to him that most dealerships top off WW fluid for free and even if they wanted to charge me, the would have only put a maximum of 2L in the tank because I remember the light coming on, on the way to get the car serviced. This price per/L extrapolates to $7.90/4L jug which is almost double what a gas station charges and quadruple to triple the cost of what a regular store charges.
While I was in the queue for the cashier, I also noticed them charging an old man $46 CDN to replace 2 lightbulbs in the tail section of his TDI golf. Terrible.
I would advise anyone in the area to avoid this dealership for service & parts if you can. It wasn't so much the $80 that I had to pay for my antenna, it was the response from the service rep that "I didn't keep salt off my car" that will in the future prevent me from returning to that dealership for service and purchase of new automobiles for my family.
