Vw auto hold fault - do I have rights?

First_time_buyer_lauren · 8 July 2017 at 11:43AM

Hi,

I bought an ex demo Mk 2 Tiguan around 10 - 11 months ago, after 2 weeks it developed a fault with the auto hold which when trying to move off from stationary sticks and either won't budge or sticks for a few seconds and shoots off which obviously is dangerous. It's been in my local Vw branch over 7 times for the same fault, each time they've said they can't see anything wrong with it, fast forward a couple of months and the car hasn't been TOO bad a little bit of sticking every so often but nothing as major as it had been. until I booked it in for a service... there's been a recall on the auto hold (a software update) I collected my car yesterday feeling relieved that the problem was sorted out, I drove out of the car park and it was worse than ever! Ive literally had enough of it and am at the point where I want to hand the car back! I've been informed by a family member who works for part of the Vw group that there is no fix for the problem and all they can do is keep fobbing me off.
The garage I bought the car from is quite a way away, around an hour drive there and back and I don't feel comfortable driving there. I've lost all confidence in the car and don't want to risk a drive that far with a problem with the breaks especially with two little ones in tow.
Does anyone have any advice please?

k3lvc · 8 July 2017 at 11:51AM

Given they've driven it and can't spot a fault are your expectations on what it should be doing wrong ?

I've had it on a few different cars and my latest feels different to other makes/models but still does the job. Have you tried a different Tiguan to see whether it's model specific ?

If the garage state no issue then you're really in the realms of getting (and paying for) an independent report stating the fault in order to go back to them

and p.s. don't throw the emotion of the poor children into this :rotfl:

DUTR · 8 July 2017 at 11:56AM

k3lvc wrote: »

Given they've driven it and can't spot a fault are your expectations on what it should be doing wrong ?

I've had it on a few different cars and my latest feels different to other makes/models but still does the job. Have you tried a different Tiguan to see whether it's model specific ?

If the garage state no issue then you're really in the realms of getting (and paying for) an independent report stating the fault in order to go back to them

and p.s. don't throw the emotion of the poor children into this :rotfl:

Agreed on the expectations, I have AH on my Golf, it's brilliant, before pulling off I gently touch the accelerator to release the brake and then just drive as normal, I'm suspecting the OP like ithers on another forum, are just 'flooring' the accelerator from standstill, I'm sure they wouldn't do that with a regular handbrake .

First_time_buyer_lauren · 8 July 2017 at 12:00PM

Definitely not, i expect it to drive... sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't. Its aparently a known fault but one without a fix. They've admitted now that there is a fault with it which is why the recall was released but it hasn't fixed it and has definitely made the problem worse. Yesterday it was almost undriveable - my partner also went for a drive in it and the bleeding thing wouldn't budge off the drive it took 3 attempts of putting back into gear and faffing with the clutch, we've had this car for 10 months and know how to drive it and drive it the same each time.
We're aware if the door is not shut properly or your seatbelt isn't on the auto hold doesn't work.

DUTR · 8 July 2017 at 12:04PM

First_time_buyer_lauren wrote: »

Definitely not, i expect it to drive... sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't. Its aparently a known fault but one without a fix. They've admitted now that there is a fault with it which is why the recall was released but it hasn't fixed it and has definitely made the problem worse. Yesterday it was almost undriveable - my partner also went for a drive in it and the bleeding thing wouldn't budge off the drive it took 3 attempts of putting back into gear and faffing with the clutch, we've had this car for 10 months and know how to drive it and drive it the same each time.
We're aware if the door is not shut properly or your seatbelt isn't on the auto hold doesn't work.

Were either both of you wearing the seatbelt when attempting to move off? If the seatbelt is not in use then the car won't move, my friend's GF had a Tiguan with AH and that was no issue either (10 plate iirc) .
Is your car manual or DSG?

AdrianC · 8 July 2017 at 12:04PM

If you don't feel comfortable driving it with the kids in the car, then leave the kids with somebody, or pay to get the car transported. Or simply turn the auto-hold off...

You are dealing with the supplier under the manufacturer warranty - you do not need to deal with the same supplier over that, you can use any VW dealer.

You also have your statutory rights, which are against the dealer you bought it from. You can demonstrate that the fault was present very soon after the time of purchase, and there's no issue with proving that they seem unable to resolve it. I suspect that threatening them with the statutory rights will see an offer to buy the car back, at which point it simply becomes a question of a fair price for the use you've given the car.

k3lvc · 8 July 2017 at 12:08PM

First_time_buyer_lauren wrote: »

Definitely not, i expect it to drive... sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't. Its aparently a known fault but one without a fix. They've admitted now that there is a fault with it which is why the recall was released but it hasn't fixed it and has definitely made the problem worse. Yesterday it was almost undriveable - my partner also went for a drive in it and the bleeding thing wouldn't budge off the drive it took 3 attempts of putting back into gear and faffing with the clutch, we've had this car for 10 months and know how to drive it and drive it the same each time.
We're aware if the door is not shut properly or your seatbelt isn't on the auto hold doesn't work.

So now the story is changing - there may well be a technical update for the auto hold but there's no immediate sign of a recall

If the problem is as severe as you're saying yet the dealer can't replicate it then next time it happens on the way that you're suggesting (i.e. stuck on the driveway) then call VW recovery and let them deal with it

DUTR · 8 July 2017 at 12:16PM

AdrianC wrote: »

If you don't feel comfortable driving it with the kids in the car, then leave the kids with somebody, or pay to get the car transported. Or simply turn the auto-hold off...

:j

You are dealing with the supplier under the manufacturer warranty - you do not need to deal with the same supplier over that, you can use any VW dealer.

:j
You also have your statutory rights, which are against the dealer you bought it from. You can demonstrate that the fault was present very soon after the time of purchase, and there's no issue with proving that they seem unable to resolve it. I suspect that threatening them with the statutory rights will see an offer to buy the car back, at which point it simply becomes a question of a fair price for the use you've given the car.

I too suspect that the OP may not be using the function correctly, and indeed can just disable AH and use the switch as they would a normal cable handbrake.

First_time_buyer_lauren · 8 July 2017 at 12:41PM

yes wearing seatbelt, I did put that in my post.

I am definitely not "flooring the accelerator" it's a 2.0L tdi, I suspect if I floored the accelerator that I would have ended up going through my front door by now!?

One technician did replicate the problem whilst on a test drive with me (him driving it) and told me there was a fault... then when someone else spoke to me no one had any recognition of it.

The family member that works at another garage which is part of the Volkswagen group said there is a problem with them (he's a head mechanic and has experienced the problem himself on a few other cars (seat and vw's) they are having to fob people off and blame their "driving style" as they simply don't know how to fix it but are obviously keeping it quiet!! There has been a recall (46G7) (google it and you will see im not the only person experiencing a fault) this was written in my service book. Like I said I've been driving the car daily since we bought it, there are days when it is completely fine and days where every time I try to move off it won't budge without a load of faffing that shouldn't have to be done. Yes I could probably drive it without the auto hold on (it does still stick sometimes when I do it manually) but why should I? I paid a lot of money for the car which if the problem persists is going to have a broken clutch and faulty breaks!

First_time_buyer_lauren · 8 July 2017 at 12:47PM

I would also like to point out that the issue only started 2 weeks after I got the car so if I simply didn't know how to drive a car with auto hold wouldn't I have experienced it from driving from the forecourt? And wouldn't it happen every time I tried to drive. The simple fact is it is an intermittent problem, Vw know about it and have tried to fix it with a software update and failed miserably!

AdrianC · 8 July 2017 at 12:48PM

First_time_buyer_lauren wrote: »

I would also like to point out that the issue only started 2 weeks after I got the car

Which suggests it is not an inherent fault... Yet the mechanism is exactly the same as the normal electronic parking brake. The only thing auto-hold adds is some software to take it off automatically, when certain criteria are met.

First_time_buyer_lauren wrote: »

Yes I could probably drive it without the auto hold on (it does still stick sometimes when I do it manually)

OK, so there may be an issue with the mechanism of the electronic parking brake, rather than with the auto-hold software.

but why should I? I paid a lot of money for the car which if the problem persists is going to have a broken clutch and faulty breaks!

For the sake of turning the button off until you know it's fixed, that would be contributory negligence on your part.

Vw auto hold fault - do I have rights?

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