VW Touran ESP/ABS problems

kcho

Oh dear....just bought a 2.L DSG only 4 years old but 90,000 miles looks like it's just a matter of time before the dreaded light comes on then! Was a fleet car so up until ind dealer serviced before purchase has full VW history. How old/how many miles will VW contribute and am I now stuck having to keep up the VW service history?

Scaggers

Thank you to all the above posters - you have saved me a small fortune!! The dreaded EPS light came on in my 2.0 55 plate touran (55k mileage) a few weeks ago. It was booked into Sytner VW in Leeds for a diagnostic check when, by chance, I googled the fault and came across this site. I called VW customer services and was given a case number. Sytner also independently advised me that they were seeking to repair the fault under goodwill as I had a full VW service history (3 services). It took a few days to get an answer but I have today had the EPS fixed for free with a 100% contribution from VW. Unfortunately, the engine/emmissions light has also come on and I have been told by Sytner that it will cost £420 to repair. However, they are trying to get this also done under goodwill. Will post an update shortly.
Whilst not impressed that the EPS is a known fault, both VW and Sytner have been very good in the way they have dealt with the matter and Sytner in particular have gone out of their way - picking up the car and delivering it back home and giving me a courtesy car.

andy8442

Scaggers wrote: »

Thank you to all the above posters - you have saved me a small fortune!! The dreaded EPS light came on in my 2.0 55 plate touran (55k mileage) a few weeks ago. It was booked into Sytner VW in Leeds for a diagnostic check when, by chance, I googled the fault and came across this site. I called VW customer services and was given a case number. Sytner also independently advised me that they were seeking to repair the fault under goodwill as I had a full VW service history (3 services). It took a few days to get an answer but I have today had the EPS fixed for free with a 100% contribution from VW. Unfortunately, the engine/emmissions light has also come on and I have been told by Sytner that it will cost £420 to repair. However, they are trying to get this also done under goodwill. Will post an update shortly.
Whilst not impressed that the EPS is a known fault, both VW and Sytner have been very good in the way they have dealt with the matter and Sytner in particular have gone out of their way - picking up the car and delivering it back home and giving me a courtesy car.

Lucky you. We paid £1550 a couple of years ago to fix ours. 28K, 6 months out of warranty, FSH, but crucially bought and serviced from a VW dealership who had just gone bust (Richard Alexander).

I think we were amongst the first crop of people to complain and VW were happy to tell us to p*ss off, but as the fury mounted VW have had to bend a bit. BMW and Honda have had the very same fault but their solution was a recall and fix for free, no questions asked.

The end result for us has been my new car been a Merc, and my wife, well we can't afford to change so she is still driving around in the Touran waiting for the dreaded light to come on again.

NO MORE VW'S FOR US.

White_Freesias

Hi,

Just wanted to update on what happened with our Touran in case it helps anyone else. I wrote to VW Customer Services in February last year, outlining the three big things that had gone wrong with the car since we bought it almost new, and asking what VW would do to help. Their response was pretty much 'up yours' since we didn't buy it new from VW and we hadn't had it serviced by VW, so it was our own fault, apparently!
It was all a lot of hassle for no gain so we left it. Couldn't afford to have the ESP problem fixed so we thought we'd just drive around in it as it was and worry about the warning light on the dashboard when we came to sell.
I want to thank Shazza because after reading her post I thought I'd have another bash at contacting VW. This time I called Customer Services rather than putting it in writing. I spoke to a very polite customer service agent who was at first quite non-committal about the ESP fault. I was beautifully polite too, but kept sticking to the point that I knew it was a known fault, that I understood there was a repair kit and that I wanted to know whether VW would contribute to the cost.
He explained that VW have 'parameters' against which they judge whether to make a goodwill payment towards the cost of the repair. These are: the age of the car, the mileage, service history and ownership (i.e. number of owners, I suppose).
We were on shaky ground with the service history because ours has been serviced regularly but not with VW. The customer service agent said that their system wasn't black and white, so even without a VW FSH there would be a sliding scale of what VW would contribute based on the other parameters.
He then gave me a case reference number, which I could give to my local VW garage, Wayside Dunstable, when booking the car in for a diagnostic.
We got the diagnostic done at Wayside and a quote came back at £578. Still pretty painful. Anyhow, Wayside then liaised with VW to finalise their contribution. They agreed to 50% of the cost. So we paid £289 in the end, for what we originally thought would be nearer to £1500.
Still, it's £289 more than I think we should have paid when added to the other problems we've had with it, and I definitely wouldn't get another VW.
Just in case anyone else is thinking of giving it a go, I'd say absolutely DO contact the main VW customer services, by phone not in writing, and even if your service history is with another garage. It was my second attempt to get them to cough up and I got a much more favourable outcome the second time round!

tinerua

I live in the Rep of Ireland and have just had this issue with my Touran. Our car is a 2006 and only barely has 30,000 miles on it. I don't have a full VW service history, although I have scrupulously looked after the car with my own independent mechanic.

The ESP light came on last week, and I found this forum. I armed myself with information and booked in for a diagnostic at my nearest VW garage. They told me it would cost €600 to fix. They avoided answering any questions I had regarding the nature of the fault except to say, and I quote, "Sometimes the ABS parts just wear out."

I rang VW Customer Services today to ask why there hasn't been a recall on such a specific issue with their cars and how the ABS could "just wear out". Their response was that the problem isn't worldwide enough to warrant a recall. And if I had an exclusive VW service history, they might be able to contribute a goodwill gesture towards fixing the problem. Since I do not, there is nothing they can do to help me since they do not know the history of my car.

At that point I didn't see the point in arguing any further with her. If you haven't got a flawless VW service history, you will get nowhere with them in Ireland. Nevermind the fact that the ESP problem is a known issue, and that my car only has 30k miles on it.

I still love my Touran. But this whole experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth towards VW.

chm7jel

I`ve just been quoted 90 quid for a diagnostic assessment for this ESP problem plus an additional 17 quid for the insurance to borrow their courtesy car for the day because my nearest dealer is off the beaten track and I`d have to sit in the garage all day if I didn`t use it............ggrrrrr. Hopefully I`ll get my diagnostics money back, as per the lady in the customer service dept at VAG but as for the courtesy car charge..........hhhhmmmmm. Just winds me up that they have the audacity to charge that much for diagnosing a known fault which my local garage didn`t charge anything to diagnose. Not holding out much hope for any reimbursement either as I`ve got a 06 Touran with 79k on the clock brought from VW but only partially serviced by them. Light came on about 8 months ago but decided I couldn`t afford to get the part replaced. Now been told the car won`t pass its MOT next year unless it gets fixed:-(

White_Freesias

Just noticed this thread still going and wanted to say that our Touran did pass its MOT with the ESP warning light on the dash before the fault was repaired. The light came on in December 2010 and we got the car MOTed in January 2011.

Dillence

Thanks to this thread and some other information I found, I have just had my Golf fixed for free. The ESP light went on last week and the garage offered a diagnostic test.

The fault was the one that is mentioned above and I wasn't charged anything - I didn't pay for the diagnostic, and they didn't even charge me for insuring the courtesy car.

They said that they are not charging for any Golfs under 7 years old. Although I did tell them that I was aware of the fault and they made a note of this.

Alisha2008

This light turned on my 2005 Golf last night.. the car is almost 7 years old and I'm quite scared reading this post and others I've found. I don't have a full VW service as I take it to an independent VW specialists. I rang my local VW dealer this morning but they coulnd't give me an appointment till 8th Sept, so I rang my local garage and they will use the computer tomorrow.

Does anyone know if there's a rule for this problem to be fixed by VW? My car has 78k miles, so not under warranty any more...

Jen_Cardiff

Hi all,I have a 56 plate touran, just had its first mot,a week later got the abs alarm. Found this thread so rang vw who told me to get diagnostic. Vw garage says it is the abs unit that controls the pump but it's not this threads fault so not up!!!!! Complained to VW who have now passed our case on to a specialist manager. Very disappointed, hoped we wouldn't have all this hassle off Vw