Vauxhall camshaft chain recall

ledge97

My partner currently finances (HP) a used vauxhall grandland. Following the recall letter we booked the car in, but due to personal circumstances the 2 appoitments made were missed. During that time the car had broke down and the AA towed our car to our local vauxhall dealer for diagnosis. The diagnosis has confirmed the camshaft chain has snapped and theres potentially further damadge to the engine. 

We were then advised by vauxhall to contact bayliss customer care/stylantis to further investigate. We was told we would here back within a week. 8 weeks later, after several phone calls to customer care, we had no response. Prior to this Vauxhall also told us we could pay a £30 fee for a courtesy car, the car was booked in to then be told 2 days before collection that we could have the car as they hadn't received confirmation. We eventually heard back from customer care, not long after the 8 weeks, and they've sent a letter saying "Thank you for your request. I am writing to confirm that your vehicle is covered by an extended warranty on the timing chain." it goes on to say that the car needs to meet a criteria i.e service history, diagnosis to be done at main dealership, but haven't mentioned anything regarding the recall. It also says "If all of the above conditions are satisfied, the repairs will be carried out under the timing chain extended warranty. Please note that diagnoses should be authored by the customer and it is excluded from goodwill gesture as well as from extended warranty coverage"

According to vauxhall main dealer, the diagnosis/investigation that needs to be done could cost over £1000, yet the cost for this is not mentioned in the letter. Where do we stand with this and are we liable to pay for this investigation ? 

Criteria from letter: Car meets criteria with the exception of last service done at non-authorized garage. 

The extended warranty coverage for the timing chain is valid for 150,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first. To ensure the repair is covered under warranty, the following criteria must be met: 

• The vehicle must be diagnosed at one of our official dealerships. 
• The fault codes identified during diagnosis must match those outlined in the extended warranty program. 
• The complete service history must be presented to the dealership. Please note that services must be carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines, with a tolerance of 1,200 miles or 2 months. 

If services have been carried out at a non‑authorized dealership, the authorized dealer will require proper service invoices clearly displaying: 

• Vehicle mileage at the time of service 
• Date the service was performed 
• Part numbers used 
• Oil grades applied 

Aylesbury_Duck

It sounds like the recall is now irrelevant given you missed two booked appointments, and that this is being treated as a warranty matter.  If that's the case, then you have to comply with the warranty terms if you want to claim under warranty, which means paying for the diagnosis and providing the necessary information to show the service intervals were met and that the last service was carried out to manufacturer's specifications (which is why they need that last set of information).

Have the services been carried out on time/mileage plus the tolerance?

Was the last service done properly?  Can you obtain the information they've asked for?

The other route here may be consumer rights.  When was the car purchased, from whom, how much was it and does the nature of the HP deal carry any section 75 protection?

TELLIT01

ledge97 said:

"If all of the above conditions are satisfied, the repairs will be carried out under the timing chain extended warranty. Please note that diagnoses should be authored by the customer and it is excluded from goodwill gesture as well as from extended warranty coverage"

According to vauxhall main dealer, the diagnosis/investigation that needs to be done could cost over £1000, yet the cost for this is not mentioned in the letter. Where do we stand with this and are we liable to pay for this investigation ? 

The cost of diagnosis is specifically mentioned in the section I have highlighted above.  It is not covered under warranty.  Unfortunately the OP missed 2 appointments to have the work done, and the reason is really irrelevant.  They knew there was a recall and continued to drive the car after failing to have the work completed.  I think they are actually fortunate that the repair work will still be done under the warranty.

DeathByFluffy

I think missing those two appointments is going to cause you a massive headache - this is recall work that’s incredibly important and needs to be completed at the earliest opportunity. 

Hunger_games

From your first message it sounds like the dealership has already confirmed that the camshaft chain has snapped, so it would be reasonable to ask Vauxhall/ Stellantis why an additional investigation costing around £1000 is required before they can confirm whether the repair is covered under the extended timing chain warranty.

If the failure has already been diagnosed by a Vauxhall dealer, you may wish to ask Vauxhall/ Stellantis to clarify exactly what further checks are needed and whether those costs would be reimbursed if the failure is confirmed to fall under the extended warranty programme.

You may also want to consider reporting the issue to the DVSA, particularly as it relates to a known recall involving the DV5 camshaft chain. The DVSA oversees the vehicle safety recall system in the UK, and while they cannot intervene in individual disputes, they do monitor how recall campaigns operate in practice and investigate safety concerns raised by motorists.

As the vehicle is on HP finance, it may also be worth notifying the finance company about the failure, as they may have responsibilities where a major mechanical defect has occurred.

Hopefully that helps and you can get some clarity from Vauxhall/ Stellantis before committing to any significant diagnostic costs.

Jumblebumble

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81909825#Comment_81909825

Since the OP has not been back to answer any of @Aylesbury_Duck's questions and since we don't know for how long the OP carried on driving after the recall I don't think we can offer any useful advice.

I am frankly not surprised that Stelantis are being difficult

It would be interesting to see what a small claims court would make of this on a claim using consumer rights as Stelantis advice is

Leaving this issue unresolved could gradually affect your vehicle’s performance and may lead to engine damage over time

https://www.vauxhall.co.uk/maintenance-services/warranties-care/1-5-blue-hdi-diesel-engine-key-information.html