Re: VW warranty@uboc.com

["James C." <james.colton@uboc.com>]

The door panels on our cars suck!  After getting no where with my local 
area dealers, I finally forked $200 to a competent third-party shop to 
have them fixed (post 2/24k warranty, of course...).  The problem (at 
least mine) stemmed from lousy (and cheap) VW engineering.  The door 
panels on the car are held on by cheap plastic fastners that are good for 
(at most) two removal cycles.  Thereafter, the fasteners get stripped and 
you pretty much have to replace them.  In addition, on pre-1996 models 
like mine, VW left out the insulation tape btw. its door panels and the 
door frames.  Consequently, my loose doors made that much more noise.

My third party guys were aware of the VW fix (ie - apply tape...).  But, 
as Chris pointed out, that works for about one hot summer...  So, my guys 
replaced all the mounting hardware and then applied a silicon jelly to 
the door frame where it meets the panel.  Viola - no more door panel 
rattles - in fact my panels seem tighter than when the car was new...  
They really don't make any noise, period... (Plus the jelly isn't nearly 
as ugly as the tape, because it can be applied more precisely.)  Of 
course, the silicon might run if the car gets really hot, but it hasn't 
yet and in the meantime my doors are rattle free...

You might be able to do all this yourself for at less cash...  The 
mounting hardware for all four doors is roughly $80.  Just pull 'em off 
and apply tape or jelly and replace...

Anyway, good luck - hope you dealers are better than mine...

- - JC

>> - Squeaky front door panels
>> Well...They proceeded to tell me that the squeaky door panels, head rest
>> covers and colored door trim were NOT covered after the first year!  I
>> check the warranty book and it says that all material or workmanship is
>> covered for 2 years or 24,000 miles. The dealer said these were
>> "adjustment items" and were not covered. I currently have a call into VW
>> Customer Relations.
>>
>> Your opinions, advise and experience would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> OH, HEY, Hold on!  I just got a call from the dealership. VW-CS called
>> them and authorized the door trim and head rest, but NOT the squeaky
>> door panel.  But, the service manager said they use automotive Teflon
>> tape to fix the door panels?? I guess I'll take care of that myself.
>
>This reflects a similar experience I had. I have a squeak in my door
>which comes from the rubber seal around the top rubbing on the paint.
>It's not loud, but is as annoying as hell. I was told that squeaks and
>rattles are 12k/1 year warranteed as well, but that my dealer will
>usually attend to them anyway. My squeak was fixed by the teflon tape
>(they call it "isolation tape"), but the heat has caused it to shrink
>and come unstuck. The rattle is back, and I will make them reapply the
>tape at the 15k service.
>Let us know what you find.
>Chris


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