LIMITED POWERTRAIN WARRANTY

 

Star Motor Co

Clarksburg, WV  26330

 

Mr. ???? & Mr. ?????

 

It is now 2:07 AM on Tuesday December 23, 2003 and I cannot sleep.  The reason for this is because of what I was told yesterday regarding the leaking transmission output seal on my 2001 VW Jetta TDI.

 

I was told that this will not be covered under warranty because it is leaking due to “normal wear and tear” yet  I beg to differ.  I would have liked to discuss this more at the garage, but I wanted to cool down.  While driving the four hours to get back to Logan West Virginia, I was started to have chest pains because of the tension that built up regarding this matter.  I took a vacation day from work to have the mirror replaced and to have this leak checked.  I could have had this work done in Charleston, but I believe the better service I receive at Star Motor outweighs the cost associated with driving the extra 250 miles and the lose of a vacation day from work.  Star Motor rules compared to Joe Holland, I have always said that.  Not to mention, I believe in the VW product and I will like to get a relationship started with Star Motors.

 

He are the reason why I think that this should be covered under the Volkswagen 100,000 mile, 10 year, Limited Powertrain Warranty.

 

  1. I have NEVER mistreated this car.  Never took it in the mud, never spun the tires.  No accidents.  I have never took the engine above 4,000 rpm.  If you look at the brakes on this car, it still has the original pads.  When I got it inspected at Joe Holland in Charleston with 38,844 miles, I was told that the back brakes look brand new, while the front brakes are halfway through their life.  I do not downshift to stop, instead I treat the car with care and plan my stops.  No jack rabbit starts, no sudden stops.  I am sure people get behind me and see my license plate OUTATYM and say, “This guy is going to go fast, I am going to stay behind this guy”, and in the end, I am the slowest one on the road because I want to get the best miles-per-gallon.

 

  1. I have followed all service advisors and have documented everything that I have done to the car.  Everything from, waxing > diesel fuel gallons to compute MPG >  where I went and how many times I had to start the engine to get there.  (I have no life.)  I keep every invoice for every product that I purchased for this car, even the receipt for the theft-deterrent license plate screws.

 

  1. We have three other cars in our house, 98 Lumina, 92 Lumina, 86 Cavalier, and yes we have had to change the boots on the later one, however we have never had to change the output shaft seals on any of these cars and the mileage is 38,000, 56,000, 104,356 respectfully.  The boots on the VW are in excellent condition and I would expect those to fail first since they have more twisting-changing motion then the transmission output seal.  These boots get inspected every 20,000 miles according to the Service Schedule.

 

  1. On 10/11/03 41,934 miles, I removed the belly pan and degreased it and then reinstalled it.  Then on 11/01/03 42,450 miles I removed the belly pan again to change the oil. (The average mileage between oil changes is 6,729.)  I then noticed that I had some type of leak on the driver side of the belly pan after driving 516 miles.  It was only cleaned 20 days before.  At first I thought it was the transmission, however after talking to your service manager on either November 4th or 5th, he stated that he does not think that is the case.  His reasoning is because the transmission is a sealed system and that it is made not to leak.  He even stated that there was no way to check the transmission fluid level in this car because it is a manual and that it has gear oil.

 

  1. The manual that came with the car specify states that the Limited Powertrain Warranty covers

Transmission:  case and all internal parts, torque converter, all related seals and gaskets.

Drive Train:  differential and all internal parts, drive shafts and constant velocity joints

 

You stated that the seal is not going to be under warranty because, “Normal Use and Deterioration” (what a loophole).  However after looking and the Service Schedule, nowhere does it state to check on the status of the transmission seals.  Therefore it is not an item that needs to be checked or replaced at regular scheduled intervals.  Also, if I had to change this seal ever 40,000 miles then I would have never bought this car, nor would I have told people how well a Jetta is.  I believe that the reason I am leaking transmission fluid from this seal is: “Premature seal failure due to defects in material and/or incorrect installation procedures used at the factory”.

 

When I told your service manager, “I believe I am leaking transmission fluid”, he could not believe it.  However if he had said, “Rocco, you have 40,000 miles on the car and it is time you need to change your Transmission Output Seals”, I would have not complained because it is something that everyone must do.  Though there is no reason these seals should have failed when the car still has 60% left on the drive train warranty.  If this happens all the time, I am sure that an exclusion would have been written into the warranty.

 

This leakage did not start just now.  I have noticed that the drives side drive shaft rod was particularly dirty while rotating the wheels in October of this year.  But I blew it off as road grime.  However, what changed my mind was when I removed the belly pan film residue resided on a clean belly pan.