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Thank you for mentioning this. I am a owner of an affected TDI but did not receive the letter (or threw it away mistaking it for another car warranty junk mail

Thank you for mentioning this. I am a owner of an affected TDI but did not receive the letter (or threw it away mistaking it for another car warranty junk mail letter) and was unaware of the "TDI Goodwill package"

pc86 11y ago
Did you buy or lease it new from the dealership? Any time I go in for service they ask if I've registered for the package yet and bug me to do so (presumably so I get the dealership card and they know I'll be back).
- sathackr 11y ago
  I bought it used with 80,000 miles on it. Second owner. I'm a big do-it-yourselfer and generally avoid dealerships. BTW If you haven't changed your serpentine belt lately, do it! Mine broke at 90,000 miles, wrapped itself around the timing sprocket, cause the engine to jump timing and broke 7 valves. Cost me about $3500 for a new head. Apparently it's fairly common.
  - sokoloff 11y ago
    That would be timing belt, not serpentine belt, I think. (Just in case someone wants to go looking through service records or talk to a service advisor about the job.)
    - sathackr 11y ago
      Nope, it actually was the serpentine belt. The serpentine belt shredded, wrapped around the crankshaft and worked its way into the timing cover, caused the timing belt to slip, which, since this is an interference motor, was disastrous for the valves. Forum threads: https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=424956 https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=424956 https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=407745 https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=407745 There is a design flaw that allows a shredded serpentine belt to work it's way past the timing cover and wreak havok. When I took apart the engine, the timing belt was in-tact. There is now available a guard that you place behind the main crankshaft pulley to stop this from happening but I can't find it right this second.
- jwcooper 11y ago
  You didn't need to buy it new from a dealership to get the package. I bought mine used from a 3rd party dealership (non-VW specific), and still got the goodwill package. Sign up for it here: https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/goodwill_package/ https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/goodwill_package/

pc86 11y ago

Did you buy or lease it new from the dealership? Any time I go in for service they ask if I've registered for the package yet and bug me to do so (presumably so I get the dealership card and they know I'll be back).

sathackr 11y ago
I bought it used with 80,000 miles on it. Second owner. I'm a big do-it-yourselfer and generally avoid dealerships. BTW If you haven't changed your serpentine belt lately, do it! Mine broke at 90,000 miles, wrapped itself around the timing sprocket, cause the engine to jump timing and broke 7 valves. Cost me about $3500 for a new head. Apparently it's fairly common.
- sokoloff 11y ago
  That would be timing belt, not serpentine belt, I think. (Just in case someone wants to go looking through service records or talk to a service advisor about the job.)
  - sathackr 11y ago
    Nope, it actually was the serpentine belt. The serpentine belt shredded, wrapped around the crankshaft and worked its way into the timing cover, caused the timing belt to slip, which, since this is an interference motor, was disastrous for the valves. Forum threads: https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=424956 https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=424956 https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=407745 https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=407745 There is a design flaw that allows a shredded serpentine belt to work it's way past the timing cover and wreak havok. When I took apart the engine, the timing belt was in-tact. There is now available a guard that you place behind the main crankshaft pulley to stop this from happening but I can't find it right this second.
jwcooper 11y ago
You didn't need to buy it new from a dealership to get the package. I bought mine used from a 3rd party dealership (non-VW specific), and still got the goodwill package. Sign up for it here: https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/goodwill_package/ https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/goodwill_package/