We just experienced a expensive ($4500) problem with the
Volkswagen part of our Rialta. Actually the problem was relatively
minor but became major because of the VW engineering. A sprocket that
part of the camshaft drive assembly was worn to the point that it was
almost completely rounded. This caused the timing chain to jump.
Fortunately it did not jump enough to cause the valves to hit the
pistons.
The problem started at 52, 000 miles. I had it repaired at
55,000 miles.
A little research on the web shows it to be a known problem. The
sprocket apparently was not properly hardened on a few of the VR-6
engines.
I spent a lot of time trying to communicate with Volkswagen to
get warranty coverage but their system blocks communication with the
decision makers. This has been a very disgusting experience.
Since Volkswagen has basically ignored me I have presented the
problem for everyone to view on a web page at:
http://www.reesphotos.com/VW/ If you do a Google search it now shows
up high is various searches and has started getting a lot of hits.
Although the web page doesn't solve the problem or get the
fiasco paid for it does seem to relieve a lot of the stress this
incident has caused.
We still love our Rialta but are disgusted with VW. Hopefully
there will be no more expensive surprises.
John Rees `02HD Rialta