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A new class action filed on May 20 alleges that Volkswagen and Audi fraudulently sold certain model vehicles knowing that they had a hidden engine defect. In addition, the complaint asserts that VW and Audi knew about the defect, but did not issue a recall or pay for any repairs that occurred outside the warranty period.
The class action lawsuit asserts that “this action arises from Defendants’ failure, despite their longstanding knowledge of a material design defect, to disclose to Plaintiff and other consumers that the Class Vehicles’ 2.0L TSI engines contain timing chain tensioners that are defective and fail prematurely.”
This is the second class action lawsuit to allege that VW and Audi sold vehicles with an inherently defective tensioning system for the timing chain. The first action claims that the timing chain tensioning system has a defect that can cause the chain to lose tension when the vehicle is off, which can allow the chain to “jump a tooth” in the car’s camshaft and cause serious damage to the vehicle’s engine.
Similarly, this timing chain tensioner defect class action alleges that VW and Audi have designed no less than four different tensioners, and argues that “the existence of four production changes to the timing chain tensioners exhibits flaws in the design and/or manufacture of the timing chain tensioners in the Class Vehicles that Defendants acknowledged and remedied without informing owners and lessees of the Class Vehicles.”
The complaint accuses VW and Audi of actively concealing the known defect, refusing to recall the affected vehicles, and routinely refusing to cover the costs of repair after the defect manifests itself, especially after the warranty period. Audi and Volkswagen violated consumer protection, federal warranty, and anti-fraud laws, according to the complaint. The class action contends that vehicle owners have been harmed by needing to pay for costly repairs, and by losing market value in their vehicles due to the now known defect.
Plaintiff Allan Gaudet states that he bought a 2011 VW GTI in Connecticut on Jan. 1, 2011, and routinely maintained his vehicle. Yet in May of 2016, his GTI “catastrophically failed” due to the timing chain tensioning system while he was driving it, and repairs would have cost him $3,650. Gaudet claims that had he known about the tensioner defect, he would not have bought his vehicle, or at least he would have paid substantially less for it.
The VW, Audi timing chain defect lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide Class of all purchasers of the following vehicles: “2006-2009 Volkswagen Golf MK5 GTI, MY 2010-2014 Volkswagen Golf MK6 GTI, MY 2005-2010 Volkswagen Jetta MK5, MY 2011-2016 Volkswagen Jetta MK6, 2006-2010 Volkswagen Passat B6, 2009-2016 Volkswagen CC, 2008-2014 Volkswagen EOS, 2009-2016 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2012-2016 Volkswagen Beetle, 2009-2014 Volkswagen Sportswagen, 2006-2013 Audi A3 8P, 2009-2012 Audi A4 B8, 2008-2012 Audi A5 B8, 2008-2014 Audi MK2 TT .” The class action seeks restitution for all damages to Class Members, including punitive damages under state consumer protection laws.
Gaudet is represented by Joseph G. Sauder, Matthew D. Schelkopf, and Joseph B. Kenney of McCune Wright, LLP; and Bruce D. Greenberg of Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC.
The VW, Audi Timing Chain Tensioner Defect Class Action is Allan Gaudet v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-02872, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
UPDATE: A third class action lawsuit alleging similar defects was filed July 18, 2016.
UPDATE 2: On May 14, 2018, Volkswagen agreed to a settlement that would end a multidistrict litigation claiming that many vehicles’ engines have a timing chain tensioner that’s defective. Volkswagen will cover up to $6,500 in engine repairs and $2,000 in timing chain system repairs to putative Class Members.
UPDATE 3: September 2018, the Volkswagen timing chain defect class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.
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101 thoughts onAnother Class Action Alleges VW, Audi Engine Defect
We have VW CC 2010 with the same problem. It just happened to us few days ago (Sept 1,2017). VW said “No warranty after 60k ml or 5 years”. We still have payments on the car and now we are facing 4k repair.
Please provide more information regarding the the lawsuit.
Same thing happened to me in my 2011 Audi A4. I paid $150 for Audi to diagnose the problem and now they are asking another $900 to determine if the timing chain system needs replacement or if engine is completely damaged. Not sure if I should pay the money for further diagnosis. Audi really needs to step up and acknowledge this issue. What should I do? Should I just get my car towed back home or pay the $900 to do the tear down diagnosis?
Exact scenario happened to me at around 62k in my 2012 cc, $6000 later I have a used engine put in!! We deserve retribution!!!!
Wow – the same thing ..
My wife driving down the road – crack / clunk and off to the service center on a flat bed. Timing chain broke and put a hole in the housing plus destroyed the engine. VW service said it had nothing to do with the tensioner issue. I’m looking at a $4700 used engine from VW – $7000 rebuilt one. It’s a 08 EOS blue book they say is $4700.
Who do i contact about joining this class action lawsuit.
I’m joining the many who have suffered the same issue. My wife 2009 Audi A4 just went through the same chain problem and now the head has to come off and go to the machine shop, though it may need a new engine. 70k miles only!! How do we make Audi take responsibility for this?
I am experiencing this same problem on my 2011 Audi A4. How do I join the class action.
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
We have a similar problem with our 2007 Audi Q7 timing chain went out and destroyed our engine $10000 in dept and car still not running…
I have a 2011 audi q5 same problem replace engine 10,000….help how can i join this class action suit
Our 2012 VW CC had this happen just yesterday! $4500 estimated repairs for a car that does not have 60K miles!!
I have a 2012 volkswagencc was driving my vehicle home from work, I heard a Crack sound car lost power. Had car towed to shop two tensioner broke now I have to replace my engine costing mi almost 4000.00. Volkswagen should be responsible for this their the ones putting defective parts in these vehicles. This happened to me in June 2017.
I drive a 2009 Volkswagen CC and it happened to me on the 13th of July can’t believe Volkswagen is getting away with this. 4grand to fix a 6 thousand dollar car smh.
What are you doing about this ? I have 73,000 miles on my 2009 cc and I just found out I have the same thing. I’m a single mother with no income at this point I just paid this car off 2 months ago