VW Beetle Head Gasket

woody7969

I have a 1999 New Beetle with 25,000 miles, and recently had a blown head gasket. As far as I can reason, that's part of the powertrain and should be covered under the powertrain warranty, but VW says that it was the fault of the driver, and not a faulty part, because the fan failed, and this caused the engine to run hot. I have not established why the fan failed, so they won't cover anything. Anyway, I'm just trying to find out if anyone else out there has had any problems with their head gasket, and how or if VW took care of the problem. Thanks for the help...

lngtonge18

I haven't heard of any head gasket problems with VWs. What I'm curious of is, did the engine hot light come on? If it did and you ignored it, than you are at fault and VW is not responsible for the repair. If no light came on to warn you of the overheating engine, then VW should be responsible for the repair of the head gasket but not the fan. The fan failed out of warranty so it's really all up to you, unless you can get VW to do a good will thing since it's only 1k out of warranty. Anyway, good luck.

lugwrench

I guess this is why VW only has a 2 year 24K warranty. VW should repair it as a goodwill gesture since you are only 1K over the warranty period. By the way, did you buy the car new or used?

Mr_Shiftright

Overheating the car badly enough to cause head gasket failure could indeed be your fault...it is a marginal situation, since it is also possible that the warning light didn't warn you because it was defective. But if the light is working and the head is shown to be warped, you may have to eat this, sorry to say.

donderos

I have a 99 NB GLS with 15K miles. To date I have had the passenger airbag replaced, power window switch replaced, check engine light on with numerous sensors replaced, burned through a few quarts of oil with no explanation, replaced the rear speakers for an obvious design flaw, and today I dropped it off at the dealership with oil pouring out of the head gasket. I really love the car, however, the warranty is up in two months and I am thinking that it is time to say goodbye.