Heater matrix hose 6R GTI

[skipster]

I had my 6R GTI serviced & MOT'd last week, all fine except they reported a slight water leak.

Knowing my car very well I was somewhat surprised, but the dealer sent me a video of the leak, and for sure you could see evidence of coolant leaking, albeit slowly.

The dealer did a pressure test and said that the leak was coming from the heater matrix hose. This surprised me, not sure how long a heater matrix hose should last but the car is only 5 years old with 18K miles on the clock.

The dealer is looking into some goodwill payment towards it, but I was one of these people that had the engine replaced 3 years ago as a result of the famed oil consumption issues. I just wonder whether at the time, the hose could have been damaged in some way or just removing/replacing it can weaken it slightly. At the moment they have quoted £235 to replace it!

Anyone else had a similar issue? As far as I am concerned, this is not a common issue!

Cheers.

[alexperkins]

That's quite appalling

If it's had an engine change they would've had to disconnect that hose

To put it into perspective my mk2 golf is 25 years old with 350000 miles on the clock and it's still got its original heater matrix hoses and they don't leak!

They should cover the cost in its entirety - if they don't, speak to trading standards as that's not fit for purpose.

[skipster]

Many thanks for your reply Alex, indeed - exactly what I thought, the car is still like new! I am certain it is legacy of the engine change but it has taken all of this time to start failing, so it probably was weakened at the time.

Last year when it went in, they found it was missing one of the bolts from the AC compressor, again probably missed after the new engine installation.