Life expectancy of VW shocks?

blackvalley

HI.
Just had 171 VW Golf 1.6 D in for service .Very low mileage @ 32,000 K. Just passed the NCT.
They recommended replacement of the rear shocks as they are " Starting to leak "
Seem very soon for them to start failing . All driving has been on motorway or city so car hasnt been subject to rough treatment.
Car still on original tyres and I would expect to go through them quicker than shocks.
Has anyone else experienced this .
Obviously if the need replacement its gotta be done .

biko

That is much too soon to replace shocks. I have only done it cars at 10/15 years old.
If NCT said there is a problem then do take it to a mechanic.
You may want to check warranties for your car to and even get in touch with the dealer for feedback.

Padre_Pio

My 2006 Golf had shocks changed after 9 years and well over 100k miles.

blackvalley

Just to clarify the car is with VW main dealer today for normal service and " Leaking rear shocks suggest replacement " is part of the report.
Spoke to mechanic / technician who just said "ye starting to leak " . But no urgent rush to replace.

First relatively new car ive ever driven and iv never replaced shocks in any of the junkers iv had. Thats another story

biko

Oh, I read it as NCT said it.
Mad that a main dealer mechanic would say that and not elaborate that car is only a few years old.

blade1

blackvalley wrote: »

HI.
Just had 171 VW Golf 1.6 D in for service .Very low mileage @ 32,000 K. Just passed the NCT.
They recommended replacement of the rear shocks as they are " Starting to leak "
Seem very soon for them to start failing . All driving has been on motorway or city so car hasnt been subject to rough treatment.
Car still on original tyres and I would expect to go through them quicker than shocks.
Has anyone else experienced this .
Obviously if the need replacement its gotta be done .

Listen to this.
I was getting tyres fitted at a garage one time and one of the mechanics goes to me "you could do with two new front shocks there".
I said go away you fūckin' eejit, they are two brand new kyb shocks I fitted myself the other day.
He goes over rubbing them sheepishly and said "oh yeah I can see they are new now".
Some chancer.

colm_mcm

When they’re under warranty they say that misting is normal!

blackvalley

biko wrote: »

Oh, I read it as NCT said it.
Mad that a main dealer mechanic would say that and not elaborate that car is only a few years old.

My fault . Reading my original post thats what it sounds like
No this is report from main dealer.

barneygumble99

It’s normal for VW shocks to mist/weep. I think I heard somewhere that VW had issued a tech bulletin to this effect and as such their techs would be aware of it.

wonski

colm_mcm wrote: »

When they’re under warranty they say that misting is normal!

Clever So is losing 1l of oil per 1000 km I guess.

Toyotafanboi

Mk7 rear shocks are desperate for actual leaking.

Best think to do here is do nothing IMO. Wait until next years service and if they have progressed and gotten worse them replace them.

If they tell you next year they are starting to leak, you know they are just misted. If they leak badly in the mean time they will start to rattle and you'll know.

Ask ten different mechanics, you'll get ten different opinions so the above might be the easiest way, particularly if they recently went through an NCT.

blackvalley

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Mk7 rear shocks are desperate for actual leaking.

Best think to do here is do nothing IMO. Wait until next years service and if they have progressed and gotten worse them replace them.

If they tell you next year they are starting to leak, you know they are just misted. If they leak badly in the mean time they will start to rattle and you'll know.

Ask ten different mechanics, you'll get ten different opinions so the above might be the easiest way, particularly if they recently went through an NCT.

Thats my line of thought as well.

kaahooters

Shocks are good for 100000km normal driving that's the "lifetime" rating on em.

9935452

kaahooters wrote: »

Shocks are good for 100000km normal driving that's the "lifetime" rating on em.

Im worried now. Ive 390,000 km on mine

9935452

kaahooters wrote: »

Shocks are good for 100000km normal driving that's the "lifetime" rating on em.

Im worried now. Ive 390,000 km on mine

Micky 32

My 171 Vw has 185k and they are still perfect and it can be on every back country road., also passed first NCT.

khaldrogo

Anyone working as any type of mechanic over the last 15-20 years knows that the rear shocks on VAG cars (polo, golf, passant, a3, a4, fabia, octavia, ibiza, Leon) regularly fail at any mileage

blackvalley

Micky 32 wrote: »

My 171 Vw has 185k and they are still perfect and it can be on every back country road., also passed first NCT.

Yeah and my 171 VW with 31000 K just passed NCT but VW many dealer says shocks need replacement.

Comhrá

My 161 Audi A4 failed it's first NCT due to a failed rear shock after 40k of mostly city and motorway driving. Mechanic told me it was a faulty shock, no doubt about it. Audi wouldn't entertain any request for goodwill.

Bears out what I've read about VAG shocks longevity.

blade1

Comhra wrote: »

My 161 Audi A4 failed it's first NCT due to a failed rear shock after 40k of mostly city and motorway driving. Mechanic told me it was a faulty shock, no doubt about it. Audi wouldn't entertain any request for goodwill.

Bears out what I've read about VAG shocks longevity.

Do they still use KYB shocks or what?
KYB should be good, or at least they used to be.
I think the last Audi I had, had over 130k miles when I changed them and they weren't bad I don't think. Just wanted to freshen up things.

Cookie_Monster

if leaking in the first 3 years they'd be under warranty tbh, whats the warranty on VW in Ireland these days? I got shocks 70% covered by goodwill on a 4 year old Tiguan a couple of weeks ago.

Comhrá

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

if leaking in the first 3 years they'd be under warranty tbh, whats the warranty on VW in Ireland these days? I got shocks 70% covered by goodwill on a 4 year old Tiguan a couple of weeks ago.

My A4 was 4 yrs old when I had sold it privately with the NCT test as part of the deal. The car had been serviced by Audi Limerick a few months earlier and they said nothing about any of the shocks leaking. The NCT threw up a > 30% (I think) difference between the rear shocks, hence a fail.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

fabia here, shocks leaking after 5 years , 95 k km

blackvalley

In conclusion I collected the car this morning . Had a " frank and open discussion " with the rep in service department .
My point being that as the rear tyres are still the original and in good condition I certainly wouldnt expect shocks to be failing . If they are actually failing then they are faulty and not fit for purpose . His reaction was " well they dont require urgent attention "
I will keep an eye on them for signs of leakage between now and next service.
Thanks for all your input folks.

Cerco

What is the NCT position on leaking/ misting shocks? Are they a fail or are they only concerned with imbalance?

colm_mcm

Cerco wrote: »

What is the NCT position on leaking/ misting shocks? Are they a fail or are they only concerned with imbalance?

They have been known to fail them where vw say they are misting normally.