New mk4 owner - suspension problem

[chembers]

Hi all,

New member here but I've had a mk3 Leon FR ST 2019 until recently. Sold it for a very good price at Arnold Clark but bought a grey mk4 Leon FR Sport hatch back yesterday, 72 plate pre-registered with 20 miles on it.

I test drove a similar car and all was fine but noob mistake I didn't test drive the car I purchased and as soon as I left the garage it didn't feel right. The front end of the car seemed to be bouncing all over the place on the slightest bump and yet the slightest pothole was met with a violent smash. This car has the 18 inch wheels but so did my last and that was firm but ok. This new one is so bouncy. I should have gone straight back to the garage but I had the bairn in the car and my wife was already making her way north in her car.

Thing is I thought it was just the dampers needing setting but another noob mistake, I hadn't realised my new car didn't have active dampers unlike the last car. Got it home (40 miles later) and then realised I'd f'd up. Furthermore, the car seems to be sitting really high at the front compared to the back. Is this normal? I thought it was meant to have lowered suspension.

Honestly, it's got me sick with worry thinking I've bought a lemon despite a warranty.

I've attached some pics with the gaps in the arches, the bigger gaps being the front, which look ridiculous being able to see all of the top of the tyre. It's not just the way the car is sitting on the drive, because it looks the same if not worse on the flat.

Can anyone advise please? Is this normal? Is it just because the car is new and needs to settle in?


On another note - another noob error was assuming all the FR Sports had the animated light bar and dynamic indicators, I've since found out mine doesn't - or at least I can't find where the setting is to switch on.

Many thanks.

 

[SRGTD]

Sounds like the dealer hasn’t removed the transit pucks from the front suspension struts when the car was PDI’d. This was quite a common omission by dealers on the mk7 Golf when it was first launched - tell tale signs were rock hard, crashy suspension and raised ride height at the front. I’m assuming the Leon has a similar front suspension set up to the Golf and also has these pucks installed for the transit journey from the factory to the dealers.

Worth checking out the discussion thread at the link below. There are pictures of the offending transit pucks in replies #30 and #32 (they aren’t always pink in colour). You should be able to check if they’re still in place on your car (they’re only used on the front suspension).

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If your issue is down to these pucks being left in place, then IMHO it’s unforgivable as VAG have been using this particular type of transit puck since at least since the time of the mk7 Golf launch; so for around 11 years now. Therefore, dealers should be well aware of their use, their location and the need to remove them.

Edit; meant to say that there may be more than one puck on each front suspension strut, so if this is your issue, make sure you’ve removed them all. I’d also make a point of reporting this to the dealer in case any damage has been caused to the suspension as a result of the dealer not removing them.

 

[chembers]

Sounds like the dealer hasn’t removed the transit pucks from the front suspension struts when the car was PDI’d. This was quite a common omission by dealers on the mk7 Golf when it was first launched - tell tale signs were rock hard, crashy suspension and raised ride height at the front. I’m assuming the Leon has a similar front suspension set up to the Golf and also has these pucks installed for the transit journey from the factory to the dealers.

Worth checking out the discussion thread at the link below. There are pictures of the offending transit pucks in replies #30 and #32 (they aren’t always pink in colour). You should be able to check if they’re still in place on your car (they’re only used on the front suspension).

GolfGTIforum.co.uk - An independent forum for Volkswagen Golf GTI enthusiasts.

An independent forum for Volkswagen Golf GTI enthusiasts. Forum features technical help, news, events reviews and humour! Join fellow Golf GTI owners online.

www.golfgtiforum.co.uk

If your issue is down to these pucks being left in place, then IMHO it’s unforgivable as VAG have been using this particular type of transit puck since at least since the time of the mk7 Golf launch; so for around 11 years now. Therefore, dealers should be well aware of their use, their location and the need to remove them.

Edit; meant to say that there may be more than one puck on each front suspension strut, so if this is your issue, make sure you’ve removed them all. I’d also make a point of reporting this to the dealer in case any damage has been caused to the suspension as a result of the dealer not removing them.

Mate, you sir are an absolute legend! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and dig out that link.

I was sceptical, it couldn't be that simple surely... jacked it up, sure enough those two pesky things in there! Took both out, went for a drive and the car is a different car altogether!!

No more bouncing about and it's a bit less harsh on the potholes now (I always to try avoid them but sometimes it's hard to).

I honestly can't thank you enough! Barely slept last night worrying about this. I'll sleep tonight I tell ye!

Much appreciated!

 

[SRGTD]

You’re very welcome.

I would certainly be taking this up with the dealership concerned;

• hopefully it’ll stop a repeat occurrence of their omission to remove them on other cars.
• their failure to remove the pucks will be logged against your car, so if there are any future front suspension-related issues, then hopefully they’ll be rectified without question.
• with any luck, the dealer might feel obliged to offer you some form of goodwill gesture as compensation for their oversight.
  

Enjoy your new car .

 

[chembers]

And after reading the full thread you posted, I decided to investigate further and there was another two on each side!!!

No wonder it was so bad.

All 6 removed now and honestly the car drives like a dream!

Gonna play hell with the dealer, for all I know I've already damaged the shocks and top mounts.

 

[Alex667]

WRT the dynamic lights on the back, they stopped adding them sometime last year due to chip shortages.

 

[SRGTD]

And after reading the full thread you posted, I decided to investigate further and there was another two on each side!!!

No wonder it was so bad.

All 6 removed now and honestly the car drives like a dream!

Gonna play hell with the dealer, for all I know I've already damaged the shocks and top mounts.

I thought they’re maybe more than two - that’s why I added the ‘Edit’ to my first post. Glad you’ve removed them all and the car drives as it should have when you took delivery.

As I said in my first post - IMHO there’s absolutely no excuse for this oversight on the dealer’s part - it’s not as if this is something new to them. I’d be interested to see the dealer’s reaction when you present them with 6 transport pucks!

Please update this discussion thread once you’ve spoken to the dealer.

 

[chembers]

ah man, that's a bit rubbish but I can live with that I guess.

 

[chembers]

I thought they’re maybe more than two - that’s why I added the ‘Edit’ to my first post. Glad you’ve removed them all and the car drives as it should have when you took delivery.

As I said in my first post - IMHO there’s absolutely no excuse for this oversight on the dealer’s part - it’s not as if this is something new to them. I’d be interested to see the dealer’s reaction when you present them with 6 transport pucks!

Please update this discussion thread once you’ve spoken to the dealer.

Yeah I will tell them I'm not happy. What else might they have missed for the PDI too?! I'll update the thread.

Wish I could change the thread title now to help others if any have same issue.

 

[KoNG]

Make me wonder what else has been missed before hand over? I would definitely bring this up with Seat UK customer asking for completely check on suspension as you could already caused some damage while driving around like that.

Goosh which dealership has done this?

 

[chembers]

Make me wonder what else has been missed before hand over? I would definitely bring this up with Seat UK customer asking for completely check on suspension as you could already caused some damage while driving around like that.

Goosh which dealership has done this?

Yep, I've rang them this morning and they've agreed to look over it. I'm in the process of writing a complaint email to the dealership itself but may consider taking this to Seat UK.

It was SG Petch Middlesbrough South Bank.

 

[KoNG]

Seat UK is your best option. But personally i would go to check the suspension to different garage just to avoid them to say everything is OK and it won't be. Later down they declined anything as wear and tear.

 

[SRGTD]

@chembers - I’d be very interested to see the PDI checklist that should have been completed by the technician who undertook the PDI on your car.

I found a copy of a VW PDI checklist - see below. Admittedly, it’s an USA PDI checklist that was posted on vwvortex.com forum, but irrespective of it being a VW USA document, I’d assume that the content is pretty much generic across all VAG brands in all countries. The list includes a specific item for removing the suspension blocks in the suspension coil springs.

As VAG have gone digital for servicing records, there may not be a physical hard copy of the PDI checklist for your car. However, whether digital or hard copy, the dealership should have retained the copy of the completed PDI checklist in their records for your car that you could ask to see. If the checklist shows the suspension pucks were removed, then you could ask them to explain why it was necessary for you to remove them; it would also suggest the dealer does just treat completion of the PDI checklist as a tick box exercise and if so, as others have said, it does make you wonder what else they may have missed / not checked or actioned that’s on the list .

Here’s the VW USA PDI document;

 

[chembers]

Seat UK is your best option. But personally i would go to check the suspension to different garage just to avoid them to say everything is OK and it won't be. Later down they declined anything as wear and tear.

Thanks @KoNG Yeah I've just Facebook messaged them. Tbf they were pretty good at getting back to me over a issue with my previous Leon when asking if a wheel bearing out of warranty at 24k miles could be classed as a good will fix. I'll see what they come back with this time.

@SRGTD thanks for that! There's actually a lot to check then, it does make me wonder what else they have missed.

The email response to my complaint to the garage was basically two lines, "apologies for this, bring the car down on Thursday and we'll check it over"

 

[chembers]

So... as an update.... today they checked over the car 'thoroughly' and reported all seemed well. Supposedly they did the PDI again, don't really have any reason to doubt them. The fact they reported my after market space saver wasn't fastened down (I don't have the plastic bolt) suggests they did check over everything again though. They sent a vehicle health check video too. All seems in order I guess and the car drives champion now.

My means of apology, I got a free first year service ready for next year, tank of fuel topped up and he said he'd stick one of the spare wheel retaining bolt in the post when it's arrived (had to order it).

All in all, to be fair to them, someone messed up but between the sales manager and service manager they've done enough to make amends I guess. That said, I'm glad I have it all down on email as evidence if I need to report faults further down the line.

Part of the reason for getting rid of my last Leon was the active dampers were leaking and I needed a wheel bearing. Out of manufacturer warranty but inside an extended warranty and on low mileage (24k) and 4 years old, I couldn't get the warranty company nor Seat UK to budge on a good will fix, they said it's wear and tear. Hopefully any issues in the future on this car will be covered, at least while I have the car.

Looking forward to a family day out tomorrow, one which we should have had on Sunday!

Thanks to those of you who have chipped in, not least @SRGTD .

Chris.

 

[SRGTD]

Good outcome! It’s nice to hear that good customer service still exists and the dealer did the right thing.

Now you can get on with enjoying your new car!

 

[chembers]

So, here I am now in December, car is almost 1 year old and getting it serviced next week (for free as courtesy from the above shannigans) but for months, if not most of the time I've had the car, call it paranoia but I can hear a humming noise from I think the nsf wheel. I'm convinced it's a wheel bearing so I've asked them to have a look at it during the service. They'll probably say there's nothing wrong but it's an annoying humming noise. Let's see what happens....

 

[C_ED_99]

So, here I am now in December, car is almost 1 year old and getting it serviced next week (for free as courtesy from the above shannigans) but for months, if not most of the time I've had the car, call it paranoia but I can hear a humming noise from I think the nsf wheel. I'm convinced it's a wheel bearing so I've asked them to have a look at it during the service. They'll probably say there's nothing wrong but it's an annoying humming noise. Let's see what happens....

Thanks for the update, let us know how you get on. All the best