105,000 miles on my MK7 SportWagen; what should I start worrying about?

[Timeisflat]

Car is new to me, and I’m new to the VW world. Got this ‘16 SportWagen FWD 5 speed from an older gentleman who used it for road trips, so it’s mostly highway miles. He took it to the dealership every 10,000 miles for service (I have a HUGE stack of records), repaired whatever they told him needed to be done. Had some recalls performed, and he replaced a defective airbag and rear springs due to rust (seems like dealership BS to me)

When it stopped making boost, the dealership quoted him $3500 for a new turbo so he sold it to me for a song. Buddy got it working again with a $250 wastegate actuator, discovered a leaky t-stat housing so I did that along with the water pump. Took the intake off cause it was a PIA to reach, so scrapped some carbon from the valves while we were in the neighborhood (wasn’t bad at all though)

Wondering what I should expect going forward. Brakes are getting a bit thin, hoping to hold off a year or two and do some Bilstein dampers along with them. Clutch is factory, and I know they’re weak in these cars, but it still bites strong. I believe the original owner went pretty easy on it, and I got an Accord to 310,000 miles on the factory clutch.

Besides continuing to follow the service intervals, what would the MK7 hivemind recommend to keep this car going forever and avoid getting stranded?
I‘m going to start doing oil changes @ the 5-6k mark, and send a sample to Blackstone. Planning on adding Ares undertray at this point to protect that plastic oilpan and the other low hanging components.

What about the timing chain tensioner? Any concerns there?
Fresh coil packs with next spark plug change, or just buy a spare for the glove compartment?
I’m new to DGI, are the fuel injectors or high pressure pump problem areas?
Any problems with all the other cheap plastic bits? I’ve read of issues with the intake manifold and it’s flapper doors.

I want this car to make it to at least 250k miles. I do some spirited driving, but always make sure everything is warmed up, don’t do clutch dumps or slam gears and don’t take it all the way to redline. My downshifting is always rev-matched.

 

[golfdave]

You will find numerous OEM modifications & info in both my build & how to guides....links in my sig:-

Look for the relevant service schedule in my guides & check that against the dealership receipts etc for the work done.

VW made a Kevlar reinforced undertray for the car...that's in my guides along with many other undertrays etc..

 

[hans611]

I want this car to make it to at least 250k miles. I do some spirited driving, but always make sure everything is warmed up, don’t do clutch dumps or slam gears and don’t take it all the way to redline. My downshifting is always rev-matched.

Has a Mk7 hit 250k+ ? 200k?

Edit: on the original engine

 

[PowerDemon]

Just follow this and you’ll be all set. You’re sort of entering the area of unknown. I personally dont know of that many high mileage Mk7s. I know a few have gone up to 150k before having timing chain/tensioner problems, but not enough to say definitively when or if it will go. I know the Mk6s had issues with the timing chain but I think many of those were resolved with the Mk7s. The only other thing I would say is carbon cleaning but it seems you’ve already done that. Sometimes injectors have been known to clog but it is rare.

 

[Timeisflat]

Look for the relevant service schedule in my guides & check that against the dealership receipts etc for the work done.

VW made a Kevlar reinforced undertray for the car...that's in my guides along with many other undertrays etc..

The service intervals match up, but I’m looking to go beyond. After 120k they basically just loop. There are all sorts of components manufacturers claim are good for the life of the car, but their definition of “life” isn’t a quarter million miles.

The Ares aluminum unit is cheaper than the Kevlar tray off the Alltrack, at least new

 

[Timeisflat]

Has a Mk7 hit 250k+ ? 200k?

Edit: on the original engine

I heard rumors of a 2015 Golf SportWagen with 288k but have no idea if it was original

 

[Timeisflat]

You’re sort of entering the area of unknown.

TO BOLDY GO

 

[StorableComa]

If you've got detailed records you could check when the last time the PCV valve was changed, if ever. Might be something to look at pre-emptively as they normally cause issues at around 50-60k on some MQBs. Though if you're having issues you'll know.

Carbon cleaning might be worth it if you're having symptoms as others have mentioned. Other than that, check your engine and trans mounts - they might be do for a replacement/upgrade if they're still original. The usual high mileage stuffs, belts, houses and you should be good to go.

 

[Timeisflat]

Good call on the PCV, don’t think it’s part of thr VW service intervals. Same for motor & trans mounts

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

ShopDAP says it’s good to replace the serpentine belts @ 80K or so, probably good to make sure that’s been done. I would also get a coolant flush, AC recharge, and/or heater core inspection. Common for cores to gunk up at this mileage.

Also definitely recommend upgraded engine mounts to BFI Stage 1 or CP-Euro Stage 1. No matter the application, if you drive a manual you will benefit greatly from improved stage 1 mounts. I would’ve replaced mine at 6K when I did my RSB and tune, but APR Plus doesn’t allow for a single aftermarket engine Mount to retain warranty so I’m stuck with APR pendulum and insert. It was better for a while, now the upper mounts Have worn into the lower stiffness and shift almost as bad as before.

 

[StorableComa]

Good call on the PCV, don’t think it’s part of thr VW service intervals. Same for motor & trans mounts

They're more when needed parts, but it wouldn't be a bad idea on a high mileage car to swap the PCV for peace of mind. Buy it from FCP Euro and it's got a lifetime warranty on it. You'll need some other odds and ends depending, like the hoses for it if the plastic is brittle.

Mounts are always good to check, I'd assume they'd probably start to go around 80k on these cars, but I could be wrong.

If the service records are solid you should be good, otherwise Maybe a brake fluid flush and a coolant flush.

Coils - I upgraded to the APR ones out of habit and will be keeping the old ones as spares. Can't hurt and I'm used to playing swap a coil on the older VWs.

Edit: As to injectors and HPFP. Haven't heard of any issues with the stock ones outside of the odd injector gumming up. More prevalent if you're running an E- blend with a tune.

 

[cb1111]

there are plenty of very high mileage VWs running around - you just don't see them on the forums for two reasons:

Forum members tend to flip their cars more frequently and then they go to non-forum members
Forum members make lots of mods that decrease reliability, get pissed off and dump the car

If you're looking for reliability, be careful and think about unintended consequences when "upgrading" to performance parts. Do performance engine mounts (for example as they were mentioned here) stress other parts and cause early failure?

 

[StorableComa]

there are plenty of very high mileage VWs running around - you just don't see them on the forums for two reasons:

Forum members tend to flip their cars more frequently and then they go to non-forum members
Forum members make lots of mods that decrease reliability, get pissed off and dump the car

If you're looking for reliability, be careful and think about unintended consequences when "upgrading" to performance parts. Do performance engine mounts (for example as they were mentioned here) stress other parts and cause early failure?

I'm no expert, but I can't say they would when thinking about it. At least in the stage 1 most people buy which is around 70A. More NVH might cause rattles early though, but most structural pieces have bend/flex points where needed so they aren't stressed. They generally just hold things stiffer and assist with power transfer, same with a basic dogbone mount. Anything more than that, such as a powerflex or adding in metal mounts/pucks - YMMV. Generally stage 1 mounts are merely upgrading the durometer on the bushings to something firmer which assists with removing driveline slop - or in the case of a dogbone, filling in the voids for the same effect.. You get softer from the factory more for comfort than anything.

Edit: Some basic reading on engine mounts in general, but it also mentions mounts tend to be softer from factory for comfort at idle/various RPMS.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...o-and-why-you-should-replace-them-112732.html
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/new-motor-mounts-increase-engine-response.htm

 

[cb1111]

I'm no expert, but I can't say they would when thinking about it. At least in the stage 1 most people buy which is around 70A. More NVH might cause rattles early though, but most structural pieces have bend/flex points where needed so they aren't stressed. They generally just hold things stiffer and assist with power transfer, same with a basic dogbone mount. Anything more than that, such as a powerflex or adding in metal mounts/pucks - YMMV. Generally stage 1 mounts are merely upgrading the durometer on the bushings to something firmer which assists with removing driveline slop - or in the case of a dogbone, filling in the voids for the same effect.. You get softer from the factory more for comfort than anything.

Edit: Some basic reading on engine mounts in general, but it also mentions mounts tend to be softer from factory for comfort at idle/various RPMS.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...o-and-why-you-should-replace-them-112732.html
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/new-motor-mounts-increase-engine-response.htm

Yeah, I'm not sure about the engine mounts either, but one still needs to think about the unintended consequences of any mod and decide if using OE might be better - but there are also many times when aftermarket might add reliability.

 

[Raguvian]

There's someone on the MQB FB group with a GTI with over 210k miles on the stock clutch. I think he did a waterpump at 175k miles.