VW Water Pump Settlement Nears Final Hearing

Aug 03, 2023

Posted in News

September 6, 2022 — An Audi and VW water pump settlement final hearing is nearing for customers who allege the primary engine water pumps are defective.

The water pump components include the coolant module, the pump and the controller unit.

The Audi and Volkswagen water pump class action lawsuit alleges the following models are equipped with pumps that leak coolant and cause engine failures due to plastic that cracks.

Audi vehicles included in the water pump settlement:

Volkswagen vehicles included in the water pump settlement:

According to the Audi and VW water pump settlement, not all the above models or years are included. It's very important that each customer do a VIN search on the settlement website.

Volkswagen denies any wrongdoing and claims in the class action lawsuit and says the water pumps are not defective.

According to the water pump settlement, the new vehicle limited warranty will be extended to eight years or 80,000 miles from the date the vehicle first went into service. This won't help certain owners because some of the models have been in use since the 2014 model year.

In addition, the owner needs to provide proof the vehicle maintenance schedule was followed.

"Proof of Adherence to the Vehicle's Maintenance Schedule shall mean documents or records evidencing the Settlement Class Member's adherence to those aspects of the Settlement Class Vehicle's maintenance schedule set forth in the Warranty and Maintenance Booklet that are directly relevant to the coolant system, including use of the specification of coolant fluid recommended by VW [for the VW Settlement Class Vehicles] and Audi [for the Audi Settlement Class Vehicles], during the time he/she/it owned and/or leased the vehicle up to the date/mileage of repair or replacement, within a variance of ten percent (10%) of each scheduled time/mileage interval." — VW water pump settlement

The warranty extension will cover one repair or replacement of a failed water pump by an authorized dealer.

The water pump extended warranty will also include coverage for a percentage of the cost of repair or replacement by an authorized VW dealer of a damaged engine that is directly caused by the failure of the primary engine water pump during the extended warranty period.

However, there are limits to how much VW will pay based on the age and mileage of the vehicle when repairs or replacements were made.

For a vehicle within eight years or 80,000 miles of the in-service date of the vehicle, a customer may submit a claim to receive 100% of the paid invoice amount if a VW dealer performed the work.

The amount is reduced to $1,150 if a non-dealership did the work.

The offer applies to one water pump repair or replacement.

The water pump settlement says if a customer paid for engine repairs due to damage from the water pump within eight years or 80,000 miles of the in-service date, the customer may submit a claim to be partially reimbursed.

However, the amount of the reimbursement varies greatly based on the age and mileage of the Audi or VW vehicle.

Based on the VW water pump settlement agreement, each of the three named plaintiffs (Michael Zhao, Mary Kay Peck, Dean Marriott) will receive $3,500 each, and the attorneys representing those owners will receive $1.7 million.

The VW water pump settlement final approval hearing will be held October 19, 2022.

The VW water pump settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Zhao, et al., vs. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., et al.

The plaintiffs are represented by Sauder Schelkopf LLC, and Walsh PLLC.

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