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The definitive Pedal Box Thread


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im sure my loops suffering from a knacked pedal box, but iv called F cross and sons VW in Rotherham and Hayseldens in Doncaster both have told me that there is no goodwill offered on my car. Hayseldens told me that there never was a memo. and F Cross' asked for details of my car and said they would "look into wether there is any factory goodwill available".

does anyone know if only some lupos are subject to the goodwill or am i just unlucky with my nearby dealers? its a 2002 1.4s if that helps.

cheers guys

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it should be as mine was a v plate 1.4 s and got done free, some dealers are better than others it seem's

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  • 2 weeks later...

woohoo, took the loop for a diagnostic... to reveal yes the pedal box was cream crackerd.... but then they said that the car was still under warranty and i can have it done on Tuesday FOC. at that point i said yeah Tuesdays fine they said would i like to leave it there till then, i said yes, and quickly turned and walked out, thinking they may have got something mixed up hahaha, i duno if they have or not, but i havnt had it from new and it doesnt have 100% Vag service history but it is full and im the 3rd owner of it! n its on a 02 plate. least its getting done!

=D

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  • 3 weeks later...

my loop Y reg has developed a loud creek everytime i push the clutch pedal could it be on its way out should i get it looked at asap?

also had a look through my service schedule its got the 12th o december for its service but the *service* display lit up this morning its only done 27k the manual says 12 or 32144 miles should i wait or get that done asap aswell?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just spoke to my dealership.

Apparently there was a recall on them, and if mine was made within the "particular chassis range" (I assume he meant chassis number range?) then I would have received a recall notice. I can take the car in and they will check it out, and even then if it is the pedal box there is only a small chance they will help me with it and no chance they will pay for all of it.

Not happy, how can I persuade them?!

Who do I ring to get this joker kicked in the nuts?

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
Clutch pedal lower than brake pedal

Stiff gear change

Crunching into reverse

Hard to engage first

Clunky when moving 5th to 4th, 3rd to 2nd.

Very Low bite point.

Any or all of these issues means you should get your pedal box checked out.

As far as I am aware this is only a problem with Cable operated clutches, not hydraulic.

THE CAUSE:

On the left side of the box there is section that is pressed and welded to the main pedal box. It forms the stop for when the pedal reaches the end of its travel and it also holds the guide for the clutch cable. Unfortunately the original design has only spot welds holding the pressing onto the pedal box.

This means when you are operating the clutch, large shear forces are placed upon the welds which eventually break. The top spot weld is also positioned badly on a fold line for the pressing which can lead to cracks in the pressing due to fatigue on the fold.

Any or all of the welds can fail which will cause the pedal to drop slightly and therefore shorten the clutch cable travel meaning your clutch never fully disengages.

THE SOLUTION:

The original design specification stated the pedal box must collapse in the event of a crash to save the driver from crushing on the legs. The design meets the spec but at the cost of reliability. There is a newer design of pedal box which has no less than 20 revisions to it. These revisions include extra seam welds on the back of the pedal box strenghtning the joint but also still allowing it to collapse in an accident. (I obtained this information from a VW parts manager)

VW are well aware of the problem (something some dealerships will deny). The revised design IS the same as the Polo pedal box which was subject to a recall.

The lupo box was never subject to a recall but a memo was sent to all dealerships making them aware of the problem and also stating that goodwill would be given at 100% for any pedal box issues. This is subject to the vehicle being under 8 years old or 999,999 miles, whichever comes first. I have read this memo myself, all dealerships are aware of it.

VWUK customer service will always act on information given by the dealership, not the customer therefore in order to obtain goodwill the dealership must diagnose the problem correctly. This is where it becomes a bit hit or miss. Some "honest" dealerships will instantly recognise the problem, recommend goodwill and your problem is sorted free of charge. Others won't and will instead diagnose the problem as being caused by a "heavy clutch" or some other clutch related reason.

A heavy clutch could not ever cause the pedal box to break. If it was that heavy you would probably have severe trouble pressing the pedal and your clutch cable would give up long before the box.

You may also be told that the heavy clutch is due to the clutch been worn and that it would also need replacing at a cost of near £480. This is a miss-diagnosis. It would be impossible for a technician to establish whether the clutch is worn while the pedal box is broken. The pedal box influences clutch travel so much you would not be able to tell without first fixing the pedal box and then testing clutch operation.

In the words of a VW main dealer, VW have decided not to issue a recall to save face, they would rather fix the problem quietly on a one by one basis. However, I also believe that pressure is put on dealerships to diagnose the problem as being caused by something other than the pedal box design in order to save money on replacing the parts. Hence why some dealerships are genuine about the problem and some not.

CONCLUSIONS

The information I have given above is from my personal experiance and recent dealings with two VW dealerships. The information on the design revsions and memo are from VW employees who have asked me not to mention their names or dealerships through fear of disciplinary action by VW (that says a lot I think!)

If you have a problem with yours get it seen to asap, it does affect your clutch wear if you drive for a substantial time with the problem.

It SHOULD be fixed for free, this depends on diagnosis. If the garage diagnose it as a straight pedal box issue ask for goodwill. If they try and play it off as something else walk away and find another dealership. I am not going to name a shame dealerships publically on here.

Regards,

Adrian

PS - Can someone pin this for everyones benefit. Thanks.

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just had new clutch fitted and the pedal box problem was not apparent. poorly lu lu now going to have this done as goodwill, would not of known about this if had not found club lupo by chance on net last nite. thank you sooooo much for saving me loys of money. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Pedal box went this wkend on the sport, anyone know of an VW dealerships in Mancherter/Liverpool area that will sort it on good will? What should i say over the phone, gna make some phonecalls later this morning... Cheers, Nick

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  • 2 weeks later...

can some one check if mines been done or whether it is eligible ?

W511SUY - 76,000 miles - 4th owner

if not anyone had success in goodwill repairs in the southwest (Somerset/Devon border)

Edited by Jowey
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Doesnt matter about how many owners or miles as long as your under a million, what age is it? W reg, 2000, depends when in the year it was first registered, needs to be after todays date in 2000 otherwise you wont get it. B qik!

I just got my X reg 2001 done FOC at corkills in southport. No questions asked, brilliant place.

Edited by N!cK!*
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I have has my pedal box changed but my airbag light has now come on, vw are saying it was not there fault and nothing to do with the pedal box change and are charging me £100 just to diagnose what the problem is. What shall i do

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  • 3 weeks later...

Right,

After all my success with the pedal box before, it snapped just 10 months and 10k miles from it been replaced. ****!!

After more arguments, much the same as I detailed before, it was replaced FOC.

I now have a new clutch to put in, local garage this time £160 as opposed to £500 from VW !!!! Unless of course I have time to do it myself.

Then once that is on the car is going this year. Had enough of VW.

Lovely to drive but **** reliability and difficult customer service.

Adrian

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I wish this wasn't true but it does seem to be a continuing problem...

Lovely to drive but **** reliability and difficult customer service.

This sums much that is wrong with VW in the UK at the moment. Apparently the service issue is not the same everywhere in Europe.

What makes this particularly sad is that VW built their reputation on reliability and their outstanding service...but this was a long, long time ago.

Excuse me while I go all misty eyed and nostalgic for a few minutes.......

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  • 2 weeks later...

dont suppose if anyone knows how i'd get on with vw in ireland regarding my pedal box in the sport as the sport was never sold over here or would that affect them

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mine went this morning, on the M1, luckily within a free recovery zone (due to road widening) and only a few miles from home so the helpful recovery people took me (and the car) back home. Lupo is 7 years old so hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed for free (although I don't know how I'll get it to the garage as it doesn't go at all).

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Mine went this morning, on the M1, luckily within a free recovery zone (due to road widening) and only a few miles from home so the helpful recovery people took me (and the car) back home. Lupo is 7 years old so hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed for free (although I don't know how I'll get it to the garage as it doesn't go at all).

If you have a gti, I very much doubt its the pedal box. :)

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