(1) intercooler leaking oil @ 16K miles on a 2006 VW Golf tdi. Failure is due to chaffing of the aluminum intercooler pipes by the perpendicular piece of plastic that extends to it from the front passenger side grill and touches the intercooler. During normal driving, over time, the plastic moves and rubs against the intercooler and eventually creates holes where oil leaks out and puddles on the front side of the passenger wheel well. (2)as soon as I saw the oil puddling in small 3-5" circles, I brought the car to the dealer where they verified my concern. If left unchecked, this would lead to continued loss of oil, loss of boost and eventually failure of the turbo. (3)dealer is fixing under warranty, but told me they will only replace the intercooler and will do nothing to resolve the root cause of the problem, which is that the hard plastic rubs against the soft aluminum metal of the intercooler pipes and causes a hole. Dealer claims there is no tsb from VW which is absurd. Numerous internet searches and looking on www.tdiclub.com show many occurrences of this problem. It is specific to the tdi version of the Golf since it has a turbo. At a minimum, the plastic needs to be trimmed and a piece of foam or something soft needs to be inserted so nothing hard can rub against the aluminum intercooler pipes. If the root cause is not addressed then this will continue to fail. It is a reliability concern, a safety concern (loss of boost, turbo failure), an environmental concern (leaking oil) and a cost concern since eventually the car will be out of warranty.

- Colchester, VT, USA