Here's a video of the air line factory-known manufacturer defect. Seems this topic comes up quite a bit each year so felt this video will help those whose cars have this problem. This repair facility seems to have come up with a good solution.

 

That's something Bentley should be doing as a recall in my opinion.

 

When the GTC here suffered this same fate I spoke with the head of Bentley USA (or some such) at the time on the phone. He simply said the car was too old/out of warranty even though she had only ~30k miles. Yes, I informed him this was a known defect of production... and the second Bentley here so was a repeat customer. No support was offered from the factory.

That is when I began to realize a few things about Bentley as a company as part of the VW Group. Am sure they must read this board and they could make it right if the company so wished. To date, no one from Bentley has ever contacted me or anyone else to my knowledge about this known problem. Wish they would contact me so we can work out a simple resolution to this ongoing defect that pops up often on Bentley boards worldwide.


The great thing is that the local service guys at Boston Bentley have been excellent. Wonderful dealership and their service center is top notch. Wish I felt the same way about Bentley a company that is part of the VW Group. Very perplexing situation as on one hand the car is magnificent, on the other you need to realize that any known manufacturing/design defects such as this (and possible holes on the convertible top which I'm taking great care to avoid) are expected and known without any support from the company. Yes Dr. D, look up holes in the convertible top and make some calls to indie service centers....

So... Bentley truly is a British brand in even the classical sense of the word. Make of that as you will.

 

I think its a tad harsh to say So... Bentley truly is a British brand in even the classical sense of the word. Bentley, lets make no mistake is German. The VAG group has a very poor track record of sorting these issues. The 911 996 had dreadful IMS problems and engine piston failures. Its world renown but they wont acknowledge the issue.
The Audi A6 range still has piston issues which allow an oil consumption of less than 100 miles per ltr. Due to the excessive amount of these problems if pushed they will offer an amount to pay out against the repair or replacement of the new A6 engine.........but you really have to fight them and they wont acknowledged the fact openly
As with the 997 gen 2 911 with DI, the inlet valves are coking up by 40% and ...again no response from Porsche.
The old Brittish way was to put these things right and own up but now we don't have any British car manufacturers.

Ford UK....American
Vauxhaull is owned by GM American.
Landrover owned by TaTa motors India.
Jaguar.. TaTa motors India.
Rolls Royce.... BMW.
Bentley ...VAG
Lotus....owned by DRB-HICOM /Proton in Malaysia.
Mini.....BMW
Rover......TaTa India

The true British sense of fair play has long since been bought out by other countries.

 

Excellent points Sunnyside. The VW Phaeton, for which the Bentley here is based, is indeed a German engineered vehicle. Think you forgot about Ferrari and known header problems btw.

I find it strange these companies may claim to be customer service oriented and offer very high $ luxury vehicles yet at the same time refuse to recognize defects and 'do the right thing' by their loyal customers. Wellendorff, Patek Philippe, etc have always been excellent to their customers. A small bit of loyal behaviour to customers can go a long way in many aspects of business... plus it may help to retain resale value and customers who become repeat buyers and outstanding word-of-mouth for the brand when others enquire about it.

Hmmm... just thinking to myself that perhaps this is why some luxury goods devalue at such an alarming rate due to sheer lack of manufacturer support? Just a thought.


Apologies if my comments sound a bit harsh, yet Bentley surely opened themselves up to such criticism when they refuse to acknowledge known manufacturing issues and thus correct the situation. This is what makes online discussion boards, video sites, honest review sites and the like so valuable, as others can look things up and then decide for themselves about a product or service. As a member of the press myself, must admit it is sometimes hard to separate the proverbial 'wheat from the chaff' when it comes to certain review sites and typical magazine advertorial.

JHMO

 

No need to apologies, that's what this forum is all about, discussion. No offense taken by me what so ever
I wish the powers to be would be as open and discus the issues but that would be bad for stocks and shares. Perhaps its a world run by the upper rich for the upper rich. to do the honest and upstanding thing these days usually means you are penalized in some way or fashion

 

VW is far from being a class leader in many respects, and am not one to place blame on a single 'Class' of those with wealth and influence. Recent, perhaps ongoing, problems plague the company at the top levels http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwint...re-he-started/ . Perhaps over time the VW Group will change, yet only time will tell. If what you say is true with other models, and I have no reason to doubt you, it can not bode well for word of mouth when it comes to brand sales. It makes me proud of what high-end audio manufacturers, a sector I report upon, provide to their customers at far lower investment combined with long-term reliability. Perhaps the VW Group might benefit from studying other consumer sectors to gain better insight into building customer loyalty and satisfaction.

 

Before anyone gets the wrong impression, love the GTC and why it is the second B in the stable. Only brand I ever did a second time in my life. It is simply that one may expected a higher level of customer support for known issues at these price levels. Fantastic vehicle when she is sorted and love her sun, rain and snow. Can't say that about many other lux cars.