BELLEVILLE — A woman claims a St. Clair Volkswagen dealership concealed a known manufacturer's defect that allegedly caused her vehicle's engine failure.
Katherine Dintelman filed a complaint Jan. 25 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against St. Clair Volkswagen Inc., doing business as Auffenberg Volkswagen, alleging violation of the Illinois Automotive Repair Act and Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, fraud, breach of contract and negligence.
Dintelman alleges in her complaint that on May 18, 2018, she paid Auffenberg Volkswagen for "minor maintenance and repairs" on her 2012 Volkswagen Eos. She claims the dealership "actively and fraudulently" concealed the fact that her vehicle's engine had a "known defect" in the timing chain tensioner, which can cause engine failure.
She alleges that due to pending class action litigation against Volkswagen regarding the timing chain, Auffenberg was aware of the defect, and the dealership had received several bulletins about the timing chain from Volkswagen since June 2010.
Dintelman alleges that in September 2020, her vehicle was towed to Auffenberg and she was told by the dealership a new engine was needed due to "low oil" rather than reveal Volkswagen's timing chain issue.
Dintelman seeks monetary and all other just relief. She is represented by Sean Cronin of Donovan Rose Nester PC in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 21-L-0065