Water pump GRAF or OEM Volkswagen

My 2017 GTI SE also had a slight coolant smell but no visible leaks on the garage floor. When I brought it in for the 40K mile DSG transmission fluid service a couple of months ago, my dealer detected the leak from a defective water pump and replaced it under warranty.

I've had my mk6 for 5 years and driven it 50,000 miles (total 130,000) on the same water pump.

60k on my mk7r, hasn't needed anything but maintenance. Water pumps were a known issue on early mk7 but from my understanding have been resolved in new part revisions with upgraded metal internals.

Yeah I bought the water pump assembly from the dealer that came with the thermostat installed.

I’ve had my car for over 5 years now and currently have 140k miles, and my water pump just recently failed me. Which is surprising because my car did lose a little bit of coolant over time, I would always top off with G13. Water pump failed and it’s currently being replaced, other than that, I think that’s fair for age and mileage.

I think I'll just grab a GRAF 30mm unit and compare unless someone has good info on brand quality/fitment.

My 2016 Mk7 GTI is on its 4th water pump/thermostat housing. The first replacement happened at about 27K miles, the second failed at 63K miles, and the third failed at 72K miles. I fully expect this one to leak again soon. I find it ridiculous that VW/Audi don't fix a faulty part after all these years. The plastic thermostat housing is to blame. Instead of a metal housing which can handle the thermal stresses, they continue to use a plastic housing which will start leaking sooner or later.

Only 4 water pumps, 1 manual clutch assembly (broken spring on pressure plate) and 48K miles on my MK6

The current EA888 has a reputation for leaky water pumps.

Got my 2017 Golf Wolfsburg Edition at the dealer right now for its 40K service and got a call that after they finished up they found a leaking water pump.