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Comments
My wife has a BMW X5 that can add a cell phone. I have also been in a Lexus and Mercedes that also has this feature.
I have heard several different stories about a Toureg phone system. The one that I've heard twice, is that the only phone system available will be through Om Star.
I checked out their web site. Seems it's more of a supplemental phone and quite expensive. You would pay this, in addition to regular Cell phone.
Has anyone heard anything pertaining to a phone system for the Toureg? Any experiences with the On Star phone?
Thanks!
Peeople may post that its just a ploy to get me to buy, but they have really changed their tune. I have spoken to both these dealers in the past 5 months. First visit I was told they are going above msrp and $500 extra on top of it all for a polularity fee. Second visit a few weeks ago I was told that I could get it for 34 - basically a grand off the msrp. So whats the sudden change in price thats going on?
What else are other recent buyers seeing? Any short lists of trouble spots? My 99 New Beetle has been largely trouble free, other than the consumption of oil - what do I have to look forward to?
This info was missing from the early owners manuals. Have the most recent owners manuals been updated yet?
Bob
Trouble is, what I'd want to have in a T-Reg isn't on that dealer's lot and he hasn't gotten back to me with a quote for a special order. Still deciding between a 4runner and a T-Reg. The 4runner is an excellent reliable vehicle so it's back to the issue of totally trustworthy reliability vs slightly cooler rig. Sure will help if the VW dealers indeed become more flexible with their pricing.
- I am a Cal grad, so I know the Bay area - I helped my brother buy a Corvette in 1998 by phone/e-mail out there. - read the latest Road and Track for a review of the T-Reg and Cayenne side by side. This vehicle is universally praised for its interior and drivetrain, and I found the 4Runner way too confining... Good Luck!
I've got a 2003 4Runner V8 LTD. I haven't been in a Touareg, so my impressions of the interior are based solely on pictures. But I expect that the Touareg's interior would be significantly nicer than the 4Runner. The metal-look plastic on the 4Runner's dash looks cheap. The HVAC controls on the 4Runner are an ergonomic disaster. If you get a 4Runner with a sunroof, there isn't a whole lot of headroom.
On the other hand, the 4Runner is much cheaper than the Touareg. For the price of a V6 Touareg, you can get a V8 4Runner, which has much better acceleration.
My previous car, a 2000 GTI GLX, was unfortunately quite unreliable and my experience with the dealer and VW was not good. I've read reports from some Touareg owners of various problems (many seem to be electrical). I expect that my 4Runner will be more reliable than my previous VW.
If you do not use the T-reg for pulling, please disregard all this info.
The torque curve of both V6 and V8 engines are illustrated in the literature which you get at the VW dealer. Please do remember, that in a simple way, torque comes from the cam design, volume and design of the engine. I agree, the 6 speed transmission will have a very positive impact in all this.
Ea Taho: If you can get 85% of your max. torque at very low RPM (1600-2000RPM) and hold it over a long RPM range (up to 4000RPM) where you reach max. torque of 330lb.ft. Don't forget to include the weight of the vehicle. A good example is Nissans Pathfinder engine.
If you have a chance, go on a Dyno with your vehicle and asked for a horse power and torque test. You will be surprised to see all the nice computer graphic print out and of course state and true vital signs of your engine. The results are not factory posted horse power, rather real horse power measured on the rear or front wheels depending on your car or SUV set up. In short torque is normally what you feel on the gas pedal. Hopefully, I did not confuse you to much.
Horst
Any feed back would be appreciated.
Is mine the only T that has this problem? Any feedback would be appreciated. I can handle VOA.
Thanks
Like you, I am looking at the T-Reg and wanted
to chat with you a bit off line. Please contact
me at albchi@yahoo.com. Thanks!
Not to bash VW, but I live near a dealer and was behind what looked like a Jetta test drive. There was a stream of water coming out of the tailpipe. Not just a litte, an actual stream, it looked like a faucet. Too bad the perspective buyer couldn't see that.
First, if the vehicle has been sitting for a while, when the driver's door is opened, you can hear a motor/pump/compressor start up and run for a couple of seconds. It is not the seat repositioning itself (I'll address that later), and we do not have the adjustable air suspension option. What could this be, and what is going to happen someday when it eventually wears out?
Next, I am having a heck of a time getting the keys programmed correctly (which by the way have *horrible* range). One of our keys seems to operate properly 90% of the time and readjust the seat when opening the door. The other one is a major PITA. I have been through the programming instructions in the manual multiple times to no avail. I have also reset the seat programming subsystem per the manual to no avail. It doesn't help that the manual references many features and controls that do not exist on our particular run of the vehicle.
Finally, why trying to use the instrument menu to understand why the horn signal on unlock mysteriously turned itself back on after about 30 days, I (much to my chagrin) decided to just reset the convenience setup back to factory defaults. With the reset, the "comfort" option disappeared from my menu for good. Now I cannot view or change the setting I was having trouble with. *sigh*
The upside is that the car runs well and is very comfortable. It is my opinion that VW just built in too much complexity and logic into the vehicle systems for their own good. Lots of bells and whistles.. wish they actually worked.
Not a gripe per say, but another wasted half-a-day at my dealer.
-Dennis
I was also looking at a 4runner and just 100% agree with qpower and nedzel. It's a question of reliability (4runner) versus tighter design and less bulky impression. The t-reg is just a masterpiece; after the testdrive I was completely sold on it, whereas the bulk of the 4runner just turned me off.
Now, I do hope it won't have a lot of little annoying problems like those some of you are citing here; but, the much-cited reliability problems were not enough to counteract my impression of the impressive engineering, sleek exterior design, and flawless interior finish of the T-reg.
Bottom line: if you're into the T-reg, do shop around and you'll pay much less than MSRP regardless of whether it's on the lot or whether you have to special order.
I do love so much about this vehicle... but there are some issues to address. My unit was built in Sept. so it should have the latest fixes, I hope. I discovered that you can get info on dealer bulletins at the VW web site, without actually getting to see them. There is a bulletin on the short range of the keys - I have noticed this today and my wife commented how poorly it performed compared to her New Beetle key, but remember, this key has more sophisticted internal electronics to immobilize and integrate with the specific car, so that may be at issue - will know more soon. There is also a bulletin about the tire pressure system for the first 5,074 units made concerning the possible chafing of the electrical harness servicing the tire pressure system. But you have to pay to get these bulletins, so I figure it may be easier to ask a dealer to review them or photocopy them... there only appears to be a couple of meaningful, relatively hard issues.
Now my observations: the door is a frustrating device with its double latch mechanism. The overhead console does not offer good contrast during the day. The operation of the MFI (Multi Function Indicator) requires some familiarity, it is not so obvious to operate.
According to the video which came with the car, there is a means to tie the key to the seat memory settings so that when you unlock the car, it will know how to set itself up. I have not tried to enable this yet.
The sound heard upon opening the driver's door after it has been at rest for a period of time is in fact the fuel pump pressurizing the fuel delivery system in preparation for the car turning over. My wife's New Beetle does the same thing and is especially audible - I am in the auto parts business, so I am hip to the sound, especially the first time I heard it.
Sciencegeek - I am surprised that you had to wait to get it your way, but it must be the rear diff option as this is only necessary for serious off-road use or serious snow use at the slowest speeds. I had this feature as a part of my Audi Quattro and never used it unless I was stuck in deep snow drifts. So for any on-road typical user, forget about it! - Don't bother: the standard 4X Motion system is like Audi's Quattro system and that should nicely get the job done with the added ride height. You can probably find your car somewhere in your trading area or at the port facility if they are willing to look hard.
BTW, my dealer, Quirk VW of Quincy, Ma. bent over backwards to deliver the vehicle to me on a Sunday morning even though they normally do not do so. My family needs made this necessary, so they made the effort. And they sold me the vehicle for $4200 off sticker price! And they would have taken a trade if I had wanted to use one...this was a cash deal, not contingent on financing, but I do not believe that mattered. And they do advertised in the paper a $32,699 sale price on a $36,915 MSRP vehicle, of which they had several in stock. These guys deserve a strong look by any one buying in the area! - just my humble opinion...
Yes, the rear diff lock option was one of the reasons; the other was the anthracite leather in the offroad grey.
[Side note: my two girls, ages 4 and 7, were with me at the dealer, clowning around ... the guy comes in and asks me whether I really want to special order because they have just the vehicle (no diff lock) with grey leather at the port ... before he fully finishes his sentence he sees my girls and goes "right, I see. you want anthracite."]
You touch upon the other reason why I don't mind waiting: the build date. The more time elapses the better because VW will work out some bugs (but not all) as time goes by. By the time mine is built, the T Reg will have been in production for about a year, which is ok; yours not much less.
And thanks for the super-useful info about the bulletins. Host, this is something you might want to mention here from time to time.
Using VW's website (www.vw.com), I checked inventory at a number of VW dealers in Southern California. Most of the dealers that I spoke with were very straight forward about the selling process. Several were willing to sell at invoice plus $500-1,500.
I ended up purchasing a V8 with Air Suspension and Bi-Xenon lights from Capistrano VW in San Juan Capistrano, CA. I talked with a representative of their Internet department at 9:30 Saturday morning, caught an 11:30 flight ($97) from Las Vegas to Orange County, and was at the dealer by 1:00. I enjoyed a nice drive back to Las Vegas in the evening.
The folks at Capistrano VW were honorable and very easy to work with. They did say that their typical internet pricing is greater than $500 over invoice.
Pricing was as follows:
Manufacturer's Sticker Price - $44,515
My Price - $41,194. My price consisted of the invoice, which was $40,694 (includes $200 SCVDA advertising, $142 floorplan interest reserve, $25 port prep, and $150 Calif. emissions), plus the $500 markup.
In addition, I paid tax (7.75%), $45 document prep (this is nice when I am used to nonVW dealers quoting $199-399 for doc), $5 for Calif Tire Fee, and $10 for a one way permit to return to Nevada. I need to register the car in Nevada myself.
I used VW Credit, which had a 3.75% interest rate for 60 months
Very nice ride so far. Quick and smooth on the road. The only option that I really wanted was the Air Suspension, but I think you need to get the Bi-Xenon lights when you order the Air Suspension.
I will share more information as I drive the car.
The Maintenance Guide is linked under the Ownership tab at the top, with some other site features we forget to promote :-)
Steve, Host
My company and I rented a Touareg V6 (non air suspension) brand new off a dealer's lot in late September. We put about 4,000 miles on the T-Reg in about a 3 week period in California, Arizona, Colorado(yes, that's a lot of driving). We also had a newly leased 2003MY BMW X-5 3.0i Sports Package with us on this trip. The X-5 performed without problem (though it is jawdropping that one can spend $50k on a car and not get a CD player standard - our car has the NAV option and get only a cassette player!).
Overall the Touareg is a very nice package, and for the $36k ish price, out rented car was a bargain (our loaded X5 checked in at $49k).
We had a few problems which were a bit concerning:
After only a few thousand miles those impressive looking brakes (6-pot front, 4-pot rear!) were severely warped. Probably just front rotors here, but still - after only a few thousand miles? 100% normal highway driving.
The rear glass door on the hatchback would unlatch itself over even a mild freeway expansion joint. The warning beeper honks at you, and the onboard computer disabled itself. This got worse as we continued on the trip. The glass door never actually opened, but the switch telling the car's computer its position had some problems. The dealer we took the car too said that there was a countermeasure part for this, but it was at least a 1 week wait.
The in-dash CD player would decide on a whim to not eject the CD, then the next day eject it without issue. Multiple CD's were tried, same problem.
Severe engine misfires. This happened to us twice, the first time just about 10 miles before pulling into a gas station, we re-filled the car and the CEL turned itself off. The 2nd time the CEL remained on and the car stumbled badly (we were 200-300 miles away from the nearest VW dealership. We nursed it into a dealership. They held it for 3 days, could not diagnose the problem, but turned the CEL off and told us that we could come pick the car up. We had to travel about 1000 miles over the next few days through relatively unpopulated parts of the western US, so we opted to have the Toaureg moved back to California via flatbed truck. We didn't want to risk the problem again and damaging the T-reg, or get stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Good things:
The 6 speed transmission always has an appropriate gear. V-6 engine is not great, but the 6-speed surely makes it adequate in most situations. Steep hills could be driven in 4th gear with no shift hinting.
Interior is beautiful.
Very comfortable overall, though I'd prefer a bit more feedback from the steering and brake pedal.
Again, this is just one experience. We still agreed that it is a really nice rig for the money and unsurpassed in terms of road trip comfort and features. We'll probably lease one for our fleet in the next month or so. Hopefully our 2nd experience is better.
I've driven a V8 air suspension Touareg as well. The air and coil spring models feel worlds different. Make sure you drive one of each before deciding on your purchase.
Thanks for the time, and for wading through my rambling message.
VW Touareg Spawns Euro-Van
Volkswagen has a van - that's panel, not mini - version of its recently introduced Touareg up-market 4x4. Unveiled at the Amsterdam commercial vehicle show this week, the Touareg van is aimed firmly at the Netherlands market, where vehicle taxation quirks spawn many unusual vehicles. The van on show has leather upholstery, air-conditioning and all the other options you'd expect from a top of the range machine. But behind the driver and passenger seats there is a flat load floor, raised roof, although only by an inch or so, and blacked-out windows to meet local commercial vehicle tax laws. The trick is that buyers who forego the comfort and convenience of rear-compartment seats can buy a Touareg that carries a lower tax rate. It's not so that deliveries can be maintained in Holland's often freezing winters and it certainly isn't because Dutch tradesmen require hill-climbing ability. Don't expect to see any Touareg vans making it to the USA - but then, where unusual vehicles and the American love of something different is concerned, you can never say 'never.' -Ian Norris
Bob
I also think that they have more White units with higher end options. I rather liked the Wheat Beige at this price point, but the Reed Green got my heart!
On a different note, I love the first several days with my new T-Reg, but wonder if any of you out there have noticed that the water temp gauge climbs rapidly to 200 degrees within 4-5 minutes, so fast that you can watch it move up!
Does any one notice this? The oil temp takes a lot longer to rise to its nominal temp. Any ideas?
I believe this is normal.....my V-6 does the same...about 4-5 minutes to operating temp.
On another subject, I had my first experience with the tire monitoring system. It appears that when you are very close to the setting, it can be a little touchy, especially with the effects of heat. Cycled on and off. I stopped to adjust the pressure, but it's a little tricky with warm tires. Waiting until the car is cold to adjust the pressure is a better procedure.
One thing to consider is that the pressure will fluctuate a lot as the temperature changes, that is why race cars and airplanes use pure DRY, Nitrogen, the pressure is more constant within the temp range, main culprit of the pressure changes is water, known as atmospheric humidity, inside the tire when cold will condense and puddle as water in the bottom, when the tire gets hot it will turn into steam and raise the pressure.
You inflate the tires, cold of course, to the pressure you desire. You press a button immediately after you do this that says "store tyre pressures" (yep it spells it that way). Two levels of warnings are avail for each tire and if more than one tire is out of tolerance another warning message is displayed allowing you to address the issue before it becomes a danger.
We didn't always have disk brakes or ABS or ESP or any number of other saftey, performance, convenience or comfort features either -- but I certainly would not want to be without them.
TPM, ESP, ABS, airbags, dual-braking systems, disk brakes, safety glass, steel belted radials, safety gasoline tanks, all-wheel drive and even airconditioning -- don't leave home without them.
Please.
"Dear Gerd Klauss, VWoA
I regularly participate in edmunds town-hall. I point you to posting 1094 on the Touareg message board.
I have, in good faith and with at least appropriate if not generous patience relayed my story as noted in post #1094 throughout the VWoA proper chain of communication as I understand it.
I do want to own a Touareg. Under the circumstances don't you think that it would be far less costly for all of us if you just used your executive authority and gave me a Mulligan?
I suspect that the number of current customers and POTENTIAL customers that will read my story is a significant and represents, therefore a great opportunity for VWoA. I assure you a speedly resolution to this matter will be given equal treatment by me on this forum.
I urge you to help me resolve this problem. It would seem, all things considered, a relatively inexpensive way to garner much positive publicity and effectively turn this problem into a success-story.
In my experience, companies are judged by the way they respond to problems far more than they are when there are none.
Very truly yours
Karl"
Or words to that effect, don't you think?
After reading the posts and the problems that most owners are experiencing I would have serious second thoughts if I was considering purchasing this vehicle.
The vehicle in post# 1094 is plagued with defects both externally and mechanically and VW sends a statement to the dealer claiming that they will honor their warranty for the customers vehicle and pay for 2 scheduled service appointments, So according to VW this should make the customer jump for joy that his BRAND NEW less than one month old vehicle will be fixed for free! and for spending $50,000 and not being able to drive his BRAND NEW less than one month old vehicle VW is going to pay for his next 2 service appointments. WOW!!
Get real VW!! they should be embarrassed to even make such a statement. If VW expects people to spend $50,000 for an SUV with this type of reliability (and yes I believe they knew of the problems long before they made it to the dealers) they should do the right thing and honor this customers request.
Please let us know if your issues have resolution or are you still fighting with VWOA.
I would check what the flat out return policy is...regardless of lemon law...that may be your best way out. Have you contacted your local better business bureau...they may be able to clarify your rights.
In my opinion...a lot of car salespeople and dealerships will go as far as breaking the law to pressure you into keeping something you don't want and not losing the sale. If you really don't want this car, you should contact an agency or legal body that can help you. As the consumer...the dealership will push your back to the wall, threaten to keep your money, make you feel at fault, etc.
Good Luck