Volkswagen Passat 2005 and earlier

altair4

Your ancedotal story is one of the reasons that I got our Passat. I looked at the crash test results on NHTSA and IIHS and felt that it was a great candidate for a safe family hauler. The fact that it's a fun drive is icing on the cake.

I'll take a few reliability issues under my belt, knowing that if push comes to shove, I'll probably be able to walk away from a significant crash with few and minor injuries.

Glad to hear everyone's okay. Enjoy that new GLX!

pkradd

Could this be the next version?

http://galleries.wheels24.co.za/cars/vw/passat2004/images/02.jpg

pkradd

For some reason could post this url in previous post:

http://galleries.wheels24.co.za/cars/vw/passat2004/images/03.jpg

nerd

I would appreciate comments from any of you who have dealt with Metro Volkswagen in Irving, TX. Their internet manager has quoted me a good price on a 2003 GLX with manual trans and ESP. I hope to test drive one tomorrow.

I would like to hear comments on any other Dallas area VW dealers (good or bad).

vocus

If the parts have a serial number that starts with "H", they are the ones that are defective. If they have a number starting with "J", then they are from the new supplier and ok.

massappeal106

I'm looking to lease a '03 GLS with leather. Any information regarding the deal you got on your lease would be greatly helpful.

Thanks!

georgek44

Outrun - I wish that my keyboarding ability were as reliable as my '00 Passat.

vwguild

I am so happy that you have shared your story here, and that your wife is safe & sound. What a pleasure to hear something that is not a whine...

Maybe your sharing of this experience will put some other things in perspective...

bjbird2

I found a replacement blade the Aero wipers that VW has on late 2002 and 2003 Passats thru the forum on clubb5.com..The Anco N21R sells for $6 a pair, and saved me $64 vs. the dealer replacement arms! You just have to pull the old rubber out of the aero blade, and slide in the replacement, after you pull the replacement out of the Anco plastic holder. There seems to be one end on the aero wiper where the plastic cap comes off. Slide the replacement on from the opposite end. The end where the cap came off has a little barb under the cap that holds the blade in place. Pry that up so that the blade will slide all the way flush to the end, and then push the barb back down and replace the plastic end cap. The drivers side wiper seems to be shorter, so you'll have to trim a little off that blade after it is installed. This actually sounds more complicated than it actually is, just be patient sliding the wiper on the aero wiper, you have to kind of work it past the center of the arm, and just keep pulling it on, over the barb at the end.

vwguild

I guess not...

rayainsw

As a (now) concerned owner of a W8 - and now hearing that the coil pack problem still exists in the (some) W8s - I am wondering if VW would sell coil packs to someone not (yet) having trouble - when those having trouble are waiting for back-ordered parts?

Thanks,
- Ray
Who has not had a mechanical failure that resulted in an un-driveable car in a looooong time . . .

vocus

They will not replace the packs unless your car breaks down. You could buy them probably, but I hear they are expensive. I think W8 and 1.8T drivers should all contact NHTSA and try to get them to issue a recall, personally.

Also, VW will only replace the coil pack that is affecting the car, not all of them. My car died, and they only replaced one pack in mine. I already told the dealer he will not be happy if another coil in my car goes.

If you look at the coils, you can tell which ones are affected. The ones whose serial # start in "H" have the possibility of breaking, the ones that start with "J" are from the new supplier and ok.

sschilf

Can anyone tell me if the V6 in the GLX one of those 100k mile maintenance free engines aside from oil changes etc? Also, does it have a timing belt or chain? I assume a chain is better.

Thanks

vocus

Oil changes every 5K miles, timing belt at 105K miles, brake fluid change every 2 years no matter the mileage, spark plugs every 40K miles.

bgazdzinski

As part of my researching a new car, I picked up a haynes manual for the passat, it covers the 4 and 6 cyl models. It gives info on what maintanance is due when, but has some different things in it from what VW says.
In one part, it says the VW says the trans fluid is supposed to be good for the life of the car, but haynes lists changing it at 60,000 miles.

If you plan on keeping the car a long time, you will want to change various fluids.
Brake fluid should be changed every two years at least (along with bleeding the brakes), the coolant every 3 to 5 years, the trans fluid every
50,000 miles or so, the front diff gear lube should be changed, the mineral oil (power steering) every 5 years, engine oil should be changed at 500 miles, then there is the timing belt, which needs checks and possable adjustments
every 30,000 miles I think. You dont want to break a timing belt, as the valves impact the pistons (trash motor), nor allow any fluids to get on the belt.

If you plan on getting rid of the car before 10 years and 100,000 miles, you could likely do less, but if you want to keep the car, and have it not burn oil and so on, changing the fluids is cheap insurance. The manufacturer is not interested in having the car last a long time, they want repair money, and to get you in a new car, and they want to reduce service while its under warentee....if you thing coolant will last
longer than 5 years and maintain its anti corrosion properties, you would be wrong.
Same with the trans fluid, if the trans has a filter, it will catch some of the wear metal, some trans have magnets, but the fluid will degrade over time.
People forget that many things and fluids wear from age, hoses rot, moisture builds up in fluids, batterys go bad, just from sitting.

Many things can be done by the home mechanic, although the car is tight to work on, and a vag-com tool (scanner) may be needed to diagnose and correct and re program some stuff.
The vag-com costs $200.00 I think.

These cars are incredibly complex, but I think you dont have to do much real maintanance under
60,000 miles or about 4/5 years...then it SHOULD start....

Brett

sschilf

What do you mean by 'then it SHOULD start'?

Most cars like the Altima and Accord are zero maintenance till 100K. I guess this is not true with the Passat?

Can anybody give me rough costs for:

plug replacements?
oils changes?
lubes?
steering fluid replacements?
etc?

Thanks

altair4

You can find that on Edmunds...click on "Ownership" at the top of the page and then you will see Maintenance Schedules in a box on the right side. Enter your specific vehicle and you'll have your answer.

BTW, NO car is zero maintenance to 100K. At the very least, every car needs oil and filter changes within that time frame.

And there's a number of maintenance schedules...
The manufacturers, the dealers and then outside vendors like Haynes.

Often the dealer will have more items on the schedule than the manufacturer (it's a golden marketing opportunity to "upsell" service). Haynes...I dunno, they have their own agenda which probably runs something along the lines of "absolute lengthening of service life." It's up to you, as an informed consumer, to pick what best meets your expectations for product life and service needs.

bgazdzinski

Should start, as in, start doing some if keeping the car, above oil changes and brake pads.

It also depends on time, but say, after 4 years and or 60,000 miles, you should think about changing the fluids, spark plug wires, coolant hoses, vacuum lines, timing belt checks, etc.

I personaly like to keep my cars like new in every respect, and hate to break down, so I have managed to drive a 1990 Jaguar for 6 years and
75,000 miles, (total of 142,000 miles) without ever having a tow, a problem on the road, or having it in any shop other than for tires.

I pay close attention to things under the hood, dont let acid build up on the battery terniinals
(armorall works great), change the hoses, check wires and everything else for rubbing on things, keep things real clean, change fluids, etc.

If I was leasing a car, I guess it would be the bare minimum maintanace, if I OWNED the car, it gets the best care I can give it.
Since I mail order parts, and do my own work, I can do the best maintanance possible at a minimum
maintanance cost!

Take care of your car, and it takes care of you,
although you may have to take care of things you should not have to if its not a great car.
Part of the process is researching what typicly does fail, and when (electric coolant pumps on the V6).
Lots of info avalable on various lists...

Brett

bjbird2

Well it happened! One coil went out on my 2002 1.8T. I've been singing the praises of this car, and I still love it, but I've had 2 Infinitis with no problems, just routine maintainance, and this is my first German car since my Porsche that I owned 20 years ago.
The dealer has been very good about it. they towed my car in and gave me a rental car, however they will not replace all 4 coils because of the demand for the part. I don't like driving the car knowing that the other 3 coils could go out at any time. Hopefully when they get caught up on production, they'll have a recall and replace all of the faulty coils
I'm still very impressed with the car but I hope this is not an indication of things to come. If VW had not extended the warantee to 4 years, I probably would not have bought a Passat.

birdboy1

Hey BJbird2, I just experienced the same with coil 2 and 3 going. I was able to drive in at 10mph. The shortage is so bad that they took coils out of a preowned passat to get me on the road again. I also love the car and would not of bought it if not for the 4 year waranty. I am now uncomfortable about driving as well waiting for when not if the other two will go. I am calling vw of america to request all be replaced. I know fat chance, however if enough of us call maybe we will get this.
Anyhow good luck to all of us.

pkradd

I have a 2001.5 Passat, manufactured in 2001 so I'm hopeful no problems will come up. I've had the car for a year and 8 months with 15,000+ miles. Knock on wood. By the way, you should post these comments in the other thread "Ignition Coil Problems".

vocus

You could also get NHTSA involved in the matter if you so wish. That's what I plan to do if another one of my coils go (the #3 one already went).

vocus

Some of the "H" coils don't go though, so you might be worrying for nothing. If you can't enjoy the car, what's the point in having it???

The "H" coils are the ones that *might* go, the "J" coils are the "revised" ones and should be ok.

03honda

Where would I look to see if my coils start with an "H" or "J"?

vocus

There should be a serial # on the part itself.

outrun

Take off the engine cover (3 screws). Fine a coil (there are 4 of them). Look at the back side of the coil (faces the windshield). There should be a part number imprinted on it.

Ending in "H" - might go bad.
Ending in "J" - new part - should be ok.
Ending in "G" - old part before bad batch - should be ok.

-Craig

outrun

I don't want to say this, buy I have 12,500 miles on my '02 Passat 1.8T (manufactured March 2002 in Mosel). Packs haven't gone bad yet (90%+ highway driving).

Funny little story. I was in to get a seat heater replaced a month or so ago. The dealer screwed up the part order the first time, so the second time they gave me a rental (Enterprise). The Enterprise rep (female) greeted me and asked "Coil pack?"

Interesting that the Enterprise rep knows about the issue, yet the dealership I use doesn't.

-Craig

vocus

Enterprise didn't know about that when I went to them. They had offered me either a Chevy Metro (no way that would EVER happen, I am 6'3!) or a Chevy Impala. I took the Impala, because I was told it would be up to a month before I would see my car again. Thank God it only took 6 days though.

outrun

..a 2000 Ford Escort base model. Power nothing. Had about 35000 miles on it. What a piece of cow dung.

-Craig

vocus

They tried that with me once too, only it was an 03 Escort (they are fleet sales only now) with about 6K miles. The car was ok, but the seats were very uncomfortable for me and it was too small. I took it back and got something else.

bjbird2

I got a Toyota Corolla. Not bad, just very bland, boring, milktoast. But it is reliable..

skerner

Hi - I've had my 2002 passat since april - about 20k miles - car handles great but from 0-30 mph is balky on accel. and downshift with tiptronic in auto mode - I've read about this being a persistent problem. Dealer has reset transmission 3 or 4 times - says car is running "normal". Will installing tcm chip solve this problem and what happens to my warranty? Would like to hear about others experiences with this and fixes - I love the handling and driving, but this problem is making me crazy! thanks.
steve

pkradd

They tested 10 cars. Two of the newest ran 1 and 2:

1. Honda Accord EX
2. Mazda 6
3. Passat 1.8T

All automatics.

A new Passat is due next year or possibly late this year for 2004. I posted pics previously on this thread. It is supposedly bigger and does have many exterior design changes, although it still "looks" like a Passat.

markcincinnati

I read the C&D article -- I think the Passat acquitted itself VERY VERY well. Depending on your bias, and I have one, I admit, I'd say the Passat would stil be my first choice.

I wish VW would put the up model 1.8T engine (225HP) in the passat+a 6spd manual (4motion only of course). And, keep the price the same or very little different. Or raise the price with that engine and drive train and do all the above plus add a sport suspension and 17" wheels and either UHP all season rubber or MAX summer rubber (customer's choice).

I bet the car would be transformed. And so would the sales.

Of course, then Audi would cry foul -- since it would undoubtedly have better STATS than an A4 3.0 for perhaps $8,000+ less money?!?

Maybe they should do that and call it an A5 and make everyone "happy!" Course then that price thing would get in the way again. . .

outrun

If it was more than one day, I would have brought back this heap as well.

I see these things all over the road. I just can't imagine paying money for one of these. I mean, I know lots of people can't afford "nice" cars, but an Escort wouldn't even make the list of "cheap" alternatives. I'd rather be driving a used Hyundai.

-Craig

8u6hfd

They were manuals. The comparison condition was manual transmission

pkradd

thanks. Just looked at the mag briefly. Strange to test manuals, when most "family sedans" are purchased with autos.

dudleyr

http://autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_code=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=02591133

134 hp and 50 mpg. Yessss!

pkradd

Whew! Got scared, thought you were talking about Vin! ;-)

arjay1

The arrival of the diesel for the Passat may be the one thing that gets me to sell my 2000 Passat. I loved my TDI Jetta, it just got to small for a family of 5.
Love That Diesel (not Vin!).

outrun

Isn't the Passat too small for a family of 5 as well? I find it a little snug with our family of 4 (including a baby and toddler).

We use the RX for family hauling duties anyways..

-Craig

arjay1

It is not our family hauler, my post may have been confusing. We have a Kia Sedona for the family truckster. The Passat is my daily ride but still needs to take us all from time to time.

R. J.

twobrowns

Test drove a passat today, great drive, and is at the top of my list should I trade. However I noticed a previous post that a redesign is due in 04. If that is true I my wait until fall. I did not notice any info. on future veh. on the motor trend web page. Does anyone know if a new design is due?

outrun

Will be an '05 model here in the States (probably in the Spring/Summer of '04). It will debut in Europe probably this fall.

Even so, I wouldn't wait for the first year model from VW. They're known to have many problems the first year or two.

The only first year runs I'd consider would be Toyota, followed by Honda.

-Craig

mliong

I don't know if I've have as much confidence as you do with Toyota and Honda. They would probably have a lot less First-Year release problems than VW, but I would definitely buy a second year release from them, vs a fourth of fifth year release for a VW.

bgazdzinski

I picked up my new car tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday I had my first problem.
The electric fan is stuck on high speed, even
though the car is cold. its only supposed to run if its very hot out.
The electric fan can move a LOT of air, and make a lot of noise.
I found I could unplug the sensor/pump in the lower radiator hose and kill the fan.
Since its 20F outside, the car has no cooling
problems, the gauge stays center scale no matter what, so I will arrange for my first warrentee
repair later. The car is wonderful otherwise.

Brett
2003 GLX V6 auto...200 miles on it.

blancobasin

My passat has been in the shop since 12/26 waiting for the parts. They gave me a jetta to drive--not much of a family car. This is my first and last VW. Is there a market for a used passat with 7000 miles that doesn't run?

arjay1

Sorry to hear about your problems. Which Passat do you have, options, etc? No car is perfect and your problem will be worked out. You will take a beating if you try to sell a car with only 7,000 miles. However, if you are desperate to get out of it I am always looking to take advantage of someone else eating all the depreciation and buy a car at a rock bottom price.
It sounds bad when I put it that way, doesn't it? Don't make a bad financial decision out of frustration. VW is giving you a car to drive and they will get the coil packs fixed. Then you will have a nice car to drive. It sucks when these things happen but they happen to all manufacturers at some time.

vocus

If the engine were too cool, the gauge would be lower. Perfect middle is where it should be, no matter the temp outside. My Jetta is like this year-around, from 100 to 20 degrees. May not be anything wrong with the car at all, just getting used to a new car.

bgdnr

I've been w/o my Passat('02,GLS,1.8T,11K) for two weeks due to a coil pack failure (2 of 4 coils). While the dealer has provided me w/ a Grand-Am, I am VERY DISAPPOINTED that VW won't replace ALL 4 coils. I now must play Russian Roulette on the back roads of CT and I-95. I won't let my family use the car. This $25K car is a liability. I am VW's target market (mid 30s, good income, 2x VW owner). However, I am quite reluctant to do business w/ them again. My co-workers ($150K+)have stated they will not buy a VW after hearing my car problems. How does VW expect to move up-market? They have been trying to keep this coil problem out of the press. It is hard to believe Consumer Reports continues to rate the Passat their top family sedan.

Any word on a recall date for the coils? Can any VW reps share their insight? I have already filed my case w/ VW US. Thank you. WMG