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Comments
The pollen filter on my 1.8t took about 5 minutes to replace.
I give my dealer Valvoline SynPower 5w40 everytime I go in for service.
-Craig
Thanks in advance.
The late '99s and beyond have far fewer problems over all, and have been rated the best family sedan by Edmunds serveral years in a row.
-Craig
If you're that unhappy, it's time for you to move on. Why stay aggravated? Life's too short.
Basically, I am looking for a good independent mechanic who knows VW in Hartford, CT area. Can anybody recommend one?
I have never gotten my car back before 5:30 - even when I dropped it off the night before. Plus, it takes at least 20 minutes to check in and another 20 minutes to check out, not to mention time spent driving to and from the dealership. Just last night, I waited 15 minutes for a porter to pull my car up to the service area (we had to get the alignment checked for my wife's V6). The car was sitting in the lot while I waited what seemed like ages for someone to get it. And it's not like this is the first time that's happened.
Plus, I don't think I should have to supply the dealer with the proper weight of oil for the car. Shouldn't *they* already have that in stock? And shouldn't they use it without me having to ask them to?
I will say that if Jim Ellis VW could do an oil change in less than 8 hours (shoot, I'll give them a whole hour to do it), I wouldn't mind bringing my car to them, and I might grudingly provide my own oil (does your dealer discount the price of the oil change when you bring the oil?). I keep hoping they'll put in an express "oil change only" service bay. But now I've gotten adept at changing the oil in our V6, so I'll just keep doing that myself...and I'll have the 1.8T down to 45 minutes the next time I do it.
So as much as I'd love to let someone else get greasy and dirty and let someone else cart the oil to a reclamation facility, until the VW dealer gets their act together, I'll be doing it myself. As for why I don't take it elsewhere, the next closest dealers in the area are either 30 - 45 minutes away in GOOD traffic (which we get only on weekends in ATL) or just as bad.
Thanks for listening, and thanks, as always, for your comments and advice.
And yes, I do get a discount for bringing my own oil. Normally, its $23.95. If I bring my own oil, they charge $16 and change. I got my SynPower 5w-40 in bulk, so it only cost me about $1.80/quart. So I end up paying the same amount, and get the bennies of synthetic.
This dealeship (Colonial VW in Westboro, MA) uses 5w-30 as their Passat oil. I questioned them about it, and they said something to the fact that 5w-40 is a "general" rule for all climates, and 5w-30 is fine for the Northeast. I don't think it's fine during the 100+ degrees we sometimes get in the summer.
In all fairness, the ONLY 5w-40 oil is synthetic. There isn't a dino equivalent. If they did use 5w-40, it wouldn't be $23.95 for an oil change. And they WILL use Castrol Syntec 5w-40, upon request, for an additional charge.
If there is not another dealership near you, then I guess you have no other choice.
-Craig
I guess I'll reload: if you are planning on dumping the car "soon" -- perhaps skipping the interval would be justified, but if you are selling the car outright, I would think that it really is a pay now or pay later kind of thing; and personally, if you tried to offload a car with 24,000 miles on it (my outside definition of "soon") and you had skipped the 20K service interval, I would want to pay at least $260 less to you for the car.
I know it may seem like it is not needed, but I have had Audis and VW's (kissing cousins you know) since 1978 -- in an attempt to underscore the point, skip the service interval at your own peril. Remember, pay now or pay later and potentially if you pay later, you pay dearly.
If you want a VW trunk mounted CD changer, go to VWs accessories website for price.
http://drivergear.vw.com/store/category.asp?category%5Fid=48
You can find the in-dash Cd players if you search for them, try Ebay, clubb5.com discussion forums, or just the web in general.
The dealer can order it and install it for a charge, and its also VERY easy to do yourself, you really just have to plug it in.
Good luck
Trust me, if there were another dealership within a reasonable distance, I'd go there. I have found a dealership I like for major services. Heritage VW in Union City, south of Atlanta, is good. But I'll only use them for a major repair since it is a drive to get there, but they come recommended, and a friend of mine knows the service folks there. But it's not convenient enough for oil changes, so I guess I'll continue to do them myself unless Jim Ellis VW wisens up and gets a quick lube lane like your dealer has.
And I'd also like to know where you get your 5w40 for in bulk for $1.80 a quart...and just how much is "bulk"? I'd sure be willing to buy a bunch if I could get it at that price. Just curious. Thanks for the info...and if I ever happen to relocate to Westboro Mass...I'll keep Colonial VW in mind.
So, go to the dealer and have your oil and filter changed and tire rotation = $45. Go to a parts store and buy the pollen filter for $20. Change the pollen filter yourself. It is fairly easy and will save you about $40.00. The check items are good to have done, but for the cost minus the oil and filter change seems excessive. If you have $260.00 free, go ahead and get the service done by the dealer. If not, I don't think it will hurt your car to go with the above recommendations.
We have all had our issues with the factory warranty at one time or another (and no I am not only speaking of VWoA).
So, if you do something that is required in the service interval and have no documentation and something goes "bump" and it in ANY way can be tied to the serviced (or not serviced) item and adequate documentation is not available, there is a chance that the warranty item will become, let's say, "an issue."
I know you probably want to scream "they'll stick it to you at the drive-thru" or sentiments like that -- but even $260 is cheap insurance.
VW's are breathtakingly expensive to repair out of warranty.
God I'm old, but here is the platitude: "penny wise, pound foolish."
That's my line, too - now who got it first...? ;-)
At Colonial VW in Westboro, MA:
I think I paid $149 for my 20k service (I know it was no where near $260).
The 10k is $89.
The 5k is $23.95.
The 40k is $349 (I think).
-Craig
And the price has gone up to a little over $4/quart (I bought it about 8 months ago).
Still worth getting it in my opinion. And it's full synthetic (not a blend). That's called Durablend in Valvoline speak.
http://www.oil-store.com
-Craig
Howver, therefore, notwithstanding - I still say that under the circumstances and knowing what I know and what I have read herein, even if it were $260 it would be all things considered inexpensive insurance.
I installed one in my 2000 and it is easier than explained. The plug is already in the trunk where the unit goes. You literally unpack it and plug it in. Throwing away the box takes more time than installing the changer.
The 40,000 mile was the first service of any consequence. I did that one myself as it involved changing the spark plugs and the air filter. I was not going to pay the dealer $300 for that work.
Mobil1 0w-40 or Valvoline Synpower 5w-40 would be my top two choices.
-Craig
4 cylinder:
5k: $ 23.95
10k: $ 84.95
20k: $119.95
40k: $349.95
6 cylinder:
5k: $ 29.95
10k: $ 89.95
20k: $124.95
40k: $399.95
Diesel:
5k: $ 59.95
10k: $119.95
20k: $149.95
40k: $249.95
Interesting that the 40k Diesel is cheaper, when the other services are significantly higher.
The oil changes take less than an hour. The 10k took 1.5 hours, the 20k took 2 hours. I'm only at 26k on my car, so I have a while for the big 40k service (I think they say 6 hours).
How do these compare to other parts of the country?
-Craig
Of course, when I had Jim Ellis do the 10 K service, they didn't fill the washer fluid, which makes me wonder if they even DID any of the other service items. I complained an got the rep to drop the price significantly. They basically charged me for an oil change and a tire rotation. That's the last time I have them do the services. I'm having my BMW mechanic buddy who used to work for VW do the major service from now on. He reviewed the service manual and is charging me something like 30 - 45 minutes labor to do all of the checks. He even takes the car to the shop where he works during the week and puts it up on the rack to do the work (they don't mind on weekend).
Oh well. If (a) Jim Ellis charged the prices your dealer does and (b) they did the services as quickly as your dealer does and (c) they did the service correctly, then I'd probably stick with Jim Ellis. But they don't. Enjoy what you've got outrun. It sounds like that's a quality outfit!
Both my 2000 and 2001 Audi A6 4.2 vehicles had, hmm let's see now -- 9 sets of rotors (combined, not each); I can't remember how many sets of pads and on one set the dealer tried "grinding" the rotors with an expensive piece of Hunter equipment that they were loaned to see if it would help.
I kept the 2000 about 25K miles and the 2001 about 35K miles.
Conversely, my 2003 allroad has 20K miles and everything is OEM and no problems (so far so good).
For whatever reason, there were rotors made for Audi's, VW's and other fine German machines that seemed to be born warped.
My dealer, in frustration, finally purchased aftermarket rotors (cross drilled and slotted) at their expense (and then they billed AoA) to correct the problem. They told me that A6 2.7's, S4's and A6 4.2's from some build date to another, all had problems. The solution was change the oil, change the rotors. Rotate the tires, change the rotors. Fill up the tank, change the rotors (sarcasm, it was usually at least a few thousand miles on a set of rotors).
Moving right along. Have you ever driven an S8 or the RS 6 or several Porche models that have bright red calipers and cross drilled rotors (Brembo brakes)? The brakes are virtually fade proof and very smooth. And, there is no hint of warpage even when driven agressively.
And, if you subscribe or read any automobile magazine you can see ads for Stop-Tec and Brembo and other "Big Brake" kits that are available for VW and Audi cars (usually at prices that START at $2995.) Now, I'd pay more for such brakes if they were "factory" options. And you can bet if they were factory options that they would cost a heck of a lot less than $3,000. I'd pay it, almost for the lack of constant return visits to the dealer for the rotor replacement. But the real reason to have it is for the additional safety, performance and durability such monsters would afford. So if they were, say, a $600 option on the car, they would certainly be well worth it.
On the other hand, a better rotor (supplier) should be found and the price of the car should be made to reflect the higher cost of the HD rotor minus the anticipated costs for replacement that such a rotor would permit. In other words, it would seem that putting better rotors on VW's wouldn't cost more, it would SAVE both money and time -- for the manufacturer and the customer.
But, I could be wrong.
I think you're right, the Shell sythetic oil is called Rotella T. Did you see something that said it was designed for diesel engines rather than than gas? Seems like diesel would be a rather limited market in the U.S. for a large company like Shell, unless it's for large trucks. Even so, it would seem that diesil engines would have even tighter lubrication requirements than gas engines. Just my thoughts.. I'll check it out.
I do my own oil changes - I use an oil extractor (Pela 6000) and remove the filter from above. No need to mess with the belly pan and if you use a ziploc or similar bag to catch the residue oil when you remove fitler, no mess too. I have done 3 so far and it now takes me 15 minutes at most to do the change after you allow the extractor to suck out the oil for ~20 minutes or so.
Never thought of the zip loc bag - sounds like a great idea, I'll try that on the next oil change! I always just go through the clean-up after I pull of the filter (lots of paper towels to clean up the mess).
After one year of ownership I traded it in and again have decided not to ever buy a VW again.
But I might lease one. ;-)
This noise does not happen if 1, cold start and let the car idle about 40sec to 1min. before moving 2, warm engine.
Is it a problem? There are other two cars with AT in my house that do not have this problem.
Any advice? Thanks very much!
At this point if the brake is pressed again the noise stops!!
Thanks
This sound is normal.
This is, for lack of a better and more precise technical explanation, the ABS et al system intializing itself. Of course that's assuming that you and I pronounce Woouunn the same way, which I attempted to do phonetically. I have characterised the sound sometimes like this: MMMmmmn (where the capitalized letters are louder).
I am so tempted to go off on another rant against the dealer sales rep who delivered this car to you; this is so common you'd think you would have been told about it.
If you have ABS or ABS+brake assist and/or ESP, there should have been an extensive lesson on this technology (by extensive I mean a minimum of 5 minutes to explain how best to use the current iteration of this technology.)
There are many small features that can add comfort, safety and improve your enjoyment -- the salesperson should take the time to explain and demonstrate them. This oversight is, frankly, inexcusable.
OK so it was a mini-rant.
This car has the ABS but not the ESP. I don’t know if the ABS is Bosch’s or not. It comes as standard equipment from VW. I also have a 2003 MB c-class made in Germany it comed with ABS and ESP but does not have this kind of noise.
This noise is a little bit difficult to explain. I heard it again today (I tried hard to remember it in the 20sec.), but I usually avoid it by warming up about 30sec to 1min before the car is moving.
This noise may not be the Woouunn or the MMMmmm ether. It is little bit close to the wiper motor noise when the wiper is moving (not the blade’s noise). I would like to describe the wiper motor noise like “ZerrnnN .ZerrnnN ..ZerrnnN” But my car’s noise is constant with a “ZzzerrnnN” noise. Couple years ago I drove a car with manual Transmission and sometimes there was a similar noise when I shift the lever into the R and reverse the car from the garage.
Within about up to 1min after cold start, when the car’s moving, noise occurs. When the car stops, noise stops. After 1 min the noise is totally gone.
The noise is not too loud.
What is this? Normal or Abnormal?
Thanks again.
Ziploc bag is not my own idea - got it off another Passat board. Infact any sturdy leakfree plastic bag will do.
If you can as much or more compared to draining it, it sounds like a perfect alternative.