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Comments
2000-2006 era
are there any years that are better than others?
Over all, how has the quality been with VW and these cars in particular?
Don't do it. Every year is equally bad for reliability. Quality is very poor and good dealer service is almost non-existent. In fact just before I wrote this I just noticed my Passat Wagon now has a malfunctioning turn signal relay. This is the 3rd electrical problem with my car in the last 3 months (63k 6yr old car).
I have been searching and searching for a complete exhuast
system for my 2001 passat just to add a little engine tone
to my car.Has anyone out there been able to find one?
mark
altair4, "Volkswagen Passat: Problems & Solutions" #1935, 19 Jul 2006 10:57 am
In this regard, other important features like gas mileage and cost of ownership should be considered when choosing 2006 Rabbit vs. 2006 Jetta (both seems a better value overall than Passat right now factoring-in the price).
If yes, is this fix requires VW service attention and how approximately cost (CA)?
Value vs. cost vs. size all come into play. It might not fit your best value judgement if your needs don't dictate a car that size, where a Jetta might work for you.
Personally, I'm waiting for the next Jetta wagon to decide if I stay in the VW fold when we replace our old Honda Accord. I figure I have at least two or three more years before I have to worry about it, though.
1) First of all, you have a much better/enjoyable handling & safety characteristics with VW built car (more standard features included for the price) than Honda. It's well known fact about the driving experience with German designed cars compared with Japanese's platforms/hardware. There is no surprise that VW is the largest volume sales manufacturer in Europe (like Toyota soon-to-be in America), also winning year-by-year in "value" category among many competitors (more safety/economy/standard features for the price).
2) Second of all, the gas mileage. Even if Honda has in its line one of the most economical gasoline engines it's still behind in this department when considering VW most advanced diesel or some of the other economical gas engines they provide with. VW is developing a diesel/electric engine they believe is a better proposition that gas/electric, including on American market.
3) Reliability and Cost of Ownership, in this department Honda is ahead as Toyota is, with an exception of Honda Accord Hybrid (one of the Honda's failures in the economy/cost of ownership department).
Even now, I see posts where some dealers are not using synthetic oil in the 1.8T. Where requests to VWoA Customer Care for the "sludge" letter is greeted with "What letter?" Poorly written owner's manuals that don't simply come out and say "use synthetic oil." Owner's manuals tht say "just go to the dealer for headlight bulb replacement."
Owning a Dub is not as easy as owning almost another car. If you aren't either anal retentive or obsessive/compulsive, the car and it's sophisticated engine can get an owner into deep, expensive trouble.
Don't get me wrong. I like my car and it gets excellent care - but VW can't automatically count on me for buying another VW when I need to purchase again. There's simply too many options out there, many with product life cycles half of VW's.
PS: You didn't mention tht VW won't be selling any diesels next year in the US market due to compliancy issues.
VW Drops 3 Diesels in 2007
As far as, the VW dealerships, I did not experience any problems in Northern CA for 6 years of Passat ownership, except that I need to be in the service for electrical repair more often than when I owned Toyotas!
THANKS!
I am a current owner of a Mazda3, and I have found it quick and nimble to drive, but the crash testing results make me paranoid. So, I am looking at a 2002 v6 and a 2003 v4, and I need advice from real-world owners. Which of these would you take and why? (They have similar miles on them and the same price) I have read about many reliabilty issues on the 02 but not as many on the 03. Is there something that I am missing? Any help would be appreciated!
My VW Passat 2001 is beyond factory provided warranty and I realize I'm late in seeking out for extended warranty but better late than never.. The car hasn't had much issues but I'd just prefer a peace of mind by having an extended warranty. If you folks have good experience and pricing with any of extended warranty 3rd party providers, please feel free to enlighten me.. Thanks much in advance !!
But after reading the forums, I really feel if its worth, since it seems many people have reliability issues. Let me know if its worth going for it. If so what are the issues that I should talk with the dealer about?
Also please note that this will be my first car and I am not that knowledgeable about cars.
Thanks.
Krzys
So dropped the idea for now.
Thanks
What difference does it make anyways? Oh.. and how often should I make oil changes, from what I read about 5000 miles is the limit and that`s like 7000 km... that`s fine right?
Krzys
PS The oil I am using (Mobil 0W40) meets more recent spec.
PS2 Should I have said 502.00 or higher ?
Kinda, sorta, maybe. The VW/Audi oil specifications are a tad confusing in how they were numbered. In your query, the "...or higher?" part might lead one to believe that oil that meets the VW 505.00 spec would be better still when compared to either the 502.00 or 503.01 specs. That is unfortunately not correct as the 505.xx and 506.xx oil specifications are intended for diesel engines. That a few oils happen to meet 502.xx, 503.xx and 505.xx (Mobil 1 0W-40 for instance) simply confuses the issue further.
For a quick primmer on the various published specs from VW & Audi, take a peek at the following post of mine from March of this year:
shipo, "Volkswagen Passat Oil Changes & Issues" #8, 10 Mar 2006 8:48 pm
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
this time another issue, my friend that has the '03 1.8T Passat is thinking about a chip tuning (just that - nothing more), the car has 70k on it and the warranty`s up at 100k. Will the chipping 'kill' the warranty? He was thinking about an APR if that makes any difference (they say on their website that the APR chip is undetectable by normal VAG diagnostic tools the dealers use, but if something goes wrong will they figure it out?)
Thx,
vd
How long do you plan on keeping this car?
Sounds like you are about 18K miles a year, right?
I don't know if it has changed, but VW doesn't have their own extended warranty program like, say, Honda. They market 3rd party policies.
In any case, it won't be cheap.
Those aren't error codes. Ø is the symbol that tells you this is the average MPG (versus the "instant-as-in-the-last-30-feet" MPG). You can rotate through the various readouts using the toggle switch located on the end of the right hand or wiper stalk. You will have a choose of Average MPG, Instant MPG, Miles to Empty, and Miles Driven.
There are two trip computers. "1" shows you the results since the computer was reset or since the car was last shut off for more than two hours.
"2" is an accummulative trip computer. It doesn't reset after the car has been off for more than two hours. But it will reset when driven a long distance or time (something on the order to 100 hours or 1,000 miles or whatever). I don't have my owner's manual in front of me to give you the exact details.
You can switch back and forth between trip computer 1 and trip computer 2 by pressing the rectangular button on the bottom edge of the right hand stalk. That button will also act as a "reset" if you hold it for a few seconds.
I personally reset #2 every fill-up, so I can monitor my car's economy.
Cold idle varies by outside temperature. At certain temps, it's barely above hot idle, perhaps 850 rpm (interestingly, I mean really cold outside temps - like in the teens). At warmer temps, it will cold idle above 1,000 rpm briefly.
Are you talking about a hot idle or cold idle? Hot idle should be somewhere around 750 rpm, give or take.
What sorts of mechanical issues should I be watching out for? Is $13K a good price?
Thanks in advance!
At that mileage, find out if the timing belt and associated hardware have been changed out - if not, budget $750 to $1,000 for all the parts and work. Check the condition of the CV joints. Listen for unusual noise from the top, back end of the engine - hot idle clatter there is indicative of issues with the cam chain tensioner - also sludge related.
No idea on the price. Check Edmunds for your area, the car's condition and mileage for a guide.