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Comments
#2. I have looked at the owners book to find the fuses and darned if I can't find the panel where they are located. I know where they should be based on the picture in the owners book. I never had this much trouble finding fuses before! :-)
I have a 2002 Wagon and have had it four months and it's bugging the heck out of me LOL.
dash...you will see an oblong panel...at the bottom...at 5 O'clock... a 1/4" slot...pop that open, gently, with
a screw driver and Voila!!!!
In sales they are the highest volume dealership in the NJ region also.
-vb
11,200 happy miles so far.
Thanks in advance.
My Passat is the first manual I've owned,and I have to say it's added a whole other level to driving fun. You'd have to give up the manual to get 4-motion-I just wouldn't do that.
As far as reliability,even Mercedes had trouble with its first attempt at 4-matic.I would say the 4 wheel can easily be a potential problem area. Also,up North,isn't plowing or streets quite thouough?
I'd get the 1.8T manual-I love mine.
It is, however, true that to get the advantages of AWD -- in a Passat, at this moment in time in the United States -- you must forego manual transmission. This "marketing" of the product pisses me off more than just about anything else short of Osama's attack on the US!
However, therefore,notwithstanding -- given the choices we have, I would still take a Passat with 4motion over one without.
I have had over two dozen VW Audi products since 1978, a "super majority" of them AWD -- and while I would be lying if I said these cars were trouble free in every way, I assure you that the AWD has been 100% trouble free (and the FWD versions have also been 100% trouble free).
I guess the person who said AWD might be problematic was stating the obvious, there ARE more moving parts in AWD than 2WD, and it is technically possible for AWD to, therefore, be more problematic. This, however, has not been my experience.
Get the 4Motion, don't even consider the FWD if you can afford the 4Motion. If $ is a consideration, the FWD Passat is still superior in virtually every other way to the competition, but with 4Motion, it has NO competition, if you get my "drift" (pun intended).
And, with the 4Motion Passat, you also get a very handy gizmo -- anti lock brakes, and in the 2003 models, you will have ESP available which takes you to another dimension in control and safety (and I think performance and fun, too, since the thing has an off on switch!)
Performance, handling, and safety are the AWD's secret weapon -- not simply go in the snow, that is.
On the racing circuit, for example, (which are generally dry asphalt) Audi quattro's were for a time banned because, frankly, they killed the competition. This is made evident in Audi's winter driving school in Seefeld Austria -- the most noticable "feature" of AWD appears on snow and ice, but that is only logical since traction is lost at 20 miles per hour (and slower) on super slick conditions, the losses of traction so to speak (for 2WD vehicles) under identical conditions on completely dry pavement are still there, they just happen at higher speeds and often have serious consequences. In fact Audi demonstration of what happens to a car on dry pavement is performed on ice so that the speed factors are much lower.
In other words, Audi's ice driving has nothing to do with learning how to drive on ice or snow (although it does come in handy) -- it has everything with learning how to control a car when it understeers, oversteers and in extreme braking conditions (panic stops in a straight line and panic stops with obsticle avoidance). These conditions happen on all road surfaces.
The remarkable differences between AWD FWD and RWD are demonstrated to the student of these classes because you get to drive examples of each drive train layout while attempting to perform recovery from under and over steer and full-contact braking and avoidance maneuvers.
Go with the 4Matic if at all possible. I remain steadfast and resolute. Even though I still think the FWD is a GREAT second choice (the FWD Passat, that is).
And I would take summer tires on dry sunny day in winter but not when it snows or rains. I wonder how far would you go on summer tires in snow.
With AWD and summer tires on snow/ice one has All Wheels Spinning (depending on hardware ;-) vehicle.
AWD is an advantage when accelerating but it is disadvantage when stopping or turning (additional weight).
Wish you plenty of good luck.
Krzys
Under any combination and permutation of tire possibilities that one would care to put forth, I would, if at all possible, always want the drive train to be AWD. In the circumstances of ONLY AWD with non winter tires versus 2WD with winter tires, I would still select the AWD car.
With respect to stopping ability and winter versus summer tires, I have no argument -- in such a climate, the ideal circumstances are almost certainly summer and winter tires.
And, finally a dispute, AWD does provide advantages in the snow for turning and stopping. AWD provides all the advantages of RWD and FWD (perhaps I should say in the Passat AWD configuration, one realizes virtually all of the advantages of RWD and FWD in one car).
The VWGUILD suggested that part of the delay and part of the mystery around pricing has to do with ways to further differentiate the W8 -- perhaps maint. included? perhaps "free loaner cars"? perhaps a special display facility for the W8. The dual dealerships (Audi and Porsche) have had to undergo a process that keeps the two lines separate from each other -- and if possible in different facilities. My dealer was told to put a Les Nessman wall between the Porches and the Audi's -- a Dallas dealership made them completely segregated by building a new Porsche and Audi only showroom and service facility.
The Cincinnati dealers (VW's) might not pass muster based on some of the new requirements, but my dealer friend says that they will not be completely cut off from inventory if they can show their intent and plan to upgrade to a facility that would be worthy of a Phaeton and of course the new W8.
The march upmarket is starting (for VW) within 30 or so days. I would not look for these cars to be discounted -- I would think they will be snatched up at full MSRP. I have been wrong many times before, but on this one, I would be floored if these cars are not super popular.
The dealer also wondered about the configuration -- that is, will the content be higher, not just the engine. Will there be sat nav, parktronic, airbag options, sound system options, telematics, and other upmarket options -- and how about a sport package. My dealer buddy says "we'er hoping, but we're in the dark, right now." He did know the colors that were coming and there were some special colors for the W8.
Oh yes, the service technicians have to be trained and certified too for this engine.
This is a big deal for VWoA and they apparently want to get it right.
I can't wait -- and I hope it has a 6spd -- but my dealer buddy says "don't count on it, here in the US."
Boo, hiss.
FWD with four snow tires was better than AWD with four all-season tires, and also was better than AWD with snow tires on the drive wheels only. When I lived in Sweden and Norway winter tires were not required by law, BUT, in any collision when snow or ice is on the ground a driver whose car did not have 4 winter tires is presumed liable, end of story. In other words if someone runs a red light and broadsides you, you are liable if he has four winter tires and you do not.
Aren't all wheels drive wheels on an AWD car????
I would take my AWD with bald tires before I would take a FWD with snow tires into a snow storm. Currently, I own both configurations (minus the bald tires, of course).
Nothing beats my AWD! And I like the added weight...
And, in the same "spirit" -- I too would rather have four non-winter tires on an AWD vehicle than winter tires on a FWD or RWD vehicle. This is in no way meant to suggest that I am against winter tires on AWD vehicles or that I am against FWD vehicles -- if I were against anything that had to do with "drive trains" -- and that is a big if -- I guess I would be against RWD.
My point and perhaps Ralph's is to be an advocate FOR AWD as a drive train.
I am not against winter tires, I am certainly not against winter tires on a car because it has AWD. I am not even saying I think that an AWD car doesn't need winter tires.
To make a point, I stated IF I had to make such a choice, I would take summer tires on an AWD car over winter tires on an FWD (or RWD) car. In Cincinnati where I live, the VW/Audi AWD system with Ultra high performance all season tires works well -- all year around. But we do not have heavy snow very often. Even 40 miles north in Dayton, Ohio (where I grew up) winter tires (aka snowtires) were used in winter and regular tires the rest of the time.
I love a spirited debate, but I do not think anyone is suggesting that you should get a Passat 4Motion with the notion that you will not need to "be guided by your version of the four seasons."
I am suggesting that NO matter where you live and no matter what the road conditions are, AWD (and I am talking only about that with which I have experience: VW/Audi's version of said AWD drive train):
1. Improves handling performance,
2. Improves safety, and
3. Adds to the "fun factor."
Now, I too read and quote C&D and R&T -- but I have been to the Audi Safety Driver Training school now four times -- as previously noted it is given in Austria on ice. The cars have AWD, RWD and FWD and some are equipped with studded snow tires (the surface is sheer ice, not snow). Perhaps there is a difference under these conditions than the ones referenced by George, but the AWD cars literally do "everything" better under every condition (with respect to #1,2,3 listed above). The tires are important, I agree, but the driveline is the edge.
I guess your counter could be, that the school is put on by Audi and therefore it is rigged to make AWD win. Well I guess that is possible, but when they have an Audi A4 quattro with the driven wheels configured to be rear wheel drive only and you first go through an exercise with FWD, then AWD then RWD (and all the cars have four studded snow tires) -- the difference is the drive train, not the tires. And the difference is AWD outperforms FWD and RWD -- way outperforms.
The thing screams and the torque comes on like gang busters!
Chip comes from Joe Hoppen Motorsports.
I've owned, or driven as office cars, all the combinations we've discussed, so I'm speaking from experience, not conjecture.
I think the best solution is AWD and two sets of tires, summer and winter designs.
AWD with good all-season tires is a good compromise in most climates, but FWD with good all-season tires is close enough so that spending an additional $4000 for AWD on my Passat was not worth it to me.
The main point that was lost in my earlier post is that the tires are more important than the drive configuration, especially when comparing winter and summer tires, rather than all-season tires. RWD with four winter tires is better than FWD with winter tires only on the drive wheels.
I have a FWD Passat wagon 1.8T with four high performance all season tires. Now, and with the factory Contis that I replaced at 45K miles, my car handles well in snow, and OK on ice except for braking, which is tricky with any set-up. A friend has an Audi A8 quattro with summer tires that is next to useless when the first snow falls, but better in snow and ice than my Passat once he switches to narrower wheels and winter tires.
My FWD 2000 Passat with traction control is not as good in snow and ice as my AWD 1994 Legacy sedan or AWD 1989 Corolla wagon, but it does not fall too far short. All three have (or had) all-season tires and automatic transmissions.
In all but hill-climbing ability from a standing start, these cars are not as good in snow and ice as the cars I drove in Norway; a 1983 BMW 318i (personal car) and a 1984 Ford Sierra (Merkur in the United States) wagon (office car). These both had manual transmissions, RWD and studded winter tires on all four wheels.
For hill climbing in winter conditions, I've never driven a car that did better than the 1974 VW 412 wagon that I owned in Sweden, and used with studded winter tires. Other than that, its handling in any weather, with any tires, was treacherous when driven hard.
Finally, I'd like to address the idea that AWD improves the "fun factor" in all cases. This is true only insofar as it allows mediocre drivers to exceed their limitations without killing themselves or others. AWD and even 2WD traction control - place many restrictions on the kind of driving that requires skill and practice to enjoy a car at its limits. That is why ultra-high handling performance cars are universally rear wheel drive and usually are front engine-RWD.
It's difficult, perhaps impossible to four-wheel-drift through corners with AWD or traction control, for example. I think the main reason Porsche developed AWD versions of the 911/912 series is that these cars without AWD are delightful up to, and at their limits, but treacherous beyond. Very few drivers (and certainly I am not among them) are capable of taking a 912 right up to the limit without exceeding it. Putting AWD on a 912 saves lives and bad press for Porsche at the price of a notable, but acceptable loss of performance. It's a similar situation to the high-speed loss of control that forced Audi to put spoilers on TTs, thereby gaining safety at the expense of purity of design.
The surfaces quickly become an incline. Imagine three cars at the bottom of a hill where the cars start out on a flat street and that by the mid point of the street the incline is extreme and at the top of the incline almost vertical.
The first car is Rear Wheel Drive, the second Front Wheel Drive and the third is All Wheel Drive.
The cars are electically powered, I presume. One pushes a button under car one and the car moves forward up the incline until it reaches point X wherein the forward movement of the car stops and the rear wheels can be seen to be spinning. Repeat the exercise for car two and the car moves forward until it reaches point X+1 or 2 car lengths and the front wheels are seen to spin and the car makes no further progress up the incline. Then the exercise is repeated for car three and the car reaches X+3 or 4 and is (visually) much closer to vertical before forward motion ceases and all four wheel begin to spin.
The three cars are equipped with identical tires. The difference is with the drive train.
While I generally agree with almost all points made by George, I must respectfully disagree that the difference is the drive train not the tires.
An AWD car with 4 "all season tires" compared to a 2WD car with all season tires will demonstrate the exact same thing as the "educational exibit" at the Audi museum demonstrates. All four wheels driven makes a huge difference (and the last time I checked the add on price for AWD from Audi and VW was under $2,000 -- apples to apples).
I have owned an Audi S6 and an A8 (both quattros of course). The S6 came with Ultra High Performance all season tires (this was a 1995 model when Audi was still bringing all of its cars to the US with all season shoes), the A8 came with "summer tires" -- when even the lightest of snow falls in the Cincinnati area (which is called the city of 7 hills) only SUV's and I were passing stranded FWD and RWD cars up hill.
Now, having said that, I do still agree that winter and summer tires in many climates is the best and perhaps only way to go. I am not saying that driving my A8 with its summer tires on snow was one of my brighter actions, but I did not have the problems that I saw others having. And, some of the people I passed with my AWD summer tired A8 were rear wheel drive cars with snow tires. Of course there were the odd folks here and there that had pulled over to put chains on, and they, then, were able to navigate Cincinnati's hilly streets.
The fun factor I refer to is not to allow reckless or careless driving on any road surface.
In fact, I maintain that the major benefit of AWD is NOT on slick surfaces but on dry or "normal" surfaces. Driving on slick surfaces where most slip slide away is just the most noticable "feature" of AWD.
And, THE MOST tossable cars, in terms of four wheel drifts and power slides are all wheel drive cars, followed by rear wheel drive follwed, poorly, by front wheel drive.
I rode with Walter Rohlr (spelling, sorry) in a 2002 Audi A4 quattro sport at very high speed in Austria in January 2001 -- he is the guy that went up Pike's Peak in a quattro and held the record for years.
He was on loan from Porsche -- he said to me that the AWD cars are the "most flexible" when it comes to race driving and the most safe and capable when it comes to real world driving. I asked him what his personal car was -- he told me that in winter it was an S8 and in summer the Audi cabriolet/roadster (TT? perhaps, beats me which one he meant).
The point is that AWD under all circumstances, any circumstances is THE key differentiating factor -- assuming of course that the playing field (the tires and road surface) are otherwise identical.
Tire are very important, to be sure. The drive train is the big deal, however.
Where I now live (south central Pennsylvania) I never have had to climb an icy steep hill from a stand still, and the roads I do use generally are plowed and salted as soon as an inch of snow has fallen. Thus, I was not willing to pay $4,000 more for AWD. The AWD was about $1800, but the required V-6 adds another $2200. The V-6 also adds, to me at least, an unpleasant front-heavy feeling that is not overcome by the slight increase in power and smoothness.
And for all but climbing hills, I still would take FWD with four winter tires over AWD with four summer tires when there is snow or ice on the ground. In any case, the discussion is largely academic for me. I have FWD with all-season tires, and do not try to push my Passat anywhere near its limits
Transmission car at less than 10% of all vehicles
sold for the year 2000...These numbers even include a whopping 25% Automatic for Porsche...
However...there is hope!!!
Remember, European Delivery will once again be
available with the Launch of the Phaeton...I hope
to be able to get clients whatever can be built
with US Specs...
1. With a chip installed, has anybody had any horror stories where the dealer drops the
warranty for "tampering" or anything like that?
2. Is there much of a noticable performance difference between the 190hp V6 manual and the 170 Hp 4 cylinder turbo manual?
3. How common are the creaks and rattles? I fell in love with the Passat recently when driving my friend's 2001 GLX. I did notice however when I swung the drivers side door closed, the door handle kinda creaked when I pulled on it. He has the tiptronic shifter, is it pretty trouble free?
4. Is insurance really that much higher on the Passat than say an Accord? I read somewhere that because past years Passats weren't rated that high on reliability the insurance is higher.
Thanks to everyone, this bulletin board is great! Much better than the "kids" over on Carpoint.
Anyway, about performance. A good friend of mine strongly advised me to get the 1.8 Turbo with manual, and definitely advised me against the Tip auto. He said that the 1.8 with the manual 'feels' like 40 more hp than with the automatic.
Anyone else have any opinions on the V6 vs the 4 cyl, and on the manual vs the auto?
Also, are there any exterior (or otherwise) trim differences between the GLS and the GLX?
Thanks
major mods to the sound system unless you want
to go the expense of restoring it to it's Original
Factory condition...read exact...
Would suggest Infinity *BassLink* 10" Sub...easy
in and easy out and sounds great!!!
www.infinitysystems.com
If, on the other hand, you plan to pay off the
Residual and buy the car...Do what you want...
Point is...with a lease the car is not yours to
change...until it's yours...
Thanks for any info u may have.
benefit from the fact that the Actual Cash Value
(ACV) of the cars far exceeds the Residual Value
of the Lease...And this touches on some points that you should be aware of beyond the sound
system question...
At the end of your Lease the best thing to do is
pay off the Residual, get the Title, and then sell
this Passat yourself and keep the benefit...
Ex: Residual = $15,000, ACV = $20,500, Sale Price
$18-19,500...Benefit to you = $3500-$4500. If you
follow this scenario then you can sell the sound system with the car and add even more value...
you just need to find someone that appreciates it as much as you do.
As for the Dealer...No one is going to strip your
car, but it should be returned with an appropriate
number of miles, clean & odor free, and well maintained...If you simply return your Passat at
the end of the Lease and Lease a new one...The Dealer garners the above benefit. If the sound system is working well and the car is Original again...no harm, no foul...
Thule systems are sold "a la carte'", and the parts needed are a #400 aero foot pack, a #2005 fit kit which is specific to the Passat, a set of crossbars, and any attachments needed (bike, kayak, etc.)
Installation took me less than 1 hour, which included disassembling the Pathfinder adaptors, minor assembly of the foot packs, installation of the racks on the Passat, and interpretation of the instructions which are mostly in Swedish. Once assembled, I think the racks could be removed or reinstalled in 15 or 20 minutes. Installation and adjustment was far easier than on either the Taurus or the Pathfinder.
The rack feet are a PERFECT fit to the roof of the Passat. VW engineers obviously anticipated the use of a roof rack because there are marks on the under side of the rain gutters which show you exactly where to place the clamps. The marks consist of small white arrows - have a look on your car! The 2005 fit kit includes rubber foot pads that conform to the contours of the Passat's roof extremely well.
I've already transported my kayak with the racks, and except for the anticipated additional wind noise the racks proved very stable. I plan to take the bikes on a long trip in a couple of weeks and will report back if anything unusual occurs.
To summarize, I would enthusiastically recommend the Thule system to any of you out there who need to mount a set of racks on your Passat. They fit perfect, look as if they are factory equipment, and make hauling bikes, kayaks, and the like much easier. While I'm sure the VW factory racks are quite well made, I will note that I have been using my Thule system since 1989 and it has held up extremely well. The VW racks and attachments may be a bit cheaper, but the advantage of the Thule system is that you can mount them to other vehicles regardless of make.
The insurance on the Passat really isn't that much higher than it is for an Accord. My mom had a '98 Accord EX that she traded in for her 2000 Passat GLX and her insurance went up about $100/year. Part of that may have been due to the fact that the Accord had a 4-cylinder and the Passat a V6.
The performance difference between the 1.8T and V6 is very slight, if any, with the manual transmission. The V6 has a little more low-end torque but doesn't really get much stronger as the revs increase. The 1.8T on the other hand starts out kinda weak below 2k rpms but comes on strong from there until the redline. The V6 is a better match for the automatic, though, than the 1.8T.
If you get a chip, it doesn't take long to install(about 10-15 minutes). I recommend you get a spare ECU so that you can swap before taking your car in for service. A cheaper recommendation is that you get the APR chip with the mode selection option. It allows you to set the boost to normal and is supposively invisible to the dealer.
As far as rattles go, my mom's car has very few. The only rattles that I know of are in the front doors but they only occur when the bass is turned up on the Monsoon sound system.
I hope this helps you and if you have any questions feel free to ask!
I have had my eye on a GLX, Automatic, with 4Motion for quite a while. Now, with the financing deal, I figure it's now or never. Any idea what a good price for the car only (no add'l fees) would be? Also, does anyone know what the difference between the GLX and a fully loaded GLS v6 would be? Can you get heated seats without the leather package?
Thanks!
thanks again
I've got a 2002 Passat GLX. Been real happy with it but it's developed a vibration in the headliner, right over the passenger side rear seat. I mentioned it to the dealer when I had the first service (rip-off) and they said they'd ask VW about it; never heard anything.
But anyway, sometimes when the car idles I hear the vibration, often when driving, worse when the sunroof is open. It's not air pulsation, b/c I can repeat the sound when I tap the ceiling.
I'm hesitant to have the dealer do anything b/c I'm afraid they'll never get it all back together the same.
Anyone have the same/similar experience.
Thanks.
Does a GLS 4 cylinder turbo manual with leather, luxury, and monsoon for 25k sound about right?
I drove a 2002 Maxima SE, nice car, lots of power, but too much cheap looking plastic inside...like the Altima. The rear end takes getting used to also. Passat is much classier!
-I saw a Passat in black today, looked awesome...
I got the same exact specs with Monsoon & homelink for $23.680. Albeit in October, you can probably do better than 25k tax excluded,
good luck