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VW Passat 2000 GLX V6 "Lag"
angelaelser
Member Posts: 5
I recently purchased a GLX V6 4Motion and have been frustrated with the delay in acceleration. It seems to "stumble" on takeoff. I test drove the 4 cylinder *ignore* and upgraded to the V6 because I didn't like the "lag" on takeoff. Now my V6 is doing the same thing! It has about 3500 miles on it and I started noticing the lag around 2500 miles. I've been to the dealer 2x so far. I'm getting the run around. First they said, "it just needs to be broken in (5000 to 10000 more miles)", but also admitted that another customer had the same complaint just that week. Now they say that WV is aware of the problem and they MAY consider replacing the "chip". I'm afraid I've got a lemon. Any one out there with the same issues? I'd love to hear how you're resolving it.
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Get the "lemon" idea out of your head. This is negative thinking. There is no such thing as a "lemon", only a car that has something wrong with it that needs to be fixed. Your car has some 15,000 parts in it, and if all 15,000 were defective, then I might believe the term "lemon". But if it's only one or two things, that's hardly reason to condemn the car. Give it a chance, work wtih the dealer, keep a record of all visits.
Any ideas?
good luck with it and keep us posted. Anyone else dealing with this?
Shiftright
Again, for me it's a safety issue. I can not predict the speed at which the car is going to travel from take off. Or as another reader said, "trying for that left turn in front of a semi" can be a bit tricky.
I have also had problems with the automatic transmission failing to downshift to 1rst after a brief stop. When I hit the throttle, it starts in 2nd and abruptly (often harshly) shifts to 1rst. Not what I consider appropriate for the premium price tag.
Does anyone know of any TB's on these issues? I hesitate to go in for repair on intermittent problems unless they are well documented.
Have fun, drive safely, and arrive alive!
Thanks to everyone for your comments and shared concerns regarding this intermittent issue.
Here are my test drive results. Flooring it, the car didn't necessarily lag, but it was slow from 1500-3000 RPM's and then it would take off? From 0-30 was lethargic, and then it would rocket to 50 before you know it? But it was not even, I had to floor it to get it going, and then it would go so fast you have to come off the gas quickly? I am going to pass for now.
Myself not ever being happy with my cars 'out of the box' don't see this as a big deal, because I'm goint to screw around with them anyway's, but for those of you that consider your car an appliance... it may be a pain. This problem only occurs on the 2k and newer DBW (drive by wire... yes your car has no throttle cable, just a couple of sensors on the pedal, and a motor that controls the throttle body). And it is a programming problem, not a mechanical one. There is an aftermarket 'tuner, that was dissatisfied with how the VW and Audi Tiptronics were programmed, and had re-written the program to allow faster shifting, and a more positive response. Addionally, it also removes this more that annoying behavior for those that have it, and some others, like letting the torque converter slip while on an incline, as to make it smoother than actually down shifting. If you have felt this (or seen your tach jump 600-800 RPM, but not felt a shift) while in auto mode, pop it over to TIP mode and be supprised that you are still in 5th.
Anyways, The company is Garrett Integrated Automotive Company (GIAC). Here are some links for you to get some info:
http://www.clubb5.com/information/tipchip.shtml
http://www.giacusa.com
...and cooke, what did you expect... it's a turbo!!! and there has been no increase in the 30V V6's power. The 20 hp you are thinking of is in the 1.8T
And yes it does mess with the warranty... but it is on the dealers head to prove that the modification directly caused the failure. So, at the very least it is a hastle 'IF THEY FIND IT'.
The driving performance I was referring to was the V6 and not the turbo, it seemed to have little or no power at low RPM's. A chip upgrade sounds in order, shame on VW for making owners do it themselves.
As an example, if you manual shift and hold it in 3rd at 40mph, the engine is turning about 2,700 rpm. If you move the shift lever back from manual mode to automatic, it will shift up to 5th almost immediately.
The automatic works OK when getting on the highway and on most 2-lanes, but around town, I would strongly suggest that you manual shift it. Having just gotten rid of an automatic Subaru Outback, I can say that the VW transmission works fine, but the programming needs a little help.
The dealer said to bring the car in immediately and offered a loaner while they look it over tomorrow. I talked to a tech person who did indeed mention the throttle program being the cause and said the program "learns" over a 5-mile stretch of driving. If one accelerates briskly and then is in stop and go traffic, it is more likely to exhibit surges. He stated that turning on the ignition (without starting the engine), pressing the pedal to the floor, and then turning off the ignition resets the learning mechanism and should stop the problem. I found no effect.
He also mentioned that the computer also aggresively disengages the throttle (if I understood this) whenever the brake is pressed. So, if one goes too quickly from the brake to gas, it is more likely to surge unpredictably. This seems to be true.
I also experience the "thud" of the car downshifting to 1st at the last moment. Are there any successful fix experiences besides the aftermarket one suggested?
When the car is cold, the lag is more like a lurch!! and occaisionally the engine light comes on and gives a "mass air flow sensor" error signal. Upon replacing the mass air flow sensor, the lag and lurch were not eliminated so we put the old one back in. Dealership services have included 1. replacing mass air flow sensor, 2.replacing aux. H20 pump 3.replacing starter coil (per witnessed arcing) 4.replacing 5.unreplacing mass air flow sensor 6.hours upon hours of time not being able to find out what the real problem is!!
I would love any suggestions or comments from similar situations....
The lag problem applies to driving VW Passats with Tiptronic transmission in auto mode? There is no lag driving it in manual mode? There is no lag driving a manual VW Passat?
Compared to my 1997 Honda Civic EX coupe, there seems to be less road and engine noise. However I need to note that I have Uniroyal Nailguard tires on my Honda and the Passat I test drove had Michelein. I do not know how much the tires affect road noise. I have used Firestone and Uniroyal tires on my Honda and both produce a lot of road noise especially when driving on concrete roads.
I got the manual tranny but after reading your posts about the VW auto tranny lag, I think that's just a problem with the shifting module computer. It may shift slower than you want, but the computer is doing calculations on whether or not to shift and how soon. I had auto transmission on my Accord and it too took a little bit to shift to 2nd if I wanted it to. That's why I got the manual tranny in the A4 this time.
By the way, the A4 doesn't cost as much as some of you think. My A4 with the Convenience pkg (sunroof + autodimming mirrors inside and out + Homelink), Cold Weather Pkg (heated seats, heated door locks, etc), Bose, standard headlight cleaning system and heated windshield washer fluid nozzels, 4yr-50k warranty and scheduled maintenance incl, is $26.7k + tax/title/registration. And that's already a 2001.5 model bought 3.5 months ago. Not trying to be a brat here but trying to say the A4 is another option. By the way, no idling roughness or computer going weird problems (touch wood) in 4800 miles of ownership.
I understand that the 2002 A-4 will be slightly larger although I have yet to see one. Do you have any info on the 2002???
Unfortunately I didn't drive the Tiptronic, as I already made up my mind to get a manual tranny.
Well the 2002 A4 has a 2001.5 Passat front end and an A6 rear end (the best way to describe it I guess). It will have stiffer suspension, bigger wheels, rear seat heater option, and bigger V6 engine (3.0L makes 222hp). I have also yet to see one but I'm not too excited about it. I like the classy current A4 bodystyle much better.
If you want to join our discussion over at the A4 boards, do a search and we frequently have this kind of discussions. I just don't want to talk about an A4 here and this board is about a VW.