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Yesterday I Go To Lunch, Come Out Of Mcdonalds And My CLUTCH PEDAL
is On The Floor. No Pressure Whatsoever! Called My Friend, Took Off Dash , Confirmed That It Is A Hydraulic Clutch.. Anyone Else Have A Problem Like This?.. I Do Not Have A Owners Manual As I Bought The Car Used. Any One?
Thanks! :shades:
Got the car home and the driver door and front fender had been indeed painted. Not a bad job but is is just a shade off and has a very thin color coat with clear blended to the back door. I have been on the phone with the dealership and VW of America. The regional rep has been ok but only states that they will repaint the car. It is the reflex silver and is very hard to match. Also, I did not want to buy a car that had paint work. It is not as good a factory paint.
VW stated that they are responsible and that is was probable done at the port or at the factory.
I want a different wagon but I know they will never agree to that.
What should I do? Open to all advice. They state I can file a claim with the BBB but we all know were that will get me. The car runs great but should not have cost as much as a new one.
Please advise on how to get some results from them.
Thanks. On a positive note the first door ding will not bother me as much since the car has already had paint work.
One thing I did find is that there is a known problem with the 1.8T engine running way too hot. Synthetic oil, 3000 mile oil change and VW oil filter only should be used. The extra high temperature of the turbo breaks down the regular oil prematurely possibly causing sludge to build up in the oil pan. The sludge blocks the oil pick up and reduces oil flow to the engine. Engine wear and turbo failure are a possible result.
The oil changes should be documented with receipts in case you need to go to VW to make a claim against your warranty.
Search the net for "VW 1.8T engine sludge" should get you some interesting info.
My local VW dealer was vague about the above info, but did not outright deny any of the above information.
Hope this helps
The good news is that VW also extended the warranty against sludge (is it 8 years? -it's in my files at home but it's about that) - BUT the warranty only applies if you follow the outlined procedures. You gotta be sure to use one of the synth oils on the approved VW list or else you'll also invalidate the warranty. Also, don't go past the recommended 5 K interval or that'll invalidate it.
The issue has been discussed a lot on the Edmunds Passat boards - if you search you should be able to find the list of approved oils. (I now use Mobil1 0w40, and am really happy with it. Previously I used Valvoline SynthPower 5w40 - also real good.)
Basically - no, your dealer is NOT selling you a bill of goods. Actually, the fact that they realize that using synth matters is a good sign, suggesting that they're on top of things.
Hornet in the UK.
"Auto Zone carries Mobil 1 0w40, Valvoline SynthPower 5w30 & 5w40, and now the ever elusive Castrol Syntec 5w40 (which I use). "
Despite the fact that Valvoline Synpower 5w-30 is listed by VWoA as 502.00 compliant, Valvoline insists that it isn't! Valvoline's website doesn't list it as 502.00 approved in North America. I wouldn't use it or recommend it for 1.8T duty.
I First I checked the fuse and noticed that the fuse in slot #41 was missing so I put one in there. About 10 days ago the dealer flushed my brakes so I thought it might not be a coincidence.
After continuing to get the ABS Brake message I decided to add some hydraulic oil to the hydraulic resevoir under the hood. It was marginally low so it seemed worth a shot. I believe the problem is gone now having driven the last 70 miles without a warning message. One thing I did was remove the hydraulic resevoir cover overnight to let potential bubbles subside.
Good luck.
I see a vapor emanate from the center vents intermittently and currently have moisture on both sides of the center console at the top of front footwells. The dealer technicians have reached their limit on possible solution paths.
Rain is not a variable. The mileage is 107K+. The car has been exclusively maintained by the dealer and all done on schedule. The car runs great and is paid for and I'd like to keep it for another 2 years.
Does anyone have an idea for a plausible next step?
The dealer diagnosed the problem as a defect in the fuel pump and promptly replaced it at no charge since the car is still under warranty. The service department was so busy that I really didn't have a chance to ask any questions about what caused this problem or if it happens often. Has anyone else had a similar problem?
The water leak specialist spreads his time over a large numbers of dealers. Has anyone else heard of this?
I sent VW USA a note via their web site regarding my recurring water in the footwell problem. They have been very responsive thusfar. They called me about 24 hours after I launched the message to them. I received two follow up calls overall and they have coordinated with the dealer. I will be taking the car to the dealer on Monday (5/23) and the VW will work with the dealer technicians to hopefully get to the root cause. My gut is telling me that the AC drain hose is chronically clogging due to mold/mildew. I will pass on the results of the service and VW USA's overall response.
I'm having the same ABS+Break light warning. And the STOP sign is also on the dash board. Can you explain me how to check the ABS fuse? I really appriciate your reply.
More alarming than the car failure was the 24hr. roadside service failure. $80.00 out of pocket later, I was taken care of, not by the road service that was part of the car sale, but by the service the state police were able to mysteriously conjure up in a matter of minutes. After the VW road service had just admitted there was little hope that they would be able to enlist any service for us. In reading the VW literature on roadside service, I noticed I was to be given an authorization code when they are unable to provide a tow. This is the authorization code that is required in order to be reimbursed for providing your own service. The roadside service manager met the request for the authorization with the equivalent to "hunh what's that" 15 minutes later he was able to produce some kind of code. Although I have to admit I'm not that confident it will even work now.
To further erode my confidence in VW, I had my car towed to a dealer, the service was actually great considering they are only open for a few hours on Saturday morning, they couldn't look at the car until Monday morning so they set us up with a rental... a 2005 Jetta. The next morning upon embarking on our 2hr. trip home leaving our car a few hundred miles behind, we make one stop with the rental and the car will not start. If there is a VW hell if found it this weekend...
I hope the problem is as simple as replacing the fuel pump and that takes care of it. But that will not fix the weak link in the 24 hr. road service. If there is a time you need the service the most it is when you are stranded on the highway in the middle of the night. Not durring convenient business hours on weekdays.
Thanks for your consideration,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
The problem I am experiencing is water accumulating in the footwell when running the A/C on a dry day. Car is in the dealer shop now along with a container of water I shop vac'd from the carpet last Friday.
Just from the context and description, I think it's the mesh on the oil pump pick up point, in the oil pan.
Seems from what I've read, the oil sludge thing is really mis-named. The oil cokes (forms hard coffee ground-like substance). The coked oil clogs up the oil pick up screen which reduces the oil pressure, eventually to the point of starving the engine for lubricant. Non-synthetic oil is more likely to coke, especially if run on long oil change intervals and with improper turbo cooldown. It doesn't help that the oil sump is rather small on the 1.8T engine in the Passat (due to the sub-frame and the longitudinal placement of the engine).
If you were reading the European car magazines in the 1980's, you might recall that hot running, high revving 4 cylinder engines with long oil change intervals formed sludge. They called it the "Black Death" back then. If you removed the valve cover on some of these engines, the would literally be filled with a gooey sludge. What's going on in the 1.8T engine is different.
To combat this, VW is mandating synth oil meeting VW spec 502.00 (mostly in 5w-40 flavor). They've also increased the total engine capacity by digging into their old parts inventory and finding a larger oil filter.
In any case I used the VW touch-up paint to take care of it for now.
Also, VW USA did follow up with me and did a good job of following up with the dealer but, in the end, the sense I had was that they only wanted to close the ticket and were not interested in whether I was satisfied with the service result or experience. Neither the dealer nor VW USA covered the customer care details very well. It may not be in their DNA.
At first, the dealer thought cleaning the throttle body would do the trick, but that didn't work...at least its only clunking/rattling once when you turned the ignition.
they kept it overnight, and then determined that the serpentine belt tensioner needed replaced. At first, dealer tells me it'd be $300. then calls back, apologizes and said he thought it had 59K miles...
the car has 49600 miles. Anyone else experienced this? Is that normal for VW/Passats?
I can't wait to sell this car.
Kerry
I have been searching for a good compact / mid size car for ages. A great certified car is ideally what I would spend the money on. In a nutshell, this is what I have learned:
* Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports are wonderful resources in researching a car / SUV.
* VW's - Consumer Reports (CR) has rated this as, basically, a not-so-great car since 1999. It is "unreliable" and just all-round a bad buy in comparison to other cars in its class. It's a great shame. I LOVE VW's for it's price and class. I'm not happy about this at all!!! C'mon VW - fix it!! Are they really this bad as people are saying?? The Jetta's are made in Mexico, but I belive the Passats are still made in Germany? I've seen loaded low miles 2002's for $14k. After what I have read, it makes me suspicious. Am i overanalyzing CR?
Mazda 3: Ok, it's Mazda. It's about $19k for the Mazda 3s ($16k base), (and $15k for the Mazda 3i) but it's a beautiful car for its class. Personally, I think 19k is overpriced, but still, it's a GREAT car, the dash lighting (for all you VW lighting lovers) is just as awesome (red with a little blue backlighting) and it's just a great car inside and out. It's really worth checking out.... ABS and side / curtain airbags don't come standard, and nor does an auto tranny. Bummer. Bumps the price up another 1900 for just those two.
* Toyota - Well every man and his dog drives a Camry, and although it's apparently a great car, the inside is, in my personal opinion, "cheap" looking on the inside and lacks any really modern touches. I know it's a great car, but c'mon. If you buy a car, you want to love it, right?.
* Honda's - Again. Great car, but ugly inside if you are looking to spend under $20k.
* Scions: Can't haggle. Bummer. It's fixed pricing.
* Nissan's - Didn't do great in CR and also pricey.
I'm still deciding. I'm so sad VW's suck in their ratings from all reliable sources, b/c I would have loved one. If I was willing to pay $20k for a Mazda, I would definitely do it.
Do you have any suggestions??
Do you VW owners recommend not buying a VW now since your problems?