I have a couple friends who have had Passats (go easy on them, they're family
men) and have had the most horrendous experiences. Both bought new.
CAR EXHIBIT A, 1999 Passat Wagon:
tons of oil consumption
tie rods went at 50K
ABS controller funkiness
timing belt broke (there was a recall on this part, btw)
He built a Caterham 7 with his own bare hands so he's not an idiot.
CAR EXHIBIT B, 2002(or03) Passat sedan:
on it's 3rd oil pump
some sort of overheating oil/oil tarring issue which is apparently common.
this friend is a trained aero mechanic
This makes me a tad nervous about the 2002 337 I've been eying.
Also, are APR chips hard on engines? Anyone have experiences?
BTW, Matthew, My Motronic 2.0l 16v seems to run a bit hot even though the
radiator/thermostat are only a few years old and the fans seem to come on. As
soon as I get off the freeway and come to idle, my temps shoot up fast.... my
guesses:
- tiny clumps of oil are clogging the radiator
- crappy water pump impeller (they're stamped steel instead of the
original
cast blades)
- 400K+mi is too much and it should die already
Do you think your temp sensor could be faulty?
Mark
