This is going to jinx me, but I've had good luck with the '99 V6 5-
speed Passat my wife drives. In 4 years I've done the temperature
gauge sensor, timing belt/water pump/serp belt, 2 axles, the control
arms/tie rods/sway bar links and 4 brakes. The PO didn't do much
beyond beyond the brakes and a few minor jobs in its first ~65K miles.
I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, while reliable it's also a
COMPLETE pain in the ass to work on. I've had a slow coolant leak
somewhere on the front of the engine compartment for 3 years and
haven't dealt with it because it'll mean pulling the whole front of
the car off to get at it. The weakest spot on the V6 Passat/A4/A6 is
the front suspension.
The 1.8T Passats are full of headaches. The Audi/Passat's
longitudinal 1.8T was the sludge-prone version of the 1.8T's. The
transverse mounted engines in the Golf/Jetta weren't nearly as
problematic AFAIK.
-Pat
On Sep 1, 2010, at 11:01 PM, Anthony Pelletier wrote:
The generation of passats you speak of are very problematic. 99-04
or so. Electrical problems are very common like abs, airbag and
transmission control units. If you use vw's 7500 mile oil change
interval you will have problems with sludge. Also suspension links
are also trouble.
Earlier cars were much more simple so they has less things to go
wrong. My MKIV TDi has been dead reliable. I wouldn't rule out a
MKIV VW. They have there trouble areas, but can be pretty reliable
after bugs are worked out.
$.02
--- On Wed, 9/1/10, Matthew Yip <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Matthew Yip <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [a2-16v-list] Did VW have "dark years"
To: "Volkswagen a2 16v discussion list" <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, September 1, 2010, 10:47 PM
Fortunately I have NO experience with Passats except for a friend's
'93 that
"mooed" when the a/c was on and if suffered typical electrical
maladies for VWs
of that era (read: everything that could go wrong usually did...)
Regarding the overheating - sounds like the rad, even though it's
new, is
clogged or the pump isn't working well at idle. Check the
thermostat as well -
it's the easiest thing to check and they do fail with some
regularity. If it's
partially open, it'll work fine on the freeway but get hot at idle.
I don't think my temp sensor is faulty - when it's pegged, it's
quick to
overheat in the paddock so I think it's accurate. I really need to
add a "real"
gauge but that takes time, effort and money...three things I lack
these days...
----- Original Message ----
From: Mark Stanton <[email protected]>
To: a2 16vGroup <[email protected]>
Sent: Wed, September 1, 2010 9:29:24 PM
Subject: [a2-16v-list] Did VW have "dark years"
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
_______________________________________________
a2-16v-list mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list
For list archives, see listinfo link above.
_______________________________________________
a2-16v-list mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list
For list archives, see listinfo link above.
_______________________________________________
a2-16v-list mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list
For list archives, see listinfo link above.
