Touareg Forums more info

I have been a member here for a few years and always found helpful information. Recently purchased an 04 touareg TDI v10, even after all the horror stories. Looking for more info since this site seems pretty light on touareg info. Thanks

What horror stories?

There's a '04 V10 at a lot in my little town I've been looking at. It's way over priced but it's been sitting there for probably six months.

Couple observations about the T'reg (and this is not TDI specific) that tends to cause the "horror" stories, real or perceived as such:

They are hard on tires. Their tires are expensive. Yes, there are cheapo no-name brand tires you can get for less, but they are generally noisier and if the compound is hard enough to last longer then they just go square and get even noisier than they already were.

They are hard on brakes. And again, good OEM level brakes are not cheap, and they are more labor intensive to replace than many other cars, even other Volkswagens.

I have had LOTS of T'reg owners who liked them OK, but had to deal with $2k worth of scheduled PM and brakes and tires every 20-25k miles. No, that is not an exaggeration.

These are EXPENSIVE vehicles. They were expensive to buy new, and are expensive to maintain. That is not a dig at them at all, this is no different than a big Audi A6 or A8. But all too often folks buy them have "Jetta" in their mind, and they end up being shocked at the fact that they have a vehicle that costs thrice as much to keep on the road... maybe even more depending on equipment, driving style, etc.

I am not a big SUV fan, and the T'reg to me does not really offer anything special over a lot of other vehicles. The B6 Passat wagon has more interior volume, and if you honestly feel you need it, was available with AWD (as was my B5 wagon). The T'reg can tow more for sure, but I would not consider it an ideal tow vehicle for super heavy loads for lots of driving. An F250 would do a better job, and would likely cost less to own.

But as far as the genre is concerned, they are decent enough in that regard. They perform and drive as good as their closest similar arranged competitors like the Mercedes M-class and BMW X5 and Jeep Grand Cherokee/Dodge Durango. The V10 versions offer Space Shuttle like acceleration, and are a thrill to drive and make a neat sound, but the later V6 diesel is a more down to Earth (and now NLA) engine option.

I think the people that like them, love them, and are not necessarily scared off by higher PM costs because they knew this going in, and do what they need to do to keep them in good order. But a lot of people who bought them were quickly scared off after a few bank account assaults that caught them off guard.

Buying a well cared for V10 is key. You don't want to play catch up with someone's basket case.

As far as tires, 'dub and I have been very happy with the Pirelli Scorpions we had installed not long after we got the truck. They're still round and true, with about 1/2 of the tread left at 30k miles. At this rate, they'll outlast the tires that came on our '12 Passat

-J

Good advice here. Thanks fellas.

Touareg owners typically get 50 to 60,000 miles out of a set of pads and rotors. Some report getting up to 100K and a few run through them in 30K. It all depends on the type of motoring and their style of driving.

As for tires, I throw mine away at 50% worn - 30,000 miles. Again, some will do better and some will get a lot less. Tire wear depends upon the choice of tire in the first place, the use the car is put to, and the driving style of the owner. In addition reports of tire wear by forum members rarely state the depth of tread at which they bin them so, again, my tires are worn out for me at 4 to 5mm tread depth but for others who take them down to slicks that would means there's another 15,000 miles and more in them!

When we had the truck aligned last time we went through the song and dance to do the full air suspension alignment (I ran the computer and let the alignment tech do his thing under the truck). I have to wonder if that's part of why our tire wear is so good.

-J

I've found that running higher air pressures in my tires seems to solve the wear problem - but it's tricky because too high and the ride can get rough. I usually run ~38 front and 42-44 rear on my summer tires and 44-46 on all 4 corners with my winter tires (Hakka R2).

Brakes (like tires) are a consumable item - and it's a heavy vehicle so consumption rates are higher. That said, I just did the front rotors and pads plus a brake flush on all 4 corners on my 14 TDI and it cost me less than $300.