Thinking of giving up on VW - advice?

[daneg]

Hi everyone. I have always respected the people on this forum and so am coming to the community for advice. I own a 2009 tdi sportwagen with 131,000 km. I love driving the car and have been meticulous on maintenance. I am now at the point of selling and giving up on VW forever.

Here's why: Since I've owned it the pano roof has had two major repairs in warranty, tying it up for weeks on end. Once it was out of warranty, it was leaking again, and led to mould. To repair it all the bill was $1400. I argued I should not be responsible as obviously the repair wasn't ever done properly, to no avail.

All dollars are in Canadian. Out of warranty the exhaust valve failed stranding me in the middle of nowhere. I did get the tow on vw roadside assistance, but my trip was interrupted for days. The car was just out of warranty for repairs $780 for the fix. A few months ago, quite by chance, I found out that part was later recalled and after hounding VW for months, they did refund me the repair bill.

Since then, the electrical got all messed up stalling the car, stranding my wife in the middle of a dodgy area at night. Towed and was told the fuse box was 'corroded'. Replaced at $1600. The excuse was because we live by the ocean 'that it just happens sometimes.'

Next the rear coil spring broke. I have never had that happen. Not going near a dealership so repair was done for $300.

After that the plastic air valve, elbow joint on top of radiator fell off into the fan. It was busted up, stopped the fans from running and the car overheated. I was in a city about two hours drive from my home for a medical test and had my two year old son with me. I told the VW guys that I had to get home. They changed the fuse, but when they gave it back to me the high speed fan wouldn't shut off even with the key removed. I could drive it home but would have to disconnect the battery to turn the fan off. That fuse cost me $150.

Now at home VW dealer (tried my mechanic but he said he couldn't do it for a week) so back at the stealership. Replaced the entire fan assembly to get it to turn off. Bill $800.

Stereo has been replaced on warranty. Bottom line, I am tired. Warn out, and have lost faith. Timing belt in the future. I just don't trust this vehicle. But I do love driving it. I know more bills are coming though. I knew maintenance was going to be more with dsg and regular servicing, I had no problem with that. But so much seems out of my control.

Sorry for the rant, but tell me, am I wrong to be giving up now? Have I got a lemon for the first time in my life? Never have I been stranded so many times as I have been in this car.

 

[KpaxFAQ]

Going back to the same maker after that is like a battered wife going back to her husband thinking things will change, jmho.

 

[daneg]

Ha Haaa! Good laugh Kpax and you are so right. I am abused and hurting, I deserve so much better!

 

[Fremont]

Yeah, if I were you, I'd buy an Accord.
In fact, I'm considering it.
My JSW was OK for the first 70,000 miles (except that I had to replace 3 tires due to pothole damage. I guess those Conti's are the Ming china of tires...)
Then I had to replace an exhaust sensor for $500, a headlight socket for $250 (and took 3 all day visits!) and a transmission cover for $300, all within 3 months. Then I heard about the potential for a $6000 fuel pump failure...
My son's Honda just needed it's first repair. An $80 suspension link. At 180,000 miles.
Hmmmm.....

 

[Tuco]

Hondas and Toyotas are about as drama-free as you will find (usually). If I would have experienced the same problems as you (with VW), I would come to the same conclusion. Time to punt.

Even with the problems Toyota has had in recent years, I still think they are much more solidly built than any Honda. Subaru makes a good product, and reasonably priced. We really like my wife's 2014 Forester.

 

[TDI smile]

Now the roads are in Yellowknife not smooth, only one is and that is the RUNWAY. I just do not know if HONDA's or TOYOTA's would be troublefree in YK? I'm in a mature age, so I owned many cars in my lifetime (43) and 23 VW's were drama-free.

 

[daneg]

[/QUOTE=Fremont;4526421]Yeah, if I were you, I'd buy an Accord.
In fact, I'm considering it.
My JSW was OK for the first 70,000 miles (except that I had to replace 3 tires due to pothole damage. I guess those Conti's are the Ming china of tires...)
Then I had to replace an exhaust sensor for $500, a headlight socket for $250 (and took 3 all day visits!) and a transmission cover for $300, all within 3 months. Then I heard about the potential for a $6000 fuel pump failure...
My son's Honda just needed it's first repair. An $80 suspension link. At 180,000 miles.
Hmmmm.....[/QUOTE]

Man, you just sent chills down my spine. Okay, nobody is going to believe this but it is a true story. Before I wrote the post starting this thread I was at the dealership to get the $800 fan replaced, and on the lot was a 2009 Honda Accord, v4 EXL, with navi full loaded. It had 42,000 km on it. The tag in the window was 18,995.

I had time so I went to a salesman and said "What are the chances of doing a swap, my 2009 tdi jsw for that Accord out there?" My wife and I took it for a test drive. He did the 'well we will have to crunch the numbers' thing. We talked about my car and he took a look. Came back and said he would give me 16 grand for my car, and that if I came up with $3650 we could do it. That included all taxes. I said I had to think about. Next day I said no, and he said they would 'sharpen the pencil' and came down to $2900 all in. I emailed back and said I would pay a grand.

I had pretty much decided to sell privately at that point. Well, as I was cleaning the tdi up for pictures, I opened the windows to crank some tunes, and tried to open the sunroof....nothing. It wouldn't open, sunshade wouldn't open. I checked the fuse, fuse was good. Then I tried the key feature to close everything, and it didn't work, couldn't close the windows. Tried to close the windows from driver's seat , made sure window lock wasn't on, and couldn't. Luckily, individual door controls worked and I managed to close windows.

Called the guy back and said if he could come down a bit more, we were still interested. He said he thought they could shave a couple more hundred off. I said done, you got a deal. Sign the paperwork on Tuesday, as long as he doesn't try the sunroof.

The Accord is kind of a grandma car which is why I hesitated but with 90,000 km less on the odo, senior citizen one owner driven, I thought this is my out. Not perfect, but I am not spending one more cent on my TDI. Pray all goes well on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday here).

Angels looking out for me? I guess we'll see...

 

[daneg]

Now the roads are in Yellowknife not smooth, only one is and that is the RUNWAY. I just do not know if HONDA's or TOYOTA's would be troublefree in YK? I'm in a mature age, so I owned many cars in my lifetime (43) and 23 VW's were drama-free.

Hey TDI smile, spent 12 years of my life in Yellowknife. Very good years. Now living on the BC coast. Best vehicle I had in the Knife was a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. Took a beating and got me where I needed to go.

 

[TDI smile]

Hey TDI smile, spent 12 years of my life in Yellowknife. Very good years. Now living on the BC coast. Best vehicle I had in the Knife was a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. Took a beating and got me where I needed to go.

That sounds about right. Love those vehicles on rough terrain. Had 2 myself in AB.

 

[geoman]

hope the honda is less trouble. sounds like anything would be! i've got some fan issues now and i recall them not turning off for hours. got over 320kms rung up so they'll get replaced and a/c compressor is next. already done a turbo @ 210k. still diggin the ride. now even more since the stage 2 malone tune but it hasn't been cheap. issues were just more spread out than your experience. if the problems were as compressed as yours i'd probably have considered alternatives.

 

[South Coast Guy]

Another complaint about sun roofs leaking or broken. I am glad I don't have one.

 

[daneg]

Another complaint about sun roofs leaking or broken. I am glad I don't have one.

Never again Dog Park, first sunroof I have ever had and last. After the ooooo and ahhhhh it was nothing but trouble. Who knew having a massive hole in the roof of your car would cause problems hey? lol

 

[South Coast Guy]

On another point, I just finished cleaning the interior of my wife's 2012 Honda CRV. It is much cheaper and poorly assembled than my 09 JSW. And it cost 10% more.

 

[daneg]

On another point, I just finished cleaning the interior of my wife's 2012 Honda CRV. It is much cheaper and poorly assembled than my 09 JSW. And it cost 10% more.

Honestly, I hear you and this isn't a move I wanted to make. I was the biggest cheerleader of this vehicle when I first got into it. On one trip we drove it from Yellowknife to Alaska and down the coast from there on the ferry system to eventually make it to Portland where we attended the TDI fest that year.

That was a 10,000 km round trip. Had a few really good trips in it, but after four situations where a tow was necessary I lost faith. I love the torque and highway manners and was singing praises for the first two years even after all the warranty work was done. VW just lost me along the way, which means VW lost what could have been a lifelong customer.

The VW shop charges are also just ridiculous. A few months ago I was told by a VW dealership my rear brakes were at 20 percent and they needed to flush the system. The quote? $760!! For two rear pads, rotors and fluid! I took it to my local mechanic and he charged $380, all high performance parts.

I truly envy those who aren't going through this and can enjoy their tdi through the long haul. One guy posted on this thread and I believe he had over 300 thousand km on the odo with a few problems spread out over time. I wanted to be the one at 300 or 400,000!

But to Volkswagen I say, I have a lot of friends and they are going to ask what happened to my VW. I am going to eat crow because I sang its praises in the past and tell them the truth, and I know I am not the only one. It is word of mouth like this that will assure VW won't get to the number one spot in the north American car market like they want.

 

[kulak]

For what it is worth we dumped our camry for the passat nms. We had stuff break on it that shouldn't normally go within warranty: evaporator core, interior door panel, trunk/gas levers. The worst Unfixable problem was the moldy A/C. We were given a special Toyota bulletin on how to properly use A/C. Never use recirculate, always turn compressor off several minutes before the destination.

The mileage was horrible for 4cyl. Lucky to get more than 24 or 26mpg. Lastly I'll just say I can't stand the fake turbo diesel hood scoops on the FJ, Tacoma, Tundra, and old Rav4.

Grass is always greener somewhere else.

 

[El Dobro]

I've owned many used VWs down through the years, but when I bought the 2006, then the 2009, I've never owned any car that had to keep going back to the dealer like those two, especially the '09. Sensors, switches, harnesses, you name it. The car was on its third MU when I finally got rid of it and I never looked back.

 

[daneg]

I've owned many used VWs down through the years, but when I bought the 2006, then the 2009, I've never owned any car that had to keep going back to the dealer like those two, especially the '09. Sensors, switches, harnesses, you name it. The car was on its third MU when I finally got rid of it and I never looked back.

El Dobro, I think I remember you from back in the day. Didn't you have all the tranny trouble? Not sure what an MU is but I understand completely. On another thread someone mentioned they were told their particulate filter was 100 percent clogged, was quoted $6200 to fix I think. I tell you, sent shivers down my spine.

Maybe this is going to become the thread for those stepping away. I agree with the other poster though, every manufacturer has problems. The car I am about to get is famous for rear brake wear, class action lawsuit was settled because of it. Go on a forum and there is always lots to worry about, the Honda Accord forum is no different. But there are a lot of trouble free cars out there, just hope I get a good one this time.

 

[PlaneCrazy]

VW is hit-or-miss. My own experience:

99.5 Jetta TDI... miss lots of issues, dumped it for... wait for it... an Accord at 80k km

Driving the Accord was as exciting as watching paint dry. It wasn't trouble-free either, very hard to start in -30C weather (harder than a TDI!!!), dealer could never fix

'04 Jetta wagon TDI... hit (until my wife totaled it at 110k km)

'05 Passat TDI... hit. We still have that one, with 282k km; zero issues until 160k km, then the balance shaft chain got a bit noisy at 180k km; VW paid 3/4 of the $4k repair job. A few CV joints, suspension parts, and steering rack.

'11 Golf TDI hatch... miss: IC icing, suspension issues, muffed IC repair job, bogus HPFP replacement to fix a sudden power loss issue at WOT that still hasn't been cured, and now a HUGE rattle from the rear suspension; 114k km. I'd dump it in a heartbeat but it's paid for and I'm out of work at the moment; our Passat is my "plan B" car.

'13 Golf wagon... hit, 29k km with zero issues. Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the pano sunroof, we got a Comfortline that doesn't have it.

What keeps us coming back to VW: great to drive, fuel efficient (we're in Maine, averaged 4.5 L/100 km on the 500 km to get here), and 12 year corrosion warranty: we live in a terrible area for rust; our other Honda, a 1998 Odyssey, was full of rust at only 7 years of age and was literally falling apart when we junked it at 15 years and it was no longer safe to drive. Our Passat has so far had two front fenders, both front doors and the trunk lid replaced under warranty, and the left rear quarter panel repaired. Some more perforation is popping up, so back it will soon go for an evaluation. Rear doors and both rear quarter panels.

While it has not been much better than our Odyssey for rust resistance, at least 10 years on VW is still repairing it for us.

 

[El Dobro]

El Dobro, I think I remember you from back in the day. Didn't you have all the tranny trouble? Not sure what an MU is but I understand completely. On another thread someone mentioned they were told their particulate filter was 100 percent clogged, was quoted $6200 to fix I think. I tell you, sent shivers down my spine.

Maybe this is going to become the thread for those stepping away. I agree with the other poster though, every manufacturer has problems. The car I am about to get is famous for rear brake wear, class action lawsuit was settled because of it. Go on a forum and there is always lots to worry about, the Honda Accord forum is no different. But there are a lot of trouble free cars out there, just hope I get a good one this time.

Mechatronics Unit, basically the controller of the trans. I had a VW QTM and a drivetrain engineer in the car, practically snapped their necks with the trans and they told me "normal".

 

[geoman]

For what it is worth we dumped our camry for the passat nms. We had stuff break on it that shouldn't normally go within warranty: evaporator core, interior door panel, trunk/gas levers. The worst Unfixable problem was the moldy A/C. We were given a special Toyota bulletin on how to properly use A/C. Never use recirculate, always turn compressor off several minutes before the destination.

The mileage was horrible for 4cyl. Lucky to get more than 24 or 26mpg. Lastly I'll just say I can't stand the fake turbo diesel hood scoops on the FJ, Tacoma, Tundra, and old Rav4.

Grass is always greener somewhere else.

yeah, you can add moldy a/c to the list but thx 2 toyo on the lesson. my dealership would prob keep replacing the whole unit @ my expense! when i fix mine i'll implement the 'turn off minutes before destination'. recirc i can't see getting aroung at times though but never while a/c is on is what they must imply. i've got some anti-everything(except humans) spray that i can spray into the air intake on occasion that might kill off 'undesireable plant growth'.

 

[cevans]

For what it is worth we dumped our camry for the passat nms. We had stuff break on it that shouldn't normally go within warranty: evaporator core, interior door panel, trunk/gas levers. The worst Unfixable problem was the moldy A/C. We were given a special Toyota bulletin on how to properly use A/C. Never use recirculate, always turn compressor off several minutes before the destination.

The mileage was horrible for 4cyl. Lucky to get more than 24 or 26mpg. Lastly I'll just say I can't stand the fake turbo diesel hood scoops on the FJ, Tacoma, Tundra, and old Rav4.

Grass is always greener somewhere else.

Yep, except for those who owned mid-90s Camrys and were smart enough to keep them - NOTHING BREAKS.

 

[TDI_G]

Yep, except for those who owned mid-90s Camrys and were smart enough to keep them - NOTHING BREAKS.

We had a beat up 93' Camry that my wife drove when we were in school. It had faded paint and a cracked up pleather interior but it was great, even at 230k miles. We drove it for a couple years and then sold it for more than we payed for it with a leaking head gasket (it has the 3VZ-FE engine). We fully disclosed the leaking head gasket as well when we sold it. My neighbor has a mid 90's camry with close to 300k miles on it and it is still chugging along. It has the 4 cyl engine in it. The suspension has gone to crap but he still drives it back and forth to work.

 

[tdi90hp]

We had a beat up 93' Camry that my wife drove when we were in school. It had faded paint and a cracked up pleather interior but it was great, even at 230k miles. We drove it for a couple years and then sold it for more than we payed for it with a leaking head gasket (it has the 3VZ-FE engine). We fully disclosed the leaking head gasket as well when we sold it. My neighbor has a mid 90's camry with close to 300k miles on it and it is still chugging along. It has the 4 cyl engine in it. The suspension has gone to crap but he still drives it back and forth to work.

Put 570,000kms++ on a 92 stick 4 cyl Camry. basically NOTHING broke except 2 suspensions. That is IT. Clutch, window motors, AC, and all mechanicals except wear items were original. They were quite the car but boring....VWs wont go that long without lots of money but the good thing is they have a BIT more soul....

 

[Tuco]

I remember reading somewhere that literally over 90% of the cars in Afghanistan are........Toyota Corollas. The darn things are certainly boring, but practically indestructible, cheap and simple to maintain and operate. 300K miles on a car there is sort of like '"brand new."

 

[daneg]

Put 570,000kms++ on a 92 stick 4 cyl Camry. basically NOTHING broke except 2 suspensions. That is IT. Clutch, window motors, AC, and all mechanicals except wear items were original. They were quite the car but boring....VWs wont go that long without lots of money but the good thing is they have a BIT more soul....

Ya, a lot more soul for sure. I did love driving it. I always liked the look of it and the interior as well. Like I said, it's bittersweet for me, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach now when I get in to drive is just too much to take. Trust is lost. Sad really, because the engine itself still runs like brand new, I don't think that's the problem and it will probably go for 400 k no problem.

Who knows, maybe the person who buys it will come on the forum and say its the best car they ever owned. Life's like that sometimes. lol

 

[DieselRacer]

Sounds like everything broke but the engine, normal for a diesel...

 

[supton]

I remember reading somewhere that literally over 90% of the cars in Afghanistan are........Toyota Corollas. The darn things are certainly boring, but practically indestructible, cheap and simple to maintain and operate. 300K miles on a car there is sort of like '"brand new."

I'm also guessing that some of those cars are driven regardless of bearing noise, tire condition, etc. Amazing how far a car will go when you can't afford to repair it, and just drive it instead.

*

I still like my VW, but am toying (once again) of moving on. It's done its bit. These days I have other things to spend money on, but still need reliable wheels, so I'm getting to where TCO is more important than "does it drive great?" Toyota might not be the proper answer (higher purchase price, questionable reliability these days), but at the same time it'd be nice to have a fleet where all the vehicle controls at least are similar between cars. [Drives me nuts, the windshield wipers!]

Also, and perhaps most important to me: it seems that any corner store can repair non-VW's while you have to shop carefully to find a proper VW guru. Break down while on the road? Who you gonna call? Bit easier when it's a vehicle that is dime a dozen.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I still like my VW, but am toying (once again) of moving on. It's done its bit. These days I have other things to spend money on, but still need reliable wheels, so I'm getting to where TCO is more important than "does it drive great?" Toyota might not be the proper answer (higher purchase price, questionable reliability these days), but at the same time it'd be nice to have a fleet where all the vehicle controls at least are similar between cars. [Drives me nuts, the windshield wipers!]

Been there. Given what I'm doing now I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but in the early/mid 90s we had all Toyotas here. I traded my Peugeot 505 Diesel (not a bad car, BTW) on a '92 V6 Camry because I wanted dead reliable. Three young kids, traveling 200 days a year, no time for repairs. I drove the car 96K in less than 4 years and put a set of tires, a timing belt, and a window regulator in it (my fault, tried to lower the window leaving the airport when it was iced up). Got 24 MPG on regular, quick, rode well, lots of room. And it just went.

A couple years later we got my wife a Previa. Supercharged, huge roof, kid proof leather, that van was awesome for 10 years and 170K until an accident took it away from us. I still miss it.

Bulletproof is good sometimes. But I've had great luck with my TDIs. Wouldn't go back.

 

[Steve-o]

am I wrong to be giving up now? Have I got a lemon for the first time in my life? Never have I been stranded so many times as I have been in this car.

Even though I think Car Talk's Click and Clack are little more than jokers (especially when saying anything about diesels), they have offered the best advice I've ever heard on when it's time to get rid of a car: when you no longer have confidence in it, get rid of it.

You're there. You tried; it wasn't up to it. Time to move on.

Certainly there are problematic Hondas (my wife's '03 Accord Coupe committed seppuku before it hit 100,000 miles). But it's kind of fun to read auto forums where the biggest problem most people have is finding windshield wipers color keyed to the body paint.

 

[chasingtheson]

The boring cars do not have the great user based forums. Only Land Rovers and VW's for me. I have a friend who tried to follow my obsessio, I told him he needed less excitement in his life and drove him to the Toyota dealer.