Problems / Faults

[Blacky]

Still thinking of getting an R36 and thought I would get some further opinions on what I might be getting myself in for!

If you have something you want to get off your chest or maybe just enlighten my life feel free to respond with your experiences.

I am interested in the complete story;

Pre-Ordering
Dealers
Delivery times
Initial issues
Long terms problems

Thanks in advance

[Cro]

There were a few initial issues with mine, the RNS510 sat nav kept crashing on me in certain regions. I now have a new unit that works fine apart from a loose bolt rattling in my dash.
The car came with a shoddy wheel alignment (toe issues) that destroyed two of my tyres ($1200 worth), but that has since been sorted by Heasemans.

The only other problem I have is the aluminium bit that runs across the dash keeps rubbing against the styrofoam behind it causing an annoying mouse squeak. First the drivers side was doing it, which got fixed now its the passenger side.

Once the sat nav rattle and the mouse squeak get fixed in the 30k service next month it will be smooth sailing

[theplanner]

I had the following issues:

1) Memory seat mechanism was faulty. It had to be replaced under warranty but the whole process was not pleasant as they insisted on testing it over 2 occassion which means only on my 3rd visit was it fixed.

2) engine does not start properly on hot humid days after engine is warm. Have repeatedly taken back for checkup but still not fixed. Again, the service is utterly disappointing.

3) Rattering from rear shelf, still not fixed

4) Interior alarm did not work intially

5) there was a recall on the electrical cable again the whole replacement process was not seamless like other manufacturers I have dealt with

Overall, not happy with quality and servicing (I have lose count how many times I had taken my car in for check ups for servicing since 1 year & 15000kms ownership, it has taken up a lot of my time = opportunity cost) however the bang for buck factor enables me to oversee the VW flaws. And the car drives great! Would I buy a VW if it were not for the R36, short answer is most likely "NO".

[Rocket36]

3) Rattering from rear shelf, still not fixed

I bet it's the headlining strip across the back of the roof that covers the brake light! Mine vibrated and rattled after the window tinter didn't put it back on properly. Has a weird clip system. Took it off myself, tighted the clips and put it back. Sorted!

[GHW]

I had the following issues:

1) Memory seat mechanism was faulty. It had to be replaced under warranty but the whole process was not pleasant as they insisted on testing it over 2 occassion which means only on my 3rd visit was it fixed.

2) engine does not start properly on hot humid days after engine is warm. Have repeatedly taken back for checkup but still not fixed. Again, the service is utterly disappointing.

3) Rattering from rear shelf, still not fixed

4) Interior alarm did not work intially

5) there was a recall on the electrical cable again the whole replacement process was not seamless like other manufacturers I have dealt with

Overall, not happy with quality and servicing (I have lose count how many times I had taken my car in for check ups for servicing since 1 year & 15000kms ownership, it has taken up a lot of my time = opportunity cost) however the bang for buck factor enables me to oversee the VW flaws. And the car drives great! Would I buy a VW if it were not for the R36, short answer is most likely "NO".

Man I hate reading about stuff like this. I pick mine up in 3 hours (delayed from yesterday), I've just "crossed over" from Subaru and had zero issues, I hope I haven't made the wrong decision

[Rocket36]

Every manufacturer has cars with issues. Regardless of brand it is luck of the draw. But that's what warranties are for.

[nting]

I think it would be very foolish to believe that there is a car maker who cannot make lemons. Or at least make all their cars almost perfect. Even some things like the tinting, tow bar, etc are installed locally and it could be a source for issues too (eg. Rocket's post). Also, my friend bought a new Mazda RX-8 three months ago. He has had to return it 4 times to get the tinting fixed. Also it is getting a new gearbox this week because that failed. A new gearbox after three months only... So whilst we may have had some issues, you may or may not be so lucky. This will be so with any car maker. But I can understand your intrepidation, You would expect them to get things right for the amount of money you're paying. You're not buying a $200 power drill, you're buying a $70,000+ car.

In the case of getting a lemon or poor customer service, I would expect to be properly compensated. Especially if they expect any kind of brand loyalty.

[PassatB6]

Man I hate reading about stuff like this. I pick mine up in 3 hours (delayed from yesterday), I've just "crossed over" from Subaru and had zero issues, I hope I haven't made the wrong decision

Don't know why but many VW drivers are very nervous about their cars listening for every minute sound and looking for every imperfection. Owners of other brands seem to get problems fixed in the first service or so and not have so many anxieties about it. They certainly don't spread their distress across the net as much. We're a weird bunch. You're already a neurotic VW owner and you haven't even picked the car up yet!

[Burkey]

A few issues with mine as well...

Exhaust mount and the bloody service department forgetting to hook everything back up

Vibration through the DSG. Both sets of synchro's running apparently. This was fixed with a software update (with no permanent damage they tell me).

The time is the killer, been back to the doctors 5 times in 15,000k.

But would I swap back to the old car (XC70) not a chance! The driving experience is awesome. It's taken a little of getting used to, different driving style. Chuck it in and get on the power early!

Looking to change service departments so if anyone can recommend someone in Sydney that would be helpful.

Cheers,
Brett

[Blacky]

Man I think there were more excuses than people giving problems feedback LOL

Yes, every car has it's problems and I must say everybody who loves there cars makes excuses.

Anyhow your feedback is appreciated and I look forward to some possible more problem posts and less excuses.

In regards to the dealers I have to say there sales departments are ****, I have now been to two dealers, one multiple times and I don't seem to get their attention.

Do I need to bring my misus and a baby before they will take any interest

[theplanner]

Man I hate reading about stuff like this. I pick mine up in 3 hours (delayed from yesterday), I've just "crossed over" from Subaru and had zero issues, I hope I haven't made the wrong decision

I believe in general VW quality is no where near Subaru however, VW can definitely design better looking cars and are more in touch with design preference of the public. Subaru seem to change their minds so often about 1-2 yrs after releasing a new shape/model.

Whether you end up thinking if you made the right decision or not lies with how much enjoyment you get from driving the car while nothing is wrong. I hate the quality and the service but the driving experience out weighs the issues in my case. Also, the next nearest comparable (size, power & handling) car (eg. BMW 335, Audi S4, C320 etc) are at least another 30-40k premium. So the bang for buck factor also helps me oversee its flaws.

An analogy would be like would you rather date a high maintanence but pretty chic (or whatever that facies you) or a low maintenance but average chic.

For some (and I shall not mention names) they rather be ignorant about it so they do not see the flaws. For others, (like myself) knowing the cons helps me better appreciate the pros.

I hope this helps eleiminate your doubts.

[R36]

Man I hate reading about stuff like this. I pick mine up in 3 hours (delayed from yesterday), I've just "crossed over" from Subaru and had zero issues, I hope I haven't made the wrong decision

I sold a MY06 WRX for the R36. The Subaru had a few issues replaced under warranty: clutch, turbo, rear shocks. Apart from the factory recall for the battery wiring I have had no issues with the R36 in almost a year, not even a rattle.

[Craig]

I have had my car for a few months now. I bought it 2nd hand (privately interstate). It had very few kms on it and still had 14 month VW warranty left. The previous owner gave me the paperwork which he just got for the battery cabling recall which mine had to have. My Passat is in showroom condition and would be probably the best kept 2nd hand car you could find. However it had an annoying rattle in the dash area around the radio where the plastics meet (before I put the AVC in). The Ncle VW dealers would not touch it as they said initially, "Where did you buy the car from (not us)" and that VW warranty does not fix rattles over 1000km????? I have never heard of this? and asked him to show me were it said this. He said it was in the book and tried to find it for me. Guess what he couldn't find it but said it was there. I was pissed off about that but other than having a big argument I chose another line of attack. I emailed VW Aust and talked to them about my problem. VW Aust would not tie themselves down to saying one thing or the other but stated that if it was a problem not caused by normal wear and tear or human interaction it would be warranty. The rattle was neither of these and I took it back when I got the wiring done and had a word with service about VW Aust and they fixed it. I had a look at what they did and they just put some friction absorb tape on the attachment clips of the radio surround which fixed the problem. It would be a 10 minute job at the max. Anyway they did my battery cable recall as well. When I looked at the work they did latter I found that the positive battery cover under bonnet was missing (battery in the boot) I found it was down the bottom of the engine almost about to fall on the road as they had not clipped it back on the positive attachment point. I looked under the engine and found that a lot of the cabling had not been clipped back into the attachment points on the chassis as well. I fixed this up myself. I am not very happy with the Service I got from them and the BS I had to go through to get a warranty job done. This is my 3rd VW. It is a $63K car (fm new) and I would think that your service would be better than this. I would never take my car to this dealer again for warranty or service and would drive a distance to get work done elsewhere. I think they just give these jobs to apprentices. I hope they are better??????? I have had new cars regularly from new Subaru's to Mazda's and any problems I have are fixed up straight away without a problem. I love VW and would always buy again but want good service from the dealers.

[pj's]

Man I think there were more excuses than people giving problems feedback LOL

Yes, every car has it's problems and I must say everybody who loves there cars makes excuses.

Anyhow your feedback is appreciated and I look forward to some possible more problem posts and less excuses.

In regards to the dealers I have to say there sales departments are ****, I have now been to two dealers, one multiple times and I don't seem to get their attention.

Do I need to bring my misus and a baby before they will take any interest

Blacky,

I had an issue with my White R36 Wagon, the air conditioner couldn't make up its mind whether to blow hot or cold air. This happened in January this year, and where I live is does get hot. On one of the days the car suggested the OAT was 47 (reasonably accurate) and it decided to blow hot air into the cabin. I spoke to my dealer, Solitaire, and the really bright response was run the aircon like that for 5 minutes to allow it time to start to cool You can imagine my thoughts. Solitaire then asked if they could have the car for 2 or 3 days to diagnose the fault. I traveled to Melbourne on holidays shortly after and a mates son recommended I visit Burwin VW in Burwood. I took the car there and got immediate service and they diagnosed the fault then and there, a TX valve in the compressor and arranged for a new compressor

I guess the service issue is all a matter of luck, but I was very impressed with the people at Burwin.

Cheers

pj

[PassatB6]

Craig..
Was that Klosters Newcastle? Generally they have been OK with me but have left minor things out like checking washer fluid levels etc. Not 100% confident with them.