New turbo required

[richdave]

Ouch.

When are you going to get it fixed? Hopefully soon!

Seeya,
Michael

The 9th is the earliest they have a loan car... if it goes bang before then we'll have to make other arrangements I guess

[VW Convert]

The 9th is the earliest they have a loan car... if it goes bang before then we'll have to make other arrangements I guess

If it goes bang it may be a significantly greater repair job as there is potential for major engine damage. I'd be reporting the worsening condition to the dealer and pushing for earlier repair even if they have to pluck a car from their used car lot.

Cheers

George

[richdave]

If it goes bang it may be a significantly greater repair job as there is potential for major engine damage. I'd be reporting the worsening condition to the dealer and pushing for earlier repair even if they have to pluck a car from their used car lot.

Yeah, am keeping an ear out and limiting the driving miles and style too...

They said it was OK to drive so for now I will unless there is evidence to reconsider

[richdave]

New turbo fitted yesterday and there are no more whisltes/whines coming from my car YAY!!

[apom]

Glad to hear you got it sorted richdave. Lets hope its the end to your problems.

Why? Parts fail and they get replaced all the time. The Passat is just a Golf station wagon at the end of the day so it's nothing special that would make it immune to the same failures that all the other VAG cars that use the same components suffer.

What about all the people that don't have problems that don't post on the forums? VAG is one of the largest car companies in the world, you have to expect to hear about problems.

You want top notch reliability? Go for a bland boring Japanese built car with limited features to go wrong and no integration of the different features into the car.

You want a car loaded with features that you look for every excuse to drive it? Go for a car like a VW with systems that are fully integrated into the car but expect to have some problems along the way.

The more parts you have in a car and the greater the complexity means the greater chance of a failure of a part whether it be a $2 switch causing the rear tailgate to not function or a whine from a turbo.

I can think of 72,000 reasons why this should be more than a golf station wagon with a few bits built into it.

VW promote supreme reliability as much as any Japanese manufacturer. So what you are saying is we should pay more and have less reliability.... hmmmm... maybe I should have bought a Range Rover or an Alfa to really enjoy that pleasure vs pain feeling!

[richdave]

I can think of 72,000 reasons why this should be more than a golf station wagon with a few bits built into it.

Having a turbo fail at 37K is a little disappointing but then that's why there is a 3 year warranty I guess.

[gldgti]

for anyone interested -

not just VAG, but all euro makes that are using the GT15, GT17 VNT turbo's seem to be having a few more failures than we might expect. VNT's are still in early life in terms of production units compared with the olden times sleeve bearing wastegated turbo's and sorting out just how best to look after them (with engine management) over the long term is something that only comes from extensive experience. Also, VNT's provide a new set of rules - generally the VNT's work a lot harder than wastegated turbo's, because the're so good at what they are supposed to do (make boost). i think its fair to say a VNT fitted to a modern diesel vehicle will generally speaking have a hard life.

better reliability will come with time. but hey, you guys bought brand new european vehicles with latest technology - this is the price you pay

(same goes for my theory with electronic goods - never buy something top of the line and newly released, because you'll end up paying too much for something that will break down )

[Highlander]

Reliability

My daughter has just replaced her boring old 1997 Corolla with a Mk VI Golf TDI. The boring old Corolla Depreciated $17000 over the 10 years she owned the car, was regularly serviced and apart from scheduled replacements, this car has honestly had noting but tyres, batteries and a few globes replaced in its 210,000 km.

I only hope the Golf proves to be as long term reliable. The TDI is much nicer to drive, especially with the diesel torque, its quieter and it handles a bit better but it really has very little in the way of "features" that were not in the 1997 Corolla.

I think when you pay good money for a car, reliability should be expected and unreliability unacceptable. Too often we hear "many more features so much more to go wrong". Is this any excuse for unreliability? Not in my books. I pay for each of those features and probably much more than those features are actually worth but that's the way cars are marketed. Attractive sticker price and pick up the profit on overpriced options (like $800 for VW - Nokia bluetooth that's $495 for a Holden). Tick enough boxes and a $35,000 TDI can cost you over $60,000. On the extra features that means we should be prepared to accept that the optioned up Golf should be almost half as reliable or twice as unreliable as the standard TDI. Flawed logic to me.

[Highlander]

A comment on warranties too

For many years warranties were 12 months or 20000km till the Japanese came along. To sell their cars in the early stages they had to up the warranty. Thus the birth of the three year 100,000 km warranty. European manufacturers were so to follow. or more accurately, to be dragged screaming to match the Japanese warranties. Now as many of the Japanese and even Holden during some market exercises are offering 5 years/175,000km, or in the case of the Hyundai i130, 5 years unlimited kilometres and the Europeans are holding fast on 3 years/100.000km.

I maybe wrong but I won't be surprised if the Europeans are forced to improve their warranty offerings in the next 5 years.

Is it a lack of faith on their behalf in the reliability of their current products? Is it to much to ask for a reliable car that is enjoyable to drive?

Beta computer software is generally free with a "User beware" condition. Manufacturers have the facilities to do accelerated testing of most componentry. Are we saying that with cars that we are happy to pay for the honour of driving "beta test" vehicles. Manufacturers recall cars with safety related defects but would they if not forced to by legislators/litigators.

Don't get me wrong. My daughter and I are loving our Volkswagens but don't think that at least 5 years of relatively trouble free motoring is too much to ask.

[dom123]

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
- Edmund Burke