Should I buy a Multivan?

[peujohn]

Hi guys, new member here. With our 4th child on the way we are looking for a new car to replace our excellent Peugeot 407 diesel wagon.

The Multivan seems like a great option in terms of space and practicality but a bit of research uncovers plenty of DSG horror stories which gets me worried. Boris at Volkscare (Boronia, Victoria) says they are great, it comes down to the individual car and its care and service history. I asked him if he thought an early T5 with conventional 6 speed auto would be a better bet but he didn't really say so.

Any thoughts would be welcome. I realize it's the bad stories that get published on the web, and there are a lot of vans out there. Surely some people must get a good run out of them?

Budget up to perhaps $35k but I'd be happy to hear that a well maintained early T5 with 200,000 on the clock would be a good option!

Cheers
John

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[Umai Naa!!]

Don't buy one with the non-DSG auto.

The DSG in the MY10-onwards T5GP is a good thing. Problems are few and far between.

[Rebuild]

Had a good run out of my 04 non DSG, tiptronic auto so far. 150K km
BUT, do my own auto servicing. How to change T5 Auto Gearbox Oil - The Brick-yard
These early T5 autos were supposedly sealed for life, and were ok till the internal filter blocks up, your warranty's out, and all hell breaks loose.
If you buy one make sure to service the auto gearbox.

The DSG type may be a better bet, if your budget can stretch
DSG probs were with the Golf/etc i think, which is a different gearbox

Also early T5 diesels have soft cams, and high pressures due to PumpDeuse setup doesn't help. Avoid 04-06ish

Check servicing for relevant 506.01 or 507.00 oil changes.This is important.

[The_Hawk]

I have the first of the T5.2 from 2010. 155k on it and still running a treat, we love our van... it's so big and practical!

[peujohn]

Thanks for the feedback guys...

Some of the reviews on the following site are giving me cause for concern...
Volkswagen Multivan Reviews - ProductReview.com.au


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[Rebuild]

just from a quick read, a lot of those reviewers don't even know which gearbox they have.
The DSG was introduced around 2010 with the (oops) 5.2 update, IIRC

[Craigs902]

I thought the early model DSG were a problem because of the sealed gear boxes. The 5.2 T5 are ok as you can change the oil and filter access. My 7 Speed DSG 2014 T5 4 motion is a dream to drive.


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[Umai Naa!!]

No DSG prior to MY10 T5GP.

The early ones were just a conventional automatic, and were totally serviceable. But still, they're a ticking Time bomb.

[Sunny43.5]

I agree with Rebuild the Tiptronic can be a nightmare if NOT serviced , ours shat itself because VW told dealers not to service them and change the internal filter . So ours was left to suck up burnt fluid which in turn wore internal parts adding more debris to the fluid which then blocks the filter . Took me two years of hammering VW about the reason I believed was the cause of ours demise at then only 120000 kays , they eventually made a "Goodwill "payment of 50% towards the repair . I still to this day believe they knew it was a problem because look at two things that happened in 2010 . 1/ DSG came out and was able to be serviced every 60000 km and 2/ then the best one the filter is on the OUTSIDE of the box . All car makers should be held accountable for auto failures as they do not test in the real world like Australia , they can bang on about how they test in the Nevada desert for a few weeks at best . But a few years in our climate brings out the nasty's that then occur , I loved the one a couple of years back when there were issues with DSG,s in Golfs , they issued recalls in some countries but not Australia . When a motoring writer asked the head of VW here in Australia why our cars were not recalled but in Japan they did get a recall the reply was a masterstroke . As the writer described it the VW head honcho shot himself in both feet at the same time with one bullet . His reply ? Well Australia is different from Japan the Japanese they have hot climate conditions with lots of stop start driving . Good one VW last time I looked deserts were pretty thin on the ground in Japan , stop start driving obviously he lives next door to head office here as most of us will spend several hours a day doing the morning crawl to work .

[skid plate]

Just make sure it's not one of the ones built by Chrysler. I forget what model.

Newer tiptronics are good if they've been serviced.

Is a tig not big enough?


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[claudjor]

I have one of the lemons. A 2010 comfortline. Problems with power from day 1, sliding doors coming off the top (they weigh about 100kg each), taken back for various issues during warranty period. Religiously serviced. 2016 a rare leak in the water pump meant it failed and the car had to be towed away. Yesterday (August 2017) a spanner signal comes up on the dashboard and whilst going up a hill I lose total power and the car sounded like it had been pushed into neutral. I had to turn it off and back on and took it straight to the garage. They opened the gearbox and they informed me it is full of debris, something they have never seen.
Am I the only one with the total lemon? It only has 89000 kms

[jets]

Are you sure it's a T3?

[Sunny43.5]

I think he made a typo no big deal , I would like to know if it was a DSG or Tiptronic . I could suggest Claudjor that you get onto VW customer service and give them the details , please several big things remain calm give consise information and never ever swear or make derogatory replies . I delt with them for two years off and on and I think my persistance paid off with a 50% "goodwill payment "and that was at 120000 km . I will admit here that because I knew why our auto failed I was able to prove my point on the VW Facebook page as well so after the two years I think I got under their skin , I had full evidence on why it failed and I posted the photos to show others . The black lumpy parts are where the fluid was supposed to pass through all of them were blocked .

[Transporter]

I have one of the lemons. A 2010 T3 comfortline. Problems with power from day 1, sliding doors coming off the top (they weigh about 100kg each), taken back for various issues during warranty period. Religiously serviced. 2016 a rare leak in the water pump meant it failed and the car had to be towed away. Yesterday (August 2017) a spanner signal comes up on the dashboard and whilst going up a hill I lose total power and the car sounded like it had been pushed into neutral. I had to turn it off and back on and took it straight to the garage. They opened the gearbox and they informed me it is full of debris, something they have never seen.
Am I the only one with the total lemon? It only has 89000 kms.

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What gearbox? Is it the DSG or 6speed manual?

[claudjor]

What gearbox? Is it the DSG or 6speed manual?

DSG auto and it's T5 not T3 (fat fingers)

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