New Passat - the list of problems grows!

[AndrewT]

Is anybody else experiencing problems with their new Passat?

Since I picked my new car up at the end of November and covered 9,000 miles I have had the following problems with my car; a 2.0 Tdi Sport with DSG:

• keyless entry - broke within the first month and took 3 months to finally sort
• parking sensors - been back 3 times, front sensors still have a mind of their own and come on constantly when the car is wet - parts on back order
• drivers electric lumbar support broken
• service indicator has been reset once at 6,000 miles and came on again at 8,000
• steering - the car pulls to the left and the steering wheel is off centre (car has not been kerbed)
• when starting the car on my drive which is on a slope with the car facing down hill, the engine starts very loudly (not at high revs) and it is virtually impossible to move the gear stick from Park to Drive without forcing it. Can anyone shed light on this?

On the whole I'm delighted with the car, but my patience is starting to run out. I might have been naive, but expexted more from a £25k car that aims to bat with the big boys in the compact exec sector.

Have I just been unlucky and got a lemon?

[Mark Hutchinson]

On the whole it's a lovely car. i don't think I have any major faults yet but just a few niggles: -

- Bouncy bi-xenon headlamps
- Poor quality paint finish on parts of the car
- Rattling glove box
- Windscreen wipers that come on when it's dry, and don't come on when it's pouring
- Extremely irritating creaking coming from the driver's door, every bump, twist, turn (I think its the plastic strip on the car rubbing the door)
- Rather clunky gear box

That's it so far.

[martinj]

Hi,

In response to your point re the steering being off and it pulling - I know that you said it hasn't been kerbed, have the dealer had your car without you being present? Our previous passat was driven into a kerb whilst the dealer had the car for a service - suggest you get it checked and corrected as if it is out, the tyres will get a 'memory' effect on them after not too long and will pull for the rest of their time irrespective of whether the steering alignment has been set.

I would recomend going to a Pro Tyre depot, or to Micheldever Tyres (they are the parent company of protyre) as they have a superb alignment system that will ensure that all four wheels are pointing in the correct relative position to the car itself, rather than simply setting one axle relative to itself. Your profile does not show where you are based to be able to suggest a local depot.

Best of luck with your car, we sold our previous car due to the service, and have only gone back to a passat that will never see the inside of a main dealer's parts fitting facility. It is a shame that with a new car you are effectively forced to use the main dealer for servicing due to people's perception that a main dealer service history is essential for a newer car!

Martin

[AndrewT]

Martin,

thanks for the useful comment re the steering alignment; the car is in the dealer (hope mine is OK!) next week so hopefully all the niggles will be sorted

[Mark Hutchinson]

Had the paintwork checked out and it is going back to VW to be resprayed. Also had problems with the parking sensor button which has broken/collapsed and is permanently on. Also the rubber surrounding to the interior chrome door handle is now flaking off.

Am finding the car sluggish at low revs before turbo kicks in, plus there is a lot of road/tyre noise, almost unbearable on concrete motorways.

[webjk@iol.ie]

Bought mine new in July 2005 - launch month in Ireland. Delighted with all major aspects of the car. Experiencing nothing thus far with the likes of steering, unwanted rattles, moody wipers etc. My gripes are ...
· ashtray (or mini stowage compartment as referred to in the manual) in back of center armrest is constantly loose - a minor foot tap from one of the kids dislodges it
· ashtray in rear passenger door, located on driver's side - again easily ejects with minimal contact
· as of today the plate on the gear stick just slipped off - only reason I can think of is due to the mini heat wave we are having here at present
Has anyone had experienced any or all of above?

[Mark Hutchinson]

Had a problem the other day where an Engine Management Warning came up and the glow plug lamp kept flashing. Car completely lost power, no turbo, nothing. Turned off, restarted, problem cleared. Returned car to dealer who said it was a known problem on some new Passats. Car was plugged into computer and has been reprogrammed. Apparently this should also fix sluggish low rev pick up. Collecting car later on...

[longboyad]

Dear All,
My list is minor, but on the climb. Plated on 1/3/06, problems to date have been.....

Whistling wheel bearing (Rear N/S) which dealer couldnt find/hear till it collapsed.
Climatic not cooling the car, but blowing cold air. Still unresolved
Polishing off 1.5 litres of L/Life in 6000 miles. Being monitored 6-12k
Wipers wiping when turning off engine. Still unresolved
Automatic handbrake refusing to disengage. Still unresolved

Anyone with experience of the Climatic being generally crap would be good, as I'm fighting that battle next week.

[blackie]

Just the two main (continuing) gripes with mine. The ongoing problem with keyless entry not working - hasn't worked properly since I picked it up 8 months ago. Dealer keeps telling me they can't find the cure and that the onboard fault log isn't registering a fault. Useless. Also, when changing from 1st to 2nd it sometimes judders as if its stalled. Had the engine remapped once, asked for it to be done again and guess what? Dealer says there's nothing in the fault log. Could it be that the fault log doesn't work either?

Still love the car, but wouldn't buy another one, mainly because of the disgraceful customer service from the dealer as well as VW UK.

[David Binge]

I have the same problem with the whistling wheel bearing...did VW give any reason for this?? Was it just the Rear N/S? Have mine booked in but obviously there is a good wait and don't want to be going back repeatedly.

David