Ever wondered what happens when you push the handbrake button whilst driving ?

[sathound]

And a Fourth!

I have stalled my 170PS estate several times. The first time was simply attempting to creep over a speedbump idling in second gear, on another ocassion turning into a side road whilst still in 3rd when I should have been in second and most recently whilst reversing into a parking space. This is my first diesel after V6 petrol so I guess it must be me but I am rather surprised that this engine seems to have zero torque until approx 1500 rpm and then BANG!!!

[BenR]

I have even stalled while moving quite fast onto a roundabout - I accidentally put it in something like 5th or 6th gear and engaged the clutch to find no engine. Oops!

Has anybody esle also noticed how poor the brakes are? They don't inspire confidence like my A4 did.

[james_tiger_woo]

My SE's brakes were pretty good, but that was about a year ago with a brand new car...

It'll be interesting to see how they compare with the 2.0 TDI SE I'm picking up on Tuesday with 35k up....

[Quatrelle]

Has anybody esle also noticed how poor the brakes are? They don't inspire confidence like my A4 did.

Our 'other' car is our old Laguna 1, which in its day was generally reckoned to have really good brakes. Our Passat's are excellent, imo, so it might be worth trying another Passat to make sure you haven't a problem (ABS perhaps?).

[sathound]

No problem with the brakes so far. I am obviously not a diesel driver yet!!
I find it hard to believe the stop/go response of the car between 800-1500 and 1500-2500 revs when all I read suggested I would be massively impressed with diesel torque after V6 petrol motoring (economy yes!!) It all seems to come in at once above 1750rpm but below it is terribly dead. It seems 6 speed manual and the 170PS are not the best marriage as the car is happy in 5/6th gears for 90% of journeys and performs admirably cruising at speed but when you need perhaps 3rd coming into a roundabout braking hard but with a suddenly clear exit and put your foot hard down then anything below about 2000rpm will cause an unresponsive reply from the car and possible embarrasment on the roundabout or worse! Strange it stalls so easily however as if I attempt to cruise through a 30 limit after a 60-70mph section in a high gear (5th or 6th) the car refuses to stall despite the difficulty in maintaining 30mph and it seems the Computer attempts to maintain 1000rpm such that it is impossible to drive at 30 or 40 mph in 5th or 6th gear and drives like a tractor.

Any comments appreciated?

[Quatrelle]

sathound - perhaps the point you make about 170 and 6-speeds is the difference, although 'acceleration' is bound to be subjective, so to speak. I find that my manual 140 is fine at low revs. and VW quote 1800-2500 as max torque figures, and at 1800 mine seems to fly (again, that's just my interpretation of its acceleration, not having come from a V6 !). Mine has freed off with the kms, but I'm sure that VW have tweaked it without telling me.

[Stuart W]

Mine has freed off with the kms, but I'm sure that VW have tweaked it without telling me.

The dealer updated my TDI 140's software when it had its first service at 19k. I read somewhere that one reason for this was to cure the low-rev acceleration problem. However, if it was then I can't say I've noticed a lot of difference, in fact if I hadn't read that then I doubt if I would have noticed any difference at all.

Not ideal, but you do adjust your driving style to compensate.

[Stuart W]

Whether the ABS kicks in I know not. It will be interesting to see what happens next year, when the first of the B6s will have their MOTs !! ;-)

Mine is a licensed taxi, so has to be MOTd from one year on, but it passed.

Don't know if they actually tested the 'handbrake' though - the VW dealer was busy so they got an appointment with one of the company's other franchises.

It also has to be tested yearly by the local council, and I'm pretty sure they didn't actually test the handbrake.

But there have been cars around with a similar set up for a few years, like the Renault Espace?

[Stuart W]

I think the hazards only come on when braking above a cetain speed. I had to brake very hard on the motorway from about 70ish mph, but not hard enough to trigger the ABS I don't think, and the hazards started to flash. They stopped on their own - I'm not sure whether it was when I released the brake or slowed below a certain speed as I was otherwise distracted.

I felt the ABS working for the first time in 45k the other day when I had to brake from around 30 to zilch, and I don't think the hazards came on, so they must activate at a higher speed.

(Car in front came to a complete halt for no apparent reason when an ambulance with blue lights flashing happened to be coming the other way - don't you just love 'em?)

[Quatrelle]

Mine is a licensed taxi, ......

Stuart, there was a thread on here "DPF - does it clean itself in the city?" https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum//...ad.php?t=18991

Does yours, as a taxi, get a chance to clean itself? Have you any thoughts on this?
John