How reliable are VW Passats?

censuspro

Have heard from a handful of people on separate occasions since 2006 Passats are know for giving problems. Can anyone on here tell me if these claims are substantiated or is this just pub talk? Have hear this from three separate people, two of which were car enthusiasts and the other was a dealer.

censuspro

Bump

colm_mcm

Its actually since 2005.

mickdw

The passat that came out in 2005 had its share of niggles. 2006 models got a very bad name as not as many were sold in 05 due to the car not being available early in 05 if I remember correctly. Most would be sorted if buying a slightly later car. There were injector problems on some versions of the 2.0 tdi, steering column problems, electronic handbrake problems. There was a recall on early cars too due to a cooler on the fuel line falling off the car and also a minor issue with the wiper system. Early ones were known to eat front tyres too.

In my opinion, if you were to buy an 08 or later model with the very common 1.9 tdi engine, you would have a car as reliable as any recent diesel thats out there and one that would likely cost less to own than most.

dgt

I hear and see some horrors with them. I think it just depends on how well the car was minded and condition

I don't think the cam lobe issue was as common throughout the Passats as other vag cars, open to corrections

ba_barabus

I had an 06 one with FSH and the reliable* 1.9TDI.

Never again.

jippo nolan

I have an 05 b6, 109,000 miles on clock,
Import,fsh, never had a problem,touch wood!

mickdw

ba_barabus wrote: »

I had an 06 one with FSH and the reliable* 1.9TDI.

Never again.

and what went wrong with the 1.9 tdi?

ba_barabus

mickdw wrote: »

and what went wrong with the 1.9 tdi?

The crankshaft went when I had it and turbo blew after that was repaired within days.

It had a FVWSH and was serviced on time every time. I confirmed the history when I bought it.

Other issues included the rear callipers failing and a very rattly dash board.

In its favour it was a great motorway car and soaked up the miles but other than that it just felt big and cumbersome on any back road.

ba_barabus

Just to add to that mine kept blowing headlight bulbs which were a pain to replace.

I know the B5/5.5 Passat enjoys a good rep and the later ones of the B6 does too but I didn't enjoy my experience of them.

Ded_Zebra

ba_barabus wrote: »

Just to add to that mine kept blowing headlight bulbs which were a pain to replace.

I know the B5/5.5 Passat enjoys a good rep and the later ones of the B6 does too but I didn't enjoy my experience of them.

We had a 2007 one from new to 2010. It too kept blowing dip beams too.

Our one was also serviced on time at vw. The handbrake failed twice and the dmf failed once. The abs also had a strange fault where it would come on when the wheels weren't locking, no abs light ever came on
Other than that it was perfect for 180,000ish kms and never failed to get us where we needed to go, fairly reliable car IMO

ba_barabus

The DMF was also starting to knock in mine but at 140k miles I was expecting it to go in the not too distant future.

mickdw

ba_barabus wrote: »

The crankshaft went when I had it and turbo blew after that was repaired within days.

It had a FVWSH and was serviced on time every time. I confirmed the history when I bought it.

Other issues included the rear callipers failing and a very rattly dash board.

In its favour it was a great motorway car and soaked up the miles but other than that it just felt big and cumbersome on any back road.

From what I've seen of some main dealers, they were putting the incorrect oil in these engines
I would certainly agree with you re the rattling dash and the driving experience of the 05 to 2010 model is pretty terrible. Major improvement with the latest model re steering and handling.
We have bought a few of them new in the family since 05 and there have been no issues apart from tyre wear on a very early model and fuel cooler broke off but that was a recall a few weeks later. One tiny handbrake fault which dealer looked after well out of warranty.
The latest model is far far superior though to drive.

ba_barabus

mickdw wrote: »

From what I've seen of some main dealers, they were putting the incorrect oil in these engines
I would certainly agree with you re the rattling dash and the driving experience of the 05 to 2010 model is pretty terrible. Major improvement with the latest model re steering and handling.
We have bought a few of them new in the family since 05 and there have been no issues apart from tyre wear on a very early model and fuel cooler broke off but that was a recall a few weeks later. One tiny handbrake fault which dealer looked after well out of warranty.
The latest model is far far superior though to drive.

I'd have to agree. It all points to the incorrect grade of oil being used. The lobes were worn smooth when we took the top off the engine. Just shows how much confidence you can put in some service histories.

I should have said earlier I'd never get another used one. The long service intervals seems to just lead to issues. If you buy one new you can make sure its looked after properly.

I think most handbrake issues are down to the switch going faulty rather than anything else.

As said though my favourite bits were its space, motorway comfort, best cruise control system I've encountered and over all feel.

I haven't driven the newer model so can't comment but its nice to sit in. Too familiar however to me having owned an older one.

mickdw

ba_barabus wrote: »

I'd have to agree. It all points to the incorrect grade of oil being used. The lobes were worn smooth when we took the top off the engine. Just shows how much confidence you can put in some service histories.

I should have said earlier I'd never get another used one. The long service intervals seems to just lead to issues. If you buy one new you can make sure its looked after properly.

I think most handbrake issues are down to the switch going faulty rather than anything else.

As said though my favourite bits were its space, motorway comfort, best cruise control system I've encountered and over all feel.

I haven't driven the newer model so can't comment but its nice to sit in. Too familiar however to me having owned an older one.

New one has nicer steering feel and weight and the suspension is changed utterly imo. I could never get any right feel for the rear end of the old one whereas the new one is actually quite good

ba_barabus

mickdw wrote: »

New one has nicer steering feel and weight and the suspension is changed utterly imo. I could never get any right feel for the rear end of the old one whereas the new one is actually quite good

I'll have to give one a try. I was just left with a bitter taste after the last one. I've used the phrase 'overpriced shyte' on more than one occassion.

pcardin

Shocking experiences and yet every "car specialist" in the pub will be recommending this pyle of shyte and tell "ya know those alphas? They're pure shyte. go for diesel passat" :pac:

carzony

my mate bought a 2007 2.0L diesel I think it was. Nothing but trouble. Gearbox fault, then a fault with a sensor in the exhaust and then somthing went wrong with the engine. All this happened within 6 months :eek: He got rid asap.

mickdw

Don't get me wrong. I don't personally own one but in the family we have had a few. I generally think you get what you pay for. All the ones we have had have been new and kept between 3 and 5 years and they have been good.
Alot of the known issues are now a cheaper fix. The steering sensor issue originally needed a new steering column whereas now the sensor can be replaced. Handbrake issues with switch and calipers are not so expensive if you stay away from dealer.
Injectors are being covered free I believe now on the ones that are known to fail.
We have found that the overall cost to keep a new one is quite reasonable and certainly appears a cheaper ownership proposition than alot of its competitors when resale is taken into account.

JohnBoy26

pcardin wrote: »

Shocking experiences and yet every "car specialist" in the pub will be recommending this pyle of shyte and tell "ya know those alphas? They're pure shyte. go for diesel passat" :pac:

No the pub experts will usually tell you to stay clear of a passat and buy an avensis instead "shur it's a Toyota, them things never break":pac:

Leprechaun77

We have five 2012 Passats on the fleet in work. One went back to the garage after losing power (turbo/engine problem?) after 1200kms and was returned 10 days later. For some reason most of them have a creaking dash that hasn't gone away, mine included. It's only minor but it bugs the sh1te out of me. Three of the cars also have a creaking from the steering column, like a loose small spring. One of the guys asked for it to be looked at last week at his service but they said there was nothing wrong. On the plus side it seems to handle nicely as is a reasonably nice place to be.