Phaeton 3.0 TDI experiences
Discussion
MJK 24 said:
The mother is thinking of a used Phaeton 3.0 as her next car. 2008ish.
What're they like reliability wise? Gearbox, turbo, injectors etc?
Would be great to hear from anyone who's run this variant.
Cheers
We have a 2005 one in our fleet and it's the worst car we've ever had, seriously.What're they like reliability wise? Gearbox, turbo, injectors etc?
Would be great to hear from anyone who's run this variant.
Cheers
Despite the car being used for long runs rather than small journeys, fuel consumption is in the low 20s, the satnav disc snapped within a month inside the satnav unit due to overheating which VW refused to do anything about, the DPF failed due to a faulty pressure sensor and VW wanted £2.5k to fix it, the boot wiring chewed itself due to bad engineering but rather than fix it FOC VW wanted £1k for fixing it despite admitting there was an issue with the original part and VW had made improvements, two of the Borbet 19s have cracked and a replacement is £650ish, the gearbox has done 100k since we got the car and now is starting to struggle when warm and to compound the issues someone scraped the whole nearside and drove off resulting in about £5k damage that we haven't bothered fixing as there's no way the car is worth much now, probably worth a lot more in parts. Did I mention VW charge you more for working on the Phaeton than the other stuff in the VW range?
We have had lots of German and Italian cars and scarily it's always the German stuff that has caused issues, the Phaeton being the worst of the bunch.
If the injectors are the same ones as used in the A6, make sure they are the updated ones.
Dealer wanted £2500 to change mine, I managed to get all 6 from the dealer for £1200 as a good will gesture. Look for white smoke from the exhaust when the car is warm and idling. That's unburned fuel from leaking injectors.
I was pissing 100 miles worth of fuel a tank.
Dealer wanted £2500 to change mine, I managed to get all 6 from the dealer for £1200 as a good will gesture. Look for white smoke from the exhaust when the car is warm and idling. That's unburned fuel from leaking injectors.
I was pissing 100 miles worth of fuel a tank.
As a counterpoint I've had a 3.0 Phaeton for the last 5 years and it's been a fantastic long-distance cruiser with very few problems.
It is a heavy car so it's less efficient than the equivalently-engined A8 but still manages to get decent mpg when allowed to stretch its legs:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/thedoctor/d...
Most "problem" Phaetons are caused by bad servicing from dealers who rarely lay hands on the things and, when they do, discover that they're very different to everything else in the VW range. The only congenital issues that they suffer are:
1) Timing chain tensioners - Models prior to 2006 can suffer from rattling chains on start-up. It's not serious in the long-run but is an engine & gearbox out job to fix.
2) Swirl flaps - like all of the VAG 3.0 TDI engines, the swirl flap actuators can sometimes go bad
3) Diesel injectors - some of the early V6s had the chocolate injectors which can go bad leading to a smokescreen from the exhaust. Not sure if VW has a technical bulletin out on this for the Phaeton and replacement can be expensive.
4) Boot lid wiring harness - The tube can become detached from its base which can result in a cracked rear windshield when closing the boot. The part was updated in the last few years so look for a small raised collar around the ball joint hinge. I had the harness replaced on mine and was charged around £300 for the pleasure (not £1000)
5) Power steering pipework - can become corroded and start leaking fluid leading to a pump failure. Best inspected before purchase as can cost ~£1000 to fix.
6) Batteries - the car's systems consume a lot of power when the ignition is turned on and the batteries can run down surprisingly quickly (you'll get "Start engine" warnings when this happens). When the batteries are low, lots of spurious faults start popping up to do with the engine, suspension etc... These often result in a VW dealer recommending control module replacements at huge expense but can usually be solved by just charging the batteries. (also make sure that they're the proper 95ah AGM batteries and not some Halfords cheapies.
Other than that they're excellent, underrated cars which, provided you're not looking for a car to make a statement, will shuttle you around in great comfort. The best one to go for would be a GP1 (look for the silver trim around the main control knob on the screen) as almost all the problem I mentioned above were solved by then (2007 onwards). Avoid the GP2 (the first with the touchscreen controls) as the facelift was done on the cheap and there are lots of system problems that are unlikely to ever be ironed out.
It is a heavy car so it's less efficient than the equivalently-engined A8 but still manages to get decent mpg when allowed to stretch its legs:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/thedoctor/d...
Most "problem" Phaetons are caused by bad servicing from dealers who rarely lay hands on the things and, when they do, discover that they're very different to everything else in the VW range. The only congenital issues that they suffer are:
1) Timing chain tensioners - Models prior to 2006 can suffer from rattling chains on start-up. It's not serious in the long-run but is an engine & gearbox out job to fix.
2) Swirl flaps - like all of the VAG 3.0 TDI engines, the swirl flap actuators can sometimes go bad
3) Diesel injectors - some of the early V6s had the chocolate injectors which can go bad leading to a smokescreen from the exhaust. Not sure if VW has a technical bulletin out on this for the Phaeton and replacement can be expensive.
4) Boot lid wiring harness - The tube can become detached from its base which can result in a cracked rear windshield when closing the boot. The part was updated in the last few years so look for a small raised collar around the ball joint hinge. I had the harness replaced on mine and was charged around £300 for the pleasure (not £1000)
5) Power steering pipework - can become corroded and start leaking fluid leading to a pump failure. Best inspected before purchase as can cost ~£1000 to fix.
6) Batteries - the car's systems consume a lot of power when the ignition is turned on and the batteries can run down surprisingly quickly (you'll get "Start engine" warnings when this happens). When the batteries are low, lots of spurious faults start popping up to do with the engine, suspension etc... These often result in a VW dealer recommending control module replacements at huge expense but can usually be solved by just charging the batteries. (also make sure that they're the proper 95ah AGM batteries and not some Halfords cheapies.
Other than that they're excellent, underrated cars which, provided you're not looking for a car to make a statement, will shuttle you around in great comfort. The best one to go for would be a GP1 (look for the silver trim around the main control knob on the screen) as almost all the problem I mentioned above were solved by then (2007 onwards). Avoid the GP2 (the first with the touchscreen controls) as the facelift was done on the cheap and there are lots of system problems that are unlikely to ever be ironed out.
May be the early ones were a little "unfinished" but Lindvale Romford certainly didn't help the experience that's for sure. W8aMinute, who do you use for servicing etc. as even Russell Automotive quoted £760ish to replace the boot harness with the modified version.
I forgot to mention the xenons also have issues and will flicker and switch off randomly due to the ballasts failing, although this is common for other manufacturers too.
The other thing is, it's a really big wide car so unless you have Costco sized parking bays, getting in and out of the car in a regular bay can be really difficult with another car parked up next to it. While it's big on the outside it's not that big on the inside too. Yes you get a fair bit of legroom but having two baby seats in the back for example on either side means there's no way an average person can sit in between, and they definitely won't go next to each other. Our Alfa 164 was definitely more roomy on the inside.
I forgot to mention the xenons also have issues and will flicker and switch off randomly due to the ballasts failing, although this is common for other manufacturers too.
The other thing is, it's a really big wide car so unless you have Costco sized parking bays, getting in and out of the car in a regular bay can be really difficult with another car parked up next to it. While it's big on the outside it's not that big on the inside too. Yes you get a fair bit of legroom but having two baby seats in the back for example on either side means there's no way an average person can sit in between, and they definitely won't go next to each other. Our Alfa 164 was definitely more roomy on the inside.
I used Alan Day City for the work. I'll go and check the invoice but it was nowhere near £1000.
It is a big car but I haven't had too many problems parking it in London. If you're going from a Golf to a Phaeton you'll probably notice the difference but like all things to do with driving a car, you eventually get used to it.
It is a big car but I haven't had too many problems parking it in London. If you're going from a Golf to a Phaeton you'll probably notice the difference but like all things to do with driving a car, you eventually get used to it.
stemac76 said:
They are like all German products, designed to appear well engineered, but usually are anything but... All executive German cars I've ever owned have been nothing but trouble, there are few truly reliable cars on the market nowadays unfortunately...
My A6 was great for 7 years and 116k miles before I sold it.Phaetons, particularly slightly later ones (~2007 on) tend to be pretty well behaved; the only remaining fault at this point was manifold flaps which are a £300 fix unless you particularly want to pay VW £1500 to replace the manifolds rather than simply repair them (with parts available directly from VW).
Good cars, major Q appeal
Good cars, major Q appeal
Thanks for this thread - been reading with delight.
Im looking to replace my wifes car soon, was thinking a rangey / Q5 but then she wanted a Fiat 500. Fine, but my daily is a 911 and we have 2 kids and a dog......
So we need the third car still, Ive always admired the Phaeton, by the sounds of it I just need to get a 2007 onwards with a full service history. Thatll be the perfect family car to whaft around in
Beats the C Class estate I was looking at!
Thanks all
Im looking to replace my wifes car soon, was thinking a rangey / Q5 but then she wanted a Fiat 500. Fine, but my daily is a 911 and we have 2 kids and a dog......
So we need the third car still, Ive always admired the Phaeton, by the sounds of it I just need to get a 2007 onwards with a full service history. Thatll be the perfect family car to whaft around in
Beats the C Class estate I was looking at!
Thanks all
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