How reliable is the Mk5 Golf GTi?
Discussion
I think squeaky cambelt pulleys and the odd leaky water pump are the main ones to look out for. Had them changed under warranty the other week (3 years old and 36,000miles). Other one to watch for is the ABS modulator which has been known to fail early. Both issues are easy to diagnose (do a cold start for the belt/water pump and check the Stability Control light goes off when ignition is turned on for the modulator), but both can be expensive. Full cambelt change is circa £400 and new modulator is about £1,100.
What may sound like a wheel bearing is often uneven wear on the rear tyres caused by the suspension geometry.
Otherwise, there's no reason they wont be happy for 150k+. Plenty of cars out there with the 2.0TFSI and in standard 197bhp form they're pretty unstressed.
Overall (despite the recent thread on here) they really are a great car....rapid enough for most UK roads, good steering feel, great chassis balance and good damping and also immensely practical. They even sound pretty good!
You may struggle to find one on 18s that hasn't been curbed, and repairing them is difficult due them being turned and lacquered. Leather is an option worth having, as is the multi function steering wheel, but the latter is a rare one, and difficult to find on anything that hasn't had ever box ticked on the options list.
What may sound like a wheel bearing is often uneven wear on the rear tyres caused by the suspension geometry.
Otherwise, there's no reason they wont be happy for 150k+. Plenty of cars out there with the 2.0TFSI and in standard 197bhp form they're pretty unstressed.
Overall (despite the recent thread on here) they really are a great car....rapid enough for most UK roads, good steering feel, great chassis balance and good damping and also immensely practical. They even sound pretty good!
You may struggle to find one on 18s that hasn't been curbed, and repairing them is difficult due them being turned and lacquered. Leather is an option worth having, as is the multi function steering wheel, but the latter is a rare one, and difficult to find on anything that hasn't had ever box ticked on the options list.
Edited by ArosaMike on Monday 2nd January 18:11
ArosaMike said:
What may sound like a wheel bearing is often uneven where on the rear tyres caused by the suspension geometry.
^This^ Mk5 Golf's don't like Bridgestone tyres. They saw tooth the edge of rear tyre (nsr in my case) creating a rumble @ 30-40 mph. And that was on a 3 yr old 30k mile car!!
Stugots said:
^This^
Mk5 Golf's don't like Bridgestone tyres. They saw tooth the edge of rear tyre (nsr in my case) creating a rumble @ 30-40 mph. And that was on a 3 yr old 30k mile car!!
Was Sport Maxx's on the back of mine. Dub dealer changed them before handing the car over to.......Federals! Hilariously/dangerously oversteery with them on the back and SportContact 3s on the front. Journey home when I got it was 'interesting'. I had the ESP intervening pretty much every time I turned!Mk5 Golf's don't like Bridgestone tyres. They saw tooth the edge of rear tyre (nsr in my case) creating a rumble @ 30-40 mph. And that was on a 3 yr old 30k mile car!!
Stugots said:
^This^
Mk5 Golf's don't like Bridgestone tyres. They saw tooth the edge of rear tyre (nsr in my case) creating a rumble @ 30-40 mph. And that was on a 3 yr old 30k mile car!!
Probably a combination of camber on the Golf and the Bridgestone's behaviour (typically they have stiffish sidewalls, for example). The EP3 Civic Type-R was fitted with them as standard and featured the same trait.Mk5 Golf's don't like Bridgestone tyres. They saw tooth the edge of rear tyre (nsr in my case) creating a rumble @ 30-40 mph. And that was on a 3 yr old 30k mile car!!
There is a very common ESP unit failure in the mk5 Golf (and a lot of other German cars). Google "Teves MK60" and you'll find lots of pages about it. VW will charge you about 1500 quid to fix it (although it can be done much more cheaply) and under the new rules it's an MoT failure.
Do NOT buy a car with the ESP light stuck on.
Do NOT buy a car with the ESP light stuck on.
kambites said:
Do NOT buy a car with the ESP light stuck on.
Equally check it comes on with the ignition and goes out (i.e. that the bulb is still in).Might be worth doing an ABS stop to check the modulator too. Generally it's the solenoids that die/stick, so if you exercise the modulator it may show up any issues that are lurking.
kambites said:
... VW will charge you about 1500 quid to fix it ...
Dunno where you're going. But it was never that much 
VW were "goodwilling" cars with dealer history. Old unit was IIRC £1000~ and 2 hours labour. Now there's a repair kit at circa £200 plus 2hours.ArosaMike said:
Equally check it comes on with the ignition and goes out (i.e. that the bulb is still in).
Such an old wives tale about removing them. Oh and to the OP. The ABS fault doesn't affect Gtis
Different unit.Generally the GTis are pretty bombproof.
Rich_W said:
kambites said:
... VW will charge you about 1500 quid to fix it ...
Dunno where you're going. But it was never that much VW were "goodwilling" cars with dealer history. Old unit was IIRC £1000~ and 2 hours labour. Now there's a repair kit at circa £200 plus 2hours.And if it doesn't affect GTIs then the other unit has a very similar fault, because I saw one showing the same symptoms when I was looking and it was explicitly the GTI I asked our local dealer about. Mind you our local dealer is particularly rubbish - they told me that VW never made a car called the "Corrado". What unit does the GTI have then, and why is it different?
It certainly is used in the Octavia VRS, because that's what we finally ended up buying and the VRS owners club site has a massive long-running thread about the fault and Skoda UK's response to it.
Edited by kambites on Monday 2nd January 19:36
Rich_W said:
Such an old wives tale about removing them.
Oh and to the OP. The ABS fault doesn't affect Gtis Different unit.
Generally the GTis are pretty bombproof.
You can get solenoid failure on any ABS modulator. Ultimately it depends how hard the previous driver has driven. They're usually good for about 100,000 or so actuations. Still worth checking to be sure, and I'm pretty sure I've seen a few people report failure on their GTIs on various forums...Oh and to the OP. The ABS fault doesn't affect Gtis
Different unit.Generally the GTis are pretty bombproof.
Rich_W said:
Having changed more than a few. 
1.6FSIs and the TDIs are the cars I would say suffer. Golfs, Jettas and Tourans. The Part number is different for the GTis. Not sure how it's different internally.
Are you sure it's actually a different unit, not just VW coming up with a way of charging more for the part on the GTi? The Octavia VRS definitely uses the part and it's mechanically very similar to the mk5 GTi. 1.6FSIs and the TDIs are the cars I would say suffer. Golfs, Jettas and Tourans. The Part number is different for the GTis. Not sure how it's different internally.
Well they all look the same. But given they ahve different part numbers I'll assume VW have a reason for that.
Also worth pointing out that Skodas and Seats do have a habit of using part bins in their build. For example the brake pedal switch on the first Gen Octavia was from a Mk3 Golf. Despite the age differences.
Also worth pointing out that Skodas and Seats do have a habit of using part bins in their build. For example the brake pedal switch on the first Gen Octavia was from a Mk3 Golf. Despite the age differences.
The difference in part number will be largely due to different softwares. Continental only make one modulator design at a time. Depending on what the manufacturer want, it will have more or less functions (from ABS alone, all the way to full DSC function and eDiff control), but the basic hardware design (pump and actuators) is identical across each generation of modulator. The MK60/MK25 has now been superseded by the MK100, but the Golf Mk5 and 6 were developed before the MK100 came out.
But either way...it's got more to do with the owners driving style than actual component reliability. If someone relies on the ESP every day, you'll significantly shorten the life of the modulator!
But either way...it's got more to do with the owners driving style than actual component reliability. If someone relies on the ESP every day, you'll significantly shorten the life of the modulator!
blearyeyedboy said:
About 3mpg worse compared to V Power or Tesco's 99 stuff. I wondered if it idles roughly too, but that could just be my imagination.
99 will obviously be better, but I would assume that the engine has a knock sensor and thus can adjust ignition timing to suit other grades of fuel.My friend runs his 55 plate on 95. Has done since he got it 2 years ago. Runs perfectly fine and returns low to mid 30's mpg and still feels plenty quick.
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