Passat plagued with problems? Restore some faith for me

[karl922]

Hi guys, I was originally after a golf for around 5k but it seems you get more for your money with the passat.

I'm after something economical and with a half decent interior. I might be looking at a very well specced passat tomorrow but after spending about 3hrs tonight looking at common faults I'm kind of put off.

Injectors
Handbrake
DMF
DPF

The list was endless, what's peoples opinions on these?

Found a 2.0 tdi with xenons, leather and dsg, anything I should worry about? Or even consider something else?

[Jonboy_t]

I have an '02 plate Bora 1.9 TDI 130bhp. It has almost 200,000 miles on it and has had little more than consumables changed on it in 7 years. Pretty much identical car to a Passat (I believe?).

Bullet proof. Get one. Just not the 150bhp engine - it's the same engine as the 130 but the turbo is wound up to 11 to produce the extra 20bhp. The explode. Lots.

[Fattyfat]

OP is probably referring to the later model passat.

[gregpot2000]

Yep, 05-10 I believe. I would admit I have heard alot of bad things about potential problems reading on forums, but that's just forums not personal experience

[dave7692]

My Parents have had an '06 2.0TDI since mid-'07 and the only fault it has had were the injectors about 18 months ago, which were then replaced at cost to VW.

Other than that the car has been faultless, its generally Mum's car but for 3-4 years she regularly clocked up to 60 miles a day driving all over the place so it's not like its not been used much.

[Bill]

I looked into Octavias (which you should consider...) with that engine and read about all sorts of issues.

[karl922]

Thanks up to yet guys, yeah it's the newer shape I will be looking at. I've heard the injectors are now being sorted by VW which is one less thing to think about :-).

[Pablo16v]

Sold my 2007 Passat 2.0tdi estate 2 years ago with 115K on the clock. I had the injectors replaced by VW under recall (the car was running fine at the time I might add), otherwise it was only servicing and tyres to pay for.

[Fubar1977]

Bill said:

I looked into Octavias (which you should consider...) with that engine and read about all sorts of issues.

My dad had a 55 plate Ocatvia with the same engine and DSG gearbox.
Had no issues until about 70000 miles when it spat a turbo.
Still not as bad as you might think, £600 for a recon turbo, fitted, and otherwise flawless.
DSG boxes are expensive to repair/replace but generally pretty reliable.
For me I would be looking at the 6 speed manual.
DMF is a possible issue with most modern Diesels, I`ve been there and bought the T-Shirt.

Particle filters are not actually a big problem as long as the car gets regular longish runs at full operating temp.

Every taxi I see round here is a Diesel Octavia and they get a hard life.
That speaks volumes to me.

[StangGT]

Fubar1977 said:

DSG boxes are expensive to repair/replace but generally pretty reliable.

erm... not always!

[Rich1973]

Add variable vane turbo to your list too. My parents 08 plate 140 needed it replacing at 60 odd thousand miles. Owned from new with full VW history.

[Rich_W]

karl922 said:

Hi guys, I was originally after a golf for around 5k but it seems you get more for your money with the passat.

I'm after something economical and with a half decent interior. I might be looking at a very well specced passat tomorrow but after spending about 3hrs tonight looking at common faults I'm kind of put off.

Injectors
Handbrake
DMF
DPF

The list was endless, what's peoples opinions on these?

Found a 2.0 tdi with xenons, leather and dsg, anything I should worry about? Or even consider something else?

Injectors is more the earlier cars (up to circa 08/09 and is being covered by Goodwill if full history.
Handbrake is normally a switch
DMF not an issue on DSG cars generally
DPF Not an issue if you buy the right car for your needs. If you only do a handful of miles around town consider a petrol instead.
EGRs and Turbos are pot luck really.

[arguti]

Have a 2006 2.0 TDi 140bhp Touran with 72000 miles owned since new with full VW main deal history.

ABS controller went, currently on 3rd turbo - previously 2 started passing oiland recently clutch slave cylinder went and destroyed clutch and flywheel, fractured rer coil springs- smokes like Hiroshima on start up in winter - most items replaced under warranty fairly ok to drive but most expensive car I have run - and my main driving cars are per-1997 Alfas.......go figure

Design-wise immensively practical car in terms of load space etc just not reliable

[Fubar1977]

StangGT said:

Fubar1977 said:

DSG boxes are expensive to repair/replace but generally pretty reliable.

erm... not always!

Not always what?
Posts like this, with no actual explanation are less use than a chocolate fire guard.

A recon DSG gearbox, including fitting, in most 2.0TDi VAG cars will run you about £3500.
If the car is looked after and the fluids are regularly changed they are usually reliable.

[BE57 TOY]

Are BMW autos more reliable than VAG DSG?

[Golaboots]

I've got a 12 plate passat 2.0tdi as a company car. It is the most benign and boring car ever but has been reliable in 33k miles since new.
You can do much better.

[GOG440]

karl922 said:

Thanks up to yet guys, yeah it's the newer shape I will be looking at. I've heard the injectors are now being sorted by VW which is one less thing to think about :-).

Friend of mine had one, the elctronic handbrake packed up leaving them stranded and with a hefty bill (about 1k afaik) for replacement of all the actuators and control gubbins.

[Vaud]

Common problems, or there are a lot on the road and so lots of problems reported on the forums?

If you are after predictable motoring, I would always look to whatever taxi drivers are running. They have car age limits in many places, but I see mostly Toyota and Skoda around us running 100k-300k mile examples.

Interestingly, none have Passats.

[GOG440]

Fubar1977 said:

StangGT said:

Fubar1977 said:

DSG boxes are expensive to repair/replace but generally pretty reliable.

erm... not always!

Not always what?
Posts like this, with no actual explanation are less use than a chocolate fire guard.

A recon DSG gearbox, including fitting, in most 2.0TDi VAG cars will run you about £3500.
If the car is looked after and the fluids are regularly changed they are usually reliable.

Not trying to be a pain, but if he is buying a 5k car there is a good chance a 3.5k bill would be more than he could afford to spend on fixing it and would end up scrapping the car.

Personally I wouldnt buy it.

[StangGT]

Fubar1977 said:

Not always what?
Posts like this, with no actual explanation are less use than a chocolate fire guard.

A recon DSG gearbox, including fitting, in most 2.0TDi VAG cars will run you about £3500.
If the car is looked after and the fluids are regularly changed they are usually reliable.

I was referring to dsg reliability. And yes, I've got one. And no, it hasn't been reliable. And yes, if you do some Internet research, you will find that dsg boxes have their fair share of problems. Is that a better post for you?