V6 Golf 4Motion Luxury or Liability
Discussion
I'm about to buy one but have nearly been scared off by various reviews slating the reliability of the ESP and the extortionate amount of money needed to fix it.
Nearly every owner-review I saw mentioned this (along with ongoing ABS, ECU, MAF sensor, lambda sensor and bush issues).
I popped into a garage this morning to see one and both the EPS and ABS lights were on – I left quickly.
So, is this a real issue or just a symptom of the unlucky few being more vocal?
How much is it to replace a MAF, Lambda etc?
In the company i owned when i was living in Sweden we purchased 2 from new , i ran mine in properly my partner thrashed his from the word go
We sold both at around the 100,000 km mark , mine had been totally trouble free his had been a nightmare ,, new engines new gear box alsorts of problems
With regards to my car i can honestly say i never had a problem and was sorry to see her go,,, dealing with VW on the other hand was another story
We sold both at around the 100,000 km mark , mine had been totally trouble free his had been a nightmare ,, new engines new gear box alsorts of problems
With regards to my car i can honestly say i never had a problem and was sorry to see her go,,, dealing with VW on the other hand was another story
I've had a V6 4mo for 9 months and it's been pretty good - it needed a new coil pack (sorted by the dealer before I bought it) and a new MAF sensor (they all do at some point), but other than that it's been great. The V6 makes a lovely noise and pulls like a train, the 4wd means that you really can make use of the power and the spec is sufficient to make it a very nice place to spend some time. The only downside is the fuel consumption, but then you don't buy a car like this expecting mega-mpg!
Unfortunately I've had to trade it in for a 2001 Polo GTi as the Golf won't fit in the garage at my new house...looking forward to the change (and the Polo's light weight "nippiness"
but will miss the Golf.
Unfortunately I've had to trade it in for a 2001 Polo GTi as the Golf won't fit in the garage at my new house...looking forward to the change (and the Polo's light weight "nippiness"
but will miss the Golf.MAFs do invariably need replacing at some point but are now changed on an exchange basis and I believe are only in the region of £50 and are a quick and easy DIY job.
A failure of the brake pedal switch (again, easy and cheap to replace) can make the ESP/ABS etc. lights illuminate so it doesn't always indicate something expensive.
Front strut top-mounts are a common failing on all Golf MKIV chassis based cars though (Leon/old A3/Octavia/Golf).
The only other common fault that I'm aware of is the radiator fans. Any car you look at, check the fans while the climate control is turned on. Both fans should turn at a slow setting and should then get faster when need. If the fans aren't on at all but pulse to the high speed constantly, they're broken and you'll be looking at a £500 bill to replace them.
I just convinced the dealer to replace the fans on my R32 under warranty.
A failure of the brake pedal switch (again, easy and cheap to replace) can make the ESP/ABS etc. lights illuminate so it doesn't always indicate something expensive.
Front strut top-mounts are a common failing on all Golf MKIV chassis based cars though (Leon/old A3/Octavia/Golf).
The only other common fault that I'm aware of is the radiator fans. Any car you look at, check the fans while the climate control is turned on. Both fans should turn at a slow setting and should then get faster when need. If the fans aren't on at all but pulse to the high speed constantly, they're broken and you'll be looking at a £500 bill to replace them.
I just convinced the dealer to replace the fans on my R32 under warranty.
That is exactly what the fans were doing in a car I just checked out. I started it up from cold and within 1 minute the fans came on briefly. Then stopped for a few seconds, then came back on again and kept repeating this. I thought it was odd but just thought it was a quirk of the engine cooling mgt. I didnt think anything was actually wrong!
GREAT TIP to look out for!
Anyone got any similar tips useful tips for a chap in tire kicking mode?
GREAT TIP to look out for!
Anyone got any similar tips useful tips for a chap in tire kicking mode?
Best tip... have a look at this one!
www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/95493.htm
sorry, I couldn't help myself.
www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/95493.htm
sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Mine has been no better than average in terms of reliability with 2 MAF sensors, a set of plug leads, failed clutch pedal mounting, failed water temp gauge and failed CD changer in 2 years of ownership. The car itself is OK as an all rounder but doesnt go or handle as well as the spec suggests it should. At the prices they are now going for they make sense if you view them as a nice high spec car for reasonable money.
A local VW main dealer recently offered me a 17K mile late 2003 car with very high spec for just under £11K. I wanst tempted due to a correspondingly poor PX offer on my 2001 V6 so decided to hang on to it as a runabout.
As an alternative to a GTI or V5 they make a lot of sense as you pay hardly any more to get the nice spec, smooth V6 and the 4wd.
I regard ours as not a great car but not a bad car and certainly worth a look at the right price.
A local VW main dealer recently offered me a 17K mile late 2003 car with very high spec for just under £11K. I wanst tempted due to a correspondingly poor PX offer on my 2001 V6 so decided to hang on to it as a runabout.
As an alternative to a GTI or V5 they make a lot of sense as you pay hardly any more to get the nice spec, smooth V6 and the 4wd.
I regard ours as not a great car but not a bad car and certainly worth a look at the right price.
Hello all,
I am in despair with my vw 4motion, i need some advice...
Every time i drive the car now my abs and esp warning lights come on, if not straight away usually within 20 miles. It's driving me bonkers. I have had it in for reair 4 times. The sway sensor and air mass sensor have been replaced and some guy has fiddled with the wiring loom (allegedly) and the cheeky blighters have reset the ecu so the fault dissapears for a couple of days, but no one seems to be able to fix it. I have read here that maybe the brake switch s responsible. How definate is that? Could I replace it myself or i am in or a big repair bill?
Many thanks!!
Tim
I am in despair with my vw 4motion, i need some advice...
Every time i drive the car now my abs and esp warning lights come on, if not straight away usually within 20 miles. It's driving me bonkers. I have had it in for reair 4 times. The sway sensor and air mass sensor have been replaced and some guy has fiddled with the wiring loom (allegedly) and the cheeky blighters have reset the ecu so the fault dissapears for a couple of days, but no one seems to be able to fix it. I have read here that maybe the brake switch s responsible. How definate is that? Could I replace it myself or i am in or a big repair bill?
Many thanks!!
Tim
It could be a sign of the ABS pump on the way out, or faulty abs ecu board... have you tried hitting the anchors in the wet to get the ABS to kick in - if the wheels lock up for more than just a moment and you don't feel a pulse through the brake pedal then your ABS needs looking at. My VR6 had a faulty ABS pump (quite rare) and the warning light came on intermittently at first then stayed on from start up 
..expensive job, both the pump and control unit....bah!
..expensive job, both the pump and control unit....bah! Where have you had it in for repair ?
I'm no mechanic but how on earth can a faulty MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor cause an ABS or ESP warning ?
It could be the control module thats gone (expensive repair) or something cheap like a sensor.
You should get it into a VW dealer or specialist and find out exactly what is returning a fault code. Will cost around £60 but better than wasting money on a MAF !
Remember that the Audi TT uses the same haldex 4wd sytstem so while it might be difficult finding a 4motion owner who's had this problem there maybe someone on www.audisport.net who has had it.
Also search on www.uk-mkivs.net
I'm no mechanic but how on earth can a faulty MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor cause an ABS or ESP warning ?
It could be the control module thats gone (expensive repair) or something cheap like a sensor.
You should get it into a VW dealer or specialist and find out exactly what is returning a fault code. Will cost around £60 but better than wasting money on a MAF !
Remember that the Audi TT uses the same haldex 4wd sytstem so while it might be difficult finding a 4motion owner who's had this problem there maybe someone on www.audisport.net who has had it.
Also search on www.uk-mkivs.net
Thanks guys,
Because i'm a lazy bugger, I didn't explain that the car had the maf sensor repaced because the car was running lumpy whilst under warranty, i thought it might have somehow been related, but obviously not! I'm not too up together with mechanics!
I have noticed some strange things with my brakes though, on numerous occasions when braking medium to hard sometimes the abs kicks in but it doesn't feel right at all. I used to own a mk111 gti and a seat leon cupra and i guess they both had similar systems to the 4motion, but when the abs kicks in in my car it just seems to lose braking power and just judders uselessly until i ram my foot right down hard and then they kick in properly. It doesn't usually happen so i asumed it was just a weird characteristic of the car, but maybe that is something related to the warning lights?
I read that the brake switch could also cause the problem or bad wheel alignment?
I am gonna take the car to get the once over on monday but I would like to be forearmed this time so the mechanics don't make a monkey out of me (again!).
Cheers fellas.
Because i'm a lazy bugger, I didn't explain that the car had the maf sensor repaced because the car was running lumpy whilst under warranty, i thought it might have somehow been related, but obviously not! I'm not too up together with mechanics!
I have noticed some strange things with my brakes though, on numerous occasions when braking medium to hard sometimes the abs kicks in but it doesn't feel right at all. I used to own a mk111 gti and a seat leon cupra and i guess they both had similar systems to the 4motion, but when the abs kicks in in my car it just seems to lose braking power and just judders uselessly until i ram my foot right down hard and then they kick in properly. It doesn't usually happen so i asumed it was just a weird characteristic of the car, but maybe that is something related to the warning lights?
I read that the brake switch could also cause the problem or bad wheel alignment?
I am gonna take the car to get the once over on monday but I would like to be forearmed this time so the mechanics don't make a monkey out of me (again!).
Cheers fellas.
I bought mine two years ago (2001 model, had 33k miles, now 47k) and it has been fairly unreliable ever since. A string of minor components have needed replacement: Fuel/air mix meter & radiator fans (slow speed broken) today, several sundry minor sensors previously (and the brake discs??). Costs for defective bits, labour & diagnostics running at around £1k/year. One warning light or other comes on every 6 months (though the car never feels any different before or after the repairs).
Now it also needs a "four-wheel-drive control unit", so the VW dealer claims - I think the previous owner replaced it three years ago too (I'm checking this). Just trying to establish (apart from the obvious) what this unit does - because with the ESP currently switched off I'm still getting bags of traction in the wet, so the 4wd must be working. The replacement cost of £660 for the unit + labour seems unattractive at present, especially as I can't see what it'll do for me. Anyone got any clues? Does it lock in permenant 4wd when it fails? and if so, why wouldn't I just leave it as it is?
Now it also needs a "four-wheel-drive control unit", so the VW dealer claims - I think the previous owner replaced it three years ago too (I'm checking this). Just trying to establish (apart from the obvious) what this unit does - because with the ESP currently switched off I'm still getting bags of traction in the wet, so the 4wd must be working. The replacement cost of £660 for the unit + labour seems unattractive at present, especially as I can't see what it'll do for me. Anyone got any clues? Does it lock in permenant 4wd when it fails? and if so, why wouldn't I just leave it as it is?
Vee said:
Marki said:
It is permanent 4x4 anyway , it can redistribute the drive 100% front or 100% rear if it feels it is a good idea...
No !
It's front wheel drive unless they slip, when drive is then tranferred to the rear.
Correct, front wheel drive until its needed, and even then it can only shift up to 50% to the rear wheels.
I would also check the upgraded Haldex Control System (which can lock to permanent 4x4) to see if this can be used to totally replace the orignal controller. It costs less the the VW fix, you can install it yourself, and its better.
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