2002 Passat Reliability

I have 92000 miles on my 99 GLX Passat and had very few repairs! Bottom line cars cost $$$$ to keep going, some more $$$$$, some less $$$$. But it sounds like you got a good Passat...

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com () wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:

I can't satisfy your 50K mile requirement, but my '02 Passat GLS 1.8T Wagon with 33K has required only replacement of expendables (plus the ignition coil recall of course).

Come on over to the Passats group on yahoo and bring your post.......the water's fine!

Or, just send an email to " snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com"

When I replace my '91 Passat it will probably be with a late model Passat or Audi A4 ('98-up). The 1999-2002 Passats/Audis I have driven are nice to drive. Just maintain them and they should be good to you!!!

We had a long standing misfire problem in our 2002 1.8T that began just before the 50K warranty ran out and then dragged on for about 10K more miles. Woodchuck disgnosed the problem correctly right here in this newsgroup, but it took four visits to the dealer for them to finally figure out that #1 and #2 coils needed replacement. Since it was still under that drivetrain warranty, it cost us less than $100 total to get it fixed (they may be incompetent, but our dealer bends over backwards to keep you happy).

But the dealer is a 160 mile roundtrip drive and we did a lot of driving to get it fixed. Especially since we left it with them for a week twice. Then when it had about 63K on it, I was checking the brake pads for wear (I just checked one side of the car) and found a blown outer CV joint boot. I took it in for replacement and they found the other one was blown, too! Fortunately, they used rebuilt axles and the whole bill with an oil change was a reasonable $550. But while I was waiting, I resolved to buy an extended warranty (as Woodchuck recommends).

I checked into the warranties...it seemed like WarrantyDirect was best and the estimate was about $1500 for 2 years, $2000 for 3 years. Plus a $100 initial inspection cost. Then while I was perusing area VW dealer websites looking for a GTI...I saw that VW was offering a $1500 owner loyalty cash back on new Passats. Suddenly, I started to do the math: $2000 + 1500 = $3500 advantage to just simply buy a new Passat. So we traded the old one in on a 2007 2.0T. It was a "loaner" with 5500 K miles, but it was spotless except for a few tiny stone chips and was $3000 under sticker. Although the styling of the new Passat is somewhat ummmm...unusual?..., the new Passat is IMO head and shoulders above the

2002 B 5.5 in drivability and performance. And it's quiet on interstates. I'm very impressed with it and glad we bought it. And we recently made a 1200 mile round trip to Texas and got 33.7 overall mpg on 89 octane fuel.

So, in my opinion...if you want to keep your 2002, for piece of mind you probably ought to get an extended warranty. Otherwise, trade it in.

Bill

I have a 2002 Passat Wagon 1.8 Turbo since new. Now 57K miles.

The vehicle had many initial quality problems which, thankfully, were covered under warranty, though nevertheless annoying and inconvenient.

Post warrantly, an A/C sensor has failed. Diagnosis and repair around $400.

The most consistent problem has been ignition coil failure. VW had a recall regarding these but has been repairing them only as they fail. Two of mine failed on two separate occasions and, ironically, noting your post, a third just failed yesterday. I fully expect that the fourth (one per cylinder) will also fail at some point. Because they should be covered under the recall, it is not economical to repair them in advance, but their failure, which is sudden, makes the vehicle effectively inoperable.

The symptoms are a "bounce" after which the vehicle begins to vibrate in relation to acceleration. The check engine light then goes on.

When the car is working, it works very nicely. However, the iginition coils are your biggest problem. Failure can leave you stuck somewhere.

Given the age of your vehicle and my experience, I would guess that one or more of the ignition coils has already failed. If you are lucky, all four have already been replaced. If not, be prepared.

See

The article states that VW was to start replacing the coils proactively. As far as I know, this never happened. I never received notice of that recall and the last time a coil failed my dealer claimed they were only being replaced as they fail.

If I learn anything differently, I'll update this message.