Have You Folks Read This?

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He makes some good points. I've owned a lot of VWs over the years, but this Cabrio is my last one. Any time I talk to VW, I walk away unimpressed. But then, I'm not impressed with how ford or GM handle anything either. But it's not too late for VW to adopt some more user-friendly strategies. Question is, will they see to it before it's too late? Or will toyota get to take-over VW after they take-over GM. (:>)

Erm...what's the secret warranty? What are the magic words? I MUST KNOW!

So if VWs are El Garbagito (seeing as many are made in Mexico), can the same be said of Audis? Porsches?

How is BMW for reliability? ;-)

This is a really good read. I haven't had any such problems with my VWs however its always good to be wary.

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I dunno. I just bought a Prius, having been pushed over the edge with my faltering MPG and my uncertainty over what's happening to my W8. I didn't get rid of my VW though, since I love it. That makes it even harder.

I can't answer those questions. I got my VW in lieu of an Audi or BMW (both of which I test drove), and I can't afford a Porsche. (I am not a BMW or Porsche person, either.) All I can say is that much of this article resonated with me, and it really saddens me since I entered into my relationship with VW and my dealer with such positive feelings.

Well, when I was researching cars (for over two years before I settled on my W8), I became aware of the fact that folks are going to wax ecstatic about a particular car while others called in the biggest piece of you-know-what on the face of the earth. Part of it is the luck of the draw. I'm not sure that pertains to my car and W8s in general though, having read many have developed transmission problems right after the warranty runs out. I am really afraid that's where my car is heading, and I sure hope they will consider it a pre-existing problem. In fact, I developed yet another problem in a string of problems right before the warranty expired and dumped it at the dealer's. Then they kept it for 9 days, trying to figure out what its transmission problem is, which undoubtedly is connected to its drop in MPG. No results even though VW of America was in contact over it....

From a Passat W8 to a Prius? I'm sorry folks, there is something else going on here.

And I'm tired of the "People's Car" analogies. That ended when Golf I/Rabbit came out. Yes, the original GTI was good cheap fun, but not a People's Car.

The Beetle (original) was a people's car, the Citroen Deux Cheveaux was a people's car, a Fiat 500 "El Topolino" was a people's car, even a Austin/Morris Mini was a people's car, but nothing from VW for 3+ decades.

Glen McLean - Ottawa

'87 Jetta GLI, '97 Golf CL, '03 GTI 1.8T

(Remove the ".NIT.invalid" from the end of my address)

I have told you exactly what is going on. If your mpg dropped to ca 16 from the already poor (but posted and hence expected)

20-22, you might just be a bit aggravated,. esp. in conjunction with the high gas prices. And I can't say I have much confidence in VW in general now, since they can't figure out what is wrong with my car and why it isn't shifting properly. OTOH, Toyota owners seem to be VERY happy with them, and they seem to have very few problems.

Also, if what you said was an allusion to price, a Prius with all the goodies is not a cheap car.

That was also my impression.

Problems with scanners? Sounds very fishy. Especially if you know how it works. I would say, that the problem is exactly the opposite: you can't change the parameters even if you want, because you usually need to "login" first for which you need a password which is not public. "Someone scanning the computer changed something".... Well, I must admit, it is difficult to live without a brain. Problems with a K-line wire connected to a car radio? Of course, the radio connector VW uses is not a standard ISO connector, it just look similar. So, if he does not know what he is doing, maybe it would be just better to leave it to professionals? Or is it common in US to perform a self surgery? :)

Problems with wiring diagrams? Of course. The same problem you get with every manufacturer. At volkswagen you can at least buy them for money, for example at

other manufacturers do not givem them even for the money.The factory diagrams are pretty clear, used them myself and never had aproblem to find where the electricity goes. Once again, if he forgothis brain when leaving his home.... And so on.... The funny thing is, that if you look around the mighty web, you will find plenty complains about every manufacturer on this planet, lexus and toyota included. And all of them sound somehow the same. Is it a national american hobby or what? :))

For example, you can take the

replace "lexus" with "VW" and you are set to go :)

came out. Yes, the

The brasilian bult VW Fox for 8000euro is as close to a people's car as it can get. But somehow, people do not want such cars and usually buy something used.

I know that the Prius is not an inexpensive car, and my comment was not an allusion to price. It is a good car, there are several in my neighbourhood, owners seem happy with them.

I can't even comment on whether it is better or worse than a VW Passat, or any other car for that matter.

It is just that it is a completely different auto. If I was shopping for a new car, those two vehicles would NEVER appear on the same short list.

If I was in the market for a hybrid, or a super-high mileage car, I would have the Prius on my shortlist. If I was in the market for a Euro-sedan, a bit bigger than a Jetta, I would have the Passat on my shortlist.

I just would not have both cars on the same list.

My only beef about a Prius would be that after 40 years of manual trannies, I can't drive unless my right hand has a stick to play with, and my left foot a clutch to stomp on. Otherwise, I just twitch a lot and get confused (and bored).

Glen McLean - Ottawa

'87 Jetta GLI, '97 Golf CL, '03 GTI 1.8T

(Remove the ".NIT.invalid" from the end of my address)

allusion to price. It is

other car for that

car, those two

the Prius on my

have the Passat on my

can't drive unless my

Otherwise, I just twitch

That is all very true, and your hand would be in withdrawal. I can't really compare the two cars, because they are totally different, and the pleasure one gets from driving them emanates from totally different things. The only connection is that the really poor mileage in my Passat was the final straw that drove me to get the Prius. I will say that I enjoyed driving my Passat yesterday, even with its poor mileage. It has nice power (as one would hope), and accelerates VERY quickly, in spite of what Consumer Reports said. Of course, the major pleasure one gets from driving a Prius is the mileage....

But it is kinda to be expected, isn't it? The W8 was never too economical. That's why they never had a slightiest chance in europe.

It really depends where you usually drive. In a typical crowded city with lots of stop'n'go traffic the Prius is unbeatable. And W8 is horrible of course :) But if you do a lot of miles outside the city, then Prius isn't much cheaper to run than a passat tdi. Not to mention, that prius is a smaller car.

what i dont understand is what do you expect from a 300+ hp engine? to have fuel consumption like a diesel?

my poor old nexia with a 1.5 75hp engine does 18~23 mpg in town! in my country fuel isnt really cheap but i get along, not to mention the price difference between a nexia and a passat.

and if you run the prius widely on open road, your fuel consumption should be the same as a regular petrol powered car. that's because it doesnt save any energy by braking and running on batteries. maybe it's aerodynamics improve fuel efficiency but not substantially to justify it's price.

and what exactly is wrong with your passat?

I have no such expectation--and neither vehicle is a diesel.

That is the problem: they can't diagnose what is wrong with it. It is not chagning gears properly (in automatic), and the mileage is substantially worse than the posted (and henced expected mileage).

I understand that, and I certainly did not complain about the normal mileage it got. I AM complaining about a substantial DROP in mileage, esp. when VW cannot diagnose the problem--which one can only assume is related to the fact that it is not shifting into gear properly and instead just keeps revving.

I am comapring my Passat to its previous performance--under the exact same driving conditions. Of course, that aside, the Prius excels in stop and go traffic and also (it seems) when one can glide along at one's own pace. But then the Passat does relatively well then too.

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if youre still under warranty demand that they take a look at it thoroughly!

or maybe you just pushed some "sport" button and forgot about it =)

The problem started in the low 40s probably and was still continuing as my car went out of warranty. I did document this well, and I do expect them to recognize this as a pre-existing problem when and if they get to the bottom of it!

Have you considered to change the dealer?

I can feel your pain, it is not much fun to own a space shuttle, when there are only locksmiths around, and you need a rocket scientist. The W8 is not a simple car to diagnose, and really really pain in the

*** to work on, as the engine compartment is actually too small for that engine.

Good idea! I will see what I can find out about the other dealers in this area. In the meantime, VoA sent me a letter saying my car is just fine. :-(

And part of the problem may be that the one person who actually had some training on the W8 is not necessarily the peson who works on it--although one would hope that's the case....