Passat owners - how do you like them

"Rob Guenther" wrote in news:37LZc.25916$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com:

My friend's wife was driving. I'm under the impression she didn't realize the pan had cracked and drove home without oil. It costs a lot more that way. ;-)

Bob

Eh, I got that beat. 3 miles from work, 2 miles from shopping, parents are 120 miles away but I only see 'em a couple times a year. ;-)

-- Mike Smith

Why do you guys have a car in the first place? 35 miles to work, shopping within walking distance and the closest family at 325 miles. Parents don't even live in the same time zone, so 1000 miles a weekend for a family visit is almost a monthly affair.

Wasn't there a RED warning light on!

Oil pressure light comes on when pressure drops below about 26psi so there's plenty of warning before engine melts down.

I don't know what kind of cars you have driven but my brothers beat the snot of of auto trannys. They last the life of the car which where we lived as kids was usually no more than 20 years but more likely

10-15 years. As someone else mentioned a little power braking now and then is no worse that towing with the car which is done more often in Eurape than in North America.

Driv>Oh that's GOT to be good for the tranny... I still want to try it tho, maybe

Jim B.

"Woodchuck" wrote in news:4137c7a9$0$252$ snipped-for-privacy@reader.city-net.com:

I don't know the details of the incident, but I know it began with a cracked oil pan and ended with over $1000 in repair.

If it was a very small crack, maybe she was able to get out to the interstate before loosing enough pressure to put on the light, and they were doing construction then that would disuade many people from stopping, regardless of how many dashboard lights came on.

Bob

Bob

'Cuz a) I do go places other than work and the grocery store, b) mass transit sucks where I live, and c) it's 3 miles of dense traffic through some bad neighborhoods - if I tried to ride a bicycle I'd be dead within a month. Oh, and d) 'cuz I'm an arrogant, excessive American, and I'm

*entitled* to a car, dammit. ;-P

-- Mike Smith

-Why is that??

--I drove nothing but manuals from 1977 until 1994. Until I move to the sticks where I'm not dealing with a clutch all day: I'll take the auto. I'm not trying to beat anybody off the line. And I'm guessing you haven't driven the Passat V6 auto.....it will get up and go just fine. Tranmission choices are a matter of personal preference, and I don't share your view that they suck. Sorry.

--The first oil change trade in was strictly a matter of availaibility. Had the diesel been in the states in Deceber, it would have been the first choice. I don't "DIY" any more for the same reason I don't do manual trannies anymore. Got too many other things to do, and the technology has passed me by.

--My total average speed where I live/work is 42 MPH (been measuring this with the onbboard computer since 2000: what race do I need to win? And I gurantee I'm getting better mileage than nearly any gas powered ride of any size. There is more than a transmission issue here: it's a heavier ride than the Jetta or the first generation Passat TDI's.

--Really? I drove a 94 Mustang with an automatic....it was running fine when I traded it in at 140K miles....

OK then.

>

His WIFE was driving, didn't he already tell you!?

Don't think too highly of the ladies do you.... most women I know, know that when a red warning light comes up on the dash that it's pretty serious and they should pull over and get the cell phone out to call CAA or someone to help.

There's a lot that don't realize that. Of course, there's a few guys like that too, I know one that had his oil light come on and figured he'd stop at tne next gas station and put some more oil in (smacks forehead)

nate

Rob Guenther wrote:

"Rob Guenther" wrote in news:upw_c.30916$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com:

There are a lot of modern cars that have red lights that light up on the dash frequently, and they don't really mean anything.

Many cars have red low fuel indicators, many cars have red lights to let you know it's time to change the oil.

Yes, it would be a good thing for everyone to know what every indicator on the dashboard means before driving any car, but in reality, many people don't.

Bob

I specifically used gender neutral nouns and pronouns.

(Except when I mentioned that it was my friend's wife (which it was) as a way of indicating that I probably didn't have the whole story (it being

2nd hand)).

Bob

"Rob Guenther" wrote in news:vcG_c.373$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com:

Oh I wasn't focusing on you, I was refering to Baudolino's comment about Wives driving....

It would also be nice if everything were standardized. Germans seem to be pretty good about this. I don't recall any red lights in my old 1.8T that didn't mean "stop now." I know in the Porsche the low fuel light is amber, as it should be. I think that the brake pad sensor light is red, not sure I agree with that, but for the most part red means "something is wrong, abort mission NOW" and amber means "something needs attention at some point in the near future." Even the most auto-illiterate could understand that if that were an industry-wide standard.

nate

A RED light would suggest the owner to maybe open the hood or open the glove box to check the manual and see what it said. But then again everyone's in a hurry...

I've heard of someone ignoring red light, then flashing red light with warning chime, then constant warning chime..... $14000 later a new engine was installed in their car.