VW Passat TDI owners

[deuxlatch]

Any of y'all out there own one of these? I have a 2012 and love the thing, but they are recommending I flush the brake fluid at 50k, along with tranny flush and radiator flush, all together costing me over $500. Seriously? I've gone over 500k on my last 2 trucks and never had to change brake fluid. Is this some kind of tactic the stealerships use now to get more of your money? I understand maintenance and all, but this is a little much. Rant over

Also paid $500 to replace a headlamp that "melted" the wiring harness. Just got a recall notice I will be getting refunded for this.

 

[madwabbit]

dunno man. Everyone I've talked to that owns a VW has issues. They look good, ill say that. (Passat and Jetta in the family) But my honest opinion is buy japanese

I've got two cars that are old, ugly, and paid for. A toyota and a mazda. I put gas and oil in them, and they go. Never had any of these issues and im at ~200k.

No plugs, No tune-ups, No belts, nothing. When I say "put gas and oil in it" thats literally all they take. imo The toyota camry is the "glock" of the car world.

 

[bwalke1]

my wife drives a 2013 passat TDI diesel and she loves it ,no issues so far, have to take it in every 10K to get oil changed and that stuff they put in for the emissions, 35K miles so far so i cant tell you about the 50K service yet but she drives 3K miles a month so it wont be long. she sent me a text of her fuel mileage, 48 mpg. not to bad. i will have to check on that headlamp recall, thanks for the heads up. a lot of dealers require you to do scheduled maintenance to maintain your warranty it's like that with my jeep, is it a money making thing ? you bet

 

[dsonyay]

Basically.. For the radiator.. Do that yourself. Drain it and pour in fresh fluid. Don't flush. If it's only been 2 years the fluid is still pretty. Start the car, turn heater on "hot", idle for about 5 or 10 minutes till air is warm. Shut off engine .. Open drain under radiator. Drain fluid. Drain fluid from plastic overflow container too. Close drain. Pour fresh fluid in radiator. Reinstall radiator cap and start car. Let run while adding fluid slowly into overflow tank to full mark. Most German cars have a little air bleed screw (jokingly called the farfenugen screw) somewhere at the high point of the cooling system. Needs to be cracked a bit while running to allow air bubbles to escape. Buy a good premixed 50/50 universal fluid. Or cut it yourself with distilled water.

Brake fluid. A good independent shop can do this for 100 bucks tops. Brake fluid absorbs water (hydroscopic) and old, water contaminated brake fluid is tough on ABS systems. Germans love their brake systems like we like changing our own oil every 3k miles. There are kits you can buy that make this an easy job for one person. Basically the job entails pushing out old fluid from each end until clean fluid runs out.

Most people ignore brake fluid replacement. You might be OK by ignoring it as well. Time will tell.

 

[dsonyay]

Also wanted to add... Its all about what your time is worth. Dealer wants 500? OK.. Is it worth 500 every couple of years to allow someone else the hassle of doing this for you? The dealer is a business and they rely on service to make money.

Doing it yourself does not void the warranty but it will likely cost you half a day of your time. So which is more valuable? You can also seek out a good independent German car shop and save a bit of money as well.

I work offshore and when I'm off I prefer not spending my time on big maintenance items. I don't mind doing my own oil or coolant drains (I actually enjoy it). But most other stuff will go to shop.

 

[madwabbit]

Also wanted to add... Its all about what your time is worth. Dealer wants 500? OK.. Is it worth 500 every couple of years to allow someone else the hassle of doing this for you? The dealer is a business and they rely on service to make money.

Doing it yourself does not void the warranty but it will likely cost you half a day of your time. So which is more valuable? You can also seek out a good independent German car shop and save a bit of money as well.

I work offshore and when I'm off I prefer not spending my time on big maintenance items. I don't mind doing my own oil or coolant drains (I actually enjoy it). But most other stuff will go to shop.

this kind of mirrors my opinion. if i've got nothing going on some random saturday, I'll change the oil or rotate tires etc just to have something to do. If I'm busy though, I pay them and know its done. (and if it is done incorrectly etc, they are liable. thats quite valuable imo)

 

[deuxlatch]

I appreciate the replies. This is the first German car I've owned and have been pleasantly surprised by it. As for do it myself, I have the tools and know how, but I live in a neighborhood now and the HOA will have a cow if there's even a drop of any kind of fluid on the concrete. I figure I will just let the stealership do it but I will wait to the 80k mark to have it all done at once.

 

[au01st]

My sisters '04 Beetle needed a new water pump at 50k. They are plastic and designed as a throw away part. You will have to use the pink coolant, don't use the universal stuff. It's not that much more expensive just not as readily available. It took my dad about half a day if I remember correctly. It clearly wasn't a bad enough job to stop him from buying a Beetle convertible two years ago. And when sis is ready to buy that convertible from him he has plans for the newer model convertible as well.

I used to do my own oil changes and stuff: Royal Purple, K&N filter, etc. now it's just easier to go to the dealer and have them do it (downside of apartment living vs the house I used to live in).


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[dsonyay]

500 not a bad price considering they are doing tranny, brake fluid and coolant. That's probably including the oil change and air filter too?

Put aside 25 dollars a month in a special fund to do this every couple of years.

 

[paddle007]

What is the factory driveline warranty on you TDI? If it is still covered do the service to their satisfaction.
I'm not suggesting having them perform the maintenance. If you do this yourself document the service and use VW speced fluids. Antifreeze technology and specs seem to change daily. The heat load is higher and the cooling systems are smaller than ever. If it calls for a IAT,OAT,HOAT or PHOAT coolant use it. A proper flush and refill with demineralized water is strongly suggested.

I haven't done the late model TDI but alot of cars become airbound and really should be bled with a vacuum bleeder. You do not want to run your engine with air pockets or bubbles in the coolant.

Do I sound nervous about this. Price a replacement engine and you will understand my concerns.

 

[Hogin]

As a previous owner of 2 New Beetles, my best advice is do the maintenance, and sell it or trade it at 99,000 miles. Once they hit the hundred thousand mark, be prepared for a never ending repair bill. My daughters Passat was the same way. at 100K the repairs went through the roof. Trade or sell before the dreaded 100k nightmare. I will never own another 'new vw' of any kind. Just my opinion of course, but to put it in perspective. I still have a great running 1990 Toyota 4-Runner with god knows how many miles. And a 1961 VW Beetle that has a bazillion or so miles on it. Those are keepers. The new stuff, not so much.

 

[RedStickChick]

I appreciate the replies. This is the first German car I've owned and have been pleasantly surprised by it. As for do it myself, I have the tools and know how, but I live in a neighborhood now and the HOA will have a cow if there's even a drop of any kind of fluid on the concrete. I figure I will just let the stealership do it but I will wait to the 80k mark to have it all done at once.

You can always be one of those people who does it in the parking lot of an autozone.