2002 Volkswagen Passat GLS review from North America

2 of 4 ignition coils have blown. We play Russian roulette every time we start the car with the remaining two coils, hoping it will run properly. VW says that you can still drive the car, but the engine barely idles, never mind climb a hill.

The driver door cable snapped, keeping the door from latching shut. My wife had to drive to the dealer holding her door shut. Dealer was great, though.

The tires were completely shot at 30,000 miles of highway driving.

We have replaced two headlights in less than two years, which the dealer has to replace because you can't get to them easily. (The owner's manual doesn't even tell you how, it just says "See your dealer.").

Both key fobs are useless. One doesn't work anymore, and the key ring part broke off of the other one. We have to unlock the car by hand. Unfortunately, there is only a keyhole on the driver's side door, so you can't unlock the car from the passengers side.

The LED on the drivers side door that flashes when the alarm is set now just stays on, all day and all night.

Rolling down only one of the rear windows results in a deafening resonance on the wagons. Try this one during a test drive.

Great performance, fun to drive. Decent mileage as well.

This car has made me appreciate how much reliability matters. Toyota and Honda (and Lexus and Acura) are now the only two car companies in the world that I would consider buying from.

I am afraid VW is killing its future chances of success in North America. I know myself and plenty of other twenty and thirty-somethings will never buy a VW again.