Faults:

Left and right front bearing.

Temperature gauge sensor.

Coil packs.

Battery.

Brake light pedal switch.

Camshaft positioning sensor.

General Comments:

Overall, the car runs great, even for a 2.0 litre. Trans and engine have no major problems. Body is in excellent condition.

Most of the repairs are maintain items. Do yourself a favor and learn your vehicle inside out. Study it, get a manual and do the repairs yourself; it will save you thousands, and keep you on the road safe and happy. I have done it. Once you have replaced those items, you don't have to replace them again for another 90 thousand miles or so.

Faults:

The first problem encountered was with the engine coils. They began to fail within the first 6 months of owning the car. Had a repair done, which cost over six hundred dollars, and within a week, the new coils began to fail again. We took the car to the dealership, because we discovered a recall had been issued, where they were once again replaced.

The sunroof leaks into the passenger compartment when it rains heavily, and though there seems to be no official recall on this problem, the dealership will perform the required repairs. I have read that this never resolved the problem for many owners.

The service engine light came on, and it seems to be the vacuum hoses are the source of this new event. You can only purchase the parts through Volkswagen, and they are around $300.00 plus in US currency. The labor to make repairs is also around the same amount, so in order to repair these eight year old hoses, it will cost over six hundred dollars.

The battery began to fail, but as a side effect of this, it caused many service engine lights to come on, and the dealership never mentioned that a failing battery would cause this result, and it apparently does not show up on a scope of the computer, which costs in the range of one hundred dollars to have done. The only way I discovered this little problem, was when the car wouldn't start one day, and after replacing the battery, the idiot lights all went out.

Some of the electronics seems to be in the first stages of failure. The car no longer alerts you if you leave the lights on, and I have a feeling that is just the beginning.

The driver's side rear door lock no longer functions with the key fob, and has to be locked manually to ensure the car is secure.

General Comments:

When it is running well, it is a nice car to drive, but the troubles seem to be coming at an ever increasing rate.

The interior smells like Crayola Crayons.

Faults:

Light bulbs gave out all the time.

Headlights - replaced many times.

Timing belt - at 80K.

Front disks warped - replaced twice.

Heated seats overheated - recall.

Battery gave out.

Alternator gave out.

Car rusted in less than 100K and less than 10 years, and VW would not honor the warranty.

Engine light came on many times.

Engine mount gave out.

Electronic ignition gave out.

Water pump replaced.

Rear suspension hanger gave out - took months and many trips back to the dealer to fix.

Wiper blades had to be replaced every year, as would not clear the windshield.

Fuses blowing.

Shocks in rear and front gave out.

Excessive tire wear, and had to keep bringing the car back for re-alignment.

General Comments:

I get the car from the dealer as a dealer warrantied pre owned, and it was a very good idea, as I could not keep up with the repairs on this car. I pumped many thousands of $$ into the car, and when Volkswagen said that they would not honor the rust warranty, I called it quits, and said that enough was enough, and sold it for a fraction of that I paid, and for less than the many thousands of dollars I put into this car.

The dealer close to where I work in Toronto (not where I purchased it) had the car so many times it was not funny, and I was very frustrated. I kept bringing it back and back.

The hanger for the rear suspension was gone - a bearing of some kind, and they had replaced the rear shocks. When they realized that they were not covered, they called me and asked me to bring the car back in. I did because the knocking was still not fixed. They promised that they would fix it this time. What they did was take out the shocks and put the old worn ones back, and pushed the car outside and called me back to pick up the car. This was maybe the 7th or 8 time I had the car into them. I picked up the car, and still the same problem, and I had to go to an after market VW specialist and ask them, and they were able to tell me what the problem was. I took it back to the place where I got it, and they managed to fix it. It was a nightmare, and I was anything but happy with what happened.