2006 Volkswagen Passat Comfortline TDI from UK and Ireland - Comments

Brakes were replaced at 10k miles due to warped front discs; I argued with dealer about warranty.

Turbo failed in a cloud of smoke on the motorway after about 3 months; replaced by the dealer under warranty. This took a month while I drove around in a 1.2 litre basic Polo.

EGR valve failed at 30,000 miles, again with clouds of smoke and poor fuel consumption until fixed. Allegedly failed as a result of the turbo failure clogging it up and my using supermarket diesel!

CD changer packed in; dealer changed it and lost six of my CDS, which were stuck in it. I did not get these back.

Oil usage of 600 miles per litre. Dealer says this is within normal range for the engine, but insists on using expensive fully synthetic oil at £8 per litre.

Engine warning light came on intermittently, which was worrying. Still it has not been rectified, although periodically reset by dealer.

Aircon failed - lost gas from compressor. Replaced under warranty; another week driving a Polo.

At 35000 miles, the auto gearbox failed terminally. It started juddering when pulling away, then got worse and was replaced by dealer at a cost of £4,000 (thankfully under warranty).

Various minor electrical problems with instrument lights, fan and windows.

Dealer service extremely poor. Dealer is reluctant to admit any problems with car. Courtesy car is always a basic Polo or even a Corsa on occasion. Dealer can also be quite rude and unpleasant to deal with.

Car has been very unreliable, and I have been especially concerned by the gearbox failure, and the engine light coming on persistently.

When it is working, it goes well, and is quite nice to drive.

Comfort is generally good, but the seats are quite hard and give me pins and needles in my feet on long trips.

Fuel economy is also quite good.

Overall, it could be a good car, but I am seriously let down by poor quality control and mechanical failures.

Dealer is a nightmare.

Dear Passat owner.

I am currently considering a VW Passat CC, 2.0 Cr 140 Diesel.

I am somewhat perturbed by your comments, particularly on the engine's reliability!!

Do you think you have been unlucky, are these common VW faults?

Interior problems?

Please let me know.

Jamie.

There is a well known fault with the VW autobox. Allegedly this is something to do with the oil and requires the gearbox oil to be changed every 20000 miles. It's expensive.

Like all cars, there are good ones and bad ones. But I think there are quite a lot of bad ones, more than VW are prepared to admit.

Worse still, the dealer service seems to be universally pathetic. Rude at worst and just plain hopeless at best. Honda, Toyota and Mazda dealers are all much better. I've managed to get rid of the Passat above and now have a Honda.

Happiness reigns!

To the person asking about Volkswagen reliability, Consumer Reports shows Passats from most model years getting mostly "much worse than average" in reliability. (Although CR gives then very high scores as a car when they are working right.)

I wish the Passats were better in reliability because I would seriously be thinking of buying one if it weren't for that. I think they are really good otherwise and also good looking. But the two people I know that have Passats confirm the reliability problems.

My 2006 Passat TDI has been plagued with several recalls, the fuel pump died after only a few months and left me stuck in traffic until towed to the dealer. Rubberized coating on buttons rubbed off, making them white instead of black with a symbol. In December an "injector" failed, again leaving me stuck on a city street. Not being under warranty anymore, it cost me quite a lot of money to replace. Now, a second injector has failed - same story. There are 2 remaining injectors that could also fail. I was wondering if anyone else has had such problems? I feel the company has let me down, especially if the injector problem was known while the car was still under warranty. Sorry for the lengthy prose, but it feels good to tell the story and get it off my chest.

I have a 2003 Passat 1.9 TDi 100bhp, I have been very lucky so far, never been let down, and always keep on top of servicing with correct oil and parts. The only thing was water leaking into the passenger footwell from below the windscreen run off, that's been sorted with lots of silocone, bad design flaw.

Just passed 150,000 miles and 4th gear is starting to whine, I can get it repaired for 300 euro, otherwise it's pulling well and clutch is still strong. The aircon pump is getting a bit noisy, but to be expected after 6yrs and 150,000 mls.

I have a friend that works in a VW garage and he says the 01 to 05 Passat's are better than the newer ones for reliability.

Am very happy with this car.

John.

My daughter just bought a Passat TDI with 30,000 miles on it, today. I wish I had came across this information before she bought it.

I sat down at the computer tonight and started and started checking on the price of oil filters and fuel filters for it, I almost went into sticker shock. Also, every 80,000 miles you have to replace the timing belt, or if it breaks your valves and pistons, try to exchange holes. They put a new water pump on to cuz it's buried in the engine, and you can't get at the water pump without taking the whole front of the engine apart. Water pump, belt, seals, and labor. $1000.00.

She looked at a Nissan Stanza before she bought the VW. I guess will be a new experience for both of us. Gary.

"Also, every 80,000 miles you have to replace the timing belt,"

This has to be done on ALL vehicles that have a timing belt. Usually it's every 60,000 miles your supposed to replace it. The timing belt is just basic maintenance. And if it breaks because you didn't change it than that would be your fault. When it breaks, you should only have to replace the valves though, not the pistons.