A leak in the windshield seal allowed water to seep into the electrical system, causing some dashboard lights to flicker on and off, at will.
The locks freeze easily. You're often able to open the door, then unable to close it because the latch freezes.
A short-circuit appears to have occurred in one of the heated seats. The seat starts to smoke when I turn on the seat heater, and it almost caught fire -- I notice smoke and a brown burn mark on the back of the seat. So now I don't dare use the heated seats.
A passenger door handles is sticky. Had it replaced using a Volkswagen part by a licensed mechanic who specializes in Volks. The thing still sticks.
The AC is toast. It doesn't cool at all. Had it tested for leaks last summer. None were found, so the freon was topped up. This got the system going, but it still wasn't cool enough for my liking -- would have expected better for a near-luxury car described as a Poor Man's Audi.
When the AC did work, the car lost power. This car typically roars up steep hills at 75 MPH -- set the cruise control and it holds its speed well on any incline. However, when you turn the AC on, the car lost all power on hills. I would set the cruise to 75 MPH and the vehicle would struggle to stay at 60 MPH.
The windshield heater isn't very powerful -- certainly not powerful enough to burn off the icy condensation that we get in a Canadian winter.
The rear defogger also isn't very powerful. It takes a long time to burn off fog and ice. Before buying the Passat, I owned a Nissan Sentra Classic, the cheapest car Nissan sells. It had a better windshield heater and better rear defogger than the Passat.
The clamps and mechanisms that hold the windows on the driver and front passenger doors have both rusted out and have had to be replaced in the past year.
I was lured to this car by its size -- very roomy, especially in the back seat area -- and its tremendous fuel mileage. Not to mention the fact that has that famous "German engineering." It's even built in Germany, not Mexico.
Fuel wise, the car is unbeatable. It just goes forever on a full tank. It has fair-to-good passing power. The gears and clutch are responsive.
Perhaps because of its size, it's hard to turn. Also the high back-end makes it difficult to back up, since you have no idea how close you are to anything. The trunk is huge, very roomy.
Because of its interior size, it's generally comfortable. However, I find that there is almost no floorspace for the driver's left foot. It is crowded in by the wheel well.
Volkswagen also lacks many of what I would call "creature comforts". This car has no glove compartment and just one cup holder -- and it's not even accessible to the driver, since it's in the back seat.
The front seats do not push back very far. At 5'9", I'm comfortable. But I can imagine anyone over 6' would find it cramped on their legs. The leg room in the back is very generous, however (at the expense of the people in front).
Volkswagen's motto is "Built for drivers." That might be the case, but wouldn't it be better if they were built for people? If they were, the cars might be more comfortable.
"Built For Drivers" is Pontiac's Motto
"Drivers wanted" is VW'S Motto.
I now have 193000 miles on this car. The more serious probems that I have had are the fuel injection pump ($1500) and vacuum pump (after replacing the master cylinder and many other components before figuring it out, and a rubber pully that came loose from the rest of the pully causing a bad squeal. Other than these problems, I drive 80 miles per day at 80+ MPH. It is still fun to drive.
No good legroom for front pass???are you kidding me?i am 6 feet tall and I feel very good!and there is space for 6.5 tall guys!car is very roomy!you cannot complain about this for sure!
I bought a used 97 Passat TDI with 157000 miles. It runs perfect and it's been the most reliable car I have purchased. Some of my previous cars have been Toyota Pickups, 528i 1998 BMWs, and Nissan Maximas.
There are a couple "must dos for 1996-1997 Passats. Change all of the vacuum lines and do not forget the vacuum line inside the engine control unit (ECU) or "computer" or whatever you want to call it. It is located on the passenger side firewall next to the cabin filter. If the vacuum lines are leaking - especially the ECU vacuum line - the car will run like crap. Once I changed my vacuum lines, no engine lights or problems persisted.
Also change the timing belt if you don't know how long ago it was changed. While doing the timing belt, do the water pump, valve cover gasket, the tensioner and a couple of other parts. If you have a good mechanic they will let you know. All these other things don't cost much to replace during the timing belt service, because they are all very accessible.
As far as being the car being hard to turn, it's completely "false!" It's the best turning car I've had. The person writing issues with this car is not realistic.
These car are soo coveted these days it's hard to find one.
I bought my VW TDI ('96) brand new and have following comments:
Pros:
1. MPG - the highest I ever achieved was around 49mpg (please note this is the only pro I have about the car)
Cons:
1. Expensive to maintain and reliability -- following are just some examples:
a. ECU - after my emission test failure, the dealer contested that there was anything wrong with the car. Ended up contesting several months to find there were recalls to address excessive exhaust etc. Changed both ECU and fuel injector to solve the problem
b. Instrument panel - first lights went off so I could not see the instrument in the dark. Then, the tachometer stopped working just after the warranty expired. This was an expensive fix.
c. Moonroof motor shorted - cost about $400 just for the parts. I managed to replace it.
2. Regular maintenance are very cumbersome such as oil change - removing the bottom pan is a pain, and the location of the drain and filter is inconvenient.
3. Expensive and frequent timing belt change. I will stop here.
I now know more about automobiles and how to fix them thanks to this vehicle (since this is forced on me). Further, I also know how bad dealers are when it comes to knowing their own products.
I also know how fanatic TDI owners get... because they need a support network to get this thing running. Good bunch though. Will I buy another VW? Never.
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