1995 Volkswagen Passat GLX Wagon review from North America

Power window stopped working at 82500 miles.

Major breakdown on 98750 miles.

Very expensive tires.

I purchased my Volkswagen car from a dealer in February 2002. By that time car had 82500 miles.

A week later the rear left power window stopped working. Fortunately it stayed closed and couldn’t be opened. I took the car to VW dealership and it cost about 350$ to have the rear window motor and regulator replaced. At this time also I realized the car will need a new tires. However my only options available if wanted to keep the original equipment size tires 215/50/15 were tires with prices over 150$ a piece. The only manufacturers of tires of sizes were Dunlop and Good Year.

Later in the fall in September 2002, the problems started arising again. One night when driving in a big rainstorm, when passing through a puddle on the road, engine stalled and didn’t start. I thought that might be the wires got wet and after the car dries later should be able to start it and drive it. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. When car was brought to certified technician, he suggested that first in order to inspect it, engine needs to running. He replaced the starter and the car seemed to be OK. Regretfully the car lasted only a week before another major breakdown happened. I was driving on a Highway with speed about 65 Miles per hour, when suddenly I heard a noises of breaking metal parts and a smoke stated to coming from the engine. Immediately I was able to pull over in the breakdown lane before an accident happened.

By that time car had slightly below 100 K miles. And car had to be towed again to the mechanic, who fixed it about a week ago. And on the next morning the bad news came first: There was a hole in the engine cylinder block, therefore the car was already a junk. What might have happened as he suggested is that the

Head gasket is blown and this caused antifreeze to mix with motor oil. Then not having oil pressure pistons are moving without lubrication. It seemed that a piston rod broke apart, causing the piston to rip the cylinder block…

Car had the oil changed just a 3 days ago before this happened, so obviously can’t say it was my fault, because the engine had enough oil. Also the gauge for the engine temperature never showed there is any sign of overheating.

I finally ended up with 2,600$ replacing the engine with used one with less than 50 K miles.

Unfortunately Volkswagen covered these models with 10 years/ 100 000 miles Powertrain Warranty. However being a second owner of the car, warranty automatically reduces to 50 000 miles. The 100 K miles Power- train warranty is given only for the first owner of the car. What a wonderful news!!!

Also my Car insurance company refused to reimburse me for towing the car, since as they said:

“No Accident has occurred. You are only covered for towing which results from an accident. You have a mechanical failure and therefore we do not cover this. You are solemnly responsible for all charges”.

Would they be happier if an accident has happened that day? Or what if I wasn’t only a 15 minutes form my home when that happened. My mechanic said he has never seen anything like that before. He said that might happen on 50 years only once. As a matter of fact it happened just to me.

Mechanically, it's almost identical to last year's model, but the Passat gains a more sophisticated look and represents one of the best values in the market. Powered by Volkswagen's acclaimed V-6, the Passat offers unmatched levels of standard amenities in the family-oriented midsize segment. When comparably equipped, the Passat beats its primary Asian rival by a couple thousand bucks, but not by the reliability of his Asian rivals.

Once accused of designing cockpits with all the warmth of day-old bratwurst, VW has responded with new interior fabrics, color-coordinated trim and plastic trim described as having a "luxury feel," newly designed door panels and handles, switches and ventilation controls, and, yes, dual folding cupholders. The instrument panel is easy to read yet full of information. A minor glitch is that the digital clock fades to almost invisible when sunlight hits it.

Another issue is the lack of a proper glove compartment. The passenger's airbag uses up that space, and VW's solution is a lockable bin between the front seats. It's none too large and the lock appears as though it would yield to a hefty screwdriver without much struggle.

We preferred the standard five-speed transmission. It doesn't have quite the velvet-smooth operation of a Honda transmission, but it coaxes more muscle from the V-6 rated at 172 hp. Of course, sporty driving comes at a cost: the EPA ratings of 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway aren't great, but the 18.5-gallon fuel tank means a maximum driving range of more than 450 miles.