2002 Volkswagen Passat Sport TDI from UK and Ireland - Comments

Turbo pipework has split twice.

Was letting water into the cabin via the pollen filter seal.

Two central locking faults.

Computer display died requiring a complete replacement unit. The function selector button on the end of the stalk is also seriously temperamental.

Gearbox oil leak left puddles on the drive at 35,000 miles.

Clutch failed at 49k (judder and "grabbing"). No clutches anywhere in the UK for 3 weeks due to "exceptional demand". A common fault in other words. Had to argue to get VW to pay up - they were trying to charge me £1,150 as it apparently damaged the flywheel too.

Water getting into both front footwells in heavy downpours (still not fixed)

Power steering fluid dropping mysteriously every couple of weeks (still not fixed)

ABS warning light comes on intermittently (still not fixed)

Good to drive, but I will be glad to see the back of it.

Cannot fault the engine. It gives excellent performance and even better economy. 55 mpg can be achieved on a motorway run at 70-80 mph in 6th. Pulls hard from nothing - near zero turbo lag. Better than many of the more modern common rail units.

Seats good on first acquaintance, but not great on long stints. Too flat and hard. Good refinement and interior quality.

Appalling reliability and dealer backup. Colleagues have Mondeos, Vectras and even Rover 75's which have had nothing like these problems. VW need to sort out their dealer's attitude too. The onus is always on me to prove the car has a fault. Almost like they refuse to accept that a VW can break down.

Had I not had these problems, I would be ina new Passat by now, but I'm not prepared to risk it at the moment.

Very disappointed with the car, and with VW.

I too had the clutch judder except that the dealership was refusing to do anything about it unless they dismantled the car first, sent the clutch away for "independent inspection" and then would negotiate with VW based on the outcome as to what proportion of it, if any, they would contribute.

That was all well and good, but in the meantime that left me without a car, and with mine in bits. This meant I wouldn't have a leg to stand on if they decided to chuck me a bill for "about a grand" which they initially quoted. They also wouldn't provide a courtesy car for the entire duration. Considering the car was only 18 months old and had 41,000 miles on it I found this disgusting.

I have since learned this is not an uncommon problem with the 130PS TDI Passats and Audi A4s.

As the finance period on the car was half up I cut my losses and after using up all bar the last dregs of fuel in the tank, parked it up outside my house and told the finance company to come and collect it. There were other silly little problems, but they paled into insignificance next to the clutch.

There are far better built and more reliable cars out there. I suggest you get rid of it and move on.

This all sounds horribly familiar.

Water leaks into the cabin are common on the Passat. The pollen filter seals go which lets rainwater directly in through the back of the heater. Further problems come when the two (invisible and well buried) drain holes in the scuttle block up which allows the water to pool up and eventually leak through the apertures in the bulkhead for the heater hoses. The result is sodden carpets and a ruined interior. In another piece of genius design by VW, this torrent passes directly over the ECU that controls the central locking and alarm system, and this UKP300 bit of kit is not waterproofed! If your alarm constantly goes off and you have a wet interior, this is your problem.

After sorting both these faults out on my 2001 example in the space of six weeks, the technician in my VW dealer tells me these are both very common and happen "about every three years". Great! He also tells me clutch failures are at epidemic levels on the cars, and there are none currently in stock at any dealer in the country (Oct 2005). The fault is apparently due to a bearing being inadequately greased at the factory and running dry. Mine didn't have this problem, but only because I sold it weeks after this little chat with a very helpful VW technician.

On the plus side, he tells me the cars are bombproof apart from this little list. That's a relief then!!

My passat is 03 registered and has covered 84k, I have had no problems with water leaking, central locking or the clutch. The car goes like a rocket returns great economy and is generally very good. I guess I am lucky.

'oo Passat tdi 90bhp. Flywheel sheered off the engine this summer. Cost me €1300 to fix - engine had to be removed. Small garage who repaired it said it was a common problem and it was the third one he had repaired. Anyone else have similar problems and have they approached VW about it?.

Original reviewer here. Not heard of a flywheel shearing (ouch!), but I have been told that these engines use "dual mass" flywheels which cost an absolute packet. Eur 1,000 sounds about right, as I was quoted £400 on top of the cost of the clutch! Bearing in mind that was pretty much "parts only" as the gearbox was coming out anyway. Minimal additional labour if they're swapping the clutch out.

I have just purchased a 02 passat tdi (100bhp) with 55k miles up imported from uk (to Ireland) have had it 4 days and the flywheel has just sheared off, glad of my 6 months warranty, but just traded in a 1999 1.6 petrol passat with 155k miles on it and had very little trouble.

Is it just the newer models that are have serious reliability problems.

Seat alhambra, 130 tdi; my car is just five month old and has covered just four thousand miles, it was recalled due to faulty bolts on the tandem fuel pump and I haven't seen the car since, it is now six weeks. when I went to collect the car it was misfiring badly in the six weeks the garage has had the car they have changed the engine management computer; the fuel pump; the injectors; they have flushed the fuel sytem; replaced the wiring harness and now the fly wheel has been blamed. apparently since changing the flywheel the car appears to be running fine, but they will not return it until it has been tested further. as my car is the 130 bhp version and I use it extensively for towing I am very worried about the comments above and comments on other sites regarding this weak component.

My Passatt is ten years old and has taken to collect water in the rear offside footwell, can anyone advise me where it is likely to be coming in from, I can't see any signs, and if something is blocked exactly how I find it and unblock it.

Thank you in anticipation.

In my Passat 2003 I also had a water leak through the pollen filter at 6 months old.

I've also had clutch judder since new, every time I took it back I was told that they could not find any fault.

The on-board computer gives scary diagnostics if a bulb has blown.

I must say that VW were always polite and friendly.

I have a 2002 TDI Passat which has covered 120k with no faults whatsoever, even on the irish country roads. I love this car; my wife has a 2002 TDI Mondeo, which is not a patch on the Passat.

Goto reply to above.

The Mondeo and the Passat are two cars in the same class that are totally different.

The Passat has a better interior, is made from nicer materials, the earlier engines were better, (less so these days, the newer TDCI Ford lumps are pretty good, although not as powerful as VW) and the Passat is smoother on the motorway. But...

That soft suspension that gives the Passat its motorway manners also gives it pretty poor handling; it rolls and pitches all over the place, and that is where the Mondeo is at its best.

Before you reply to this and tell me that your Passat handles better than a Mondeo, think. Do you mean ride? Or handling? In a way these are opposites, for good handling, make the suspension stiff, but you will feel every bump, hence the ride quality will suffer.

I have owned both, the Passat V6 TDI, and now the Mondeo ST TDCI, I enjoy track driving, devour car mags and take pride in my cars and driving.

Comparing the two is pointless. The Passat was a motorway cruiser, and an exceptional one. Super smooth, comfy and the interior was a lovely place to be.

But the Mondeo is a different league on a twisty road. It has balance and feedback levels that the Passat can't match.

Both brilliant, and I do mean that. Totally different though.

In response to above...

I respect your approach to the subject, they are 2 different cars!

I have the Passat Sport TDI 130 01, which has up-rated brakes, slightly lower suspension, among a few other things, and in terms to response on a windy hilly road, the car performed amazingly. I have none of the above problems and the car is at 118,000 miles.

In fact I am stunned to be reading some on the responses on here. Fords have always been a good drive, but in terms of safety, reliability and overall value for money, cars part of the VAG group are a million years ahead of most other cars on the market today - I'm sure I'll be driving VAG cars for a while.

"In fact I am stunned to be reading some on the responses on here. Fords have always been a good drive, but in terms of safety, reliability and overall value for money, cars part of the VAG group are a million years ahead of most other cars on the market today - I'm sure I'll be driving VAG cars for a while." ----Quote----

Whilst VAG cars are well built etc the extra price cannot be described as 'good value for money', especially VW's and Audi's when you can buy Skoda's and Seat's with the same parts for much less money.

I would go as far as to say VAG has been caught up by Ford and other motoring companies and that it is hard to justify the price difference, residuals are probably the major plus point of a VAG these days.

I have the 130bhp '03 Passat Comfortline...

I must say that all the faults that have been identified are common, but it was the older Passat that had many more faults than the new one... the engines were side mounted in the traditional manner and had developed mysterious engine management problems, which set the light off on the dash... of course these problems did not really exist, which lead to a new ECU program to be written and incorporated into the '02 models on...

Also the CV joints were also inferior in the older models compared to the new model...

The Passat is a fantastic motorway car with great handling and smooth ride with a nice feel, but take her down country roads and this is where the handling becomes limp and the ride becomes hard...

The ABS sensor's are only in the front pads, so keep an eye out for the back... the leaking problem in most cases is through the air filter... I had this problem and found that replacing the filter and reseating the casing fixed the problem... I found out about it by accident after power washing my car, and water went into the front passenger well...

A good tip as well is, if your rev counter jumps up to 1000-1100 randomly, it is usually because one of the tensioners is not tensioning properly, which can be expensive to fix, as I have the front mounted model, which involves removing the front bumper... labour!...

Another tip is that if you hear a screech coming from the front wheel... don't worry, stones have a habit of getting caught in between the heat shield and the brake disc...

Overall I love my Passat, although the Mondeo is way superior on the country roads and has greater reliability... I don't like the common feel of the Mondeo... the fact that it's got a Ford badge on it, it just does not have the superior comfort, room and style of the Passat... and in saying that, I'm also not fond of the A4 either... I find it superior but flimsy looking... it does not look like a luxury car... I'm happy with my happy medium...

In addition to my above comment, I forgot to add that the Passat is an individual case; you could get a bad one or a good one... my comments are based on experience and my brother inlaw work for a VW dealership in service, repairs and parts... my best advice when buying a Passat is don't buy a brand new one as they are riddled with faults, try to buy an ex-fleet Passat as they are amazingly maintained and always buy the last model... ALL NEW MODEL VAG CARS HAVE HUGE FAULTS... for example, the new Passat has issues with the electronic ignition and electronic handbrake, and the new golf has issues with the electric windows failing amongst others... these will not be fixed in a hurry either.