New Car Feedback

I was ready to pull the trigger on a 2019 GTI when I found out they're buying back manual GTIs cause of a severe stalling problem.

It's funny that VW keeps having issues with things that other car companies solved 20 years ago. Leaky sunroofs, stalling manuals etc.

I'm glad they're moving Golf production from Mexico back to Germany.

I thought most auto companies solved this problem
over a 100yrs ago. How is this even still a thing?
 
I thought most auto companies solved this problem
over a 100yrs ago. How is this even still a thing?

It's the computer software, it's not a mechanical issue. And VW hasn't been able to fix it, lol, so they're buying back cars. That company never ceases to amaze.
 
it may not be "cool" but the Sienna minivans have a ton of room, 3 rows of seating that even adults can use and room behind the 3rd row. 3rd row folds down for more cargo space. They now have all the bells and whistles with automatic doors etc. Mine is a 2005 and still doing great. She's a little beat up in the looks department but dependable as hell.
 
I would toss a hand up for CX9. They drive amazingly well, are not hard to work on, and relatively inexpensive.

I beat on one hard as a rental a few years back. Impressed me enough to be considering buying a 2015 cx-5 to replace our 2003 4runner. (It's most likely going to Florida to be with a family member. It can't take another few salty winters )
 
If I wanted a reliable car I’d avoid VW. Love the upscale interiors and how they drive but having owned 4 or 5 I learned the hard way. Never again.

I drive a Tacoma and my wife 4 runner. This is her second one. Before that she had aHonda Pilot. None of these have ever been in the shop for anything but scheduled maintenance. Very pleased with any of those 3.
 
I was ready to pull the trigger on a 2019 GTI when I found out they're buying back manual GTIs cause of a severe stalling problem.

It's funny that VW keeps having issues with things that other car companies solved 20 years ago. Leaky sunroofs, stalling manuals etc.

I'm glad they're moving Golf production from Mexico back to Germany.

Wow, I didn't hear about this. My '17 is a manual and doesn't have this issue. Is it for start/stop equipped cars only? Admittedly, my clutch was replaced before the car was even broken in due to slipping in almost every gear lol but I went into it knowing I would upgrade the clutch anyway. The OEM one is trash.

I love my GTI but will echo that if reliability was my main concern and I relied on it as my main car to get me to work everyday without fail, VW wouldn't be at the top of my list. Especially one with a bunch of features that will inevitably start having issues.

If I was in the market for a new SUV, I'd get a 4runner and drive it till the wheels fall off.....which should theoretically take forever. They're pricey but so worth it.
 
I was hoping for more reliability. But ive replaced at a minimum of a brake caliper per annum (after having the system professionally flushed and replacing all the flex brake lines, water pump, power steering pump, master cylinder, backing plates on rear brakes, a number of O2 sensors- and that's on top of routine maintenance etc. Currently it has an EVAP leak that no Toyota tech can trace down. I've replaced 1200 in parts on that alone. This one just had more gremlins than most

1200 bucks is potentially nothing, in that span of time... what's the mileage on it?

It also smells like you've been sold some snake oil. Were the calipers actually frozen? Those backing plates are typically "optional". Hell mine
rotted off my ES330 and my mechanic buddy just tore them off, no harm no foul. The only downside is there is more brake dust on
the wheels because the plates used to trap a lot of that shit.

Also being that this was a used car when you got it, if someone else put sketchmo reman shit on it, that stuff fails pretty fast and can put you in the bucket fast.

The evap thing is nutty though, I take it you've already replaced the gas cap?

All this aside, though, A decent brand to transit to is Mazda if you're not going to get a Toyota product. Test out the CX9 and go from there. A friend of mine has one of them (CX9 I think) and he's pretty critical of, well, everything, and he's never bitched about it at all. Otherwise I'd be getting texts and pictures about how f***ed up it is, etc... lmao. Also the only car my ex had ever bought that she stupidly gave back to her ex husband during divorce, that wasn't a piece of shit, was a mazda... I really wish she had kept that car because it would have saved me a lot of money vs the junk ford shitstar she
bought after that...

Also as much as it probably pains you to do it (or your wife makes clown noises about it) consider a minivan, something like a Honda Odyssey or a Sienna is way more comfortable and practical than most typical shitty FakeUV/crossovers. The fuel econ is likely equal or better, and provides wayyyyy more useable cargo space and they usually ride a whole hell of a lot smoother. Not to mention as your dogs get older they won't have to climb/jump as high to get in and out of the vehicle. SUV/FakeUV/crossovers are often shitty and full retard oversold, overpriced trendy mediocritautomaton NPC garbage, and rarely deliver enough to make the juice worth the squeeze, for anyone that is actually paying attention. And before anyone says "but wat about the snow" what f***ing snow? We get about 20 days of garbage max, and that's on a record bad year which happens like once a decade, most of time that number is 10 or less) and
it's nothing that can't be handled easily with a set of snow/winter tires. Some of those vans offer AWD now, too. (not that it actually matters).

-Mike
 
Admittedly, my clutch was replaced before the car was even broken in due to slipping in almost every gear lol but I went into it knowing I would upgrade the clutch anyway. The OEM one is trash.

If you buy a new car knowing you're going to have to swap out the clutch, there's a really great chance the car is a piece of shit to begin with.... just saying... [rofl]

-Mike
 
If you buy a new car knowing you're going to have to swap out the clutch, there's a really great chance the car is a piece of shit to begin with.... just saying... [rofl]

-Mike

LOL well, the expectations are different when you're modifying the car. I knew the strengths and weaknesses of the platform before getting involved. I was ok with it knowing what I was planning on upgrading anyway. Each has its pros and cons.

If I was looking for a headache free platform to just get me around, it wouldn't be the one I got....but, at that price point, it wouldn't give me what I was looking for in the performance category either.

For sure, from a reliability perspective, nothing touches toyota/lexus.
 
Best selling mid size CUV/SUV’s in Q3 2019:

Toyota Highlander
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Subaru Outback
Chevrolet Traverse
Ford Edge
Honda Pilot
Ford Explorer
Hyundai Santa Fe
Kia Sorrento
Nisssn Mursno
VW Atlas
GMC Acadia
Chevrolet Blazer
Subaru Ascent
Kia Trlluride
Buick Enclave
Dodge Dyrango
Buick Enclave
Mazda CX9
Ford Flex
 
Do you need a SUV?
wife and I have been looking to replace the 2006 odyssey . 3 kids . Everything out there shy of the suburban is lacking any real space. Pop up that 3rd row and forget any storage for gear for trips.
i love the 06 Ody. Wide roomy and enough room to pack up for a trip.
Wife just wants out of the "van"
They aren’t fooling anyone but some parents won’t drive a minivan even though they are far more practical for families.

Our Odyssey couldn’t tow our boat and our kids all have their licenses so we got a Tahoe. It tows great, but is a f***ing joke by every other measure.

Rear room. That’s with the 3rd seat folded down. You aren’t sitting in the back row of a Tahoe if you are over 5’8.

i-cBLX922-L.jpg
 
it may not be "cool" but the Sienna minivans have a ton of room, 3 rows of seating that even adults can use and room behind the 3rd row. 3rd row folds down for more cargo space. They now have all the bells and whistles with automatic doors etc. Mine is a 2005 and still doing great. She's a little beat up in the looks department but dependable as hell.

We rented a Sienna once and a Dodge Grand Caravan another time. I preferred driving the Dodge, it feels smaller and more car-like, the Sienna felt like driving a bus. But in terms of features and quality, including ride quality, the Sienna was much better. I think passengers preferred the Sienna.

We're leaning toward just renting a minivan for long trips with > 4 people, rather than buying a 7 seater.
 
If you buy a new car knowing you're going to have to swap out the clutch, there's a really great chance the car is a piece of shit to begin with.... just saying... [rofl]

-Mike

The GTI's are easy to crank up the HP by 100+ w/ a few minor mods, but the clutch can't handle the added torque, so people either get the DSG or upgrade the clutch.
 
I'm glad they're moving Golf production from Mexico back to Germany.
There has been a persistent myth that VWs assembled in Germany are better than VWs assembled in Mexico or Brazil. That is a myth that is not supported by data.

My GTI was assembled in Germany. It was a POS. Most of the problems that I encountered were engineering/design failures, not problems with assembly. Many of them were long running problems that were well known in the community, but that VW had allowed to exist for years without fixing them. For example, the coil pack on my 12-valve VR6 had to be replaced. As they got a few years old, the coil pack resin would crack, allowing moisture inside. This was common enough that you could find DIY advice on the Internet about how to fix coil pack using JB Weld.

Another example of an engineering fault was the rear shock top mount design. For the 2000 model year GTI, there were three different part numbers based on serial number. In other words, they botched the design twice before they got it right.

I never suffered from the window regulator problem for the MK IV Golf/Jetta, but that was another example of a design failure. The regulators failed in hot weather climates. They replaced the regulator with a new design. That failed as well. It wasn’t until the third design, several years later, when VW finally delivered a regulator that wouldn’t fail.

tl,dr: VW’s problems stem from poor engineering, not from bad assembly, and the quality out of their German plants is no better than their quality out of their Mexican plants.
 
If you buy a new car knowing you're going to have to swap out the clutch, there's a really great chance the car is a piece of shit to begin with.... just saying... [rofl]

-Mike
People are used to mouse motor clutches.

Stock WRX clutch is good for about 250 lb ft of torque. When we built the motor it added 100 over that. GTI motor is readily tunable as well.

Cheap and easy to replace the clutch while the engine was out. Mouse motors and trucks, different rules.
 
Welp. Spent the weekend test driving different cars. Got the wife to test drive a minvan - a Sienna .... but she is so anti-van its not even funny. We didn't bother testing the Telluride/Pallisade as they are selling at/over MSRP due to demand.

She Really liked the look of the Atlas in our research. Its very spacious but we did not like the ride AT ALL. The firm suspension plus 20" wheels made for a harsh ride. It had a hard time merging on the highway and the transmission seemed to be hunting for certain gears.

This morning we test drove an Ascent and my wife was instantly in love. Turbo had plenty of power merging at highway speeds, overtaking etc- and the fit/finish was well above the VW. Yes, its a little smaller but I still fit in all 3 rows at 6'. So it was way more than we wanted to spend, but it ticked all the boxes.
 
You probably don't need a cheaper truck to fix, your need a better and cheaper mechanic. They are putting the screws to you.

This.

My 2003 Tacoma (yes, not quite the same) over the years has needed one A/C condenser due to corrosion ($100), one rear O2 sensor ($120), one A/F sensor (preemptive replacement $100), one muffler ($490), and one lower ball joint other than the standard brakes/rotors/drums. I do most of the work myself. The dealer did the muffler as the truck was there for the frame inspection/coating. I farmed out the ball joints. I had the shop replace all four while they were in there as they were all the same vintage. Total bill for that was around $750.

I did replace the shocks because they probably needed it. $350 or so and an afternoon.

Now, I did have a dealer quote me a muffler $1200 (part is $385 and 45 minutes labor), ball joints ($1200 total), they told me the oil pan was "rusting out" (it isn't), the steering rack was rotted out (it isn't), my tail light was cracked (it isn't), and several other things that were simply not true.

If you are going to almost any of the dealers around here, I think that might be your problem. So far I have found almost all to be... questionable.
 
Last edited:
There has been a persistent myth that VWs assembled in Germany are better than VWs assembled in Mexico or Brazil. That is a myth that is not supported by data.

My GTI was assembled in Germany. It was a POS. Most of the problems that I encountered were engineering/design failures, not problems with assembly. Many of them were long running problems that were well known in the community, but that VW had allowed to exist for years without fixing them. For example, the coil pack on my 12-valve VR6 had to be replaced. As they got a few years old, the coil pack resin would crack, allowing moisture inside. This was common enough that you could find DIY advice on the Internet about how to fix coil pack using JB Weld.

Another example of an engineering fault was the rear shock top mount design. For the 2000 model year GTI, there were three different part numbers based on serial number. In other words, they botched the design twice before they got it right.

I never suffered from the window regulator problem for the MK IV Golf/Jetta, but that was another example of a design failure. The regulators failed in hot weather climates. They replaced the regulator with a new design. That failed as well. It wasn’t until the third design, several years later, when VW finally delivered a regulator that wouldn’t fail.

tl,dr: VW’s problems stem from poor engineering, not from bad assembly, and the quality out of their German plants is no better than their quality out of their Mexican plants.

It's probably cause only final assembly is done in Mexico - all the components are built elsewhere, and those are what's failing.
 
I had a buy back diesel VW that I ended up making like $5,000 on when I gave it back. I put about 20,000 miles on it. Since it was still relatively new, I believe under 2 years old before we handed it over it didnt have time to get problems. But that said VW's are super finicky.

One thing I have learned from buying family cars is to buy the biggest car everyone who drives it is comfortable with. So right now we're at the biggest SUVs and basically limited by what we can afford. 2+ kids and a mid sized will work, but it's going to suck hard when you go on vacation and have to pack things. And if you have a 3rd kid forget it. We have had 3rd row seating in some of ours and even that blows in a lot of cases.

Go big if you can. I'm at the point now where I just want to buy a Mercedes sprinter as the family car [rofl]
 
My 04 tacoma was traded in for a 2011 Wrangler jk . And it was probably the biggest mistake I ever made. I did have the steering wheel clockwork spring fail and take out the air bag sensor and controller. Out of warranty, Toyota covered the airbag master controller and sensors as I video recorded replacing the sensor myself. (was like $90 bucks and a tool rental and 20 minutes )

Our 03 4r is hurting but still quite solid. Needs some TLC and the driver's side exhaust manifold is almost toast. Not going to be fun to change it. Did the passenger side one last year.

PO didn't rinse salt off of anything. They lost the engine shield to rust and I should have known better.

Yet I've put now 70 k miles on it in 6 years and it has never ever gotten me stuck or stranded.

If we grab the CX5 this weekend, it'll get a wire wheel experience of it's life and a ton of cans of Rust-Oleum.
 
1200 bucks is potentially nothing, in that span of time... what's the mileage on it?

It also smells like you've been sold some snake oil. Were the calipers actually frozen? Those backing plates are typically "optional". Hell mine
rotted off my ES330 and my mechanic buddy just tore them off, no harm no foul. The only downside is there is more brake dust on
the wheels because the plates used to trap a lot of that shit.

Also being that this was a used car when you got it, if someone else put sketchmo reman shit on it, that stuff fails pretty fast and can put you in the bucket fast.

The evap thing is nutty though, I take it you've already replaced the gas cap?

All this aside, though, A decent brand to transit to is Mazda if you're not going to get a Toyota product. Test out the CX9 and go from there. A friend of mine has one of them (CX9 I think) and he's pretty critical of, well, everything, and he's never bitched about it at all. Otherwise I'd be getting texts and pictures about how f***ed up it is, etc... lmao. Also the only car my ex had ever bought that she stupidly gave back to her ex husband during divorce, that wasn't a piece of shit, was a mazda... I really wish she had kept that car because it would have saved me a lot of money vs the junk ford shitstar she
bought after that...

Also as much as it probably pains you to do it (or your wife makes clown noises about it) consider a minivan, something like a Honda Odyssey or a Sienna is way more comfortable and practical than most typical shitty FakeUV/crossovers. The fuel econ is likely equal or better, and provides wayyyyy more useable cargo space and they usually ride a whole hell of a lot smoother. Not to mention as your dogs get older they won't have to climb/jump as high to get in and out of the vehicle. SUV/FakeUV/crossovers are often shitty and full retard oversold, overpriced trendy mediocritautomaton NPC garbage, and rarely deliver enough to make the juice worth the squeeze, for anyone that is actually paying attention. And before anyone says "but wat about the snow" what f***ing snow? We get about 20 days of garbage max, and that's on a record bad year which happens like once a decade, most of time that number is 10 or less) and
it's nothing that can't be handled easily with a set of snow/winter tires. Some of those vans offer AWD now, too. (not that it actually matters).

-Mike
I will say toyota calipers like to freeze up particular to the inbound lower piston. The rear backing plates are a issue they will get rot between the axle flange and dust plate pushing the plate to the rotor and also what holds the parking brakes in place.

Evap can be a royal PITA my 2001 tundra under warranty had gas cap, all vapor lines , fuel tank , ECM a few wire harnesses AND still never solved my EVAP issue. Small leak. I really liked the truck so I was able to get a "pass" from toyota to pass inspection for several years. I then figured out that as long as I waited until feb/march to renew my sticker the evap did not fail....well I should say it would not run the readiness monitor so I got by on the 1 monitor not ready crap...went 180k with that truck until kids out grew it!
 
They aren’t fooling anyone but some parents won’t drive a minivan even though they are far more practical for families.

Our Odyssey couldn’t tow our boat and our kids all have their licenses so we got a Tahoe. It tows great, but is a f***ing joke by every other measure.

Rear room. That’s with the 3rd seat folded down. You aren’t sitting in the back row of a Tahoe if you are over 5’8.

i-cBLX922-L.jpg
I did the same thing with my 06 with my wife parked it next to so many other vehicles and said OK now how is this bigger or better. van is fine for our needs. Wife takes great care of it and its only got 130k. Told here make fake payments to a savings account until the ody blows up!
 
I owned a 2000 GTI GLX. I bought it new and sold it after 40k miles. In the first year, it was at the dealer 11 times. I can’t remember everything that broke on that car.

- Rear shocks and top mounts twice, and needed to be replaced again when I sold it
- Turn signal stalk.
- starter motor
- spark plugs and plug wires
- coil pack
- rear pads and rotors at 15k miles!
- ac condenser
- thermostat
- almost every external light bulb, some multiple times

I maintained that car at the dealer per the manual. No, it wasn’t because my car was assembled in Brazil or Mexico — my GTI was assembled in Germany.
The 2000's were horrible for VW. My Volkswagen experience has been excellent. I have owned 16 VWs over my lifetime and will continue buying them. A lot has changed in 20 years and he VWs made now are not the same animal as the 2000's.
My 2017 Golf Alltrack has seen less visits to the dealer than my 2018 Tacoma. The Alltrack has 50k miles and the Tacoma has 9.
 
Granted it was many years ago but I had a VW Jetta. I put it in the same category as the BMW I once had. Nice car but a costly nightmare to maintain. Not sure if much has changed since then.
 
A lot of VW/audi maintenance is wallhack worthy (there are sources for cheaper parts) problem is you gotta find a shade tree guy willing to touch them and do some of the shit yourself, that's the only way to keep things from getting totally absurd.... problem is I rack up the miles fast and its tough to manage it....
 
A lot of VW/audi maintenance is wallhack worthy (there are sources for cheaper parts) problem is you gotta find a shade tree guy willing to touch them and do some of the shit yourself, that's the only way to keep things from getting totally absurd.... problem is I rack up the miles fast and its tough to manage it....
I’d rather have a car that just doesn’t break in the first place.
 
Back
Top Bottom