VW Passat?????????

WICKED

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Jan 23, 2008
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Charlotte
My girlfriend is looking at a 03 passat. I think it has right at 100k on it. Is there any known problems with these cars, or anything I should pay extra attention to when looking at it? Thanks
 
What engine is in it. If its the 2.8 v6 its a good solid engine just a little under powered. If its the 1.8t good motor with a turbo. Only known big problem with the 1.8t is sludging. at 100k check to see if the timing belt was done. You also might be able to take the vin number to the local VW dealer and get a little history on the car. If the belt hasn't been done on either your looking at about 1500-1700 at a dealer to get done. And you dont want to mess up on the timing the head on the 1.8t is 2500 for a remain. Another questions pm me
 
I bought my wife an '05 a few months ago. After a ton of research thats what we decided to go with. It had I think 85 or so thousand miles, 1.8 turbo with tiptronic manual/automatic transmission. In the history of the B5 passat like you're looking at there are almost no serious service bulletins out there. The two common ones are for the water pump and the timing belt. Its an intereference motor so the timing belt needs to be changed religiously every 70-80 thousand miles, and I cant remember for sure but the water pump impeller or something tends to detereorate and clog the coolant passages.

When we bought ours we asked if we could take it to a VW tech and get the service history. When we did we found that the water pump and timing belt had not been changed, so we talked them into doing that as part of the deal. I would suggest you try to do the same it worked out great for us.

So far we love the car it has decent power but terrible turbo lag. We get around 23 mpg around town (my wife drives hwy29 from concord to downtown every day) and 25-26 highway. The transmission has taken some getting used to. I shifts odd to me. Even though its and automatic it shifts like a manual. The rpm's drop between gears just like you would let off the gas and press the clutch to shift. Once you get used to it its not bad.
 
The passat your looking at is pretty much and Audi A4. I was and Audi tech for a little over a year. I have seen the durability of the 1.8t. The water pump gets replaced when the timing belt is replaced because you have to remove the belt to get to the pump.
 
The Passat my wife had was a great car, but the 1.8T was just a brutally terrible engine. Bought it brand new, and within 10,000 miles it was stalling in traffic a lot. The dealer, Carolina VW, never could figure it out. At first they kept trying to blame it on a mysteriously dirty throttle body, but when that didn't fix it they just started telling my wife that she didn't know how to drive the car. It got pretty insulting. I was there often enough to get to know every one of the service writers by name, and I heard them lie to other people who described the exact same problems we were having and tell them that they had never seen those issues before. They ended up replacing the throttle body twice, the fuel injectors, the computer, the oil pump, two turbos, and I'm sure some smaller stuff that just isn't coming to mind right now. The car had a 100k warranty on it and we sold it at 99k becasue we just couldn't afford to pay for that kind of ridiculous service that the 1.8T prooved to need. As for the car itself there is no doubt in my mind that it was the nicest one we've ever had, but the 1.8T engine was just infuriating.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. Just talked to her and its the v6. Is the timing belt and water pump an issue on the v6 too or just the 1.8?
 
Looked at the passat today. 2.8 v6 car is in good condition top of engine is clean sides of engine clean as much as I could see bottom of car is clean. There is some oil on the bottom of the oil pan not alot all over the bottom of the car but some on the pan. Around cylinder heads and valve covers clean. Oil and coolant were clean. Any more input is appreciated. Thanks guys
 
Check consumer reports. VW hasn't done well for quite a while. I've know lots of people that have had electrical issues with the past 10 years of build. I like the looks of them & some are fun to drive, but seen too many issues to own one. Mother in law has a beetle that may as well have a whole new wiring harness in the car. After the second fuse box melt down she's ready for another car.

There are quite a few people on this board that like them though.
 
The timing belt will need to be done about every 80,000. The timing chain on the other end of the head about every 120,000. I would suggest doing the water pump when the belt is done. Does not have the same pump problems as the 1.8t does with the impeller coming apart. The VR6 is a great engine. Has pretty decent power and tons of torque. I would say as long as the car has not been abused go for it.

The only problem the VR has that I know of is the water transfer pipe across the front of the head. Its commonly refered to as a crack pipe because its cracks and leaks. There are several companys that make a billet crack pipe for around 100 that solve the problem for good.
 
jeepinmatt has a passat but its the diesel version. He may still have some good info for you though.
 
I love mine. Bought it at about 70k miles, and tomorrow on the way to work it will turn 150k miles. Its a 04 2.0 TDI, and I've only had to replace a couple sets of tires, the left front CV axle, and now its time for a wheel bearing. Also, I did the timing belt at 100k. The only complaints I have are the cheap/weird finish they put on the console is deteriorating and peeling, and the light on the visor mirror doesn't always come on.
 
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