Volkswagen not so reliable?
- Thread starter Solus
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To add to this; my work van - a 2006 VW Caddy has failed in the last 12 months with;
Faulty tandem pump
Faulty fuel pump
Faulty injectors
DMF failed
Clutch failed
Gearbox ate 2nd and 3rd - full recon unit
As yet undiagnosed pressure/vac fault on the fueling
EGR fault
MAF fault
Heater matrix leak
Blowers only work on setting 4
And it leaks like a sieve. I'll never buy VW as a commercial option again.
Faulty tandem pump
Faulty fuel pump
Faulty injectors
DMF failed
Clutch failed
Gearbox ate 2nd and 3rd - full recon unit
As yet undiagnosed pressure/vac fault on the fueling
EGR fault
MAF fault
Heater matrix leak
Blowers only work on setting 4
And it leaks like a sieve. I'll never buy VW as a commercial option again.
People often confuse the quality of the bits they can see such as the dash plastics and the "clunk when you shut the door" 
but this is different to the actual reliability. I haven't owned many cars but the best quality one was my Octavia by a mile but it was also the least reliable. My 306 however was awesome and cost pennies to run.
Very little interests me in modern cars now as what seems to matter to most buyers, such as the resolution of the infotainment screen, means nothing to me and it seems to have shifted the focus of the manufacturers from what I consider important.
but this is different to the actual reliability. I haven't owned many cars but the best quality one was my Octavia by a mile but it was also the least reliable. My 306 however was awesome and cost pennies to run.Very little interests me in modern cars now as what seems to matter to most buyers, such as the resolution of the infotainment screen, means nothing to me and it seems to have shifted the focus of the manufacturers from what I consider important.
Soldato
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I had 3 Renaults and all had issues.
Two were the older Megan Scenics one was an Autobox and the Autobox went, so we had a new box fitted and 6months later it went again.
The second was a manual model, which had many little issues, door locks not working, boot catch not catching, plus many more.
Then stupidly we bought a 2004 scenic with the horrid key card setup and digital dash.
Both keys had to be fixed as they stop working, the dash suddenly stopped working, Renault know this is an issue and wanted £300 to fix but it would reset the counter, I found a place in Ireland which fixes it for £100 and it cam back with the mileage intact.
Also other issues cropped up, so we sold it on cheap.
We now have a Citroen Picaso Executive model which is Semi Auto, and it's really nice to be in and drive, I didn't want another French car but this one so far (touch wood) has been good, we did have the EGR valve replaced under warranty but thats it.
I love the relaxed driving of the Auto, but if i want to be a little more sporty i pop it into manual mode and use the Paddle shift.
the only crit i have is the awful turning circle it has.
Two were the older Megan Scenics one was an Autobox and the Autobox went, so we had a new box fitted and 6months later it went again.
The second was a manual model, which had many little issues, door locks not working, boot catch not catching, plus many more.
Then stupidly we bought a 2004 scenic with the horrid key card setup and digital dash.
Both keys had to be fixed as they stop working, the dash suddenly stopped working, Renault know this is an issue and wanted £300 to fix but it would reset the counter, I found a place in Ireland which fixes it for £100 and it cam back with the mileage intact.
Also other issues cropped up, so we sold it on cheap.
We now have a Citroen Picaso Executive model which is Semi Auto, and it's really nice to be in and drive, I didn't want another French car but this one so far (touch wood) has been good, we did have the EGR valve replaced under warranty but thats it.
I love the relaxed driving of the Auto, but if i want to be a little more sporty i pop it into manual mode and use the Paddle shift.
the only crit i have is the awful turning circle it has.
I'm assuming that once the software doesn't cheat the emissions you are then liable for higher road tax.
Thing I'm worried about is why they felt the need to cheat in the first place? It's not like the co2 values ended up with £20 / £30 tax, we're talking £110 / £130 with the cheat active. What's it going to be without cheating?
It's mostly NOX rather than CO2 that is affected, reading around it seems like if any "back-taxes" are due, VW will pay the affected countries outright rather than expecting owners of all vehicles to pay it and then seek compensation from VW.
http://www.theguardian.com/business...ide-emissions-fuel-usage-taxes-european-union
Whoever has been posting car sales numbers is completely wrong.
The official UK data is released by the SMMT, and a quick look at the latest release shows a very different list.
http://www.smmt.co.uk/2015/11/new-car-market-stabilises-in-october-after-record-43-months-of-growth/
Going back 12 months the list looked like this.
http://www.smmt.co.uk/2014/11/new-car-registrations-october-2014/
The official UK data is released by the SMMT, and a quick look at the latest release shows a very different list.
http://www.smmt.co.uk/2015/11/new-car-market-stabilises-in-october-after-record-43-months-of-growth/
Going back 12 months the list looked like this.
http://www.smmt.co.uk/2014/11/new-car-registrations-october-2014/
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My numbers were from the NL and not the UK.
This even more reinforces the power of marketing and government policies ( wow, more diesels than petrol sold in the UK ? Just wow...), and that it has nothing to do with the reliability or build quality of the cars themselves.
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Associate
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Tempting though it is to base reliability judgments on one or a few personal experiences, it's not very meaningful. I tend to look at large scale surveys out there, which are more robust.
It's not always easy to work out how they've done the maths, but the Reliability Index is relatively transparent and easy to use.
Its manufacturer ranking suggests that VW is just mediocre, quite similar to Vauxhall and Renault. It's not surprising that Japanese cars dominate the list (though sometimes have relatively high repair costs) but seeing Fiat and Peugeot beating VW is probably less expected: http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer
It's not always easy to work out how they've done the maths, but the Reliability Index is relatively transparent and easy to use.
Its manufacturer ranking suggests that VW is just mediocre, quite similar to Vauxhall and Renault. It's not surprising that Japanese cars dominate the list (though sometimes have relatively high repair costs) but seeing Fiat and Peugeot beating VW is probably less expected: http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer
Reliablity index is always flawed, because it does not account for number of reports. That way companies not present and not sold in UK for half a decade like Daihatsu or companies that registered literally 0 cars since 2014 and single numbers in years prior like Chevie (previously Daewoo) are on top of the reliability list because the single examples with extended warranty reliability report counted repairs against, didn't have as big of an impact vs for example tens of thousands VWs. Just the fact that Skoda is much more reliable than Volkswagen or Seat in the chart, while using the same components and tech, is an indicator of another flaw - is it more reliable because it fills market with more crapola base spec cars, is it because there are less claims or because less people seek extended warranty for something at bottom dollar? Or is the same flawed TSI engine with the same flawed DSG gearbox genuinely more reliable when put together by Czech vs Germans or Spanish?
http://www.autozine.nl/enquete_verkoop.html said:
It's an invasion of small city tin cans, reason being the tax is extremely low ( they were completely tax free until recently, and buying subsidies for ''clean'' cars).
As for the Frenchies, there is no denying that especially with electronics, they go wrong more often, but my experience is that mechanically they are very sound, so drivetrain, suspension and engine wise.
What would you rather have, a car that east gearboxes/clutches/undercarriage/chassis parts, or one with electrical problems ?
Tbh for all I care if half the electrics fail, if the Car still goes from A to B without spending money on it, I'd prefer that.
VAG is hardly such good build quality electrics wise either though, one of my mates has a 2011 SEAT Ibiza, and it has more electrical problems than our Citroen C5's from 2002 ( his aircon sensor something has failed, his cruise control failed, one of his doors won't open with central locking (rear right), his drivers side door handle broke, his aux port is failing, his front speakers failed ( tweeters still work, but woofers in door do not), etc... Generally the car feels very rattly and badly built imho. Certainly not better than our C5's, who have more than 4x the milage and are far older.
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Associate
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I agree with a lot of the points you make here, but would argue that any reliability ranking is going to be flawed in some way(s) or other. From a statistical point of view, cars of which only a handful were included in the survey, should have been excluded. At the very least, Reliability Index should have made the absolute figures available.
But Daihatsu and Chevrolet don't invalidate the entire survey.
Once the number of cars is a couple of hundred then the averages start to be meaningful. The survey doesn't include tens of thousands of VWs, as the total sample is only fifty thousand. It doesn't need to either: such a large number of data points would be nice, but is unlikely to change the overall outcome much. If we assume that the survey contains 4,500 VWs (based on a market share of almost 9%) as against only 1,500 Renaults (based on a market share of just under 3%) then that's actually plenty for the comparative figures to be pretty robust. And VW, despite its carefully crafted image, does not come out on top.
Similarly, the averages for Honda, of which even fewer are likely to be included in the survey than Renaults (based on a market share of just above 2%) are still based on easily enough cars that their reputation for reliability seems justified.
You're right of course in suggesting that other factors come into play in deciding the ranking as well. Cars with fewer toys are indeed less likely to need repairs, all other things being equal. And since Skodas usually don't come nearly as fully loaded as Lexus, their similar position -- much higher than stablemates VW and Seat -- is probably due in part to that.
The argument about fewer people insuring cheaper cars doesn't stand, though, at least as long as enough are included in the survey for the calculation of averages to be meaningful. Also, why would people claim less for a Skoda than for a VW or an Audi, once they've taken out a warranty?
Another factor you haven't mentioned yet is the way in which these cars are driven. When is the last time a Fabia driver floored it to overtake you on a single carriageway with oncoming traffic? I suspect that the staid image of Skoda is doing them no harm in rankings such as this.
Finally, I wasn't trying to promote the Reliability Index specifically. Rather, I wanted to say that basing one's judgment on a small number of personal experiences is meaningless (human, but meaningless). There are other surveys out there, such as the German TÜV reports summarised on http://www.anusedcar.com/, the MOT pass rates reported on by Honest John, and so on. The point is that all these are based on large samples, and so despite their shortcomings, they are at least far more valid than a few personal observations and anecdotes.
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Caporegime
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I would guess that engines and gearboxes are shipped in but the way the cars are put together could well be the cruncher. Some places having more modern facilities, access to better steel etc.
Would you rather have a Mercedes Benz made in Germany or one from South Africa.
if i had a choice between vw or toyota. i would choose the toyota. with the vw, you get the perceived superior quality product (you can brag to your friends et al) but it may well fall apart early than you might expect. if you decide on a vw, worth checking local dealer reviews on google.
Caporegime
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Or your Toyota may fall to bits with rust much sooner than expected?
as long as it does not give unexpected repair bills within its use period, i dont mind.
much better than wasting time at the garage/dealership diagnosing problems + the repair bills that come with it.
VW's also rust to pieces.