VW TDI Passat? Good? Bad? Ugly?

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Sid Post

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I'm shopping for a new car and was wondering what people's experiences are with VW TDI cars? I'm specifically looking at the 2012/2013 Passat.

Are the TDI engines good, long serving, lomaintenancece engines? How do the VW's hold up on rough roads? Do they need a lot of dealer service? How do they "compete" against similarly priced models?

TIA,
Sid
 
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A good idea would be to price out your maintenance costs at a couple of shops, like a dealer, drive up oil place and a specialist VW shop. They are rather more expensive than most cars, and some shops may charge you the diesel rate, which is for trucks. If you do decide to take it to a drive up place, learn as much as you can about your car, as they may not see very many of them, and may not know what to do. The shop I worked at, the idiot manager told people all kinds of things about VW diesels because he was a "diesel guy" and knew everything. truth was, we had no idea about how often we should recommend a fuel filter, or the correct procedure for replacing one! Some VW work requires specialist machines or training, so your best bet is either a dealer service department you trust (techs who will take time to explain things, look you in the eye, that sort) or an independent VW or German import shop. There is not much different between a VW and Audi and a Porsche.

If you can find an actual VW factory trained tech, those guys go through the VW equivalent of med school, and know much more about VWs than most other techs know about their brands.

As long as you don't get a mexican built VW (they have not had the best quality control traditionally) you should do fine.
 
gadgetgeek said:
As long as you don't get a mexican built VW (they have not had the best quality control traditionally) you should do fine.
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I have to disagree on that part. I've worked on several different VW's (as a hobbyist) from Brazil, Mexico or Germany and it didnt matter where they were built as the robots are programmed the same. It was the crappy parts on the car that made the diffrence. A poorly designed part will fail no matter where it is built.

To get back on topic I agree with GadgetGeek. Find a certified VW specialist. They are worth their weight in gold.
 
gadgetgeek said:
As long as you don't get a mexican built VW (they have not had the best quality control traditionally) you should do fine.
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The current Passat's are assembled in Chatanooga, TN with a lot of European content. ;)

If I could get a new Beetle or "Thing" from Mexico, Central, or South America I'd be all over it at the right price. Stepping away from some of the driver nannies and getting simpler maintenance would be nice.
 
I knew some folks with a mexican new beetle, and it seemed to have no end of trouble. lots of stuff coming loose, including the doors. just poor line QC type stuff. things may have changed, I don't know if that one was first production run, which could have explained the situation. I may have a completely baseless bias, but it's not like that's never happened before.
 
I am a VW tech and yes they are good cars! VW also has care free maintenance for the first three services and the have great warranty. The TDI's also get great fuel mileage!
 
A little off the topic, but I was sceptical when I bought my Jeep Liberty CRD. It has the newer style "clean" deisel (Mercedes engine I believe) . It is a 2.8 turbo 4 cly. similar to your TDI. After driving it I was hooked. No black smoke plume when I get on it- No horrible deisel smell-lots of pulling power (same torque as an F150!) and when I am traveling I get incredible MPG!!! When I take it for service the mechanic says "This engine will last forever".
Downfalls--oil changes are a bit pricey. I can only use Mobil 1 Synthetic 0w40 (7.5 qt @ $7.99ea). It is hard to find around here in podunk Missouri. But I can go 6-8K between changes!Other than being slave to slightly higher fuel costs, I'd say my MPG more than makes up for it.

I say buy it!!! Who doesn't like the VW's quality!!!
 
Hey monofletch, Good thing you have a good mechanic. I only worked on one of the new dodge diesels while at the shop (we did a couple sprinter vans from time to time) I think that one was a Compass. Very tight engine compartment, we told the guy to be sure he had lots of time, and never rush his service work, as the number of burns we were getting made it very difficult to work quickly. Once he heard that, his attitude changed, but he had been getting upset with how long it was taking. I think he decided that the shop rate at the dealership was being earned in that case. Not a fun vehicle to work on.
You could also look into the super-synthetics like Amsoil. Pretty $$$ but it lasts a lot longer if you change out the filter and top up every once and a while. And remember to run a fuel conditioner from time to time, as Diesel tends to leave behind more residue than gasoline. (but check your manual or dealership first)
 
I put 200K on a Golf TDI with a manual transmission. Most amazing vehicle engine I've ever had. Powerful and fantastic fuel economy. Fun to drive, too. But it was not cheap to operate, compared to gasoline engines.

All in all I think the fuel economy is a draw. The extra money you spend on maintenance makes the 48mpg less economical than you think.

While the engine, frame, and transmission of the vehicle were bombproof, the rest of the vehicle was GARBAGE. Everything electrical that could go wrong did go wrong, starting about a week after the warranty expired. Door locks, electric seats, electric windows, security alarm, interior lights...it all crapped out and it was all VERY expensive to fix.

Parts and maintenance are very expensive. Complete removal of the engine is required for fairly routine maintenance such as replacing the timing belt or the water pump. Glow plugs frequently burn out, and it's unheard of to have anything done for less than $300.

The diesel Golf basically fit my perfect vehicle profile regarding space, milage, driveability, etc., but I sure didn't contemplate buying another one. All in all I think the economy was about the same as a 35mpg gasoline engine, and the frustration factor was through the roof.
 
We have the VW Passat at work for duty. Great cars. Nice speeding up and the diesel engine doesn´t need much fuel.

Kind regards
 
The diesel is decent, has lots of torque and pretty fun to drive with the manual.

Just remember it will never have the same powerband as a gasoline engine and will tear apart clutches if you slip the clutch a lot.
 
spyder10 said:
The diesel is decent, has lots of torque and pretty fun to drive with the manual.

Just remember it will never have the same powerband as a gasoline engine and will tear apart clutches if you slip the clutch a lot.
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Not an issue for me. I wore out two old (~20 years ago) VW diesels with manuals. One Rabbit and one Jetta ;)
 
I'm about 400 miles into a 2013 Passat TDI with Sunroof! :)

So far so good. Urban driving is yielding 45 to 50MPG depending on how hard I push it. When the motor breaks in, it should do a little better. Highway speeds for a few miles yields ~60MPG! :eek: That's better then my motorcycle. :cool:
 
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"As long as you don't get a mexican built VW (they have not had the best quality control traditionally) you should do fine." Current Passats are built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, NOT Mexico.

My wife's 2012 Passat SE TDI w/six-speed manual is an outstanding vehicle. Per gallon, diesel fuel is more expansive than gasoline, but per mile, diesel beats gasoline hands-down. The ride is good, it's spacious, comfortable, useful tech inside, big trunk, 10,000 miles between oil changes, but that turbodiesel matched with the six-speed stick are the stars of the show. EPA says 43 mpg highway...hogwash! In August, we took a trip and I got 52 mpg highway. And the six-speed has far more giddyup than the auto (we drove both). Merging onto a highway with the big, diesel torque is loads of fun. Climbing hills is loads of fun. If you know how to use, not just drive, but USE a stick, you'll enjoy this car.
 
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