Volkswagen problems - what to do?

Billy Baltic

I know there is a current thread discussing VW issues but this is slightly different.

A family member owns a VW Passat. Its not their first Passat but it is the first to have issues. There have been a number of problems which cropped up, most of which were outside warranty and some of which were expensive to repair.
The latest problem resulted in the car stopping dead in the middle of the road. Couldnt be re-started, warning lights on dash, etc. It was towed back to the garage, where it started at the first attempt. The VW garage is able to say there is a problem but they dont know what it is and its very likely it will reoccur.

Effectively the car is unless as is. Anyone have any similar experience or know if VW's responsibility ended once the warranty expired?

Volvic man

my dad has a 1.6 petrol 00 passat
his one kept cuttin out at low revs in corners dipping the clutch to change gear etc

the 96-00 shape have tendencys to mess up there e.c.u's
and also on the petrols the throttle bodys have a tendencys to go
the throttle body controls fuel,air mixture

and 'O' rings tend to wear out on pipes

if dash lights came on wen u tried to restart it id get a diagnostic check
witch basicly talks to your cars computer and finds out wat malfunctions the cars computer incounterd.
a diagnostic check would set u back about 50-60 quid
id start by doing that before you have mechanics charge you for looking at it

Billy Baltic

Thanks for the response Volvic man. The VW garage has performed a diagnostic check and its showed up clear. They reckon the diagnosic will only work when its in fault condition. The only way to get it in fault is to take it back on the road and wait until it fails again.

Fishtits

Billy Baltic wrote: »

Thanks for the response Volvic man. The VW garage has performed a diagnostic check and its showed up clear. They reckon the diagnosic will only work when its in fault condition. The only way to get it in fault is to take it back on the road and wait until it fails again.

It should store a fault code, especially as it was recovered from a breakdown.

mickdw

Surely there would be something stored as a fault if it failed to start.
You could always buy a little fault code reader yourself if it is something that only shows up when it actually fails.
I car which cannot be depended on is useless & IMO vw have responsibility here.