2002 Volkswagen Golf SE 1.6 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Functional art

Faults:

A rattling sound developed from within the dash after only 1 week. It was quite loud especially between 1000 - 2000 RPM while driving. However, a very helpful volkswagen service centre fixed the problem under warranty within a day (metal air conditioning pipe vibrating on bulkhead) as well as giving me a loan car and returning my car cleaned!

General Comments:

I bought a golf because of my perception of it being a reliable, comfortable, economical and responsive car to drive. I also wanted a car that would age well and offer reasonable resale value at some point down the track. It certainly offers luxury in a small package with surprising attention to detail. The cabin is very comfortable; the stereo sounds great, road/engine noise is minimal, the boot is huge, visibility/dash layout is well considered and has a feeling of quality. As far as performance goes the golf really does handle well; agile and body rigid in corners, however, you feel that the 1.6L engine is never really going to extend it lacking grunt below 2500rpm. It is economical though, especially on open roads where higher engine speeds also make it quite nimble. Its high level of standard safety features is class leading. Importantly also this car looks amazing - it is functional art.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th June, 2002

18th Jun 2002, 11:32

When you have to take it back in because your seats, or doors, or the other side of your dash is starting to rattle - ask them to check your oil level. Then ask them to make sure you're a/C works, and to check your ABS box, and to check your window seals, and your brake lights, and the internal device which sounds the alarm. Mine all started with a dashboard rattle, too. Be happy your dealership will give you a loaner; mine can't even schedule appointments within 2 weeks.

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2002 Volkswagen Golf GL 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Must sell this car before the warranty is up!

Faults:

Dashboard has rattled since 1000 miles.

Rear seats have rattled since 1000 miles.

Drivers side door creaks while braking and cornering. Also when opening, even after adding lubrication.

Drivers side window had an air/water leak from the factory.

Occasionally locking the door will cause the alarm to go off.

Car seems to burn a lot of oil.

General Comments:

Car handles well, and has decent power for a 2 liter automatic. Good gas mileage. Interior is nice; very comfortable seats and stylish look. Overall satisfied with the performance; it suits the need.

The car will not stop rattling. A new spot every week. The doors creak, the dash rattles, the back seats rattle, and one front speaker is rattling. The steering wheel is starting to make a ticking noise now. And I don't need to turn the radio down to hear any of this, either.

The two dealerships I've been frequenting (4 trips in 3 months), don't seem too trustworthy. Dealership 1 says there's no water leak in the window. Dealership 2 says there is and they fixed it. There is still a water leak. Same goes for the rattles. They might stay fixed until I get home from the service center. I'd hate to trust them with an engine problem. I asked about the amount of oil that it burns, of course it's not a problem!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th February, 2002

4th Aug 2002, 12:41

Here is a copy of a letter I have sent to vw customer services uk. Has anyone else had this problem?

Dear VW Customer Care,

I am the proud owner of a 1999, S Registered VW Golf 1.6 Auto. I can say that since I purchased the car from Grange Motors, Brentwood, Essex, I have had thousands of miles of good, reliable VW motoring. Except for the windows.

Last year the passenger side, front window fell inside the door. As it was still under warranty, I took the car along to Grange where they said ‘Ah yes, it will be those little white clips that have broken. Don’t worry sir we will fix that’. And they duly did!

This morning, whilst driving into work the same thing happened with the front drivers side door. As the car is now out of warranty I decided to investigate myself. After all ‘those little white clips’ shouldn’t be that hard to replace? Should they?

I finished work early so that I would have plenty of time to strip the door down and take the offending items to Bristol Street Motors, Romford and buy a replacement pair. However, when I arrived at said VW dealers, I was told that I could not buy the ‘little white clips’ and would have to buy a complete window LIFTER unit Part Number 1J4837462E at a price of £78.96. I have to say that I was not happy. These two injection moulded clips had failed (which would have cost pennies to make) and I had to buy a complete lifter unit.

There seems to me to be two problems here. Firstly, there is clearly a design fault with the window lifter mechanism, as I have experienced this fault twice already and Bristol Street Motors, Romford have sold 63 of these lifter units this year. 63 from one dealership in a small town? Secondly, why does the whole lifter mechanism have to be purchased and not just the clips?

I am sure that I cannot be the first person to write regarding this matter, as it appears to be such a common complaint. I hope you will respond to this letter positively. I enclose a picture of the offending items and a copy of my receipt. Please get them sorted, they are letting your good name down.

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