8th Dec 2005, 13:02

Original reviewer here. Not heard of a flywheel shearing (ouch!), but I have been told that these engines use "dual mass" flywheels which cost an absolute packet. Eur 1,000 sounds about right, as I was quoted £400 on top of the cost of the clutch! Bearing in mind that was pretty much "parts only" as the gearbox was coming out anyway. Minimal additional labour if they're swapping the clutch out.

27th Oct 2006, 07:24

My Passatt is ten years old and has taken to collect water in the rear offside footwell, can anyone advise me where it is likely to be coming in from, I can't see any signs, and if something is blocked exactly how I find it and unblock it.

Thank you in anticipation.

4th Jan 2007, 09:58

In my Passat 2003 I also had a water leak through the pollen filter at 6 months old.

I've also had clutch judder since new, every time I took it back I was told that they could not find any fault.

The on-board computer gives scary diagnostics if a bulb has blown.

I must say that VW were always polite and friendly.

17th Aug 2007, 17:23

I have a 2002 TDI Passat which has covered 120k with no faults whatsoever, even on the irish country roads. I love this car; my wife has a 2002 TDI Mondeo, which is not a patch on the Passat.

28th Aug 2007, 15:30

Goto reply to above.

The Mondeo and the Passat are two cars in the same class that are totally different.

The Passat has a better interior, is made from nicer materials, the earlier engines were better, (less so these days, the newer TDCI Ford lumps are pretty good, although not as powerful as VW) and the Passat is smoother on the motorway. But...

That soft suspension that gives the Passat its motorway manners also gives it pretty poor handling; it rolls and pitches all over the place, and that is where the Mondeo is at its best.

Before you reply to this and tell me that your Passat handles better than a Mondeo, think. Do you mean ride? Or handling? In a way these are opposites, for good handling, make the suspension stiff, but you will feel every bump, hence the ride quality will suffer.

I have owned both, the Passat V6 TDI, and now the Mondeo ST TDCI, I enjoy track driving, devour car mags and take pride in my cars and driving.

Comparing the two is pointless. The Passat was a motorway cruiser, and an exceptional one. Super smooth, comfy and the interior was a lovely place to be.

But the Mondeo is a different league on a twisty road. It has balance and feedback levels that the Passat can't match.

Both brilliant, and I do mean that. Totally different though.

26th May 2008, 17:29

In response to above...

I respect your approach to the subject, they are 2 different cars!

I have the Passat Sport TDI 130 01, which has up-rated brakes, slightly lower suspension, among a few other things, and in terms to response on a windy hilly road, the car performed amazingly. I have none of the above problems and the car is at 118,000 miles.

In fact I am stunned to be reading some on the responses on here. Fords have always been a good drive, but in terms of safety, reliability and overall value for money, cars part of the VAG group are a million years ahead of most other cars on the market today - I'm sure I'll be driving VAG cars for a while.

27th May 2008, 13:54

Whilst VAG cars are well built etc the extra price cannot be described as 'good value for money', especially VW's and Audi's when you can buy Skoda's and Seat's with the same parts for much less money.

I would go as far as to say VAG has been caught up by Ford and other motoring companies and that it is hard to justify the price difference, residuals are probably the major plus point of a VAG these days.

29th May 2008, 14:39

I have the 130bhp '03 Passat Comfortline...

I must say that all the faults that have been identified are common, but it was the older Passat that had many more faults than the new one... the engines were side mounted in the traditional manner and had developed mysterious engine management problems, which set the light off on the dash... of course these problems did not really exist, which lead to a new ECU program to be written and incorporated into the '02 models on...

Also the CV joints were also inferior in the older models compared to the new model...

The Passat is a fantastic motorway car with great handling and smooth ride with a nice feel, but take her down country roads and this is where the handling becomes limp and the ride becomes hard...

The ABS sensor's are only in the front pads, so keep an eye out for the back... the leaking problem in most cases is through the air filter... I had this problem and found that replacing the filter and reseating the casing fixed the problem... I found out about it by accident after power washing my car, and water went into the front passenger well...

A good tip as well is, if your rev counter jumps up to 1000-1100 randomly, it is usually because one of the tensioners is not tensioning properly, which can be expensive to fix, as I have the front mounted model, which involves removing the front bumper... labour!...

Another tip is that if you hear a screech coming from the front wheel... don't worry, stones have a habit of getting caught in between the heat shield and the brake disc...

Overall I love my Passat, although the Mondeo is way superior on the country roads and has greater reliability... I don't like the common feel of the Mondeo... the fact that it's got a Ford badge on it, it just does not have the superior comfort, room and style of the Passat... and in saying that, I'm also not fond of the A4 either... I find it superior but flimsy looking... it does not look like a luxury car... I'm happy with my happy medium...

29th May 2008, 14:55

In addition to my above comment, I forgot to add that the Passat is an individual case; you could get a bad one or a good one... my comments are based on experience and my brother inlaw work for a VW dealership in service, repairs and parts... my best advice when buying a Passat is don't buy a brand new one as they are riddled with faults, try to buy an ex-fleet Passat as they are amazingly maintained and always buy the last model... ALL NEW MODEL VAG CARS HAVE HUGE FAULTS... for example, the new Passat has issues with the electronic ignition and electronic handbrake, and the new golf has issues with the electric windows failing amongst others... these will not be fixed in a hurry either.

30th May 2008, 14:10

You might be right about the price issue, but it's not about just reliability, it's about the way the car makes you feel...

I have driven Seat cars, and I tell you something, my backside is broken after a long journey, and as for the Skoda's, there is a reason why they are so cheap... the Octavia has known issue's with brakes!!! Nice... my colleague in work has a company car that is an Octavia... the brakes failed twice and Skoda refused to replace the car... also they have known issue's with excessive pad wear... within the first 6 months from new...

My friend has a Skoda Fabia and the wing mirrors are glued on... hello???... they might have the vw engines and chassis, but the workmanship is poor... it's like buying Tesco beans when you can have Heinz...

Skoda to be honest is cheap and nasty... I personally could not handle driving around in a Skoda Superb, knowing that it was a cheap knock off of the Passat...

A car is more than getting from A-B cheaply... if we all felt like that, we all would have Skoda's... the Mondeo might be as good and cheaper, but it is working man coming home from the coal mines, whereas the Passat is an executive coming home from the office... big difference...

Skoda is I can't afford a VW, and Seat is good for your twenties while working your way up the ranks...

Your comment is saying I am sacrificing quality for quantity...