Control arms and tie rods for me

 

cig lighter not working, was unplugged though

otherwise she's problem free <knock on wood>

J

 

On my '99 1.8t: water pump/flange, under warranty at 10k. It took two trips to the dealer but they got finally got it fixed.

Car ran fine for 44k until a woman in pickup totaled it.

I survived the crash and immediately bought a new one (before the insurance check cleared.)

 

...my entire steering rack on my '01 variant 4-mot went bad at 28k...all under warranty but a major deal with no explanations...cost me a kickin set of rubber as it soured...out of pocket would have been 2k+...otherwise she's bulletproof... :shock:

 

As far as inconvenience, the car did the "if you start me then stop me, I won't start again" temperamental Bosch fuel injection maneuver, after which it completely flooded requiring an oil change, at only 7K miles, 200 miles from home.

As far as most important part to fail, that would be lower control arm.

 

I still can't figure out my da%# intermittent cruise control problem. That's about it on my '99 with 49k miles. It works at the dealer but only occasionaly with me. :evil:

 

Water pump and rear coolant fitting. Rear coolant fitting was most annoying work.

 

ECU Failure......darn thing cut out after the 24,000k warranty. VWoA paid for part, I paid $300 labor.

 

Control arms and tie rods. Also, I've had some weird stuff go like one of the window regulators, a coil pack, and ext. temp. sensor. For those of you thinking warranty, I'd highly recommend WarrantyGold - I bought their bumper-to-bumper package to 100K miles and it's already paid off with 51K miles on the car. The way I figure it, by the time I reach 100K, I should have an entirely new car (in parts at least)...

 

WarrantyGold went bankrupt awhile back....is your warranty still valid?

 

ECU Failure......darn thing cut out after the 24,000k warranty. VWoA paid for part, I paid $300 labor.

Hmm...doesn't the ECU pretty much just snap in? People with 2 ECUs pretty much just snap 'em in / snap 'em out, right? Seems like a lot of labor...several hours of diagnosis?

 

1 "H" series coil pack.

 

Oil pump and turbo at 88k. fixed under waranty.

 

What is THE most MAJOR B5 failure you've experienced???

Hmmm well mine would be my Tiptronic transmission. It can't handle drag racing. Not exactly a failure :lol: but i consider it one!

 

To clarify, I mean what was the most seriously failure--not neccessarily the most costly or irritating.

I guess that would be installing a PES T-28 kit on my car and having overboosting problems for a year resulting in a blown motor.... :evil:

 

The coil packs I could live with - most major failure so far... would be an AC that didn't work from the start... They filled up the refridgerant, saying the factory forgot to fill this one.

3k miles later, intense summer heat, coming back to southern NJ from myrtle beach, AC stops blowing cold. THAT was a fun ride, right in the middle of a 90+ degree heat wave... It got especially bad when cars got backed up...

:thumbdow: This time they said an o-ring on the evap valve was overtightened and was causing coolant to escape - they added dye to the system so if it fails this summer, hopefully not while I'm on a trip...

so yeah, that's my major failure no AC + leather seats + 90 degree heat
hehe

 

To clarify, I mean what was the most seriously failure--not neccessarily the most costly or irritating.

stupid ICM failure at 68K miles!!!

 

given: 99 sedan 1.8T 5sp

Mine is a tie:

First was the waterpump at about 60K. The impeller blade cracked and would free itself from the impeller shaft while driving thus causing a lack of flow and an immediate overheat condition. I had to limp the car 10 miles to the dealer b/c it was beyond my skill... I'm braver now. It took out the thermostat and melted down the gunwales in the radiator.

Second was an original plug (#2) blown to bits at 65K. From the previous owner's careful fuel logging I strongly suspect low octane combined with the APR chip which requires better. Under normal driving, the first prong blew and the car shuddered down on power and made me stop. It happened twice more and then wouldn't run for crap; those were the other two prongs on the original plug going bye-bye. This was around the time of the coilpack failures dominating the forums... but mine was a plug forcing one 'pack to fire through the cam cover. It was ugly but my bravery had been tested already and I fixed it myself. Makes me think about the recent threads on the grounding mod.

 

2001 and I've replaced the rear brake light twice.

PS. everyone posting should include model year and any mods that might be involved in problems they report.

 

Engine coolant sensor was defective.

Thus, my car was enable to start sometimes.

 

Coolant problem with my '99 as well

I've noticed my coolant levels going down. I'm filling the coolant about every 3 months. Slow leak somewhere in the system I guess. I hope it's just the hoses! Car only has 33K. Could this be a serious problem???

 

'H' series coilpack.
I hope this is the only failure she'll have <knock on the wood>.

 

Re: Coolant problem with my '99 as well

I've noticed my coolant levels going down. I'm filling the coolant about every 3 months. Slow leak somewhere in the system I guess. I hope it's just the hoses! Car only has 33K. Could this be a serious problem???

There is a plastic flange that may have gone bad. This was a issue with '99s (and a bad run of waterpumps). I had two replaced.

Mine was manufactured in July 1999.

Does VW still honor your 100k drivetrain waranty?

 

Slave cylinder failure; the car was a couple of months old. The clutch pedal would, at times, not come back up when when you let your foot up. Then the pedal would suddenly finish its' travel. Car jumped into intersections a couple of times. Nasty.Almost collided with oncoming traffic a couple of times.

 

My 2000 Passat had the center console lid latch break at 33,000 miles and 3 1/2 years old. Replaced for $2.99. That was the only problem with the car ever, major or minor.

My 2003 W8 lost FM reception completely...but it was because the shop which installed my XM radio didn't wire it correctly, so it ended up being no fault of the car's. They rewired, and all has been perfect except the 1 inch scratch in my door which had to be covered with touch-up paint from some cretin who obviously let his truck or SUV door open against my door, then slide back against the paint.

KNOCK ON A BUNCH OF WOOD...Two Passats, 4 years: 1 small plastic piece worth $2.99 broken off and replaced by me. Problems and complaints EN TOTO!

 

Where's all the catastrophic timing belt failures on 1.8s and catastrophic water pump failures on the V6s?

You can bet that at some point in the future, there will be somebody pointing to this thread saying "see, VW's are really reliable!"