Why are VW's rated so low in reliability by consumer reports?

Question

I read they were second to last in reliability. Is this because they cost so much to repair, or are the cars actually flawed? If so, is the flaw due to bad engineering or poor parts and what are the general flaws (due to electrical issues, transmission, engine)?

Answer 1

Look here and see
http://autos.msn.com/home/reliability_ratings.aspx

Answer 2

CR's reliability index is based on the number of repairs needed by cars within a particular brand or year. Thus, whether a repair costs $100 or $1000, it's still a repair for the sake of the survey.

My family has 3 Passats: '00, '01, and '04. Two are sedans, one is a wagon. We love them. They're probably the most comfortable ride I've ever had and they're fun to drive. They do, however, have a tendency to have problems. The '00 had a malfunctioning passenger heated seat when it was a few months old. At one point, it actually shorted out and burnt a penny sized hole in the seat! The dealer replaced parts for free until the problem was fixed because the car was still under warranty and we had a free loaner car. The '01 has had a few issues with the engine coils. They were recalled a few years back and have had to be replaced once since as well. It also had a seat belt break and a door lock break. The '04, being the newest, has been good overall. Perhaps they're working out the problems.

We haven't had what I would consider to be serious problems with any of the cars. The issues tend to be related to electric parts on the GLX models-- the bells and whistles, as my mother would say.

Answer 3

I have a jetta and I really haven't had any what I would call "major" problems. But I have been back and forth to the dealer for a few minor things but car is still under warranty. Theres no such thing as the perfect car. All automakers have recalls and technical bulletins on failed componnets. What makes a car more reliable then another, is how often something critical breaks down, how cheap and easy its it to fix. Look at Ford for example. They make great trucks, and some what decsent cars, but a common flaw amongst all its vehicles is the transmission. A very key component which is expenssive and not cheap to fix. You can type in Volkswagen recalls in any search engine a get a look at some of the problems they have had. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for anything unless of course its a Corvette or something close.

Answer 4

I know of a couple of other autos that cost even more to get repaired(not talking Italian either).
Vw did have a bad run with its first FWD cars(Rabbit) in the electrical/water leakage issue- but that also depends on where the car was manufactured. German made were more watertight than the Mexico,Brazillian or US made ones. Don't get me wrong, but the German ones option for interior headliner was vinyl and vinyl only. US made one had velour type cloth material and water would creep in thru many places and get absorbed by that liner and it fell on your head. Water leakage into the fusebox because the European window rubber was different than the other(US/Mexico and other).
I have had both and repaired both.
Engine,& transmission never caused a problem or the brakes either.
I put over 730,000miles on mine before I sold it(for what I bought it for. It was just starting to rust more than I wanted to fix. Did it burn oil. No more than what is expected on a diesel. Saw the car later, engine/trans was taken out....so to me they were still good.
Difference between diesel and gas. Just the engine/transmission gearing.
I bought another slightly newer with mods made to the windshield seal....got no problems there.

I feel the VW planning department started losing the ball in the reliability department but that has more to do with accessories.

Answer 5

it's a mystery why they are rated so poorly, i have always had good luck with my VWs for the most part. stuff breaks, they are machines, and machines break, it's what happens.

but, out of the few things that had been problems on my 03 Jetta, only one thing was due to poor build quality. the other stuff that had gone bad were parts (coilpacks, battery, power steering pump) that gave out. the only electrical issue i had was a persistant check engine light...turned out to be a bad connector at the computer.

also consider, the incompetence of the dealership's service staff sometimes influences "reliability"...it took the dealership four visits to find the bad connector at the computer...they had an VW engineer out to see my car because the dealership was stumped. that technicaly made my car a lemon, but i wasnt about to give up my car...

Answer 6

Well lets start by saying the vws are now being made in mexico. That doesn't help however because they are a drivers car. they are typically driven hard cause they feel like they are doing 50 when your doing 90. They handle nice have great fitting interior and exterior. I had one for 3 yrs and drove it very hard never had one problem. So it also goes by how much you take care of your car with proper maintenance. I drove american cars for 20 years drove a vw once will never go back to american the difference is night and day.

Answer 7

The cars themselves are actually quite nice. Like any European import, the parts are hellishly expensive and labor is ridiculous. That's why.

Any older car will have it's problems. That is no way to gauge how the cars are engineered. Old Hondas are falling apart, are the new ones incredibly unreliable? Far from it. You gauge the reliability from cars the same year...obviously you guys would figure that out.

Answer 8

Volkswagens are not much different than many other higher end cars that require regular attention to maintain a good running order. The problem is that many japanese cars have been designed to run well no matter how you treat them. However, they are not fun to drive. Do your maintainance on your VW and it will run longer than a honda. I had 350,000 km on my 1988 Jetta. I have a 1999 since new and have had no problems....and it drives awesome!

Answer 9

mostly every car has some kind of flaw or recall but yeah bad engineering would cause alot of problems and is usually the cause of many recalls. my sister owns a volkswagen passat and after having it for a month she has already been to the shop to get various suspension components checked, a window motor just completely died out of nowhere. so yeah i would figure its due to bad engineering and i would not want a volkswagen.

Answer 10

dont know what year you have but the newer ones arent bad as long as you dont mind going to the dealer for most any repair. plus another small problem is the bodys are put together like a snap tite model