VW Australia destroying the VW brand?

Very surprised with VW Australia after the last 10 years building the brand up in australia to what it is now they have destroyed it with their failure of recalling dodgy 1.4tsi engines and dsg gearboxes

Looks like a recall will finally happen but think it's too late now that their reputation has been dragged thru the mud

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/volkswagen-recall-looms-20130608-2nwcz.html

Did any of the air-cooled dubs have any issues of this magnitude back in the 60/70's?

My new 1961 Beetle had a noisy transmission. The dealer asked me to give it "some time to settle in". It did not improve, so they re-built the trans. Never had any more trouble. The cars were so simple back then.....none of the complexities of the current cars. VW Australia, and their dedicated dealers were proud of their reputation for good service, and reliable cars.

Perhaps the VW Australia of to-day should have a good look at the 'History Books'.

Ive bought three brand new VW's, two diesel and two dsg, done over 200ks in the dsg cars, one did have the transmission go at 70ks but VW replaced and had car back within 10 days, otherwise not an issue. The most reliable and well built new cars ive owned. Pick up a new polo dsg tdi this week... Customer service at the dealer - James Frizelles - Tweed European has been 2nd to none, but Volkswagen Assist and Volkswagen finance is a different story, both appalling customer service.

Also, two of my cars are driving school cars, and are exceptionally maintained but certainly get a hard time, so would happily recommend the brand.

i have a couple of recent rides..
one the gbox shite itself and the other newer silver one looks to have had the a/c compressor shite itself as well recently..
its a shame VW just cant seem to get their shite together..
they should go back to making good stuff from the 50s 60s and 70s..
korean POS are looking way more attractive.. 😵‍💫

btw VW australia if you are reading this YOU SUCK!

I drove in a Korean heap of shite today with only 55k on the clock, my 22 year old VW of 400 000km has a way better ride. I'm VW all the way. (Altho I don't have a new one)

from what I have read, VW Australia are blaming VW Germany for not doing a full recall whereas they have triggered a recall in other markets.... Arent Australian lives important enough ?? Sounds like a case of side-stepping their responsibilities.

from news.com website:
---News Limited understands that Volkswagen head office in Germany has refused to issue a recall.
"We acknowledge that we’ve got some concerns and we are providing any customer data back to our head office."
Volkswagen Australia called 8700 cars back to dealers in 2010 because a faulty engine sensor could cause the car to idle rough or lose power. Motoring media outlets have regularly received complaints about VW reliability issues over the past five or so years. The company has issued recalls for mechanical defects in North America, China, Malaysia and Singapore but not Australia. In Australia, recalls are largely voluntary. Federal government agencies have the power to enforce a vehicle recall, but to date have never used it. ---
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/business/companies/volkswagen-australia-to-fix-4000-cars-but-refuses-to-issue-recall/story-fnda1bsz-1226659056475#ixzz2Vcye4RN4

XXX-1.8T wrote:Did any of the air-cooled dubs have any issues of this magnitude back in the 60/70's?

Yes plenty of issues. Why do you think that they stopped making them here.

CKD 1500 Beetles had issues with water leaks where the body met the pan.

Early Superbugs had a dual vacuum distributor that had to be modified to a single.

Aussie made Beetles had many problems with locally sourced parts eg, Repco Clutches

1976 was a bad year as the Clayton assembly plant was taken over by Datsun they didn't give a stuff about Volkswagens. They had industrial disputes that reflected in the quality of their work.

This is a VW Australia training slide.

Early 40HP engines had a 'power loss' problem. The camshaft and followers would wear down very quickly.....they didn't go too well with an almost-round cam.👎VW recalled them all, and fitted new, improved camshafts and followers.

ALL car makers had their problems, particularly in this country. How they managed these problems, and their treatment of the customer, however, was [and still is] the difference between having a GOOD or BAD reputation.

Some organizations seem to believe the 'Customer is Always Wrong [or stupid]'. They do so at their peril.

HappyDaze wrote:Some organizations seem to believe the 'Customer is Always Wrong [or stupid]'. They do so at their peril.

Ford

Territory front wheels fall off.

"No it's not a safety issue".👎

Hmm, dunno... outside of us car nuts on this forum, how many people do you think have even heard of these issues ???

"Hundreds of complaints" like it says in the article is stuff-all when you consider the number of cars they sell here each year.

There's probably a dozen people I know with VW's (who aren't car people, but know that I am and that I play with VW's)... maybe half have Diesel's with DSG's in 'em... and not one of 'em has complained of a problem.

Yes VW and VW Australia need to do better, but I hardly think the brand has been trashed.

🙅

btw - for bad shifts and bad in city traffic, try driving one of those Ford Focus eco-boost thingy's in auto !!!

👎

AA003 wrote:Ford

Territory front wheels fall off.

"No it's not a safety issue".👎

Sometimes when you wind the window down on Ford Territory the window falls of the runner and opens the door.

All my friends that know I'm into VWs make a comment about these latest issues, the brand is really getting a hammering

Another reason I'm glad I never buy automatic cars!

I owned a 2006 passat 2.0 turbo petrol without any issues. On the other hand, 2 friends of mine owned a Passat and a Golf, both with 2.0 turbo Diesel's who both shit there injectors at 3 years and 1 month . Even though they were both out of warranty VW Australia fixed them under Warranty because it was a known problem with that batch of shity injectors around 2006-2007 with that engine. The Golf had other issues relating to its engine mounts that no one in VW Australia seemed to know about until the in-law researched the issue himself and then instructed VW Australia how to fix it ( he works in IT) VW did come to the Party in the end, although it did leave a very bitter taste in his mouth.

Sides wrote:🙅

btw - for bad shifts and bad in city traffic, try driving one of those Ford Focus eco-boost thingy's in auto !!!

👎

This, right here. Worst cars in traffic, but boy do they go in hills runs.

Isola wrote:Another reason I'm glad I never buy automatic cars!

DSG is not automatic

I bought my GTI because it was a German build car
I would not have bought one otherwise

silver wrote:

Isola wrote:Another reason I'm glad I never buy automatic cars!

DSG is not automatic

How many pedals does it have?

2 pedals = gay poofter box

formula 1 = gay poofter box grow up knob

XXX-1.8T wrote:Very surprised with VW Australia after the last 10 years building the brand up in australia to what it is now they have destroyed it with their failure of recalling dodgy 1.4tsi engines and dsg gearboxes

Looks like a recall will finally happen but think it's too late now that their reputation has been dragged thru the mud

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/volkswagen-recall-looms-20130608-2nwcz.html

Did any of the air-cooled dubs have any issues of this magnitude back in the 60/70's?

VW in Australia has had a bad name for warranty problems and failures that they won't fix.. also high prices for parts and service for well over 6 years ..
Four years ago, I nearly bought a new POLO for My Wife, but after reading about all the problems people were having with their new VWs..
There was no way I was going to have one..

They had a bad reputation in Australia and an even worse one in the USA..
I believe their motto may have been : the customer is always wrong
and any problems was due to wear and tear.. which makes it the customers fault, and they have to pay for it..

I chose a Japanese made Suzuki Swift which My Wife just loves..
I had two new CE Lancers before that [1997 & 2001] and had no problems with either car, and did over 200,000 klms.

I also would NOT touch a car with DSG.. after hearing all the problems
that people are having.. from many brands.. sounds like the one company may be making the DSG for many different car makers??

I have read where these DSG gearboxes can be very different from two identical cars.. some are sealed gearboxes, so any problem and a new gearbox is needed. Many people have no problems with DSG..
but some do and then the fight is on with the car company..
I've found that a 5 year new car warranty doesn't cover wear and tear

Best of Luck if you have a New VW..
I also realise that there are people out there that do not look after their car and don't service them etc.. and use E10 instead of 95 or 98
Fuel..

Lee

AA003 wrote:

HappyDaze wrote:Some organizations seem to believe the 'Customer is Always Wrong [or stupid]'. They do so at their peril.

Ford

Territory front wheels fall off.

"No it's not a safety issue".👎

not for ford, thats normal.

I can tell you from long time experience, thats normal for a ford !

AA003 wrote:

silver wrote:

Isola wrote:Another reason I'm glad I never buy automatic cars!

DSG is not automatic

How many pedals does it have?

2 pedals = gay poofter box

agreed!

1303Steve wrote:

AA003 wrote:Ford

Territory front wheels fall off.

"No it's not a safety issue".👎

Sometimes when you wind the window down on Ford Territory the window falls of the runner and opens the door.

All my friends that know I'm into VWs make a comment about these latest issues, the brand is really getting a hammering

fords have had problems with there doors, the windows, locks, hinges and handles since the 60s or maybe even earlier? I still can't believe that have sorted those issue yet? ffs!

when we had X series ford we had to keep spare handles on hand cos they always snapped off and the doors always open and shut like they were bent in a crash. My step father's EL broke the hinges off as we as my brother's EB. And the window always get stuck in them 🙅

1303Steve wrote:

AA003 wrote:Ford

Territory front wheels fall off.

"No it's not a safety issue".👎

Sometimes when you wind the window down on Ford Territory the window falls of the runner and opens the door.

All my friends that know I'm into VWs make a comment about these latest issues, the brand is really getting a hammering

I agree, every day someone different has a word about VW, and their issues... but i wouldnt buy another brand of new car, havent found anything as good quality or as reliable...

Ive also owned suzuki swifts in my business, and they dont come close to the polo.

Ive also never had a student complain or have issues with the dsg... i think if you want a car to get from a to b, and thats it, then maybe a corolla or i30 would be a better option. If your into cars, and appreciate the drive, then a VW is the go...

Sides wrote:Hmm, dunno... outside of us car nuts on this forum, how many people do you think have even heard of these issues ???

"Hundreds of complaints" like it says in the article is stuff-all when you consider the number of cars they sell here each year.

There's probably a dozen people I know with VW's (who aren't car people, but know that I am and that I play with VW's)... maybe half have Diesel's with DSG's in 'em... and not one of 'em has complained of a problem.

Yes VW and VW Australia need to do better, but I hardly think the brand has been trashed.

🙅

btw - for bad shifts and bad in city traffic, try driving one of those Ford Focus eco-boost thingy's in auto !!!

👎

or even just the normal focus.

I kept on nearly blowing the gearbox from the massive 1-2 sec delay from the drive by wire. Wheel hop on every take off because I just couldn't get used to the lag. It was like driving a car on dial up for drive by wire. I can't imagine how bad the auto would be 🙅

It's both a mixture of poor customer service and poor build quality. The attitude of dealerships was that its the customers fault- or that the problem wasn't really a problem at all! Such as it's normal for it to shudder a little bit (needed a clutch replacement). Or... it's normal for a new engine to burn a bit of oil and refused to do a oil consumption test till I'd done 10,000 kms - eventually me returning to their door step or a fortnightly basis pretty much for oil top ups encouraged them to do one faster! And the other good one was it's normal for their to be a build up of carbon and oily sludge over the back of the car...etc

I think it is fairly common to get a few lemons out of so many cars produced but whats important is how they treat the customer. Though in saying that there does seem to be a lot of lemons produced - out of my work place where there were 4 veedubs (2010+) 3 had had engine replacements....they were all the 1.4l engines.

It's not only VW that's getting a bashing. Most makers are getting a bashing, as the older "legacy" manufacturers still ride on the brand name, hoping that people will buy a new car on old ideals. Unfortunately, the way cars are mass-produced with little quality checks, things are going to slip through the cracks in the system.

As time is money to the service departments, and the bottom line is the most important part of the business, the service departments don't want to waste their time on doing anything outside of the scheduled maintenance, especially with the capped price servicing being offered.

Having said that, I have a 2006 Nissan X-Trail as the family car, and am very happy with it. No problems whatsoever.

For me, Volkswagen ended when they put the engines in the front and made them water-cooled.

I think you will find the head office in Germany is calling the shots, and VW Australia is doing all it can to fix these problems, short of sending themselves broke. VW Australia does not dictate to Germany, and these are not Australia only problems. If the laws were tougher in Australia something would have been done sooner. Recalls suck the profit out of running a business, and if it were up to me I would want to have the manufacturer backing me up, after all VW Australia is simply a retail outlet!

All my VW's are well and truly out of warrantee now😂Dave

XXX-1.8T wrote:Very surprised with VW Australia after the last 10 years building the brand up in australia to what it is now they have destroyed it with their failure of recalling dodgy 1.4tsi engines and dsg gearboxes

Looks like a recall will finally happen but think it's too late now that their reputation has been dragged thru the mud

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/volkswagen-recall-looms-20130608-2nwcz.html

Did any of the air-cooled dubs have any issues of this magnitude back in the 60/70's?

If you want poor warranty buy an Audi. Audi dealers really are r-soles.👎

I ended up just paying for repairs to keep the Audi retards away from my car.

ragged wrote:I think you will find the head office in Germany is calling the shots, and VW Australia is doing all it can to fix these problems, short of sending themselves broke. VW Australia does not dictate to Germany, and these are not Australia only problems. If the laws were tougher in Australia something would have been done sooner. Recalls suck the profit out of running a business, and if it were up to me I would want to have the manufacturer backing me up, after all VW Australia is simply a retail outlet!

All my VW's are well and truly out of warrantee now😂Dave

XXX-1.8T wrote:Very surprised with VW Australia after the last 10 years building the brand up in australia to what it is now they have destroyed it with their failure of recalling dodgy 1.4tsi engines and dsg gearboxes

Looks like a recall will finally happen but think it's too late now that their reputation has been dragged thru the mud

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/volkswagen-recall-looms-20130608-2nwcz.html

Did any of the air-cooled dubs have any issues of this magnitude back in the 60/70's?

I'm not sure of this VW dealers and Audi dealers have been pricks for years so this has become revenge for the Aussie consumer.

The other thing is that I have heard dealerships rorting VW hq as they charge the consumer for the repair and then claim from VW Germany warrant payment so the dealership gets paid twice for the job

My family has owned

Dsg jetta
Dsg golf x 2
Dsg r36
Dsg polo

And no problem touch wood.

VW Germany need to step up and restore confidence in the brand as no one will buy a VW and the second hand car market is going to be flooded with dsg vw's no one wants

They seem to get extended warranty on problem items in USA, UK and Europe but not here. I don't think that VW Germany is calling the shots.

VW sales in Australia are miniscule, compared with the rest of the world.

If and when it becomes un-economical to be here, they will pack up and leave........they've done it before.

my wifes Jetta that we purchased brand new & had a full service history with vw, had the engine catch on fire after only 45'000klm (as though it's supposed to happen at all) .....................vw didn't want to know us.

We bought a Ford mondeo. Couldn't be happier. I now shudder every time I see a modern VW on the road.

Half the problems now come from improperly trained mechanics and staff at the dealers, they've got no idea how to fix the problems that do arise. I have a good friend that also happens to be a VW Europe factory trained mechanic, he worked over here for a while and couldn't believe how badly run the dealers are and the lack of training any of the other mechanics had.

Slightly off topic but is anyone in australia rebuilding these DirectShiftGearbox's? Maybe its a calling for Dave Butler...............VW Australia could just pay him $3000 per box with parts supplied 😂 I mean these psuedo autos can obviously be modified to handle 1000+ horsepower so surely someone knows these box's well enough so that the secondhand VW market doesn't collapse.

I have a lt35 2004 lwb van for work.
It has done 525000 so far and no issues except usual service and replacements when things wear out.
I did buy it from a dealership which has also many other brands under the same roof.
I must say they are nice when buying and then the way you are treated after is off the chart and really made me sad for the brand.
I just feel sad It is this way with VW but when I talk to other Mercedes or ford van owners I am truly blessed in comparison.
Basically all new cars suck and are made to fail earlier because parts and service is where the money really is.
Cars now are disposable renewables,makers want you buy the latest to keep the ball rolling but they should halve the price as they are half as good as they used to be.

There are/ have been lots of new Vw's in my extended family.

2 x golfs
2 x passats
1 x tiguan
1 x caddy
1 x Jetta

Experience with the cars is very hit and miss.

From good,.. Caddy camper is quirky, fun, and takes off at the lights,.. it brings a smile to your face.

,.. to down right dangerous.
Series 5 Golf 2.0 FSI had the mystery loosing power syndrome,..
3 x dealers and 2x independant VW specialists could not find the cause,.. really the car should have been scrapped and not traded-in.

Dealer experience at 3 different dealers has been average to bloody awful and I don't know how they are still in business.
(But then again I've had a bad experience with a toyota dealer so I think it is across all makes.)

I too feel sad for the brand, because I expect more from VW over other brands.

It seems hard to believe that any of these cars will survive like our air cooled beasts in 40+ years time.

Indeed,.. will anyone care enough about them to bother keeping them going.🤪

I love old cars,.. but will I love today's cars when they are old? Hopefully someone will love me.😂

I should mention that my brother goes to an independant mechanic who specializes in euro cars. (Mostly audi, VW.) and he thinks he is great. So maybe there is hope for the modern VW🙂

77dual wrote:Half the problems now come from improperly trained mechanics and staff at the dealers, they've got no idea how to fix the problems that do arise. I have a good friend that also happens to be a VW Europe factory trained mechanic, he worked over here for a while and couldn't believe how badly run the dealers are and the lack of training any of the other mechanics had.

That's what I have found.

Dealing with service manager females doesn't help either.👎

I have had a Golf MkIV manual, a Golf MkV auto (tiptronic torque converter model) and two GTIs with DSG and have not had to make one warranty claim. I have had them all serviced at a non VW agent specialist and obviously will purchase more VWs. The GTI in particular is a joy to drive every day.

Yeah i think i will be looking at another make after this amarok...
my thread here
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=101941&page=1

still no fix, going in again next week but with the major other problems volkswagen australia has i am not holding my breath that this will be fixed..

grinderman wrote:Slightly off topic but is anyone in australia rebuilding these DirectShiftGearbox's? Maybe its a calling for Dave Butler...............VW Australia could just pay him $3000 per box with parts supplied 😂 I mean these psuedo autos can obviously be modified to handle 1000+ horsepower so surely someone knows these box's well enough so that the secondhand VW market doesn't collapse.

I heard they are a sealed unit and not made to be repaired even...????

Lee

A lot of drive line units are made like this but most can be modified simply enough to be a serviceable unit just like good ol days.

The reason they are made a sealed unit is coz they are planed to be for the dump, not on the road in few year time from the purchase.

So you better start stocking up on good used car and NOS parts built in the era when cars were in there peak bang for buck and were best all round. The irony is the mentality this throw away and keep with the trend society that is now, some of the best cars of the past in top condition are now coming out of the wood works because they are deemed "out of date" "not in trend" and for money that is peanuts 😵‍💫

You want good new or slightly used cars? starting looking for 15 to 20 year old cars with less than 100k on the clock in mint condition, they are Now! starting to come out of the wood works. If you want a good run around cars these are it and get them now before they are all gone.


Once they are gone there won't be any more decent newish or low k cars anymore, probably forever.

Its not a media beat up. Its real. If you head on over to the watercooled forum it will take you all night to read the issues threads. Its the reason there have been total recalls in many other markets.

Oil consumption in the 1.4 twincharged engines. Its horrific. 500ml of oil per 1000kms is regarded as completely 100% normal. (My lancer is 120,000km old, its had 2 oil changes in its life no topups, when the oil light comes on I will "service" it again, VW normal equivalent is 60 litres). Most people have little or no issues with their twinchargers granted, but the numbers that do are way to high. Scarily the number of people who accept it is also high. Fixes range from a new breather hose to engine rebuilds. Some people have had more than one rebuild.

DSG issues are software/mechatronic/clutches. Not so much the older 6 speed wet clutch but the 7 speed dry clutch. There is a software upgrade but its not a recall, its a check when serviced. So cars are being driven for 15,000km with slipping clutches? No wonder there are failures. Whether one problem is causing the others I dont think VW know. They arent sealed units they are being rebuilt too. Again the number of people who say yeah but it was fixed under warranty blows me away.

A guy at work has a polo gti. I know he drives his hard. It has mild oil consumption issues but is also starting to have shuddering gearshifts and on rare occasions a box of 7 neutrals. Another guy who sits 2 seats away from me has a Golf 118tsi. He's an older guy who I doubt thrashes his car, I'm sure it sits in D all of the time. He just spent 3 weeks in a hyundai while his engine AND dsg box was rebuilt. While it was in there they decided the aircon was suss and replaced it as well. He's not that bothered as it was done under warranty and still has 3 years left on drivetrain. If I paid > $30K for a brand new car I would expect there is a chance for an annoying quibble like a faulty switch or a rattle. Not a total mechanical rebuild that seems to be reasonable commonplace.

Worldwide when the issues first came to light they should have pulled them out of the market while they did a redesign. Not rely on being one of the biggest brands and cop the warranty claims. In Australia they shouldnt have denied there was a problem when there obviously is. It has completely trashed the brands image and destroyed resale across the range. at the end of 5 years when people are dumping gti polos it will push down my tsi as well. Will make it interesting when my lease is up and I have to sell/ pay out the residual.

As an aside I notice VWA are thinking they have 60 years in Australia. They seem to forget about the late 80's when they abandoned us, just selling the occasional old stock transporter. They even had the "VW is back" marketing campaign. I guess thats the problem when you have so many importers/distributors over the years. It might be the 60th anniversay of VW in Australia but they the company havent been here 60years. http://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/company/volkswagen_australia/celebrating-60-years-of-volkswagen-in-australia.html#none

(wrote my reply without reading the whole thread)

I love my manual non twin charge tsi polo to the extent my missus is jealous of it. In 8 months she has only driven it on one occasion (they day I got it and only for 2 minutes) and I could count the times she has been allowed in as passenger without taking off my socks. 🙂 Miss Amazeer is 16 next year and I will probably look at buying her a 2nd hand one after she destroys the driving school car.

You have nailed the problem exactly Chris. VW Group Aust have finally manned up and announced a recall of over 25,000 cars - Polos, Golfs, Jettas, Caddys and Passats built between June 2008 and Sept 2011. Click here for the news story, and a few related links:

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-news/vw_expected_to_announce_recall_next_week

Even the little guy from VW who gave away the trophies at the Nationals said something about VW's 60 years in Australia. Nope. I wrote a story in the April 2013 Zeitschrift about when the first VWs were sold, March 1954. They are a year early, even if they were sold continually, which they weren't.

As you say, there was a long period when no VWs were sold. The last Golf and Passat diesels were imported in 1980, and sold as 'new' through 1981 and into 1982. No more Golfs would arrive until 1990. The last T2 Kombis were imported in 1979, and 'trickle' sold into 1981 as 'new'. The T3 Kombi didn't arrive until 1982. The last shipment was received in 1986, and likewise 'trickle sold' in 1987, VW's lowest ever sales year with less than 50 vehicles all year. Ateco took over in 1988 ('Volkswagen Is Back!'), then TKM in 1990, and Inchcape in 1992.

The Australian operation was only owned by Volkswagen Germany from 1955 to 1968, and 2001 to now. VW Germany did own 'Motor Producers Limited', the operators of the Melbourne VW factory, from 1968 to 1976 but they only managed the factory, not handle distribution, sales or service, which was done by LNC Industries.

I've been receiving emails from VWA since about the last week or so re the issue tsunami about to flood VWA
well the tide is in and it is a shame that our beloved make has been trashed
incompetence and stupidity are two words that spring to mind
I hope they can fix the probs n one one else dies from poor product
Toyota has survived the trashing of late n I'm sure VW will too
but
not happy jan rings in my ears with my experience
and for the spin of '60 years in Australia' good one marketing company
i spose there is some sort of truth in it some where as my beetle has been here since 54 n well that's nearly all but 60 years 😵‍💫

Saw this on the news today...
MAJOR Problem being they started this recall back in 2009 in the USA.... so, they Knew there was a problem with them...

I have no problems with recalls.. so long as the problem is fixed...
but it seems to matter to a lot of people.. especially in the USA where TOYOTA & VW have a bad name..

although I agree, that NO major parts should need replacing during a cars warranty period.. etc..

LEE

Phil74Camper wrote:You have nailed the problem exactly Chris. VW Group Aust have finally manned up and announced a recall of over 25,000 cars - Polos, Golfs, Jettas, Caddys and Passats built between June 2008 and Sept 2011. Click here for the news story, and a few related links:

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-news/vw_expected_to_announce_recall_next_week

Even the little guy from VW who gave away the trophies at the Nationals said something about VW's 60 years in Australia. Nope. I wrote a story in the April 2013 Zeitschrift about when the first VWs were sold, March 1954. They are a year early, even if they were sold continually, which they weren't.

As you say, there was a long period when no VWs were sold. The last Golf and Passat diesels were imported in 1980, and sold as 'new' through 1981 and into 1982. No more Golfs would arrive until 1990. The last T2 Kombis were imported in 1979, and 'trickle' sold into 1981 as 'new'. The T3 Kombi didn't arrive until 1982. The last shipment was received in 1986, and likewise 'trickle sold' in 1987, VW's lowest ever sales year with less than 50 vehicles all year. Ateco took over in 1988 ('Volkswagen Is Back!'), then TKM in 1990, and Inchcape in 1992.

The Australian operation was only owned by Volkswagen Germany from 1955 to 1968, and 2001 to now. VW Germany did own 'Motor Producers Limited', the operators of the Melbourne VW factory, from 1968 to 1976 but they only managed the factory, not handle distribution, sales or service, which was done by LNC Industries.

My apprentice is currently looking at a 2009 turbo fsi jetta with DSG as a secondhand car from a dealer. If he purchased the jetta would he be able to take the car to VW for free recall work?

grinderman wrote:My apprentice is currently looking at a 2009 turbo fsi jetta with DSG as a secondhand car from a dealer. If he purchased the jetta would he be able to take the car to VW for free recall work?

Probably best to ask a dealer.

As expected, the issue gets a good going over in the motoring section of today's Daily Telegraph. Paul Gover laments the end of properly trained mechanics with "old-fashioned experience and intuition", replaced by "new age technicians" with plug and play analysis. If the computer says there are no fault codes, the car is fine (?!)

The paper also quotes VW Australia's new boss, John White (former boss of VW Canada) as saying "For 60 years the safety and peace of mind has been our highest priority." Umm - no. Sellling your first VW here almost 60 years ago, and BEING HERE for 60 years, are not the same thing. Maybe being a Canadian, parachuted in here just two months ago, he knows nothing of Australian VW history.

But at least he says "We stand by the quality of our cars. We are taking seriously all reports of drivers who have experienced problems with their vehicles, and we have put in place measures to provide customers with peace of mind."

The recall applies to certain VWs built between 2008 and 2011, so the answer is probably YES. Fore more info, phone the VW customer service line on 1800 504 076.

the interesting thing to me will be what VW calls their "recall". If they said they are recalling the cars to have the gearboxes replaced I would understand.... but all I have read recently is that they are being recalled to be "looked at".... which seems to be where the problem lies... the dealers ARE "looking at" peoples cars and telling them there are "no issues" or "its normal" or "it takes time to settle in" lol.

That's called a cost effective solution.

grinderman wrote:My apprentice is currently looking at a 2009 turbo fsi jetta with DSG as a secondhand car from a dealer. If he purchased the jetta would he be able to take the car to VW for free recall work?

recall is on the car, no matter who owns it.
if the new owner fills out the change of owner ship in the back of the owner manual, which I sure every body does when they buy a used car.😂 they will get letters and any recall in the fture
.

best thing to do when you own a faulty car , Is to sell and cut your loss and buy something else. As the problem is normally with the car for life. 🥲

blutopless2 wrote:the interesting thing to me will be what VW calls their "recall". If they said they are recalling the cars to have the gearboxes replaced I would understand.... but all I have read recently is that they are being recalled to be "looked at".... which seems to be where the problem lies... the dealers ARE "looking at" peoples cars and telling them there are "no issues" or "its normal" or "it takes time to settle in" lol.

I believe being looked at means being plugged into a computer to see what it says... lol

If the car has been sold, and VW don't know who owns it..
they probably don't want to know either...

RECALL ADDs usually say that the company will contact the owner of the vehicle...
[person who bought the vehicle new]

LEE

ian.mezz wrote:

grinderman wrote:My apprentice is currently looking at a 2009 turbo fsi jetta with DSG as a secondhand car from a dealer. If he purchased the jetta would he be able to take the car to VW for free recall work?

recall is on the car, no matter who owns it.
if the new owner fills out the change of owner ship in the back of the owner manual, which I sure every body does when they buy a used car.😂 they will get letters and any recall in the fture
.

I bought a Suzuki Swift off a girl who was going overseas and She had paid for an extra 3 years warranty...
car was only 12 months old... I never told Suzuki I had bought the car...?? maybe i should have..??

but I certainly wouldn't buy a used VW like a JETTA GOLF POLO etc...
then again I wouldn't buy a new one either.. warranty or no warranty..

LEE

come on Lee , you would look good driving around in a PoLO
😂

Some people will always pick a more mundane but reliable choice but that's what I love about choice. Some cars are notoriously unreliable eg. alfa romeo, peugeot etc. But people continue to buy these cars because they love them. A Corolla or i30 is not as nice a car as a golf but probably most certainly more reliable but reliability isnt the only reason for buying a car. I am looking at buying a tiguan or yeti soon and I wouldnt give a flying f@#k if it needed a new engine each year of the warranty (after this recall business VWA should have a stockpile of new engines and gearboxes) as long as my dealer looked after me ! The main dillema I see is used car values at trade in time but if the car is awesome to drive it would be worth it. Like, what sort of person would drive an old car with no aircon or airbags or abs and need to service every 5000k.............me😂

I agree grinderman. That's what warranty is for 😉

Reliability is what you look for when you want transport. When you want a CAR you buy the one that leaves you nursing a semi after you drive it. Well... I do...

If everyone looked at buying a reliable car with great resale value they will buy a TOYOTA..

I know many who do... lol all they look at is the $$$ signs..

I've never owned a TOYOTA.. and never will.. lol

but reading about complaints from owners of new or newish cars, [not just VWs] having their warranty claims knocked back as wear and tear.
especially front brake discs at 30,000klms..
and DSG gearboxes.. and engines etc..
Until recently, Most cars lasted 5-8 years without needing any major work done on them... just usually timing and fan belts etc.. even cars that were not looked after lasted a long time.

Now they seem to be making them so they will ONLY last so long... even if they are serviced every 10,000klms at $300++ a go..
and a 5 year warranty which |I always thought was the best thing You could have... isn't worth much at all..

LEE

Softer compounds and materials on brakes these days. Especially Euro cars. I'd rather replace my rotors every 30,000kms and know that my car will STOP when I need it to than have the same brakes for 90,000kms to save a couple of dollars. Saying that though... most people drive like crap and overuse their brakes. Especially automatic drivers. You can always pick the automatic cars when you drive down a hill... they're the cars with their brake lights on.

grinderman wrote:Some people will always pick a more mundane but reliable choice but that's what I love about choice. Some cars are notoriously unreliable eg. alfa romeo, peugeot etc. But people continue to buy these cars because they love them. A Corolla or i30 is not as nice a car as a golf but probably most certainly more reliable but reliability isnt the only reason for buying a car. I am looking at buying a tiguan or yeti soon and I wouldnt give a flying f@#k if it needed a new engine each year of the warranty (after this recall business VWA should have a stockpile of new engines and gearboxes) as long as my dealer looked after me ! The main dillema I see is used car values at trade in time but if the car is awesome to drive it would be worth it. Like, what sort of person would drive an old car with no aircon or airbags or abs and need to service every 5000k.............me😂

I get your point, nearly every car I've ever owned has been because it was interesting or fun to drive, but there's no reason you can't have reliability too, especially these days and especially when you pay pretty good money for them.

68AutoBug wrote:

ian.mezz wrote:

grinderman wrote:My apprentice is currently looking at a 2009 turbo fsi jetta with DSG as a secondhand car from a dealer. If he purchased the jetta would he be able to take the car to VW for free recall work?

recall is on the car, no matter who owns it.
if the new owner fills out the change of owner ship in the back of the owner manual, which I sure every body does when they buy a used car.😂 they will get letters and any recall in the fture
.

I bought a Suzuki Swift off a girl who was going overseas and She had paid for an extra 3 years warranty...
car was only 12 months old... I never told Suzuki I had bought the car...?? maybe i should have..??

but I certainly wouldn't buy a used VW like a JETTA GOLF POLO etc...
then again I wouldn't buy a new one either.. warranty or no warranty..

LEE

You will find that you needed to inform the warranty company within a certain time or its now useless...

I need new cars for my business, and i would rather a VW than a toyota, hyundai or suzuki. Ive done it for years now and lost no more money on a VW over a suzuki, actually made money with the diesel in fuel economy. Services and parts are similar in price...

And so much nicer to drive...

This FAQ document from VW answers a lot of the above questions:

http://volkswagenaustralia.com.au/DSGvoluntaryrecall/Faq

Too true ISOLA, I drive up and down the toowoomba range everyday for work and its astonishing how many people leave their autos in drive and ride the brakes ALL the way down. My last work car was a manual triton and I replaced the brake pads 3 times in 480,000km. Apparently it is not recommended to use your gearing to slow down because it is bad for your clutch but the funny thing is I never had to replace mine in half a million kilometres................ Maybe all these DSG problems are driver problems........😬

Warranty should be there for if something goes wrong, not when something goes wrong. I had a TV that went in 3 times for warranty work for 6 weeks of its first 6 months of life before they gave me a replacement. I can tell you that the inconvenience far outweighed any good feelings I had about it being fixed for nothing under warranty.

68AutoBug wrote:I've never owned a TOYOTA.. and never will.. lol

whats the difference between toyota and mitsubishi Lee? They are both appliance cars.

My beef with VW is that they have known for years about these problems and kept selling what they knew was defective cars. Why didnt they just develop a real solution?!?

Mind you cars these days are incredibly cheap. My 1.8l lancer in 1993 was $21990. That price includes optional aircon and power steering. No mod cons were standard and the only other options were cosmetic. The Polo with cruise, electric everything, climate control, tinted windows, 17 inch wheels, climate control aircon, remote central locking, bluetooth, trip computer, auto dimming mirror, 6 speaker audio, half a dozen airbags, seat belt tensioners, abs and more 3 letter acronyms than I can remember. I dont even need to know how to do a hillstart, it does them for me. All for $22500. Taking into account inflation its by far the cheapest car I have ever owned. Its also a very nice fun drive, much better than an identically priced Hyundai Accent I had as a courtesy car. Anyone who buys an accent over a polo is... on a totally different wavelength to me. Just stay away from those 1.4 twinchargers and DSG and hopefully everything will be OK.

I guess the bottom line with cheap cars, is that they are cheap, and I don't mean inexpensive, regardless of the inclusions of airconditioning, reverse sensors/cameras, electronic everything. You can buy the electronics in Supercrap Auto and fit it yourself

When you have once "luxury" cars now being made affordable to the masses, mass production often leads to problems and less quality control. European cars now being made in China, Thailand, etc. will lead to a drop off in quality control as the manufacturers try to meet their sales targets. VW is no exception to this rule.

65standard wrote:I guess the bottom line with cheap cars, is that they are cheap, and I don't mean inexpensive, regardless of the inclusions of airconditioning, reverse sensors/cameras, electronic everything. You can buy the electronics in Supercrap Auto and fit it yourself

When you have once "luxury" cars now being made affordable to the masses, mass production often leads to problems and less quality control. European cars now being made in China, Thailand, etc. will lead to a drop off in quality control as the manufacturers try to meet their sales targets. VW is no exception to this rule.

ain't that the truth!

F*** new cars! 😂

grinderman wrote:Too true ISOLA, I drive up and down the toowoomba range everyday for work and its astonishing how many people leave their autos in drive and ride the brakes ALL the way down. My last work car was a manual triton and I replaced the brake pads 3 times in 480,000km. Apparently it is not recommended to use your gearing to slow down because it is bad for your clutch but the funny thing is I never had to replace mine in half a million kilometres................ Maybe all these DSG problems are driver problems........😬

I got 120k or of my semi track and solid brembo disk combo and I hammered the bakes hard and also when i took out and replaced my clutch a bit before doing the brakes due to an unrelated failure I checked to see how bad the clutch was, the disk and pressure plate weren't even worn in yet 🤪 and i thought I was really harsh on the clutch.

it turns out when you granny shift and really take your time braking, then thats what wears them to the shithouse as there is tons of friction with no to little effectiveness.

So you have to be firm with the brakes when you need them, gears when you slowing gently. Jab the clutch when shifting, its good for it as far as all my experience with it goes. The brakes, without a doubt firm to hard application in a pulsed fashion is the way to get maximum life for effectiveness and the disks dont warp.

And I do agree, drivers of today are the problem, pure laziness and incompetence.