Project Vent Your VAG Hatred Here!

[Three Speed]

My Alfa 156 had 150k when I gave it away. It was on its original clutch. I assumed that was normal these days as I've never had to change a clutch on a car made after 1972.

[carburettor]

No, apparently it’s quite a common problem. The clutch is a proper clutch not a DMF thing 🤷‍♂️. I bought it at 3 years old and 1 previous owner, there was a female perfume type of smell so I’m guessing (read hoping to god 😬)  it was a woman owner  I’ve only ever had to replace one clutch, in my first ever car, a Vauxhall Viva hb.

 

[abelw44]

Afternoon all,

Doing a major service on the Audi the other day prompted me to realise that I've not updated this thread in some time! I'm now a good ten months or so into the ownership of this fine steed, and still enjoying it just as much as when I bought it! So far, it has been unfailingly reliable - though I'm touching wood, crossing all my digits, and saluting and entire congregation of magpies (not sure if that's the right sort of luck, but can't hurt, can it?) as I type this. It ferries me to work and back every day, around trip of about 110 miles without ever compaining. Having read some of the good folk of Autoshite's replies to this thread, this is a contentious and possibly inflammatory opinion, but I really enjoy the way it drives. It is not remotely fast, by any stretch of the imagination, and absolutely does  not want to be hurried - it likes to show its displeasure at being hustled along by understeering in a moderately alarming manner, succeeding in putting me right back in my place more than once! But there's something quite charming, to my mind at least, about the way it sort of lumbers along the country roads around me. It never fails to put a smile on my face. And when you do need to press on, on the motorway, it happily cruises at a good speed while delivering a pretty refined experience. 

While it lacks the sumptuous leather armchairs like those fitted to the XJ8 Sovereign I briefly owned, the interior is very comfortable. But what always strikes me most about it is how much thought was clearly put into the design - while in the driving seat, you need only raise a finger slightly from the gearstick to adjust the volume or the climate control, and the cupholder is just a few inches above, making everything within very comfortable reach. And nothing you'd need to operate while driving is so complex as to require you to take you're eyes off the road - it's all intuitive and simple. The stereo is lovely, though the speakers are beginning to show their age, mids are lovely and warm but the bass has a tendency to edge towards muddy and the highs can sometimes be a bit lacking. A new set of speakers would sort that out and have it sounding great again! I love the fact that the head unit has physical buttons for adjusting highs, mids and bass on the fly as well as profiles saved whether you're listening to the radio, cassettes or CDs. It seems to get between 35 - 40mpg on my drives to and from work, which I don't think is shocking considering its age and size, though it is a little painful on the wallet given the petrol prices at the moment. I think sorting out the inlet manifold changeover valve would help with the fuel economy a bit - though getting hold of the parts to do that is easier said than done!

So for the time being I am just enjoying driving it, and looking after it as best I can as finances allow - it gets regular oil changes and premium fuel as much as is possible. There are a few niggling issues that I need to sort as and when I can - these are:

 - Timing belt (not so much a niggling issue as an impending time bomb!) It needs one in the next 20k miles or so - I have all the bits, I just need to pluck up the courage to actually do it! Not something I've attempted before...

- When I did the big service the other day, there was a fair bit of oil in the spark plug wells, which I can only assume means the rocker cover gasket  is failing and dribbling - this would stand to reason, given the block is a little bit wet around that area too.

- As previously mentioned, the ol' changeover valve needs sorting. It's done the classic trick of snapping the arm that actuates it.

- The near side drive shaft clicks under hard left hand turning which is irritating.

 

I think that's about it really! Aside from the fact I desperately need to sort out some sort of AUX input, as the quality from the cheapo bluetooth/FM transmitter thingy is akin to dipping your head in a bucket of warm candle wax and allowing it to dry on before listening. 

When I have taken enough brave pills to give the cambelt a go, I will do another update, and you can all have a good laugh when I inevitably get it wrong! 

That's all for now,

 

abelw44

[barefoot]

Chap I walk my dog with has owned a Golf for the last ten years.

This one;

https://www.autotuning.de/vw-golf-i-kamei-golf-reloaded/

See if you can guess how much he's just sold it for?

[Dick Longbridge]

What are the 1.6 tdi VAG engines like? 

[twosmoke300]

22 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

What are the 1.6 tdi VAG engines like? 

Generally ok . Egr failure is common and a subframe down job to replace it . 
yes I’m sure some bleating hero’s will say it can be done without but I like to do it properly and not lose skin . 
Injectors just fail randomly and we’re on back order for a bit but available now I believe . Not cheap tho .

Otherwise I’ve not seen any other problems with them 

[SiC]

On 11/04/2022 at 18:02, abelw44 said:

Having read some of the good folk of Autoshite's replies to this thread, this is a contentious and possibly inflammatory opinion, but I really enjoy the way it drives. It is not remotely fast, by any stretch of the imagination, and absolutely does  not want to be hurried - it likes to show its displeasure at being hustled along by understeering in a moderately alarming manner, succeeding in putting me right back in my place more than once! But there's something quite charming, to my mind at least, about the way it sort of lumbers along the country roads around me. It never fails to put a smile on my face. And when you do need to press on, on the motorway, it happily cruises at a good speed while delivering a pretty refined experience. 

Despite being a VAG hater, I do keep coming back to their brands as they do drive nice. I always say they're the iPhone of cars. Do everything just fine while looking modern/fashionable (hence why they're popular) but have inflated prices for what they are, aren't the best made under the skin and a pain in the arse to repair. 

That said, my Golf mk5 GTI really isn't that bad to work on. Worse than many others but really not as bad as some. Especially against my TT Mk1, it's far easier to work on. Parts sharing make them easy to get things for and not that expensive - good because they do like to nickle/dime you (as the Americans say). The engineering design ethos carries between models and makes them all very familiar to work on.

I think I want to hate them because of the badge and what they stand-for (an average, tick box car) rather than their products.

[Dick Longbridge]

29 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

Generally ok . Egr failure is common and a subframe down job to replace it . 
yes I’m sure some bleating hero’s will say it can be done without but I like to do it properly and not lose skin . 
Injectors just fail randomly and we’re on back order for a bit but available now I believe . Not cheap tho .

Otherwise I’ve not seen any other problems with them 

Less shit than the 1.0 and 1.6 TSI then? 

[Rocket88]

All VAG problems pale into insignificance stacked up against the cynical, lazy, and downright shite that is JLR…..

[chadders]

1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

What are the 1.6 tdi VAG engines like? 

We've had our 2013 1.6D Roomster for about 8 years now with no engine problems.

There were a couple of regeneration issues at first but now if it does a few short runs I give it an Italian tune up, well as much as you can give one of these them.

[Noel Tidybeard]

we had 10 polio slo-motions/no-motions at work

what hateful bags of shite they ALL OF THEM were in and out of the  stealers with MIL on with the reply TADTS

the 208 replacements were like rockets compared to them

there i've got it off my chest now