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Still thinking of getting an R36 and thought I would get some further opinions on what I might be getting myself in for!
If you have something you want to get off your chest or maybe just enlighten my life feel free to respond with your experiences.
I am interested in the complete story;
Pre-Ordering
Dealers
Delivery times
Initial issues
Long terms problems
Thanks in advance
There were a few initial issues with mine, the RNS510 sat nav kept crashing on me in certain regions. I now have a new unit that works fine apart from a loose bolt rattling in my dash.
The car came with a shoddy wheel alignment (toe issues) that destroyed two of my tyres ($1200 worth), but that has since been sorted by Heasemans.
The only other problem I have is the aluminium bit that runs across the dash keeps rubbing against the styrofoam behind it causing an annoying mouse squeak. First the drivers side was doing it, which got fixed now its the passenger side.
Once the sat nav rattle and the mouse squeak get fixed in the 30k service next month it will be smooth sailing :)
I had the following issues:
1) Memory seat mechanism was faulty. It had to be replaced under warranty but the whole process was not pleasant as they insisted on testing it over 2 occassion which means only on my 3rd visit was it fixed.
2) engine does not start properly on hot humid days after engine is warm. Have repeatedly taken back for checkup but still not fixed. Again, the service is utterly disappointing.
3) Rattering from rear shelf, still not fixed
4) Interior alarm did not work intially
5) there was a recall on the electrical cable again the whole replacement process was not seamless like other manufacturers I have dealt with
Overall, not happy with quality and servicing (I have lose count how many times I had taken my car in for check ups for servicing since 1 year & 15000kms ownership, it has taken up a lot of my time = opportunity cost) however the bang for buck factor enables me to oversee the VW flaws. And the car drives great! Would I buy a VW if it were not for the R36, short answer is most likely "NO".
I bet it's the headlining strip across the back of the roof that covers the brake light! Mine vibrated and rattled after the window tinter didn't put it back on properly. Has a weird clip system. Took it off myself, tighted the clips and put it back. Sorted!Quote:
Originally Posted by theplanner
Man I hate reading about stuff like this. I pick mine up in 3 hours (delayed from yesterday), I've just "crossed over" from Subaru and had zero issues, I hope I haven't made the wrong decision :frown:Quote:
Originally Posted by theplanner
Every manufacturer has cars with issues. Regardless of brand it is luck of the draw. But that's what warranties are for.
I think it would be very foolish to believe that there is a car maker who cannot make lemons. Or at least make all their cars almost perfect. Even some things like the tinting, tow bar, etc are installed locally and it could be a source for issues too (eg. Rocket's post). Also, my friend bought a new Mazda RX-8 three months ago. He has had to return it 4 times to get the tinting fixed. Also it is getting a new gearbox this week because that failed. A new gearbox after three months only... So whilst we may have had some issues, you may or may not be so lucky. This will be so with any car maker. But I can understand your intrepidation, You would expect them to get things right for the amount of money you're paying. You're not buying a $200 power drill, you're buying a $70,000+ car.
In the case of getting a lemon or poor customer service, I would expect to be properly compensated. Especially if they expect any kind of brand loyalty.
Don't know why but many VW drivers are very nervous about their cars listening for every minute sound and looking for every imperfection. Owners of other brands seem to get problems fixed in the first service or so and not have so many anxieties about it. They certainly don't spread their distress across the net as much. We're a weird bunch.:driver: You're already a neurotic VW owner and you haven't even picked the car up yet!Quote:
Originally Posted by GHW
A few issues with mine as well...
Exhaust mount and the bloody service department forgetting to hook everything back up
Vibration through the DSG. Both sets of synchro's running apparently. This was fixed with a software update (with no permanent damage they tell me).
The time is the killer, been back to the doctors 5 times in 15,000k.
But would I swap back to the old car (XC70) not a chance! The driving experience is awesome. It's taken a little of getting used to, different driving style. Chuck it in and get on the power early!:driver:
Looking to change service departments so if anyone can recommend someone in Sydney that would be helpful.
Cheers,
Brett
Man I think there were more excuses than people giving problems feedback LOL
Yes, every car has it's problems and I must say everybody who loves there cars makes excuses.
Anyhow your feedback is appreciated and I look forward to some possible more problem posts :) and less excuses.
In regards to the dealers I have to say there sales departments are ****, I have now been to two dealers, one multiple times and I don't seem to get their attention.
Do I need to bring my misus and a baby before they will take any interest :duh:
I believe in general VW quality is no where near Subaru however, VW can definitely design better looking cars and are more in touch with design preference of the public. Subaru seem to change their minds so often about 1-2 yrs after releasing a new shape/model.Quote:
Originally Posted by GHW
Whether you end up thinking if you made the right decision or not lies with how much enjoyment you get from driving the car while nothing is wrong. I hate the quality and the service but the driving experience out weighs the issues in my case. Also, the next nearest comparable (size, power & handling) car (eg. BMW 335, Audi S4, C320 etc) are at least another 30-40k premium. So the bang for buck factor also helps me oversee its flaws.
An analogy would be like would you rather date a high maintanence but pretty chic (or whatever that facies you) or a low maintenance but average chic.
For some (and I shall not mention names) they rather be ignorant about it so they do not see the flaws. For others, (like myself) knowing the cons helps me better appreciate the pros.
I hope this helps eleiminate your doubts.
I sold a MY06 WRX for the R36. The Subaru had a few issues replaced under warranty: clutch, turbo, rear shocks. Apart from the factory recall for the battery wiring I have had no issues with the R36 in almost a year, not even a rattle.Quote:
Originally Posted by GHW
I have had my car for a few months now. I bought it 2nd hand (privately interstate). It had very few kms on it and still had 14 month VW warranty left. The previous owner gave me the paperwork which he just got for the battery cabling recall which mine had to have. My Passat is in showroom condition and would be probably the best kept 2nd hand car you could find. However it had an annoying rattle in the dash area around the radio where the plastics meet (before I put the AVC in). The Ncle VW dealers would not touch it as they said initially, "Where did you buy the car from (not us)" and that VW warranty does not fix rattles over 1000km????? I have never heard of this? and asked him to show me were it said this. He said it was in the book and tried to find it for me. Guess what he couldn't find it but said it was there. I was pissed off about that but other than having a big argument I chose another line of attack. I emailed VW Aust and talked to them about my problem. VW Aust would not tie themselves down to saying one thing or the other but stated that if it was a problem not caused by normal wear and tear or human interaction it would be warranty. The rattle was neither of these and I took it back when I got the wiring done and had a word with service about VW Aust and they fixed it. I had a look at what they did and they just put some friction absorb tape on the attachment clips of the radio surround which fixed the problem. It would be a 10 minute job at the max. Anyway they did my battery cable recall as well. When I looked at the work they did latter I found that the positive battery cover under bonnet was missing (battery in the boot) I found it was down the bottom of the engine almost about to fall on the road as they had not clipped it back on the positive attachment point. I looked under the engine and found that a lot of the cabling had not been clipped back into the attachment points on the chassis as well. I fixed this up myself. I am not very happy with the Service I got from them and the BS I had to go through to get a warranty job done. This is my 3rd VW. It is a $63K car (fm new) and I would think that your service would be better than this. I would never take my car to this dealer again for warranty or service and would drive a distance to get work done elsewhere. I think they just give these jobs to apprentices. I hope they are better??????? I have had new cars regularly from new Subaru's to Mazda's and any problems I have are fixed up straight away without a problem. I love VW and would always buy again but want good service from the dealers.
Blacky,Quote:
Originally Posted by Blacky
I had an issue with my White R36 Wagon, the air conditioner couldn't make up its mind whether to blow hot or cold air. This happened in January this year, and where I live is does get hot. On one of the days the car suggested the OAT was 47 (reasonably accurate) and it decided to blow hot air into the cabin. I spoke to my dealer, Solitaire, and the really bright response was run the aircon like that for 5 minutes to allow it time to start to cool :brutal: You can imagine my thoughts. Solitaire then asked if they could have the car for 2 or 3 days to diagnose the fault. I traveled to Melbourne on holidays shortly after and a mates son recommended I visit Burwin VW in Burwood. I took the car there and got immediate service and they diagnosed the fault then and there, a TX valve in the compressor and arranged for a new compressor:)
I guess the service issue is all a matter of luck, but I was very impressed with the people at Burwin.
Cheers
pj
Craig..
Was that Klosters Newcastle? Generally they have been OK with me but have left minor things out like checking washer fluid levels etc. Not 100% confident with them.
I won't say what Klosters did to a car owned by a friend of my father's following a little bingle....Quote:
Originally Posted by PassatB6
Why not? name and shame I say. They do bad by people they should feel the pain of losing customers.
It was a long time ago (in the 80s..), and they may have changed since.. although up until I left Newcastle in 2001 their reputation wasn't brilliant.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket36
Hear hear! I've dumped the local dealer because they did a wheel alignment for me and the caster was out by a couple of degrees on both front wheels! Now very happy with a knowledgeable local independent.
Hi Blacky.
Picked the car up Friday. Passenger side mirror faulty Saturday. It won't go into reverse down mode. Did it once, then got stuck permanently in down position and had to be adjusted back up to normal, worked once again now no go at all. Not bad for one days ownership !
I guess electrics still aren't VAG's thing. My Bora had both rear electric window motors replaced, my Audi had intermittently opening / closing sunroof on hot days and passenger window that would randomly open, get stuck or close without warning. VW fixed no prob, Audi never fixed as service couldn't find the fault (funny that with intermittent issues :brutal:)
And yes, I agree with all that "that's what warranty's for" but I don't know about the rest of you, my time = $$$ and I can't afford to spend time at a dealership. It's lucky this car is so FREAKIN INSANELY AWESOME.
My MY07 3.0RB Liberty. owned for 2.5 years never had one warranty issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by R36
Luck of the draw i guess, hopefully my dodgy mirror is all she wrote.
I bought an R36 in January and will hit 10,000 kms this week. So far it is the worst new car experience I have had.
Issues so far:
1. I noticed that it blew a lot of smoke when you accelerated. I took it took the dealer and the diagnosis was carbon build up. It must build up quickly as I had only done a few thousand k's, most of which were on the freeway. After another couple of weeks the oil light came on and it took about a litre of oil to fill. The smoke continued so I took it to another dealer but they said it's normal. We'll see.
2. After another week the front right mount on the seat broke. Every time you took off the seat started tipping backwards. Dealer recognised how dangerous this was and took it straight in. Tried to give me a 10 year old Barina as a lone car but it had no brake lights so they eventually found a Golf. Have switched dealers to Camberwell (Vic) and they are much better.
3. Absolutely everything in cabin rattles from all the doors to the steering column and dash.
4. Just started making the dashboard squeak that others have noticed as well.
5. Sat Nav keeps locating me in the wrong suburb.
6. Blue tooth system freezes after every few phone calls.
It is by far the worst build quality I have ever experienced. Last car was a Subaru MY05 3.0R-B and it never had one warranty issue or rattle in 3 years. Before that I had the Outback 3.0R with the same perfect 3 year history.
What is really annoying me the most is the 4 Motion system. The salesman assured me it was a 50/50 split in normal driving conditions. After a few days I realised this was not the case. Should have done my research more thoroughly.
I don't know if this is normal but it is not really any different to a FWD, lots of torque steer and wheel spin. It does go away after a second or two but the handling is nothing like the Subaru, Audi A4 Quattro or Lancer GSR that I have owned previously.
Any advice on the 4 Motion issue would be greatly appreciated.
What 4Motion issue have you got? Not being 50:50 front and rear is not an issue. It's how it's designed.Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbob
A shame about all your issues, that's unfortunate, but there are cars like that from every manufacturer..... It is luck of the draw. Seems like you were unlucky this time. :( But to get a lot of wheel spin and torque steer, you must be driving it super hard. Even on a race track, the traction was awesome and hardly any wheelspin at all. Torque steer is something that is slightly noticable but nothing like a FWD car.
sorry to hear your problems jimbob....as someone else mentioned, sometimes its a lottery....at the end of the day, if you get a bad one, its all about how the dealer responds to the problems that will count....i came from a subaru liberty, and the passat is miles ahead in terms of fit finish and squeaks and rattles...(touch wood)
i'm with gead. touching a lot of wood i am... lol
Geez I thought my was pretty bad sounds like yours is a dud. My blows smoke too on acceleration but not enough for me to worry about. I have notice that there have been more carbon from the exhuast than any otherQuote:
Originally Posted by jimbob
any other cars I have owned.
And Torque steer & wheel spin not sure you managed that....I have not felt any torque steer or wheel spin (which includes using the launch on a wet road or launching onto a T intersection).
Maybe something is seriously not right about your car.
I do agree that not no one manufacturer produces perfectly assembled vehicles but there just appears to be more faulty cars out from VW.
I can't agree with you more....Quote:
Originally Posted by GHW
Wow. Sorry to hear about this.Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbob
Was it a demo model by any chance?
My worst experience ever was with a demo Holden that had endless issues and ended up with a blown transmission that took them 3 goes to fix. I sold it after a month following the final fix which seemed to have sorted it out. I wasn't prepared to find out if it was going to last. Told the buyer and sold it taking an absolute bath on the price... bought for $29k and sold for $15500 after 2 years.
Happens with all makes I guess. Doesn't make it any better for you I know, but what can you do... it's how the world is...
[QUOTE=jimbob;334404]I bought an R36 in January and will hit 10,000 kms this week. So far it is the worst new car experience I have had.
2. After another week the front right mount on the seat broke. Every time you took off the seat started tipping backwards. Dealer recognised how dangerous this was and took it straight in. Tried to give me a 10 year old Barina as a lone car but it had no brake lights so they eventually found a Golf. Have switched dealers to Camberwell (Vic) and they are much better.
My wife bought a Golf from Camberwell VW. I also know a mechanic that worked there and he said they ran the shop with a ridiculous ratio of fully qualifed mechanics to apprentices at one stage, well below what is allowed by law. Also they had Elvis who smashed someones car real bad and the owner didn't like the repair by Eurostyle, but they fixed our Golf Ok for a minor bingle rear bumper.
Has anyone experienced the new workshop at Sth Yarra VW in Richmond//Abbotsford? I can either take my Tiguan to Sth Yarra or Camberwell. After 2 years I realised Camberwell have the coolant too high on my wife's Golf V, so much for checking eh?
They are all slack, should be like Gordon Ramsay at the pass, a head mechanic should make sure everything in a service has been done. I have noticed Camberwell have gonr from Castrol Magnetec to Shell Helix? I wonder why?
Hey rocket, I have exactly the same annoying rattles (left & right side) of the headlining strip accross the back. How the hell does that thing come off? I want to do as yo did & tighten the clips myself & also point out to the upcoming window tinter next week on how to properly remove & replace the strip.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket36
Thanks!
P.S. Pics would be even better if you get a chance.
Anyone have an issue with something sounding like excessive hard disk noise from the RNS510 (i.e. with satnav & 30GB hard disk). It doesn't do it all the time but seems to be a definite whiring noise from the RNS510 unit which is damn annoying. I'm just not sure if it's 'normal' or if I should do a song & dance about it to the dealer.
It just pops off. Unfortunately with enough force that you feel like you're going to break it!
Wait until you're at the tinter's. The less you pull it off and put it back the better. The break like just unplugs and unclips once the headliner is off.
Once you get it off, there are metal clips that will probably be still in the roof where it all clips in. You will need to get them out as they slide into grooves on the part you removed. You will need some pliers to bend them back into a tight shape. Make sure you haven't broken any of the plasting when the metal things slide in when you pulled it off.
This should all make sense when you see it.
In fact I wouldn't put it back on until you get home and get a chance to do everything right yourself.
I didn't take any pictures of mine and I'm not in a rush to remove it again I'm affraid. Once you have it off, it should all be pretty self explainitory.
Wow, and I thought that my couple of issues were a pain in the arse!
I had mine to a mate who builds race engines and he gave it a once over for me; a couple of comments that he did pass on..
The 3.6 engine runs a bloody light synthetic oil and it will use it. Better to use it than the alternative, his advice is just to keep an eye on it. the old man has a HSV GTS and it doesn't use oil anything like that beast. I guess you need to remember that the engine is a highly strung normally aspirated engine. Have a look at the outputs from the '92 GT-R which from memory was a inline 2.6 6cyl, twincam, Twin turbo with a dirty great intercooler. This thing cranked out 310bhp, now the R36 is near as dam it to 300bhp from a normally aspirated engine! Yes it is a great shopping trolley, but anyone looking at these things need to go in eyes wide open.
The he had a look at the carbon build up; thinks that it is fuel related. He did mention that it seemed to be worse if you're using Caltex fuel. I was following my car over Bell's Line of Road in a Lotus and it was blowing out quite a bit of black stuff. I could almost tell every time that the foot went down hard. Having said that, I had to work hard in the 111s to keep up!
The other thing he did suggest was that the engine mounts would not be long for this world, if the car was being driven hard regularly. I looked at a change, but after some discussion decided against it due to the additional vibration etc being transferred to the chassis and subsequently the noise.
The biggest thing that I'll be changing is the tyres. The Dunlop's are ordinary; I can't wait to get a set of Michelin's.
The hardest thing for me was changing the way I drive. I have been used to rear wheel drive brutal cars, but subtle changes to the way that you turn in and get the power down have made huge differences. And if anyone tells you that you can't get the back end out on an R36, tell them they're not trying hard enough. It may not be quick, but it is great fun.
Cheers,
Brett
Agree with the fuel/smoke out the back comment...
Notice smoke out the pipes under spirited acceleration with Caltex Vortex 98 but not with BP Ultimate.
Just about every modern engine that I have seen does run very light synthetic nowadays. In fact, other than some of the old iron, every motor that I have seen is in the order of 5W30 or thereabouts. This is not an issue as these motors are *designed* that way with very tight tolerances due to modern manufacturing techniques and modern materials used. Also, the modern oils, especially synthetics or semi synthetics, are much better and therefore can be utilized.Quote:
Originally Posted by Burkey
Motors that use oil are usually those that are designed to rev hard and high and *need* to rev hard in order to get moving. The R36 does not need to be revved hard in order to get moving as it has plenty of low end torque. I had a Subaru Liberty 3.0lt B Spec and *it* used quite alot of oil due to the fact that you *had* to rev it to get it moving due to a lack of low end torque. The R36 is no such beast.Quote:
Better to use it than the alternative, his advice is just to keep an eye on it. the old man has a HSV GTS and it doesn't use oil anything like that beast. I guess you need to remember that the engine is a highly strung normally aspirated engine.
My R36 has used almost no oil in the 3,500kms that I have had it. In fact, since new, the oil has dropped only about 2mm from the time I have had it and I do give it some stick regularly.
No, the 310bhp figure was the "quoted" figure that *all* manufactureres from Japan were "supposed" to adhere to back in those days, the 206Kw ceiling as it were. The *actual* power output from these cars was a hell of alot more.Quote:
Have a look at the outputs from the '92 GT-R which from memory was a inline 2.6 6cyl, twincam, Twin turbo with a dirty great intercooler. This thing cranked out 310bhp, now the R36 is near as dam it to 300bhp from a normally aspirated engine!
Quote:
Yes it is a great shopping trolley, but anyone looking at these things need to go in eyes wide open.
The he had a look at the carbon build up; thinks that it is fuel related. He did mention that it seemed to be worse if you're using Caltex fuel. I was following my car over Bell's Line of Road in a Lotus and it was blowing out quite a bit of black stuff. I could almost tell every time that the foot went down hard. Having said that, I had to work hard in the 111s to keep up!
The other thing he did suggest was that the engine mounts would not be long for this world, if the car was being driven hard regularly. I looked at a change, but after some discussion decided against it due to the additional vibration etc being transferred to the chassis and subsequently the noise.
The biggest thing that I'll be changing is the tyres. The Dunlop's are ordinary; I can't wait to get a set of Michelin's.
The hardest thing for me was changing the way I drive. I have been used to rear wheel drive brutal cars, but subtle changes to the way that you turn in and get the power down have made huge differences. And if anyone tells you that you can't get the back end out on an R36, tell them they're not trying hard enough. It may not be quick, but it is great fun.
Cheers,
Brett
In the first 5,000km mine had used about 1L. It was about 3/4L low at the 7,500km service and since then it hasn't used a lot. The last service, 15,000 the guys mentioned it was about 1L low and to keep an eye on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lance B
I do rev the R36 out, it does have a great lump of torque but damn it gets up and goes when you let it rev!
Cheers,
Brett
Yes, Natsat certainly makes those noise. Noticeable only when the car is in idle without music/radio running.Quote:
Originally Posted by evr
Yep, i notice that alot when i rev it abit. Been using Shell V-Power pretty much exclusively, will see if there is a change when i switch to BP from now on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket36
Owned R36 since Feb and after 7,500km I have visited the work shop 5 times:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayse
1. IPOD cable (****) replaced with MDI they had trouble installing it..
2. Rattle left front passenger door ( stops when you wind down the window a little) - they will look at it at the 15,000km service
3. Smoke when putting the power down yes... Changed to BP ultimate from Caltex Vortex.. (would say BP is a cleaner fuel)
4. Reversing camera (factory fitted) faulty will work on it's own terms and at night is a piece of rubbish.. (Just waiting on a new camera 18 days and counting)
5. mechanically A1 (no problems under the hood)
Given the amount of times I have spent at the dealership I am over VW but not over the engineering excellence which is the R36....
Rocket36, the 4 Motion issue is the front wheelspin when accelarating, mainly coming out of a T-intersection with the wheel off centre. it is particularly bad in the wet where it seems to take ages to move the power to the back. Maybe this is normal with the Haldex system but not something I have experienced with my other AWD's.
I have read about a control unit that plugs into the Haldex system and adjusts the torque split. Can anyone provide information on whether this is worth the money and does it cause any long term damage to the drive train.
Luminary, it was a brand new car not a demo. I was suspicious when both the sedan and wagon demonstrators I drove had rattles in the cabin with only a 1,000 k's on the clock. As most of the others have noted the performance outweighed the potential problems. Unfortunately the excitement is wearing off quickly. It will be a very long 3 year lease.
I use Shell Vortex fuel, it is part of the lease company deal.