My painful experience of owning a VW Tiguan

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#2672241 12-Mar-2021 12:32

The battery one is interesting - I was quoted about $1k to change this and advised to have it done at the car's first service at Tristrams in mid-19. It seemed fine to me so I declined the offer and it has never caused a problem since then.

dafman

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#2672283 12-Mar-2021 13:50

IMHO, asking VW to do the right thing is a bit like asking a burglar to give you back the goods he has stolen.

Or to put it another way, you're unlikely to receive an ethical outcome from an unethical company.

My advice, like others, is to move the car on while it is in-between faults and move to a Japanese/Korean alternative.

dafman

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#2672285 12-Mar-2021 13:53

ps. My theory is that for every $1 stop/start saves you in fuel, it's costs you $1.50 extra for the eventual outrageous battery replacement.

shk292

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#2672300 12-Mar-2021 14:16

dafman:

ps. My theory is that for every $1 stop/start saves you in fuel, it's costs you $1.50 extra for the eventual outrageous battery replacement.

That's probably not far off the mark! Problem is, the fuel savings are captured in the economy and emissions numbers, but the battery cost isn't.

You see the drive to reduce the emissions numbers in other areas such as the use of DSG transmissions, which aren't great in slow traffic, and at least in my car the tendency to change up far too early - so you end up going up hills at 1200rpm, which the engine can do but with a lot of vibration.

Bung

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#2672305 12-Mar-2021 14:38

shk292:
You see the drive to reduce the emissions numbers in other areas such as the use of DSG transmissions, which aren't great in slow traffic, and at least in my car the tendency to change up far too early - so you end up going up hills at 1200rpm, which the engine can do but with a lot of vibration.

Vibration is never a good sign. Maybe this explains why some VW seem to feature broken piston rings.

Scott3

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#2674034 13-Mar-2021 23:07

shk292:

dafman:

ps. My theory is that for every $1 stop/start saves you in fuel, it's costs you $1.50 extra for the eventual outrageous battery replacement.

That's probably not far off the mark! Problem is, the fuel savings are captured in the economy and emissions numbers, but the battery cost isn't.

You see the drive to reduce the emissions numbers in other areas such as the use of DSG transmissions, which aren't great in slow traffic, and at least in my car the tendency to change up far too early - so you end up going up hills at 1200rpm, which the engine can do but with a lot of vibration.

Yip, pritty much.

With many locations globally either taxing by co2 emissions, or having fleet average limits (New Zealand's kick in in 2023 I think), automakers are under massive pressure to make their cars more efficient. Consumers are also placing greater emphasis on economy when car shopping.

Dropping in a stop start system improves the car's emission figures, even if those gain's aren't fully realized in the real world. Most stop start systems don't work if you have a trailer plugged in, if the AC/Heat is not yet near the set point, battery is low charge, temperature is out of range, or of course if the driver turns it off because it is annoying.

Some things they do improve economy such as swapping out 4 speed auto's for 8 speed units are great for drivers though.

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#2674066 14-Mar-2021 07:42

shk292:

You see the drive to reduce the emissions numbers in other areas such as the use of DSG transmissions, which aren't great in slow traffic, and at least in my car the tendency to change up far too early - so you end up going up hills at 1200rpm, which the engine can do but with a lot of vibration.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/videos/a30431/lugging-bad-for-engine/

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jjnz1

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#2674077 14-Mar-2021 08:20

@jjnz1: How are you finding your Pathfinder? Would you recommend it?

Yep for value definitely. Paid $49k including a lot of extras at 1.9% interest.

Would shell out for ST-L model next time. Cloth seats are a pain for the kids, and I really miss adaptive cruise control.

Fuel economy for my ST 4WD is around 13 l/100 around town. Big difference compared with my new 2016 xtrail but we love the extra space.

Tires wear quick - front outsides warn heavily after 30k km. Will need replacing shortly (yes lots of alignments and swapping has occurred to try and limit wear)

Also the extra 7th seats are actually adult sized seats! (I'm 6.2)
And the 3.5ltr power is awesome! Haven't had any noticable issues with CVT.

Dealer has also said to me that Nissan NZ will give me a special price on my next new purchase as we had a few communication issues at the start - purchased new in Jan 2019, car was delivered a few weeks later. I VIN searched a week or so later and found that the vehicle was manufactured May 2017 and tires 2015. I wasn't happy about not being told - but I had little recourse options.
The tribunal has had similar cases but without providing evidence of me being subjected to actual loses (not future loses) I would have won the case, but with no $$ awarded to me and I have not yet lost anything.

After discussions with Nissan NZ I concluded it was them at fault and not dealer (although they now know to check and communicate with customer). Nissan wouldn't admit liability but they did offer a few things verbally (wouldn't put it in writing however aarrhh!)

turtleattacks

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#2674086 14-Mar-2021 08:43

jjnz1:
@jjnz1: How are you finding your Pathfinder? Would you recommend it?

Yep for value definitely. Paid $49k including a lot of extras at 1.9% interest.

Would shell out for ST-L model next time. Cloth seats are a pain for the kids, and I really miss adaptive cruise control.

Fuel economy for my ST 4WD is around 13 l/100 around town. Big difference compared with my new 2016 xtrail but we love the extra space.

Tires wear quick - front outsides warn heavily after 30k km. Will need replacing shortly (yes lots of alignments and swapping has occurred to try and limit wear)

Also the extra 7th seats are actually adult sized seats! (I'm 6.2)
And the 3.5ltr power is awesome! Haven't had any noticable issues with CVT.

Dealer has also said to me that Nissan NZ will give me a special price on my next new purchase as we had a few communication issues at the start - purchased new in Jan 2019, car was delivered a few weeks later. I VIN searched a week or so later and found that the vehicle was manufactured May 2017 and tires 2015. I wasn't happy about not being told - but I had little recourse options.
The tribunal has had similar cases but without providing evidence of me being subjected to actual loses (not future loses) I would have won the case, but with no $$ awarded to me and I have not yet lost anything.

After discussions with Nissan NZ I concluded it was them at fault and not dealer (although they now know to check and communicate with customer). Nissan wouldn't admit liability but they did offer a few things verbally (wouldn't put it in writing however aarrhh!)

$49k? Great price for a Pathfinder!

Did you buy a brand new vehicle in 2019 and it was made in 2017 with tires in 2015? Surprised that Nissan don't update their vehicles yearly. Seems like you like your Nissans though :)

I have to admit that as much as I love the Nissan SUVs, the interior dashboards just seem to be from the last decade.

We had just purchased a CX9 and loving it, although it's so much bigger and longer than our previous vehicle (Forester).

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#2674089 14-Mar-2021 08:56

robjg63:

Ditch the piece of junk.

Never buy another.

Tell everyone you know they are junk.

Do this ^^^^^

jjnz1

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#2674200 14-Mar-2021 11:55

turtleattacks:
$49k? Great price for a Pathfinder!

Did you buy a brand new vehicle in 2019 and it was made in 2017 with tires in 2015? Surprised that Nissan don't update their vehicles yearly. Seems like you like your Nissans though :)

I have to admit that as much as I love the Nissan SUVs, the interior dashboards just seem to be from the last decade.

We had just purchased a CX9 and loving it, although it's so much bigger and longer than our previous vehicle (Forester).

Yep was new, ordered in.

When we purchased the Xtrail, it took around 8 weeks, and was manufactured 3 months before we purchased it.

I assumed that when I purchased the Pathfinder, it would at least be less than 12 months old. Sadly no.

Now I know to check when purchasing vehicles new.

The CX9 looks very sexy, but outside my price range! Yes Pathfinder is very dated, but the new 2022 model looks very good inside and out!

I will upgrade if they bring back low interest loans, otherwise I couldn't justify it.

Groucho

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#2675343 16-Mar-2021 10:43

tchart: Im sorry that you've had such issues.

Unfortunately VWs nowadays are not a quality vehicle. They may be premium but they are not quality.

Just look at the number of recalls for Volkswagen on the NZTA database;

https://www.vehiclerecallsafety.nzta.govt.nz/

I'm a huge fan of VW Golf and have dreamed of owning one literally since I was a teenager. However I would not touch anything after gen 3.

For some reason people in NZ think there is something mythical about European cars when in reality they are just money pits.

Just sell it before the warranty runs out.

BTW it's amazing that they charged you for 2 additional years of warranty when many Korean and Japanese dealers offer 5 years as standard with 10 years on the drive train.

Our trusted family mechanic has always said never touch a European car that's over 10 years old and/or done over 100,000km as that's when serious components start failing. I've waited at VTNZ for WOFs over the years and seen owners of 10+ year old Euro cars get told they fail because of any number of mechanical problems. Meanwhile my 25 year old Corolla has always sailed through (with the odd tyre replacement here and there) and get told "it's a Toyota, you're all good".

The length of time manufacturers give their warranty periods is always a telling sign of how confident they are in their own vehicles. The cynic in me wonders if that's how the EU are able to keep their emissions and average age of their vehicle fleet down.

tchart

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#2675457 16-Mar-2021 13:33

Groucho:

Our trusted family mechanic has always said never touch a European car that's over 10 years old and/or done over 100,000km as that's when serious components start failing.

The advice I was given was;

"If you cant afford a new European car then you cant afford a used European car"

A friend of mine loves Euro cars. He recently purchased a(nother) BMW from a dealer in Auckland. The gearbox gave out on the way back to Wellington.

The gearbox was totally FUBAR. Got it replaced (refurbished?). Three months in the shop and cost more than the car was sold for.

Luckily he had warranty/insurance through the dealer.

Another friend bought a newish/lowish mileage VW Golf from a dealer. Steering rack crapped out. Same as above, full replacement for near the purchase cost of the vehicle. He had warranty too but it was the second major issue with it so they were hestiant but eventually paid for the fix.

BTW These are not 3rd party stories.

turtleattacks

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#2675459 16-Mar-2021 13:36

tchart:

Groucho:

Our trusted family mechanic has always said never touch a European car that's over 10 years old and/or done over 100,000km as that's when serious components start failing.

The advice I was given was;

"If you cant afford a new European car then you cant afford a used European car"

A friend of mine loves Euro cars. He recently purchased a(nother) BMW from a dealer in Auckland. The gearbox gave out on the way back to Wellington.

The gearbox was totally FUBAR. Got it replaced (refurbished?). Three months in the shop and cost more than the car was sold for.

Luckily he had warranty/insurance through the dealer.

Another friend bought a newish/lowish mileage VW Golf from a dealer. Steering rack crapped out. Same as above, full replacement for near the purchase cost of the vehicle. He had warranty too but it was the second major issue with it so they were hestiant but eventually paid for the fix.

BTW These are not 3rd party stories.

We currently have a 2013 Polo RLine with the infamous DSG gearbox. It's done about 60,000KMs and I'm looking to get rid of it.

Sometimes it won't shift into gear.

Will get the wife a Japanese car for sure.

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#2675465 16-Mar-2021 13:49

No doubt jap is more reliable than euro but i bet a lot of the FUBAR stories merely reflect how the vehicles have been treated by past owners and their mates.

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