Volkswagen
reviews and complaints

This letter is to express my utterly dissatisfaction on the repairs that were done on my VW Touareg V10 TDI registration number RYL 193 GP at VW Autohaus Centurion, the service I have received up to date as well as the multiple malfunctions on the vehicle since October 2010 when I bought the vehicle. The service originally involved only the replacement of a failed alternator but ended up in a multiple of other failures due to negligence from their mechanic.

The Touareg was booked in at VW Autohaus on 04 July 2011. After investigation I was informed that the alternator was faulty and needed to be replaced and that this work will take approximately six to seven hours after receiving the new part. VW Autohaus commenced with removal of faulty alternator, obtained approval from Motorite Maintenance on 06 July for replacement of the alternator, ordered the new part on same day and started with the replacement of alternator on 11 July 2011.

Technical speaking it took VW Autohaus 240 hours to replace the alternator that was caused by a series of other negligence failures when attempted to fit back all relevant parts after the new alternator has been fitted.
The failures involved the following in sequential order:
1. Major diesel leakage resulted from a fuel supply line that was not properly fitted back, which took the mechanic hours to find and repair;
2. An electric wire that was pinched after fitting all the parts back, which resulted in the failure of a fuel pump component;
3. Major cooling water leakage, which at the time both the mechanic and I was not sure what the cause was, but the method used by the mechanic to detect the origin of the leak was their workshop compressed air supply connected to the coolant pipe of the car.
During the six weeks on numerous occasions I’ve requested from both the workshop manager and receptionist to keep me up to date on the progress of repairs but despite all my requests this was neglected and I had to go to their workshop to find out on the progress myself. The only time when I was contacted was in the beginning to inform me about the failed alternator and the costs involved, and the second call was at the end of the six weeks to inform me that the vehicle was ready for collection.

The ironic part about this whole event is that the workshop manager from VW Autohaus rest assured me that my car is in good capable hands and if I had taken it to any other workshop that the injector pipes may get damaged when replacing the alternator, if not done by a Touareg Specialists. Despite his comment a series of unacceptable and negligence failures occurred.

Finally after six weeks my car was ready for collection from VW Autohaus on 08 August 2011 at which stage I was already frustrated but felt no need for writing a complaint letter.

A week later my family and I looked forward to a planned trip for the weekend in the Touareg to a game reserve in the Northern Province. Just as we were about to leave for the weekend a low coolant warning signal displayed on the dashboard. When opening the cap to the coolant reservoir for refilling, I noticed engine oil inside the coolant reservoir and to our disappointment had to cancel the trip. At this point I became very upset, which lead to the writing of this letter.
The only logical reason which may have caused oil into the water cooling system could possibly have been resulted from the actions taken in point 3 above.

I’m not a Touareg specialist but surely there will be some consequences with engine oil entering the water cooling system leading to possible malfunction of sensitive level transmitters (sensors), premature failure of water pump, i.e. impeller or mechanical seal and/or other components. Likewise, what is the possibility of coolant water having entered the engine oil compartment resulting into possible premature failure of the engine?

What guarantee will I get that:
a) the complete water cooling system will be properly flushed to get rid of any contamination (sludge) resulted from the oil entering the system;
b) the water has possibly entered the engine oil compartment resulted in possible degrading of the oil viscosity;
c) sensitive sensor(s) have not been damaged;
d) water pump components have not been damaged?

This is a very expensive car that cannot be repaired by any normal workshop on the streets, for which reasons I only take it to approved VW dealers. As a respectable client I therefore rely on the competency of a competent VW dealer to repair and service my vehicle to the highest international quality standards to ensure optimal enjoyment from this car. But at this stage it is everything except this as I’ve lost all my confidence on the reliability of this car with just the mere feeling that there may be some more hidden surprises that possibly could still develop as a result from the above mishaps, and that the car could let me stranded next to the road at any time especially when travelling long distances.

I request this vehicle to be properly inspected and repaired by a Touareg Specialist at no additional costs as I believe that this failure has not manifested itself and was purely as a result of the works done by VW Autohaus.

Good day,

My wife and I bought a mastercar Polo GTI 1.8 turbo from VW Autohaus Centurion on the 27th of January 2011. When we arrived to take delivery of the vehicle we noticed that the drivers side door handle and side mirror were damaged and Nicollete (Sales Executive) said they were going to order the parts and let me know once the parts arrive so that I can bring the car for fitment. I am still waiting till today and 2 months have passed. I'm sure it doesn't take that long to ship goods from Germany to SA. I called them today and spoke with Rassie (Master Cars Manager) and he told me that they are still waiting for 1 part (door handle), and they will not pay/replace the side mirror. When I asked him why, he said this was not brought to his attention. Itold him that Nicollete made note of this and we were told that both parts will be replaced. These damages were noted before we took delivery of the vehicle and within the master car 7 day period. I even have email proof of the conversation I had with Nicollete notifying her about the defects and asking for an update. This is not acceptible.

The car also had the following faults:

1. Faulty cambelt and tensioner – they replaced it because we reported it within the 7 day period after taking delivery.
2. Gearbox was also faulty. We only noticed this a month after we took delivery of the vehicle. We had to pay for repairs worth R20000. Please assist?

Dear Sirs,

Ref Touareg Chasis Number XXXXXX

The above mentioned car was purchased New from the dealer in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain in October 2.005. In 2.007 we moved to Dubai and brought the Car over.
Generally speaking the Car has behaved well apart from the usual complaints of timing and high costs with servicing.

On the 13/02/11 the car went in for general servicing and checking of an Oil leak. After some time on the 02/03/11 the car was given back to me after an expensive Invoice, and the delay was due to lack of service parts at the Official VW centre in Dubai.

The day after delivery I start hearing some Water noises in the car, and as we had some bottles of water in the boot assumed it was that. A few days later my driver informs me that there is a leak of water into the car. I am surprised and think it might be an occasional thing from car washing or something.

The problem carries on, and the carpets suddenly are soaked in water. The driver is informing me about this as I am away traveling.

I assume that maybe in the last servicing one of the technicians left some pipe wrongly tied up causing the leak, as this does not seem a normal problem. After I get back the next day (31/03/11) I take the car to the service centre

At the service centre I meet the service agent, followed by his supervisor, and then his manager, and without any explanation about the problem they all seemed to know the problem. What does this mean? This is a frequent problem and it is not checked for!

The manager explains the problem to me, the water of the AC, goes down a tube into a recipient and this once it reaches a certain level triggers a mechanism to open the bottom part of the recipient and it expels the water. He explains that they have seen in the Touaregs that after some time it is common for this opening to be blocked and then the water does not get expelled properly, and the water then gets drained into the car, wetting all the carpets and then being sent below the carpet, where it just stays.

There is no doubt that the water is retained in the car somewhere, as when you drive you can feel the heaviness, as well as hearing the water moving around somewhere below you.

Problems exist, we all know this, but it seems this was a problem that was already discovered and has occurred quite a few times. Maybe not enough times to call the cars in for Complimentary servicing and repairing the fault, but maybe it has not occurred enough because the problem maybe takes time to develop, and now that the model has more than 6 years, it is when it starting to be apparent.
There is no doubt that everyone knew about the recurring problem and I was also told that the service centre had sent a report to the factory informing of this to correct in the next versions.

No doubt this is a technical fault that should have been tackled before the fault led to this problem, but I guess there is a cost involved in recalling the cars, and solving the issue for free.

For me it is the inconvenience of being car-less for a few days more (last month it was 3 weeks) apart from the cost involved in the repair.

I look forward to hearing from you to see what suitable solution you see to compensating me for this problem, and what measures you will be taking so other customers are not affected.

Sincerely Yours,

Rajan

Here is my story. My wife and I had a lovely Honda Pilot which we should have never sold, anyways the wife wants this nice shiny beemer at Lithia Volkswagon in Medford, OR. so we test drive the car she loves it, it drives well. we get back from the test drive and agree to start paperwork, as service tech pulls away in the bmw i notice a quite large green puddle of liquid on the ground. i tell the salesman "that looks like anti-freeze" then the salesman and a Service TECH tell me no, it is "condensation from the A/C mixing with oil on the ground" i said no, and to please look at it. they do and assure me the bottom is dry and thier are no leaks. we buy the car. two days later it goes into limp mode in the middle of an intersection while my wife is driving my 2 year old girl to daycare. it then proceeds to immediatly overheat. we take it back to Lithia, they filled it with coolant and said that it was good to go again. at this point they assure me it had a 100 point inspection, like that means anything. two days later it does it again, limp mode then overheats, the beamer had to be towed. my wife and i were very upset, and told lithia we wanted out of the car. they told us that they would buy it back for 9k we bought it 4 days prior for 13k, 13k because they charged me for new tires, after it passed thier 100 point inspection, which i guess piece of ### bald tires qualifies. so im out 4 grand, but they want to make a deal. they offer to put us into an 06 jetta that is certified pre-owned. it puts us into a loan for 18k so now they bent us over twice, and we had no way out. they refused to just let us walk away. the salesman bless his heart. his name is Andy. he is a great guy and lithia does not deserve a salesman like him. he felt so bad for what his superiors and co-workers were doing that he gave us 50 dollars to a pizza place from his own pocket. and you know what last month we are driving the jetta the battery light comes on while we are getting dinner 5 miles from home, then IT overheats and goes into limp mode. it took my family and I 1 hour to get home Lithia is a bad place to do business and i do not recommend going thier for used or "certified Vehicles" it means nothing. and the parts and sales managers thier are dumb. the parts manager himself and his tech either didn't recognize antifreeze or lied to my face.

Derek

I signed an offer to purchase a new VW Polo from Claremont VW on 04 Feb 2011 and indicated that I would like to take delivery on 12 Feb 2011 as this would be the most convenient time for me. I paid a deposit of R20 000 into their bank account on 08 Feb 2011, in good faith that the vehicle would arrive in Cape Town on Mon 07 Feb as indicated bythe salesman. On receipt of the deposit on 08 Feb, the salesman confirmed that all was in order.

No other communication was received until 11 Feb when the salesman informed me that the vehicle would not be ready for collection as promised on 12 Feb, since it was only going to be dispatched from Uitenhage on 12 Feb. I expressed my dissatisfaction at this delay and inconvenience to the salesman involved and the dealer principle via email on 11 Feb. The salesman contacted me on Monday with a rude, abrupt and disrespectful attitude, now wanting to rush the delivery to that same day (on which I was not available) and not wanting to entertain any conversation. All because I had complained that my expectation of delivery had not been met.

I felt that this rudeness was uncalled for, and escalated my unhappiness with the salesman's attitude and service to the dealer principal as well as to the salesman himself (via email), and have yet had no response (either via email or telephonically). I then requested that my order be cancelled and my deposit be returned as I did not wish to conclude the transaction with a dealership that had such an utmost disrespect for their customers. I requested this via email to the dealer principal. I have had no response from the dealer principal to date. (either telephonically or via email)

I contacted VW South Africa on Tuesday 15 Feb and escalated my complaint to them. They were also unable to contact the dealer principal. Today (17 Feb) the consultant informed me that the sales manager did not want to refund my deposit because I had requested smash-and-grab to be added. I indicated to VW SA that if the dealership sold the vehicle (which has yet not left their showroom floor) the cost of smash and grab would most likely be included in the purchase price, so why should I pay for something that I have had no use of/ will not be using. The consultant said VW could not do anything since the Claremont dealershipThe VW SA person was unable provide any more assistance and said that she would request her supervisor to contact me. I have still not heard from the supervisor.

I signed an application for Wesbank Finance, and contacted them on 17 Feb in an attempt to cancel my finance application. The consultant advised me that since I have not signed a finance agreement I am not bound to Wesbank, and that I need to contact the dealership directly as they need to refund my deposit. The consultant provided me with the phone number of Wesbank account manager for Claremont VW who might be able to assist me. I phoned and left voicemail messages, but have not yet had a response from him either.

I phoned the dealership again to speak to the dealer principal, but was unable to contact him. VWSA has also been unable to contact the dealer principal.

I eventually spoke to the sales manager telephonically and requested a refund of my deposit as a result of the pathetic service that I was receiving from the dealership. Compounded by the fact that the dealer principal has made no effort to contact me. The sales manager refused my request for a refund and instead proceeded to ask why I had contacted the dealer principal to escalate this matter and not him.

I contacted the Motor Industry Ombudsman, but their website indicates that they may not have any influence over dealerships that have not been contracted to them. As my luck would have it, Claremont VW is not listed as a dealership that has been contracted to the MI Ombudsman. So they may not even be able to assist me.

I emailed VW in Germany, who advised they are unable to do anything due to the distance, but have escalated to VW SA. VW SA advised me today (02 March) that although they received the complaint from VW Germany and understand the reason for my request to cancel the order with Claremont VW, their position still remains unchanged since Claremont is an independent dealership.

I have not taken delivery or signed any final paperwork to accept the car. I have deposited R20 000 on 8 Feb, and am as a result currently out of pocket (for almost a month), given that they do not want to return my full deposit and the car has not left their premises.

All I want is to get my deposit back so that I can buy my polo from another dealer who actually values providing good service to their customers.

The thing that frustrates me the most is that I seem to have no recourse to the bad attitude and service I have received from the entire VW Claremont dealership. All VW SA have said is "sorry for the bad experience but there's unfortunately nothing we can do".

Is it possible that Claremont VW cannot be held accountable by anyone for such poor service? VW SA, VW Germany, VW Factory in Uitenhage, Wesbank, the National Consumer Forum, and possibly even the Ombudsman himself does not seem to be have any authority over this "rogue" dealership. There must be some recourse that I have to cancel this order. Are customers like myself totally vulnerable to and at the mercy of unscrupulous dealerships such as Claremont VW.

What use is the new Consumer Protection Act if consumers like myself are still so disadvantaged? Surely as a consumer I have the right to not want to go through with the deal if I feel dissatisfied with the service experience I am getting?

I have contacted so many avenues over the past few weeks and keep reaching dead ends.No one seems to be able to help me because "it is an independently owned dealership". Is legal action going to be the answer?

All I want is to get my full deposit back and buy my car from a different VW dealership that is not independent and actually cares about and offers customer service, where I wont be bullied or be rude to. I am desperate and frustrated and dont know what more to do.

I own Touareg 2005 and is now 100, 000km.
"tyre pressure monitoring system fault" sign has been shown for about a year.
I had to visit Mississauga VW for numerous times for the same problems but they couldn't find the exact root problems and they only adjust the tyre pressure.
6 months ago, "Flat tyre" sign shown up and I found a needle on the tyre so I had to visit theme again. The adviser and engineer couldn't find the problem and they just charged me for replacing the tyre. 6 months later I visited queensway VW, and they found that there was a crack on the sensor and fixed it and it charged about $500 to replace the sensor.
Because of inability of "mississauga VW", I couldn't fix the problem during my warranty period and I had to pay for this!

I have a toureg I bought new in 2010. The water pump broke, the car is under warranty. Its been in the shop for more than a week. First I was told that if I pay I can get the part the next day, if I want to go through the warranty then I have to wait? Already I feel ripped off. I waited, for 10 days now. I have no car. It is frustrating for me. When you ask the service people in VW, they confirm that the part is here. Yesterday I found out that the email sent to parts/repairs department was missing a number or incomplete in some way, so they sent it again. Doubtful that this time it will be resolved.

I love the touareg, I really enjoy my car. The service here has clearly showed so much incompetence, negligence, malfeasance and non performance on there part. UNfortunately the car and the service go together. Its a shame for one to destroy the other. Some one in VW international help us. I have 3 volkswagen, a tiguan, passat and a Touareg, all bought within 3 years. Its frustrating to be ignored after spending so much money to buy a car. I hope the Volswagen international can educate their representatives abroad to impose a service that clients expect.

Touareg is the most sold SUV in Morocco, I hope someone cares enough to fix this. I cant see how you will benefit if the representative in Morocco continues to provide the same quality of service.

Maybe you should do some audit. It would significantly help the integrity of the mother company, VW International, that they actually follow up there dealers/agents.

I hope I'm not talking to another deaf ear.

Sincerely,

Badie

I own a VW Polo Cross, I thought its a rather nice car.

BUT! Please explain to me what the hell you do when you get a flat tire!

In the boot is a pump and some liquid meant for a very small puncture. Now what do you do when the puncture is on the wall of the tire? Well I will tell you, you sit on the side of the road for 3 hours until family or a friend can come and help if you that lucky, cause you cant drive the anywhere at all.

Do me a favor VW South Africa, get your act together and think before you start cutting cost's and leaving your clients stranded.

I had a service recall on my 2004 VW Golf for the sunroof drain in May. They had to clean it out or it would get backed up due to a defect/flaw. Before I knew there was a recall my headliner got wet and I did not know why, and I live to far from the dealership to get by there. So I had to just air out my car, but my headliner was stained and the car smelled bad for a month. Then in May I had my car serviced and I was told after I had left and called back to talk to the dealership that yes there was a recall and they had done the repair. So I thought that they should replace my headliner because it was damaged due to their defect. In October I went to a different dealership and they took pictures and sent them to VW customer service to see if they would cover my headliner. After several weeks of dealing with them, and talking directly to VW they told me that due to age and milage they refuse to repair my headliner. I told that was unacceptible. They refused to change their minds and have out right refused. I want to know what the age and mileage on my vehicle has ANYTHING to do with the damage caused by their defect. I will most likely NEVER by another VW car again!

I have a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta with a 4 year 50k mile warranty. August 2010, two weeks after the 4 year warranty expired, my check engine light came on. At this time I only had 34k miles well under the 50k. I ran the code and it specifically said that the cooling fans were malfunctioning. I called Jim Ellis Volkswagen in Marietta, GA and explained my problem. I was essentially told to bad and they could not help me because the time on my warranty expired even though I only have 34k miles. However, he did tell me that if I was over on the miles a little he could do a warranty repair. He admitted that they can make a concession for one and not the other? Really?

After doing research online, I discovered that this is a common problem with the 2006 Jetta as others were having the same problem without resolution with the company. I then notified Volkswagen of America and explained the problem and frustration because I should not be having this sort of problem at 34k miles and 2 weeks post warranty. I spoke with Courtney, and after answering a series of questions she told me to take it to the dealership and pay for a diagnostic and call her back. At that point they would make a determination as to whether they would help me out. I again explained to her that I already knew what the problem is because I had the code checked and it was very specific. In addition, my cooling fans were operating erratically that further supported the diagnosis. She then went on to say that my research on the internet was unreliable, but if there is a common problem, there could be a recall. After going back and forth with her, she finally said that Volkswagen of America would not help me and that I am on my own.

I told her that was poor customer service and that I will never purchase another Volkswagen again. In addition, that I will tell as many people as I can potentially costing Volkswagen of America tens of thousands of dollars by discouraging potential buyers. Salesmen will tell you anything to make the sale!

Please contact Volkswagen of America and share your thoughts with them.

My problem started on the [protected] when i jammed with my VW Polo1.6, 2007 model still under warranty at the odometer of 79506. The EPC sign was on & according to the VW booklet that means there is a mechanical fault within the engine. The car was towered to VW Wonderboom. On the [protected] the deemed fixed was collected by me from the dealer. On the 80909 the care jammed again & towered to Wonderboom, with the same EPC sign on. On the 100909 i collected the car deemed fixed. On the 120909 i jammed with the car towered this time to Lindsay Saker VW in Midrand, EPC sign on. On the 210909 i was called to pick up the car deemed fixed. On the 250909 i returned the car to Midrand same problem. On the 290909 i collected the car. On the 131009 the car jammed again same problem towered to VW Church, Pretoria. On the 191009 collected the car deemed fixed. On the 221009 i returned the car to VW Church same problem. I engaged VW SA national verbally and even wrote a written complain but nothing positive was done. Now i am car-less but i`m paying every month for these car. I will never encourage anyone to purchase any VW cars, you will inherit their dealership incompetence.

2005 vw new beetle convertible has design flaw! I've needed to replace three electronic window mechanisms which require high labor hours - front side windows nearly $800 each and rear side windows nearly $400. Dealer cannot repair - must replace entire mechanism. First time was at 3 years old. Seems to me this is because the over use of automatic window drop down & up everytime door is opened or closed to fit with the convertible fabric top. Additionally, my top is now not rolling properly and I rarely use it! Great car if not for these issues but I will not buy another one!

What do you do when you have a vehicle, but it is always in the service department, and when you get it back it is still not fixed. Middelburg Volkswagen is that type of business that do not care about their customers and the trouble they are going through when a vehicle is in for a repair or a service. My husband has taken our kombi 1.9tdi in for so many repairs since the day that we have bought the vehicle, after . The aircon does not work, there are rattles all over the vehicle, the door handle is not fixed, at the worst part of everything is that when the vehicle goes in for repairs it is not only for one day but for 3 to 4 day. The they can not even provide us with a Courtesy Car. The excuse is always, there is no Courtesy Vechiles available. If you vehicle is going in for repairs about 6 times in a row, what the hell in wrong with the service, and after all there is always a list of the things given to them that is wrong.

I purchased a used Volkswagen EOS Convertible from Mike Haggerty Volkswagen in Chicago. The car had 24, 000 miles on it. Since I purchased it, I have had to return to the dealership 6 times within 3 months for repairs. Most of the problems I believe have been caused by a faulty electrical system however Volkswagen will not look into it. I have attempted to talk to the managers and owner about my concerns however the response I get is pretty much deal with it! I am very frustrated and pissed! I am not protected under the Lemon Law because it is a used vehicle.

I was charged $400.00 for a $30 hose collant hose--about $300 for labour. I did not authorize these excessive amounts. When I went to pick my vehicle up, they refused to release my vehicle unless I paid the full amount! I was so upset, I called the police and received a report number for followup purposes. On the sales slip it says that they must provide you with a written estimate. This was not provided. I will NEVER buy another VW again. If I can prevent one unassuming customer from using York Volkswagen in Toronto, this email will have been worth it. Please note that I am a professional who does not compose emails like this one. However, I feel compelled to forewarn others given how disturbing this experience was for me.

The engine light came on in my 2003 Jetta, and it was running very rough, so I took it to Reydel VW of Edison, NJ for service. They said it was the ignition coil and charged me almost $800 for service. Two days after I took the car home the engine started acting exactly the same way as before the service and the enging light came on again.

I took it to Reydel again and they said it was a sensor and charged me another $230 for service.

I filed a complaint with VW America about unnecessary service at Reydel, and after checking up on it, they agreed that the service was probably unjustified. I asked for reinbursement and was flat out refused even after VW looked into it.

The bottom line here is VW doesn't stand by it's products and the technicians at Reydel are either poorly trained or just don't care weather the job is done correctly or not. At a labor charge of $99/hr, one would think they would do things properly and that VW America would be more professional about representing their product.

I have been driving VW's since the mid 70's, but this is the last time I will waste my money on a product whose repair service I cannot rely on, nor a corporation the won't stand by it's product.

Zetta manual volkswogan is a very poor car. I would recomend every person not to buy it as I am suffering after purchasing it.

1) their is lot of gear shifting, as we slow down the car we will hav to reduce the gear immidately otherwise the car will stop or vice versa.

2) it has poor quality of horns.

3) its ac is not effective in summers you will be sweating while driving your car and your ac is on.

4) poor interiors.

I have had several emails saying that I have won £1, 050, 000. !st of all wanting full name, address, D.O.B.& email address. Then asking me what type of account should they open, on my behalf, to pay winnings into.