Troop92
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Layton, UT
If you had asked me if I like VWs before last week, I'd have emphatically said yes. Our 2003 Beetle gave us over 100k miles of trouble-free speed, comfort, and good mileage. Bought a 2007 Passat 2.0T wagon last summer as my wife's daily drive. Spacious, great mileage, comfortable. It was dealer maintained and had just 63k miles on it, in pristine condition. Drove a year (11k miles) without issues.
Enter last week, when I was using it to commute to work (after 5 months unemployment, I got a job!) and realized that the a/c wasn't cold. With our cooler temps and my wife not being able to drive the last two months is her pregnancy, it had gone unnoticed.
Took it into Strong VW to diagnose, as it's close to my work. Comes back that compressor has failed, will need to replace and evac/fill the system. $1400. Nearly fainted. Checking around, that's about average, since so much involved.
I was driving home on the freeway, I turned on the hvac that still has the a/c on from the dealer diagnostic and cold air came out. Cool, I thought.... until three was a screech, the smell of acrid rubber, a battery dash light, and my car shut off. Thankfully restarted, but long story short the compressor caused a cascade effect, now need compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and maybe an evaporator.... $2100 and change, basically the entire system.
Contacted VW of America to inquire about it, as 74k miles if awfully low. My WJ has 178k and the air still works flawlessly. Was meet with the canned "had it been in the three year, 36k warranty we maybe could have helped..." In my research, this is a widely known issue on 2006/2007 vw/audi with the 2.0T engine, bad supplier for the compressor. Of course VW won't acknowledge it, though my story mirrors those online, some with half my mileage.
New job, new baby, and new car repair. Guess that's why I have a zero balance in my credit card, right? Gotta fill it with something.
Enter last week, when I was using it to commute to work (after 5 months unemployment, I got a job!) and realized that the a/c wasn't cold. With our cooler temps and my wife not being able to drive the last two months is her pregnancy, it had gone unnoticed.
Took it into Strong VW to diagnose, as it's close to my work. Comes back that compressor has failed, will need to replace and evac/fill the system. $1400. Nearly fainted. Checking around, that's about average, since so much involved.
I was driving home on the freeway, I turned on the hvac that still has the a/c on from the dealer diagnostic and cold air came out. Cool, I thought.... until three was a screech, the smell of acrid rubber, a battery dash light, and my car shut off. Thankfully restarted, but long story short the compressor caused a cascade effect, now need compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and maybe an evaporator.... $2100 and change, basically the entire system.
Contacted VW of America to inquire about it, as 74k miles if awfully low. My WJ has 178k and the air still works flawlessly. Was meet with the canned "had it been in the three year, 36k warranty we maybe could have helped..." In my research, this is a widely known issue on 2006/2007 vw/audi with the 2.0T engine, bad supplier for the compressor. Of course VW won't acknowledge it, though my story mirrors those online, some with half my mileage.
New job, new baby, and new car repair. Guess that's why I have a zero balance in my credit card, right? Gotta fill it with something.
