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-   -   Driven: The 2011 Volkswagen Passat (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/99403-driven-2011-volkswagen-passat-15.html)

My Passat has extended warranty. The dealer offered 2 years additional warranty for around 18000 INR.

Which dealer and when was this.

This was in August 2011 and the VW dealer is located in Gujrawala Town, New Delhi.

Hi Everyone,

Again the same sensor problem returned. But this time not consistent. That is, it will show up for 2-3 hours and then will disappear. I am taking the car to service center tomorrow. Picture attached.



Anoop Menon

I just got mine fixed too. However, I didn't have the warning lights on the dash this time. Only the Parking Sensors, Reverse-Cam & TPMS were not working. They would sometimes start working after selecting 'Reverse' and then abruptly die within a few seconds. Got the sensor replaced under warranty. This particular part seems prone to failing relatively often. Hope it doesn't come up again!

Cheers!

Hi,

It seems this exact problem happened to some people using Passat. I strongly believe this is a low quality sensor? Any thoughts? This is happening to me the second time that too with in 13K Km range. Thinking of writing to volkswagen about this. 3 People I know had the same problem and had to replace sensor for 4500rupees.

Thanks,

Anoop Menon

I am having the same problem done just 3000 Kms. Getting the sensor replaced tomorrow. Mine occurred post a puncture repair. Don't know if there is a pattern to the cause of the problem.

I have given the car for repair today. I wrote a letter to VW India asking about this sensor which is frequently failing and also about extended warranty. Whether they have any plans to provide extended warranty to existing customers, though dealers promise when making a sale. New cars have a full coverage option which is equivalent to extended warranty.

I will post the entire email once they reply here. Lets see how they take it forward.

Thanks,

Anoop Menon

It is actually strange that VW doesn't want to offer any sort of extended warranty on its high end cars which by default should be more robust and reliable. Even BMW offers extended warranty for a price all the way to 5 years and 1L kms which says a lot about the product. The beemer has equal electrical gadgetry if not more than the VW offerings. Then why should VW shy away from this? For instance currently they are changing Passat's faulty sensors under warranty. What will happen once the car runs out of warranty?

Hey,

I got my car back on friday morning and everything back to normal. Mechanic again confirmed its the sensor which failed which is not able survive mud, rain etc in India. They confirmed the new sensors are insulated ones suiting the Indian conditions. Though this is a welcome move, I had a question for them. All the four wheels have the same sensors and why replace only one with the insulated one? The answer given to me was only the damaged one can be replaced under warranty. So if the other three fails due to my bad luck, only after the warranty period, it means I will shed 4500*3 INR + any labor.

VW has already opened a complaint against the email I have raised last week. They will call me tomorrow and let me explain everything. They should recall and change the sensors for all the cars if they have come up with a reliable sensor now and if they really value their customers. Else I would be a very unhappy customer as there are no options for extended warranty, possibly my last buy from VW.

I will update after I talk to them. I will also talk to them regarding why sales guys mention ipod connectivity though it never work in passat.

Thanks,

Anoop Menon

customer.care@volkswagen.co.in is a total waste of time. I don't think they take any of the complaints seriously. Honestly companies like Hyundai does a much better job at least when you send a complaint via email or phone.

Anoop Menon

Calling the customer care helpline is equally useless too. You can shout through the roof all you want, but VW will never reply or interact with you in anyway. At best someone from dealership MAY call you.

This is based on my experience with a problematic Polo.

True VW prefers not to interact directly with customers. But, they put a lot of pressure on the dealers to resolve our issues. I am speaking from experience here. There were multiple issues with my brand new Vento and we raised hell with VW, the dealer(a notorious one) faced a lot of heat from VW.

Has anyone here had their 2-year/30,000km service done? Could you please shed some light on how much were you charged? Thanks!

Mailing them only results in the customer getting a bunch of automated emails, which don't promise any particular course of action other than contacting the dealer sort of thing.

Has VW gotten back to you with anything concrete after registering the complaint? My car's warranty expires in 15-20 days from now, dread to think of the bills that would come up if anything goes pop.

Wonder why VW would prefer such a hands-off approach when it comes to interacting with customers. Could you shed some light on what sort of action did VW take against the dealer while handling your complaint?

Cheers!

It was a vehicle problem rather than a dealer problem for us. We had issues with the AC, suspension and brakes from day one. We were essentially unhappy with VW's QC. We were also unhappy that the workshop was always crowded and they fit the number plates on our brand new car on the side of the road. We wrote a stinker to VW, the workshop took us seriously and pushed for warranty replacement. They confessed that they were a lot of heat from VW. I don't think VW took any other action on the dealer.