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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-41.html)

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Hello Everyone,

My car is due for the yearly service next week. It never happened with me in the past that I have completed the time frame for the service interval but still have a few kms left. This year for obvious reasons, could not get to drive much. Clocked 13,000 kms in the last 12 months.

Before talking about the service schedule, I want to talk about the new tyres I got for my passat. This is the second time I am changing tyres, the pirelli cinturatos lasted a little over 40k kms. My tyre dealer, who is also a friend suggested Continental Ultra contact 6 (UC6). He suggested to go for 205/60/R16. I basically wanted the car to have a slightly higher ground clearance to avoid scrubbing my mud flaps to the speed breakers. I am some one who really enjoys a light and smooth steering and reducing the width could get me what I wanted. The thicker profile would also give it more cushion whilst dealing with poor roads. I was a little concerned if the road grip would drop substantially, the good thing was the dealer gave me the option to drive a few kms and then decide. I drove the car in a few corners and I did not notice any difference and the steering felt great. Got them installed. alignment and balancing was done. Costed 6800/- per tyre. I did a Hyderabad - Tuljhapur - Hyderabad trip recently and the car felt smooth and delivered 16 kms/liter. I understand that there will be a small variation in the speedometer now due to the new size of the tyre.

My Car has 72,000 Kms on the odometer and its time for the annual service. I shifted to Liqui moly top tec 4100 last year and my car feels and sounds smoother. I like the fact that even after completing 13K kms with this oil, the engine is not showing any signs of having old oil in it.

However, Liqui moly seemed to have hiked the price from 7000/- to 10,000/-. Luckily I have another 5 Ltr tub which I purchased last year on amazon for a discounted price of 5300/-

Brake Fluid : My mechanic has been topping up brake fluid once every year but I have never replaced it. Can someone please let me know if this is ok, or if I should have it replaced in full.

Shock Absorber : I started noticing sound coming from my front right shock absorber one speed breakers. Has anyone replaced their front shock absorbers ? Can some one share the part number and brand name please.

Break Pads : I replaced the rear disks and all 4 break pads two years back (30k kms). What is the normal time line to replace break pads. Please share the part number if possible.

Thanks in advance.

Has anyone checked out the Blaupunkt Key Largo 970 yet ?

As per VW when you purchase a new car:
Replace Brake Fluid at 3rd year of ownership. Then interval is every 2 years.

You need to completely drain brake fluid and then fill up new.

So Brake Fluid Replacement would be (Year)
3rd > 5th > 7th > 9th > 11th

Thank you for the info. I will replace it in the next service which is due in a couple of months. Please let me know the recommended brake fluid.
On another note I am planning to replace the front shock absorbers, please share the part number so that I can source (My mech suggested that I can go with Wika or Bilstein)

Hello Everyone,

My car has just crossed the 85,000 Kms mark and I have made up my mind to replace the brakes and suspension. This is going to be the first major work in the three years of ownership.

I got the brakes pads and rear disks replaced when I bought this car in 2018. I have driven it for 56K kms and I am very happy that they have lasted this long. I am in two minds, if I should get the job done at the showroom or my regular skoda/Vw FNG.

VW khajaguda quoted 6500/- and 5,500/- for the front and rear break pads and 12,000/- for the front discs. Labour cost was around 5k for replacing all the above. Total 17K for brakes.

My regular mechanic stated that the balance rod assembly has to be replaced and quoted 14,700. I am in two minds if I should also replace the front and rear shock absorbers.

Please suggest the best brand I can go for for the shock absorbers (parts not available in showroom). Planning to do a Hyderabad - Kochi drive later this month and want to get my car all ready for the trip.

Just saw this. I replaced my OE ones with Bilstein. 40K kms later they're holding out good ( 5K of it on non existent 'roads') . Let me know if you have difficulty sourcing.
Also why is balance rod assembly being replaced ?? The rubber bushes can be sourced in after market.

The balance rod bushes in the Jetta/Passat are actually quite weird. There's a metal bracket that holds the bush down onto the subframe in most cars. You can unbolt it and put news ones.

In the Jetta/Passat, the two parts of the bracket are welded together. So if you want to replace the bush, you need to cut the brackets, and install rubber bushings using new brackets. Here's an image of the ARB bush on my car:


The upper and lower parts of the bracket are welded together so they cannot technically be removed and new bushes put in, though most FNGs do this and so did I on my own car. The ASC obviously doesn't take this pain. They change the entire ARB.

A clearer picture indicating how the bushes are integrated into the ARB:

Please check accompanying images. If we're both talking of the same clamps, then I assure you they aren't welded together and no cutting is required.
The clamps and bushes aren't sold separately, I reused my OEM clamps and simply slotted in new rubbers.

Thanks for the clarification. But the Jetta has clamps that are welded together solid. I checked them personally and have had 4-5 other owners do the same thing. You can even judge from the thickness of the bracket in the image I have posted above that the two parts are just welded together. They aren't held together by the bolts that secure the ARB to the subframe.

The stock ARB comes with integrated bushes in it. You can throw those out after cutting them and put new ones in but the stock ones are welded for sure. I am glad to see the Passat has it different. There's no need to touch the ARB in that case. Only changing bushes will do.

I have replaced my front brake pads and front discs at VW Hyderabad (PPS Motors)

Sharing the bill copy if someone needs the part numbers.

Thank you for the inputs.

I am glad that I may not have to change the entire balance rod assembly. Will talk to my mechanic about this.

I replaced my cars lower arms bushes and brackets two years back. They have run 35k Kms. I remeber just paying 8k for the same so they were not the best of quality. Can you please recommend a good brand for the bushes.

I am planning to change the bulbs in my head lights. I understand that the bulbs are H7. There are a lot of options for H7 bulbs on Amazon. Please recommend the best brand for the same. Also planning to get my headlights cleaned (My local painter has recommended someone who does this job). Would this be of any help at all ? Please advice.

I am also posting the pics of the Air filter (HENGST) 600/-

Oil filter (Original VW) 460/-

AC filter (Local brand) 450/- (DID not want to pay 1500/- for this)

Brake Oil (VW) 518/- Planning to replace my Brake oil for the first time in 9 years (Please let me know if this is a complicated job and can my FNG guy do it)[ATTACH=ai filter HENGST.jpg][ATTACH=AC filter.jpg][ATTACH=brake fluid 1.jpg]Attachment 2236113[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]ATTACH]

I would suggest you to get it done at VW Hyderabad PPS Motors or any VW Authorized Workshop. You need proper tools and bleed brake oil. Labour wont be that expensive at VW.

Go for Osram, they're good.

For the brake fluid replacement, like Lobo mentioned, don't get it done at FNG if they don't have VCDS / equivalent diagnostic equipment.