2004 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG Complaints

2004 VW TOUAREG, IN THE FIRST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP THE CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP OR IN ALARM MODE FOR 220 DAYS. I HAVE HAD THE CAR IN EIGHT TIMES FOR A "TIRE SCRUBBING" PROBLEM AND THREE TIMES FOR AN ALARM PROBLEM. I HAVE NOE FILED A LAW SUIT AND SOLD THE CAR WITHOUT EVER HEARING ANY CONCERNS FROM VW.

DT: THE PROBLEM BEGAN ON 4-04. PROBLEMS WITH BRAKES. HYDRAULIC BRAKES ARE PULLING, CAUSING EXCESSIVE SCREECHING NOISE AND BRAKE DUST. BRAKES ARE NOW GRINDING. BRAKES HAVE BEEN SERVICED 3 TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR. VOLKSWAGEN WILL NOT OFFER ANY FURTHER ASSISTANCE. DEALER REPORTS THAT VOLKSWAGEN IS WORKING ON PROBLEM IN GENERAL. OCCURS IN ALL WEATHER AND DRIVING CONDITIONS. PROBLEM IS GRADUAL AND WORSENING. ON LAST SERVICING, VEHICLE WAS REPORTED TO HAVE HAD A BRAKE RESURFACING. BRAKES ARE ALL WHEEL. ALSO, DRIVER'S SEAT IS NOT GOING UP AND IS BROKEN. *AK

CONCERNS REGARDING THE PERRELLI TIRE EQUIPMENT ON THE 2004.*MR...THE TIRES ON THIS VEHICLE WERE MUCH TOO SOFT FOR THE WEIGHT OF THIS VEHICLE. THE TIRES WORE OUT IN LESS THAN 8000 MILES. THIS CREATED A DANGEROUS SITUATION ON THE ROADWAYS NOT ONLLY FOR THIS VEHICLE BUT FOR OTHER VEHICLES AS WELLVOLKSWAGAGEN'S POLICY IS TO REPLACE TWO TIRES, FORCING CONSUMERS TO PAY FOR THE OTHER TIRES. *AK

1.THE CLOCK ON THE DASHBOARD: THE TIME IS RUNNING ALMOST 1 MINUTE FASTER PER DAY. IF YOU DONT FIX IT FOR 10 DAYS, IT WOULD RUN 10 MINUTES AHEAD. 2.THE DRIVERS SEAT: WHEN I PURCHASED THIS CAR, I ASKED FOR POWER SEATS BUT THE DEALER DIDNT HAVE IT. I WAS A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE MANUAL SEAT, BUT THE SALES PERSON CONVINCED ME, SO I DECIDED TO TAKE THE ONE WITH MANUAL. SINCE THEN, IVE FELT THAT THE DRIVERS SEAT IS ALWAYS SINKING DOWN SO I CONSISTENTLY HAVE TO PULL UP THE STICK TO PUSH UP THE SEAT QUITE OFTEN WHILE IM DRIVING. 3.REAR SEAT: I HAD TO FOLD THE REAR SEAT ONCE TO LOAD SOMETHING IN THE BACK. AFTER, I TRIED TO UNFOLD THE SEAT BUT IT DIDNT GO BACK. I BROUGHT THIS CAR TO THE DEALERS SERVICE ON NOV. 15TH, 2004. WHILE ONE OF THE SERVICE PERSONS WAS TRYING TO UNFOLD THE REAR SEAT, HE HAD TO CUT THE SEAT BELT AND HAS SCRATCHED THE SEAT AND BROKEN SOME PIECE ON THE SEAT. HE SAID HES GOING TO ORDER SOME PARTS AND IT WOULD TAKE A FEW DAYS. EVER SINCE THEN, NOBODY KNOWS THE STATUS OF THIS ORDER. BOTH THE SERVICE DEPT AND THE CUSTOMER CARE DEPT, IN HEADQUARTERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TELLING ME ITS ON BACKORDER WITH NO FURTHER INFORMATION, AND THEY DONT KNOW WHEN FOR LAST SIX MONTHS. I ASKED THEM IF YOU DONT HAVE THE PART, EVEN IN GERMANY, HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR THE MANUFACTURER TO MAKE THE PART? AND THEY KEEP SAYING IS DONT KNOW AND WE ARE STILL CHECKING THE STATUS OF THE PART EVERYDAY. IN A COMMON SENSE, THE PERIOD OF FOUR MONTHS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE THE PART AND SHIP IT TO THE DEALER. I ALSO SENT A COMPLAINT LETTER TO THE CEO OF THE DEALER/MCKENNA & VW NORTH AMERICA HEADQUATER A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. BUT STILL THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE PART.

SINCE I PURCHASED A 2004 VW TOUAREG ON 2/28/04 I HAVE HAD VARIOUS PROBLEMS WITH IT. THE MOST SEVERE IS THE FRONT END ALLIGNMENT AND BRAKES. I HAVE HAD A TOTAL OF 6 FRONT END ALLIGNMENTS SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICULE. IT IS IN THE SHOP RIGHT NOW AND THEY CAN NOT CORRECT IT. THIS IS A AN EXTREME HAZARD AT HIGHER SPEEDS SINCE THE SUV PULLS HARD TO THE RIGHT. I WAS TOLD BY THE MECHANIC THAT WORKED ON MY VEHICULE THAT HE SET THE ALLIGNMENT TO FACTOR SPECS AND IT STILL PULLS TO THE RIGHT. I TOOK IT TO TIRE KINGDOM TWICE AND THEY DID THE SAME AND DID A HIGH SPEED BALANCE ON THE TIRES AS WELL AND IT STILL PULLS TO THE RIGHT. ALSO VOLKWAGON OF AMERICA PUT OUT CIRCULAR VWA-04-12 STATING THAT THERE IS A FACTORY PROBLEM WITH FRONT END ALLIGNMENTS ON CERTIN VIN NUMBERS ON THE TOUAREG. VW WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM. I ALSO HAVE TROUBLE WITH THE BREAKS MAKING LOUD NOISE AND WEARING OUT FAST. NOW THEY ARE TELLING ME THAT THE ROTORS ARE BAD. I HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE BRAKES AND NOTHING WAS DONE. ALSO THERE IS CONDENSATION ON THE WINDSHIELD FROM THE AIR CONDITIONING AND THEY DID HAVE A RECALL ON THIS, BUT THE TROUBLE STILL EXSISTS.

I WAS TURNING LEFT AT A FAIRLY BUSY INTERSECTION & HAD WAITED FOR 2 CARS TO GO THAT WERE IN FRONT OF ME. WHEN MY TURN CAME & A GAP APPEARED IN INCOMING TRAFFIC, I REMOVED MY LEFT FOOT FROM THE BRAKE, DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR WITH MY RIGHT FOOT & TURNED. HOWEVER, THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE. IT MOVED INTO THE LANE OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC, BUT JUST IDLED & I COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO MOVE FOR 2 - 3 SECONDS. I PUSHED THE THROTTLE ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR WITH NO EFFECT. A SERIOUS ACCIDENT DID NOT OCCUR ONLY BECAUSE THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC SLAMMED ON THEIR BRAKES IN TIME. AFTER WHAT SEEMED LIKE FOREVER, THE CAR BEGAN TO MOVE & I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE WAY. THE SAME THING HAS HAPPENED 19 TIMES SINCE & THE CAR HAS BEEN RETURNED TO THE DEALER 4 TIMES TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. EACH TIME THEY 'COULD NOT DUPLICATE' THE PROBLEM. NIETHER COULD I UNTIL 3 DAYS AGO WHEN I WAS TOLD BY A VW REP THAT THIS BEHAVIOR IS DESIGNED IN AS A 'SAFETY FEATURE'. HE SAID IT OCCURS WHEN A DRIVER DEPRESSES THE THROTTLE SLIGHTLY, THEN (USING LEFT FOOT) THE BRAKE SLIGHTLY, THEN THE THROTTLE SOME MORE, THEN THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE FOR 2-3 SECONDS. WHAT THAT CONTRIBUTES TO SAFETY IS BEYOND ME. IT'S A SERIOUS DEFECT THAT WILL COST SOMEONE THEIR LIFE & MUST BE CHANGED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

DOOR HANDELS STICK IN THE OPEN POSITION SO DOORS DO NOT CLOSE. TAKEN TO DEALER, DEALER DID NOT FIX ISSUE. MY DAUGHTER'S HAND THEN WAS HURT AFTER DOOR SLAMMED INTO HER AS IT WAS DID NOT LATCH DUE TO STICKING DOOR HANDELS. CALLED VOLKSWAGEN, THEN BOOKED THE CAR FOR REPAIR. AFTER COLLECTING CAR FROM DEALER'S SECOND REPAIR, THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURS, BUT AT NOT AS OFTEN. CAR STILL DEFECTIVE.

DRIVER APPLIED THE BRAKES AND PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN. DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND HIT A FIRE HYDRANT. LEFT SIDE (DRIVER'S SIDE) WHEEL SHEARED OFF. DRIVER WAS NOT INJURED. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC STATED THAT A CAUSE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED AT THIS TIME. *AK *BF *NM

THE RADIO DISPLAY SYSTEM (DISPLAYS RADIO STATION INFO,SONG TITLE, AND ARTIST) QUIT WORKING. THE DEALER HAS RECONNECTED THE RADIO AND REPLACED THE RADIO. EACH TIME IT WORKS FINE FOR A FEW HOURS AFTER RETURNING HOME THEN IT QUITS DISPLAYING INFORMATION. THE DEALER SAID THE RADIO ISN'T DESIGNED TO DISPLAY THIS INFO, YET IT WORKED FOR A MONTH AFTER GETTING THE VEHICLE! IT WORKS ON MY OTHER CAR. THE RADIO IS THE UPGRADE MONSOON SYSTEM WITH CD. *JB

MY 2004 TOUAREG WITH LESS THAN 5000 MILES HAS BEEN IN FOR SERVICING 7 TIMES. THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN WORKED ON AND LOOKED AT THREE TIMES. THEY STILL SQUEAL BUT THE PROBLEM HAS LESSENED. OF MORE CONCERN ARE THE SAFETY ISSUES THAT HAVE AFFECTED ME. I HAVE BEEN LOCKED OUT OF MY VEHICLE TWICE, EACH TIME WITH A DIFFERENT RESOLUTION. UPDATED SOFTWARE WAS THE LATEST FIX. MY AIRBAG FAULT LIGHT IS NOW ON. ANOTHER SOFTWARE RESOLUTION IS ON THE WAY. I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE QUALITY OR SAFETY OF THIS VEHICLE OR WHEN THE NEXT ISSUE WILL ARISE. VOLKSWAGEN TOLD ME MY CAR WAS NOT PROBLEMATIC AND I HAD "BUYERS REMORSE". I AM IN AWE OF THEIR LACK OF CONCERN ESPECIALLY WHEN I KNOW I AM NOT THE ONLY TOUAREG OWNER OUT THERE WITH PROBLEMS.*AK