Used 2002 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5A) Consumer Reviews
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8 year review
bjss, Columbus, NE, 12/24/2010
Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5A)
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
Still going strong at 80K and 8 years. Recent issue with front motor mounts replaced (leaking) and valve cover gasket. But all-in-all it has been a reliable car. See other reviews (7 year, 6 year , etc..) for more info.
It's German
RedBull59, 03/26/2010
Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5A)
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
Having been w/ my parents when they bought this new, I have watched my dad and myself change the oil every 5000 miles, and will say you MUST use synthetic, i use castrol synthetic, and I have never had the majority of problems these people speak of, after coming from an old s-10 and porsche 944 the lights shine bright for me, and I have never had oil sludge. I replaced the timing belt, but that was preventive maintenance, and the fuel system has never given me a problem. I did have to replace the idle regulator, but it's whatever. This car has been great for my parents, and now me, it has taken numerous cross country trips, and never given us a problem. I would highly recommend a VW.
Crap
JT from NC, Greer, SC, 05/20/2019
Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
This car was a nightmare to own. I bought it used with less than 60,000 miles on it. I should’ve trusted my gut instinct that there was going to be trouble when I drove it off the lot with the engine light on and the dealer insisting that it was a fluke. The whole car was a rolling disaster. Electrical system was garbage. Doors would unlock sporadically going down the road and then lock again. Dash lights would flicker off and on making it difficult to drive at night when you can’t see the instrument cluster. The linkage for the keyfob was faulty and would not allow the doors to lock or unlock nor allow the engine to start until it reset itself. After a rain the right rear floorboard became a lake and then shorted out the transmission control module which was mounted in a sub chamber under the front floorboard. Over $1,800 to fix and the part had to come from Germany and was used. The information center would flash up warnings every other month that the engine oil pressure was low and to “stop engine now!” Very scary! Learned that the 1.8 turbo engine had an oil sludge problem that was rampant. Got the oil changed for the last time and traded the piece of junk on a Chevrolet. What a relief!
- Safety
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- Performance
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- Reliability
- Value
Conflicted
Jaimy, 05/24/2010
Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I bought the car new, and planned on keeping it for a long time. I love the way the car drives. However, the gas mileage is not great. (18 AVG. around town, 24 avg on hwy) Especially when you have to use premium. So far, we've replaced several ignition coils, two water pumps, two temp.sensors, and a timing belt. The front bumper keeps coming loose. And now the car makes a suspicious clunking noise. It's most likely the axle. And the radio has issues. We will be replacing it very soon.
Why I will never by another VW again
Disappointed, 06/12/2010
Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5A)
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
I didn't review this site before purchasing my 2002 1.8t Passat Wagon (really sorry I didn't because this review will sound like many of the others).The car does look sweet,turbo was pretty awesome,& the car is stacked w/ features (sunroof, pw, pl, tiptronic, cruise, lots of space). We purchased the car with under 80000 miles. Less than 1 month into owning it the a/c compressor/clutch quit, the glove box handle fell off, a bracket under car came off, the heat quit working, the tiptronic would not switch from manual to automatic, instrument panel was 50% dim, transmission started to make a grinding noise when decelerating, 2 vent slats for the a/c fell out & paint started to peel frm inside