Ownership Cost for 2003 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T
Estimated: $34451 over the next 5 years
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Total
Depreciation
$1197
$574
$503
$455
$407
$3136
Insurance
$1451
$1502
$1554
$1609
$1665
$7781
Fuel
$1529
$1575
$1630
$1696
$1772
$8202
Maintenance
$2763
$1849
$914
$526
$2291
$8343
Repairs
$977
$1138
$1298
$1417
$1627
$6457
Taxes & Fees
$359
$359
$359
$359
$359
$531
Total Ownership Costs
$8276
$6680
$5951
$5735
$7809
$34451
Air Bag Loc Curtain: 1st Row (Driver & Passenger)
Air Bag Loc Front: 1st Row (Driver & Passenger)
Air Bag Loc Side: Driver Seat Only
Body Class: Sedan/Saloon
Displacement CC: 1781
Displacement CI: 108.683288232
Displacement L: 1.781000
Doors: 4
Engine Cylinders: 4
Engine HP: 170
Engine KW: 126.7690
Engine Manufacturer: Volkswagen
Fuel Type Primary: Gasoline
Make: VOLKSWAGEN
Manufacturer: VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA
Manufacturer Id: 1147
Model: Passat
Model Year: 2003
Other Engine Info: 50-St./Can. ULEV emission.
Emissions Certification Test Group: 3ADXV01.8342
Other Restraint System Info: Active Seat Belt
Plant City: Emden
Plant Country: Germany
Seat Belts All: Manual
Series: GLS
Vehicle Type: PASSENGER CAR
Model year
COMPONENT
Complaint
2003
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER
WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH CONSUMER NOTICED THAT THE PASSENGER'S HEATED SEAT BURNED. CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND PULLED OVER. CONSUMER EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE BY TURNING OFF THE HEATED SEAT. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT PASSENGER'S SEAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
AT 40K MILES THE LOW OIL PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON, AT DEALERSHIP THE TECHNICIAN "COULD NOT DUPLICATE CONCERN." AT 42K MILES THE CAR STOPPED WORKING WHILE ON THE FREEWAY. ONCE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE TECH TRIED TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. AGAIN, IN THE INVOICE WAS NOTED THAT HE REMOVED THE OIL CAP AND NOTED "A LOT OF BURNED OIL ON UNDER-SIDE OF CAP AND ON OIL DEFLECTOR TRAY." YET, THAT WAS NOT PURSUED AS THE TECHNICIAN NOTES ON THE FOLLOWING LINE THAT "CHECKED FURTHER AND FOUND NO FUEL DELIVERY." OIL CHANGE WAS ALSO DONE ON THE CAR W/ A NEW OIL FILTER AND CAR WAS RETURNED. AT 50K MILES LOW OIL PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT AGAIN CAME ON. STATED IN INVOICE THAT "DID NOT PERFORM DIAGNOSTIC." TECHNICIAN NOTES IN INVOICE, BASED ON A VISUAL INSPECTION THROUGH OIL CAP YET, THERE APPEARS TO BE OIL SLUDGE BUILD UP. NO DIAGNOSTICS WERE RAN AND NO MENTION OF OIL SLUDGE BEING A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE 1.8L TURBO ENGINE IN THE 2003 PASSAT. AT 52K MILES, THE LOW OIL PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT YET AGAIN CAME ON, THIS TIME CAR WAS TAKEN TO INDEPENDENT SHOP. THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS ON OIL PUMP, BASED ON LOW PRESSURE RESULTS, PUMP WAS REPLACED. 16K MILES LATER, LOW OIL PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON, OIL PUMP IDENTIFIED AS PROBLEM AND REPLACED UNDER PART WARRANTY AT NO COST. ANOTHER 16K MILES LATER, THIS OIL PUMP ALSO FAILED. GARAGE REMOVED VALVE COVER REVEALING EXTENSIVE AMOUNTS OF BURNT OIL CARBON DEPOSITS THAT AS PER THEIR MECHANICS ARE ONLY POSSIBLE FROM A PETROLEUM BASED OIL. I SEEKED A SECOND OPINION ON THE ENGINE AND SECOND GARAGE CONFIRMED THAT DAMAGE SEEN WAS ONLY POSSIBLE FROM THE USE OF A PETROLEUM BASED OIL. VOLKSWAGEN CHANGED THEIR ENGINE OIL SPECIFICATIONS IN AUGUST OF 2004. WHEN I RECEIVED MY CAR IN NOVEMBER OF 2002 AND ALL OIL CHANGES PERFORMED ON THE CAR BY THE VW DEALERSHIP UNTIL AUGUST OF 2004 WERE DONE SO WITH PETROLEUM BASED OIL. THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WAS CREATED FROM NOVEMBER 2002-AUGUST 2004, ALTHOUGH I WAS NOT AWARE OF IT UNTIL 1/5/2007. *NM