2004 Volkswagen Touareg

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE OXYGEN SENSOR EMMISSIONS WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE FAST ENOUGH DUE TO AN RPM MALFUNCTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 134,447.

WHILE ACCELERATING ONTO THE HIGHWAY, A LOUD, REPETITIOUS BANG/CLUNK FROM THE MIDDLE UNDERSIDE OF THE VEHICLE STARTED, SOUNDING SIMILAR TO A BLOWN TIRE. NO ABNORMAL OPERATIONS NOTED PRIOR TO THIS. LIMPED THE CAR BACK TO THE SHOP AT 15 MPH AND FOUND THE CENTER DRIVESHAFT CARRIER BEARING FAILED. THE SERVICE TECH ACTED AS IF THIS WAS COMMON AND WAS NOT SURPRISED. I HAVE A 1981 MERCURY WITH OVER 305000 MILES AND NEVER LOST A BEARING IN MY DRIVESHAFT. MECHANICAL PARTS FAIL. THE WORST PART OF THIS EVENT IS VOA'S REACTION THAT SOMEHOW THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR A POOR/WEAK DESIGN. LIST OF OTHER MAJOR COMPONENT FAILURES WITH NO RECALL THAT ARE COMMON TO ALL TOUAREGS OF THIS GENERATION ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY'S OWN SERVICE TECH'S: CENTER DIFFERENTIAL LOCK MOTOR FAIL REAR DIFF. LOCK MOTOR FAIL COOLING FANS DO NOT SHUT OFF, DRAIN BATTERY THERMOSTAT HOUSING LEAK RADIO FAILURE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING A SHORT DISTANCE FROM MY HOUSE (2 MILES) WHEN I NOTICED MY CAR NOT DRIVING NORMALLY. I HAD DRIVEN IT THE 3 PREVIOUS DAYS WITH NO PROBLEM. I FINISHED MY ERRAND, THEN PROCEEDED TO HEAD HOME. IT WAS NOTICEABLY GETTING WORSE. I SMELLED SOMETHING AT A STOPLIGHT, NOT SURE IF IT WAS MY CAR, OR CAR ALONGSIDE OF ME. I SAW A LIGHT HAD COME ON, ON MY DASHBOARD (CK. ENGINE?) AND LOOKED AT THE GAUGES, EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL. I DECIDED TO HEAD HOME FIRST TO HAVE MY NEIGHBOR FOLLOW ME UP TO REPAIR SHOP. PARKED IN DRIVEWAY, WENT INSIDE MY HOME TO CALL HER, LOOKED OUT MY OPEN FRONT DOOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATER WHERE I SAW SMOKE AND SMELLED IT. RAN OUT, MY AUTO WAS SERIOUSLY SMOKING HEAVY BROWN SMOKE, RAN NEXT DOOR TO CALL 911, AND AUTO BURST INTO FLAMES AND CAUGHT HOUSE ON FIRE ALSO. I AM NOW IN A HOTEL BECAUSE OF MAJOR FIRE AND SMOKE DAMAGE. *KB

I HAVE HAD MY 2004 VW TOUAREG SINCE JUNE 2006 AND HAVE HAD PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE. THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WENT OUT WITHIN 6 WEEKS OF BUYING THE CAR, THE DRIVE SHAFT HAD TO BE REPLACED, THE AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR HAD TO BE REPLACED, THE BRAKES HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED AND I AM GETTING ANOTHER "CHECK BRAKE PADS" ERROR AGAIN, THE TIRE MONITORING SYSTEM CONTINUALLY TELLS ME I HAVE A FLAT, THE RADIO AMPLIFIER WAS MAKING A LOUD CRACKING SO THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED A FUSE AND BLEW THE 2 BACK SPEAKERS (WHICH THEY WOULD NOT FIX, HEWLETT VW IN GEORGETOWN, TEXAS), THE AUTO DIFFERENTIAL IS GOING OUT. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO END IN SIGHT FOR REPAIRS. *TR

MULTIPLE ENGINE LIGHT FAILURES FOR OVER 4 YEARS. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND ENGINE SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY WHILE WIFE WAS ON THE FREEWAY. VERY DANGEROUS...ESSENTIALLY NO WARNING. HAVE REPLACED WIRING HARNESS IN THE VEHICLE AND HAVE HAD IT IN THE SHOP FOR ELECTRICAL ISSUES MANY TIMES. UNSAFE HANDLING AND ACCELERATION...CAR JUMPS FORWARD AT STOPS WHILE IT IS DOWNSHIFTING. THINK THE TRANSMISSION, TIRES AND BRAKES SHOULD BE TESTED. THINK YOU WILL FIND THEY ARE DEFECTIVE. ENGINE BLEW UP AT 44,000 MILES. VERY DANGEROUS CAR..AND YOU WILL FIND OTHER TOUAREGS WITH SIMILAR ISSUES. SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR

I OWN A VOLKSWAGEN TOURAREG. THE CAR HESITATED BEFORE ACCELERATING INTO AN INTERSECTION. I AM ON RECORD WITH THE DEALER. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES ,AND ONCE ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. I AM AN ATTORNEY IN FLORIDA, AND BECAUSE OF VOLKSWAGEN'S INACTION IN THIS AREA I WAS CONSIDERING A LAWSUIT IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM. IN PURSUING THE INTERNET I FOUND SEVERAL OWNERS OF THE 2004 TOUAREG WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. *AK

THE VEHICLE IS UNDRIVABLE / UNPREDICTABLE WHEN THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE IS BELOW ZERO (F). THIS PROBLEM WAS OBSERVED FOR 4 DAYS IN FEB. 2004. THE CAR WILL START, BUT SURGES AND BALKS SO BADLY YOU CAN'T DRIVE IT. THIS CONDITION WILL CONTINUE FOR OVER 20 MINUTES. IT WILL RE-OCCUR THE NEXT TIME YOU TRY AND USE THE VEHICLE SO LONG AS THE TEMPERATURE IS BELOW ZERO. THE SAFETY HAZARD IS THAT IT LEAVES YOU STRANDED WHEREVER THIS HAPPENS. THERE'S NOTHING THE OPERATOR CAN DO. VW HAS TRIED 3 REPAIRS: (1) CHANGE THE ENGINE OIL TO SYNTHETIC, (2) & (3) REPROGRAM THE ENGINE COMPUTER TWICE TO SUPPOSEDLY FIX THIS PROBLEM. IT'S NOW 2 YEARS LATER, AND WE ARE EXPERIENCING BELOW ZERO WEATHER AGAIN, AND THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM PERSISTS. MY DEALER IS NOT ABLE TO FIND ANY INFORMATION ON THIS PROBLEM, AND CAN'T GET ASSISTANCE FROM VW. I WILL CONTACT VWOA DIRECTLY AND INITIATE A CASE. FINALLY, IN RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM, I HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE V6 ENGINE WHO REPORT THIS PROBLEM AND SAY IT'S NEVER BEEN CORRECTED. *JB

I BOUGHT A 2004 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG NEW AND TREATED IT LIKE A BABY. DEALER SERVICE, NEVER OFF-ROAD. AT 80,000 MILES (I COMMUTE 200 MILES PER DAY ON THE FREEWAY) THE ENGINE BLEW. DEALER SAID THAT AFTER THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN PARKED AND TURNED OFF THE FUEL INJECTOR PARTIALLY FILLED A CYLINDER WITH LIQUID GASOLINE. LATER WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED THE PISTON SLAMMED INTO THE LIQUID AND BLEW THE ENGINE. PARTS ALONE TO REPAIR ARE $15,000. SINCE THE COST OF REPAIRS EXCEEDS THE VALUE OF THE VEHICLE I WON'T BE REPAIRING IT -- IT IS A TOTAL LOSS. *JB