Volkswagen Golf Questions & Answers

I believe it has a timing belt, but I can't be 100% certain.

I have never had a Golf with manual transmission. I should imagine it would depend greatly on the way the car has been driven.

No problem with my mk7 and it doesn’t ever use oil it’s done 132k must of got a good one and just had a major service done

Anthony, absolutely incredible your VW Golf oil consumption continues minimal activity! Mine 2013 MK7 consumes average 1lt/1000klms in suburban conditions, common fault in Europe. I continue researching mechanical controls and services within the operation to resolve the problem. If successful I’ll release on multiple forums for other owners. Welcome your advice.

I’ve just paid $17999 with 81,000 km

I can only answer from my own experience of my Golf, purchased new in Sept 2015. It's done 107,000km and been serviced regularly (7 times). Has been a fantastic little car, fun to drive, economical yet nimble. That being said, much comes down to how it's looked after (clean oil, quality fuel, fresh air) all goes a long way to having the car serve a long, useful life - but my experience is a thumbs up and enjoy these cars!

Good luck John. In my experience, VW are not helpful and are very expensive. My golf does not have a remote key but you would think they would have a battery that could be replaced as other remote devices do. Maybe that’s just another way VW makes more money.

Thanks Meredith but I have changed the battery and it still doesn't work. Looks like it needs a new internal PCB. Thanks anyway, regards John.

I was told at the car yard to bring my car in as they have a locksmith comes regularly and makes copies for around $200, i haven't had to yet but worth a try

Thanks Peter. As it turned out, I took the battery out of my wife's key and put it in mine ( I checked that hers worked first) and still my key didn't work. Clearly she had enough battery power for hers to work so it should have made mine work too I thought. Not so. When I put a brand new battery in my key, it then worked. Until then, I assumed mine was dead and very nearly went down the key replacement path. I dodged a bullet. Thanks for your response, John.

For golf fsi

Probably the clutch pack or issues with the DSG gearbox itself which is common particularly on pre 2012 models

I forgot to mention when I wrote my review yesterday, that the Clutch is also an issue that I was advised about last year. Therefore the current issues with this dud car are: The Water Pump needs replacement, The Clutch needs to be replaced, as it doesn't engage as it is meant do. ( these two alone amount to more than $4,500) . The third thing, that I forgot to mention in my post yesterday is that there is leaking from the wiper on the back window entering into the cavity of Door 5, ie. the Door giving one access to the Boot. I reckon that's going to be another costly matter that requires rectification.

don't get the 118 TDI. Engine tends to explode. Look it up

260,000 km out of a clutch is pretty decent. As for the transmission noise, no that is not normal. Possible worn out syncronisors becuase of the cars high mileage.

Check the mileage: 23,000km in 3 years, not 260,000. How does that affect your comments???

Just checked: when refuelled on 30th April mileage was 26,644. Problem persists.

Logically check your manual or sales doco first

Hi Sandra. I have just needed to find an answer to the same question. I've been through all the documentation including service book, sales dockets etc. and came up blank. A good Google search provided the answer. The easy answer is ... if you have rounded tail lights, it's Mk 6, if they are sharp edged design, Mk 7. Mark 7 also has the sophisticated "Infotainment System" with GPS and lots of other choices (radio, car, menu etc.) in the middle of the dash. Regards, John.

Check out when the next cam belt change is due to be changed. It will attract a $1,000+ expense. Make sure it doesn't have a bad accident history. I think they're generally OK and reasonably reliable for a commuter car but I'd be going Corolla/Civic instead as I think generally they're more reliable, have identical performance and economy and will be easier on the wallet.

I'd go for a Japanese car

My Golf has been very reliable and is at 150K KMS. I did have the cam belt changed not sure on cost, services are reasonable outside of VW garages. The smaller engine golfs are great in a straight line and motorway driving does suits them. The Golf will feel far safer as the build quality is far superior to other cars in its class. Also once you have it I would look for a mechanic familiar with VW who is reasonable.

mhall you are kidding yourself, Japanese reliability is far superior to VW. 150,000klm is not even breaking a sweat in a Corolla, I bet your golf won't even get close to 400, 000k, as jap cars do on a regular basis.

I dont like the mk5 becuase it was built in their South African plant and not Germany. And most of the mk5 cars that came out of South Africa had major relabilty issues with transmission. But it could have been just a certain time period.

Contact VW

I have a 2016 TDI and from the day I took delivery, it has told me 100 times to change the battery key. I check the battery, even put a new one in, and guess what? Still the same. Most times my key will unlock the car when I grab the door handle but often not, so I use the unlock button on the key case. This key has just died completely and VW want $620 for a new one, yes it's true !!

I can’t read the answer to my question how do I get into the information to read it? Please help

Soft limiters I think, enviro emissions and all that jazz