Good to see someone who had such good luck with VW products.
By far my most unreliable vehicle was a 2006 VW Jetta TDI. Yes it did get 54 mpg even @ a steady 70 mph cruise, but that was it's only positive.
At less than 300 miles the satellite radio augured in. Replaced by dealer and it suffered a similar fate in less than a year. The memory drivers seat lost it's "memory" after ~ a year and had to be manually reset every time the car was entered.
The clutch engagement was a little grabby from jump and progressively worsened to the point where driving was very difficult. Upon research, found that VW had a world-wide recall on the DMF flywheel used on the manual TDI's everywhere except North America. Local dealer insisted the clutch issue was cause by driver error, despite being presented a copy of the VW world-wide DMF recall. Fixed the problem myself by installing a solid flywheel/clutch assembly from a VR6 which bolted right to the TDI engine. The DMF flywheel was in the process of self destructing upon disassembly.
Read about premature camshaft failure on the PD diesel engines due to undersized cam surface for the injection pump follower compounded by insufficient lubrication. Upon inspection, found that 3 of 4 injection pump cam surfaces showed signs of serious wear, as well as 2 of the valve followers, with only 45,000 miles. (And yes, the proper 505.01 VW spec oil was used) As this was a very expensive fix, traded the car.
Would not get near another VW product.
Other vehicles owned:
1992 Ford Explorer - @ ~1000 miles 5-speed locked up in 5th. Towed to dealer for replacement transmission.
~4000 miles alternator bearing began screeching; replaced under warranty.
~ 6500 miles water pump began leaking; replaced under warranty
~25,000 miles bad vibration at speeds between 50 and 70 mph. Dealer said was an issue with motor mounts, however re-engineered replacements not available for at least 6 months. Traded the vehicle.
1995 Jeep Wrangler - normal maintenance, no issues for 120,000 miles
2003 Jeep Wrangler - normal maintenance for ~100,000 miles. 5-speed began jumping out of gear while under way. Replaced transmission with new unit sourced from Ebay. Traded for new Jeep @ 125,000 miles
2012 Jeep Wrangler - @ 5000 miles dealer replaced leaking door seals. Seals replaced again as water leak not fixed. 29,000 miles drivers side cylinder head replaced under warranty. Water leak returned @ ~30,000 miles. Traded vehicle.
2000 Porsche 911 - no issues, normal maintenance
1995 Dodge 2500 w/ Cummins. Replaced ball joints @ 74,000 miles and rear pinion seal @ 110,000 miles. Traded vehicle @ 155,000 miles.
2009 Subaru Outback XT - no issues, normal maintenance
No issues with any signature vehicles, just normal maintenance.
