Passat Clutch

[BurtonRob]

I'm thinking of buying a Passat 130bhp. However I've seen a fair bit of bad press about the suitability of the clutch for towing. Can someone put my mind at rest or confirm the bad news!!! I tow a pageant Bordeux mtpl weight 1350kg.

Thanks

 

[Terry_5094524]

Hi Rob

I have a Passat 130 4motion sport 53 registration with 35k on the clock

Bought it 1 year old with 12k as a VW own car

Tow a Coachman 530/4 VIp MTPLM 1525 (OK a bit over 85%)

So far no trouble with car or towing

Using the long service intervals (told me I needed servicing at 33k)

Set of tyres all round at 34k

All in all very happy

Hope this helps

 

[BurtonRob]

Hi Rob

I have a Passat 130 4motion sport 53 registration with 35k on the clock

Bought it 1 year old with 12k as a VW own car

Tow a Coachman 530/4 VIp MTPLM 1525 (OK a bit over 85%)

So far no trouble with car or towing

Using the long service intervals (told me I needed servicing at 33k)

Set of tyres all round at 34k

All in all very happy

Hope this helps

Thanks ever so much

 

[Geordie]

Rob, my mate has the 130 estate and has covered a few thousand towing miles with it and not had any problems- great tug !

 

[BurtonRob]

My concern is more about clutches wearing out than their ability to pull. Have I just heard about those few bad cases?

Rob

 

[KATHERINE_5094825]

My concern is more about clutches wearing out than their ability to pull. Have I just heard about those few bad cases?

Rob

Hi,we have a passet bhpp130 1.9 deisel estate four years old and we have had to have the clutch replaced when we first used it to tow a sterling europa 490, i cant rember the mptlm but it was about 88% and the first time we arrived on site and tried to reverse onto pitch the clutch started to smoke and the smell was terrible - we came hone and had it replaced no problem, the vw chap said he had just replaced a brand new passet's clutch that had towed for just one day!!. Also watch tghe kerbweight - the brochure vastly over weights it we weighted ours on a weighbridge and it was 1480!! not 1600plus as brochure. haveing said that its a great car and i wish we didn't have to change it but it won't pull our new van with a MPTLM of 1500.

 

[AndyT1]

Hi Rob, one of the best cars I've driven for towing. I did 128k miles in my car and it never missed a beat (original clutch). France or more recently the Netherlands was our usual destination and I never had an issue with the clutch. I had more issues with wheel spin in the wet on set off with the van on the back !!

 

[BurtonRob]

Hi Rob, one of the best cars I've driven for towing. I did 128k miles in my car and it never missed a beat (original clutch). France or more recently the Netherlands was our usual destination and I never had an issue with the clutch. I had more issues with wheel spin in the wet on set off with the van on the back !!

Thanks Andy, thats what I was hoping to hear

Rob

 

[ken_5127473]

hiya Rob,

i have owned 2 passats now,a 110bhp and a 130bhp both estates,i tow an avondale rialto,and have nothing but praise for both cars.i did 70,000 miles in the first and this 2003 130bhp has now done 50.000miles.never needed a clutch,there have been minor faults,the main one being the air volume meter failing on both cars,resulting in a large loss of power like the turbo has stopped working.this fault was easily fixed under warranty on both cars.a big plus is the excellent quality of all the fittings and thickness of paintwork allowing t-cutting of minor scratches.a great comfortable mile eater,i personnally would only buy a german car,same with the caravan next time i change.

 

[Angus1]

I run a Passat 130 TDI sport which needed a clutch at 60k.

Never had a clutch in a car before in over 750k miles!

Turns out there had been issues with dual-density flywheels which caused the problem. A word of warning - the supplying dealer insisted there was nothing wrong, despite my protestations that it needed a clutch and wheel-bearing under warranty. Another dealer sorted it - it needed a clutch,flywheel gear selector and wheel bearing, which had I had to pay would have cost over two grand. Don`t be fobbed off!

I have since done another 80k with no problems and it pulls like a train. Top tow car.

 

[Icemaker]

Rob, Angus is absolutely corect in that it is the dual mass fly wheel that has been the problem not the clutch. i too was concerned when i bought my galaxy which has the same engine and gearbox but the car ran for 80.000 miles on the same clutch towing extensively. i know have a seat alhambra agin with the 1.9 tdi six speed manual but this one is originally the 130 bhp version however i have had it re-mapped to 172 bhp and over 350 pound torque and still have no problems towing a big twin axle. acccording to some of the websites i have read the problem stems from vw's engineering department who spec the fly wheel at only 5 % tolerance to torque but ive gone well over 5% and have no problems. fantastic engine and gearbox whichever vehicle it is fitted in to.

 

[milliemop]

I have had the 115bhp model for three years, had the full vw service history with the car and have just recently renewed the clutch,----mileage 136,000------excessive clutch wear depends a lot on how the vehicle is driven, if you pull heavy caravan and tend to slip the clutch a lot then it ain't going to last too long, people tend to do this a lot when reversing hence the burning smell, The clutch plate in the passast is a very large piece of kit, when I first saw it I thought it was for a lorry!!---as long as the fluid flywheel is in good condition you should have no problems at all----one of the best towcars on the road