Passat B8

[Spurman]

On 6/24/2020 at 3:00 PM, Shoebox said:

Your question is simple, but the answer is long, so bear with me here a bit.

Firstly, DSG.

Pros: Responsive and more efficient, giving you more power and fuel saving.
Cons: You need to change your way of driving, because it is not a torque converter. Think of it as a manual, so you need to take care of it like one. E.g. don't let it half clutch and inch forward, etc, else you will pay tuition fees through repair and replacement (e.g. clutch pack). Regular maintenance is very important; you take care of the DSG, the DSG take care of you. There are a lot of people who tell you DSG no good and not reliable, but if you do your homework, you'll also find that a lot of Toyota torque converters, Nissan CVTs, Ford DCTs, etc. also break down, and repair fee also a few thousand dollars. By the way, now got VW DSG recall announced, so at least they're recalling all the DSGs to fix for free, even for those no more warranty.

B8: The VW 1.8 TSI engine is known to consume engine oil. If you lucky, good for you. Not lucky, always carry a bottle of engine oil to top up when it tells you engine oil low. Until one fine day you no choice, rebuild engine. At least $5k to rebuild if you go outside workshop. The 2.0 engine not so much problem, so get the 2.0 if you can. Else, fingers crossed. It's a design and manufacturing issue.

Ride: If you're comparing to an asian car, no fight, B8 sure win. If you compare to a Merc e-class, well, Merc of course better, but at what price?

Leg room and quieter drive: Have you considered the Skoda Superb? Same technology and platform as the B8, but the legroom so much better. Cabin noise also very similar. Many parts also share with VW/Audi.

Suggest you just walk over and look see the Superb first before sign dotted line. After all, it's in the same showroom.

Nicely written.

Superb is well built. The only diss is the design. Haha.. Love or hate thingy. IMHO, it looks "communist". Old skool design...

[Shoebox]

1 hour ago, Lotr said:

How about multi storey carpark? Any precautions to protect the DSG?

Now driving an auto and may switch to a DSG.

When driving my auto in multi storey, I find that I will accelerate to a certain speed and then tap brake or just let go accelerator just before approaching the up ramp. Then at mid ramp, accelerate a bit and then let go of accelerator just before reaching the top of the ramp and then turn.

Wonder if driven this way, will the DSG be damaged in the long run? Or is it unavoidable?

Your way should be fine la, won't cause issues one.

But for example, if you on a carpark slope going up, and there's a queue, you should use the brake when your car is stationary. Only accelerate when you want to move the car. Some drivers like to hold the car stationary by feathering the accelerator and not use the brake because shiok, then the dsg will up lorry very fast like that.

I was also thinking of going back to torque converter after driving dsg before, but the responsiveness of the dsg especially when you need to change or merge lane is really no fight. 

[Sopskysalat]

8 minutes ago, Shoebox said:

Your way should be fine la, won't cause issues one.

But for example, if you on a carpark slope going up, and there's a queue, you should use the brake when your car is stationary. Only accelerate when you want to move the car. Some drivers like to hold the car stationary by feathering the accelerator and not use the brake because shiok, then the dsg will up lorry very fast like that.

I was also thinking of going back to torque converter after driving dsg before, but the responsiveness of the dsg especially when you need to change or merge lane is really no fight. 

DSG is good. Try ZF8, you may change your opinion after.

[clickb8]

3 hours ago, Spurman said:

Nicely written.

Superb is well built. The only diss is the design. Haha.. Love or hate thingy. IMHO, it looks "communist". Old skool design...

Totally agree... if not for the looks it’d be the perfect value D-segment choice

[clickb8]

3 hours ago, Lotr said:

How about multi storey carpark? Any precautions to protect the DSG?

Now driving an auto and may switch to a DSG.

When driving my auto in multi storey, I find that I will accelerate to a certain speed and then tap brake or just let go accelerator just before approaching the up ramp. Then at mid ramp, accelerate a bit and then let go of accelerator just before reaching the top of the ramp and then turn.

Wonder if driven this way, will the DSG be damaged in the long run? Or is it unavoidable?

This is fine, it’s how I drive the DSG too. The principle to understand is that clutch wear happens when the clutch is not fully engaged. This might happen when speed goes single digit. The trick is to watch the RPM and listen closely to the engine. If RPM ticks up and the engine sounds like it’s freewheeling, then the clutch is not being fully engaged.

As long as the clutch is fully engaged, you can drive however slow you want, up the slope without pressing accelerator, etc.

[clickb8]

One situation that cannot avoid creeping is when you park your car. Cannot park at high speeds for obvious reasons. That one bo pian 

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, Sopskysalat said:

DSG is good. Try ZF8, you may change your opinion after.

I agree with u on the ZF8.

Unfortunately, I can't think of any non-premium marques  in Singapore (I may be wrong) offering the ZF8HP. 

[Rickster]

31 minutes ago, clickb8 said:

One situation that cannot avoid creeping is when you park your car. Cannot park at high speeds for obvious reasons. That one bo pian 

and also city driving start, stop, crawl traffic.

[clickb8]

1 hour ago, Rickster said:

and also city driving start, stop, crawl traffic.

This one easier to avoid. Rather than tailgate the car in front of you, just wait for it to move off further, before you move. It’s a question of driving style and patience.

OTOH, parking is, by definition, a controlled creep into the lot.

Edited June 26, 2020 by clickb8

[Mkpang]

Anybody installed Electronic Tailgate? Can share some info please? Thanks.

[fyh85]

Hi anyone can advise the rough cost for servicing outside workshop? Understand the cost for 3 times servicing at AD is 1200 plus from the previous post.

[Qtm550]

May i know if the AXA insurance for new Passat B8 quoted by VW Sales is reasonable ?

Im NCD 50% , 20+ years driving , no claims for last 5 years.

One year S$1800+ ( 1 to 1 replacement ) Thanks.

[Lotr]

18 minutes ago, Qtm550 said:

May i know if the AXA insurance for new Passat B8 quoted by VW Sales is reasonable ?

Im NCD 50% , 20+ years driving , no claims for last 5 years.

One year S$1800+ ( 1 to 1 replacement ) Thanks.

I suppose you might get a few hundred dollars off if you get from outside.

But need to consider if there is any penalties if you don't take insurance from them.  the penalties might not make it worthwhile to get your own insurance.

[junda07]

Has anyone fixed an aftermarket tow hitch to their Passat? I am considering fixing one so that I can use a hitch bike rack. The one offered by VW is a tow ball and very few bike racks utilise a ball.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Edited July 14, 2020 by junda07

[WWbarb]

22 hours ago, Qtm550 said:

May i know if the AXA insurance for new Passat B8 quoted by VW Sales is reasonable ?

Im NCD 50% , 20+ years driving , no claims for last 5 years.

One year S$1800+ ( 1 to 1 replacement ) Thanks.

Bought in Jan, same same. Previous jap car only $500plus...

[cth_]

Hi all, recently test driven a B8 Passat 1.8 highline that's about 2.5 years old. Found that under braking, there was some juddering noise on the rear left wheel and felt some vibrations. Wondering if anybody knows what's the cause of the noise and how to solve it. Also wondering what are the features of the 8" Discovery Pro infotainment system on the highline version. Thanks!

[cth_]

Hi everyone, need some tips and help on the b8 passat.

 

Anyone has any idea on how to permanently disable the auto start stop and set the air con setting to recirculate everytime upon starting up the car?

Also, I've been experiencing issues with the memory seats setting as i'm unable to store the memory of the seats after adjusting. Does anybody face the same issue or does anyone know how to solve this issue?

 

Thanks!

[Shoebox]

36 minutes ago, cth_ said:

Hi everyone, need some tips and help on the b8 passat.

 

Anyone has any idea on how to permanently disable the auto start stop and set the air con setting to recirculate everytime upon starting up the car?

Also, I've been experiencing issues with the memory seats setting as i'm unable to store the memory of the seats after adjusting. Does anybody face the same issue or does anyone know how to solve this issue?

 

Thanks!

There is a legendary guru whose name sounds like Sony. Quite well known in the VW/Audi/Skoda community. He can change setting to disable auto start stop and set aircon to recirculate.

Not sure if he can help on your memory seats issue, but heard he's good at troubleshooting electricals too.

Or actually, most workshops who specialize in VW cars should know how to do also.

PM me if you need his contact.