2002 Volkswagen Passat consumer reviews

IN MY LIFE I HAVE OWNED MANY CARS BUT THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST CAR I HAVE EVER OWNED. I ALSO HAVE A VW PHAETON AND LOVE THAT CAR BUT MY W8 IS MUCH MOE FUN. IT IS VERY RELIABLE, FAST AS HECK, AND EXTRA FUN TO DRIVE. THE 4MOTION AWD IS FENOMENAL, WHETHER ITS SNOW, RAIN, GRAVEL THIS PASSAT W8 WILL TAKE IT ON. IF YOU WANT TO BUY A W8 JUST BUY THE 6SPEED MANUAL. ALOT EASIER TO WORK ON AND NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS LIKE ON THE AUTOMATIC. TO SUM UP, ONE GREAT CAR, YOU WILL BE EXTRA HAPPY TO BE THE OWNER. LOVE IT. WILL KEEP IT TILL THE WHEELS FALL OFF.

Love this car. Great design, good roomy interior, and the Tipronic is fun! Like driving a sports car. Typical dealership expenses so find a good foreign car mechanic. Hope to keep it for a long time.

I actually had a 99 Passat. I only owned it for a year. Soon after purchase, the Sunroof leaked leaving about 4" of water on the passenger side floor board, front all the way to the back. Soon afterwords, the transmission started acting up badly. A call to the VW dealership informed me that VW does not work on transmissions, only replace...for $4,000. I sought out a local shop who diagnosed and rebuilt the transmission for $1,700. When I picked up, it was stuck in fail safe mode. I had it towed to VW who THEN told me it could be a transmission module which was located, you guessed it, under the passenger seat. The cost of a used module was $750, and VW stuck me with another $250 to install. So that episode cost me $2,700 dollars! On top of that, it used a quart of oil every 500 miles, no joke! I was adjusting the seat one day and the spring broke. I would not own a VW if someone gave one to me!

I have the v6 4motion model. Its a great car. Handles good in all weather. The sound system is good. Great space all around.

I bought my 2002 VW Passat GLX V6 Wagon brand new in December 2001. It has 125k miles on it now. Overall, I would say this is a great car. The engine is strong and is very solid, I have never had any issues with it. It has features that were normally found on very expensive cars back in 2002 such as rain-sensing wipers, automatic climate controls and etc. I have only had minor issues with the battery; the original one died soon after the warranty ran out after 30k miles. The dealer installed a new battery and that one died within a year, so I'm now on my third battery. I only have two compliants about this car. 1) I cannot service this car at all. Just about everything under the hood is covered up, I couldn't even get to the battery to replace it!! Forget about changing your own oil. 2) Just like others on this website have mentioned, it is expensive to maintain this car. My mechanic once told me it's more expensive to service the brakes on my Passat than on some BMW's. Your mechanic will love this car. I have owned three other VWs (1988 Fox, 2003 Golf and 2004 Golf), this is the most reliable VW of all four.

I've had the 2002 Passat 1.8 manual drive since November of 2001. Bought it new off the lot. 230,000 miles later and she still purrs like a well loved cat. It is expensive to fix, this is absolutely true. However, I'm married to a shade tree mechanic and he has been able to keep up with the car. We bought the book that VW uses for the car and he's taken care of everything so far...even changing the timing belt. I've test driven the newer models, and they just feel cheap next to ol' Bessie. I love this car.

I own a 2002 passat w8 sedan for the past 2 yrs. I bought it used at 65,000 miles, and now have 95,000. I love the car but it cost $$$ to have the slightest thing fixed. My check engine turned on one month after buying it. It stays on majority of the time.The code reads small leak (emissions) and now cataylic converter-stuck off. After researching and consulting with Volkswagen themselves, I found this a common problem with the Passat w8. Outside of that, the car is a beauty. The power,handling,...the ride overall is smooth. It's def. a sleeper car. Everyone believes its just a "Passat" until they see the badge and exhaust. Most people don't even know they made a w8. I recommend this vehicle to anyone, but have your Passat checked prior to purchasing it. W8 is know to have problems that I just listed.

I love the performance and styling of this Passat. Although they are known to have electrical issues, so if you can pay big bucks to have it serviced then it might be a good car for you. Many shops will not touch this vehicle since it is VW, so for some issues you will be forced to go to the dealership or find a qualified german mechanic. I bought my 02 Passat GLX 4Motion used at 108k miles and the next day the engine light came on, I am assuming they erased the codes, it is an emmission problem, I needed to replace one catalyic converter, but I replaced them both instead. I suggest you replace your O2 Sensors at 120k miles, so you can get better gas mileage and before you start having emission issues. The ECU are also prone to have problems with these vehicles and they cost anywhere between 300 to 500 new, used your lucky if you can get one for $100. In my experience with these cars, they will run in limp mode before they die out on you. So if you want a performance car and not worried about the cost of maintenance then get this one.

It is a beautifull car, but I had spent a lot of money fixing the drive line of the car two times, the sunroof is leaking, the headliner is going down, the quality of the interior is very poor, the lower part of the dash is stiky, the leather of the driver and rear left passenger door is peeling off. The sun is the worst enemy for this cars, thats why the plastic takes damage. The plastic of the inside door handleds starts to loose color too.

Solid car for the last 7 years...bought new, several recalls, but dealer handled and no recurrign issues. This car must be maintained properly and can get expensive. But oh so fun to drive! Leatherette material on seats wear easily, but could be my kids. Great stereo system (Monsoon)...looked at trading for a newer model, but this one is running so well I decided to hang on for a few more years.