Volkswagen Transporter

By far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. Bought a T4 1997 2.5 Petrol automatic camper conversion (Trakka) with 88,000 kms. Consistent service history, owner changed oils every 10K and had receipts of parts being replaced such as tyres. Only it wasn't driven much, perhaps on a couple trips a year. The camper conversion was fantastic! Even… Read more

fridge and plumbing still fine after 28 years. Sadly, that's about the best I can say about the vehicle.

Within two months and less than 1,000 kms of driving, I already had to replace these components as they were malfunctioning or irreparably faulty:

Refrigerant, Alternator, Battery, Drive belt, Fuel pump, Fuel filter, MAF sensor, O2 sensor, Catalytic converter (!), Transmission fluid and filter, Transmission had a leak - why?, Timing belt (and water pump with it)

And now, it still isn't fully driveable, because the torque converter seems to be on the way out! So after spending over $5K (that was meant to be for fuel) on diagnostics, parts and labour, it sounds like I have to have a whole new transmission. And the air-con compressor may be on the way out. After all the above, I could live with that in comparison.

Positives: it is comfortable to drive. Lots of space in the cabin, comfortable seats, armrest, steers well, turns well. It has that good 'driving experience' which is perhaps VW's best asset. It's hard to enjoy your drive when you're constantly worrying if that sound you're starting to hear is yet another $2,000 part breaking down.

In comparison, I've had an 'unreliable' 2007 Ford Focus for three years and have had done nothing to it other than CV joints, battery and tyres! What a world of difference. After this experience I would never recommend a German car to anyone unless you are just after the prestige. But even then you should get Audi or Mercedes. VW has none of the prestige but all of the cost after you factor in the constant expensive repairs you will be doing.

4th transporter same problem – I work for Addison Lee who for whatever reason keep buying be transporters This is my 4th one and yet again the ad blue gauge has stopped working it is now showing 1300 miles before the van comes to a grinding halt even though I have filled the ad blue tank Just like the others it has to go back to vw You would have thought that they would have… Read more

found a way to fix the problem before putting them on the road People don’t buy one it’s obvious that you will be taking a chance that it will go back like my previous 4 Pathetic

Brilliant Van 2.5TDI – My first VW Transporter and extremely impressed with the same. Bought it off a friend at 416000km and ran very well although a few things did not work. Air con needed a new compressor, hood lining needed re gluing, heater temp selector needed repairing and the drivers sunvisor needed replacing as would no longer stay up. All really minor… Read more

issues that have now all been fixed.

The van regularly returns around 6.2 l/100 in hilly driving and is just so reliable.

It is always regularly serviced using quality products and oil.

It handles very well, steers well and of course rides very well.

Of course being a Transporter it is a bit noisy inside especially when empty.

Even with approx 1.5 tonne of tiles on board (above recommended max load) it handles it all so well.

Recently had a huge drop in power, surmising that the turbo had given up I installed a new one and cleaned out the EGR unit and still sweet to drive but with still no power. It was frustrating trying to find an experienced mechanic to advise on same.

Finally I checked the Catalytic Converter and found that it was well and truly more than half blocked.

Drilled out the ceramic honeycomb and took the van for a run.

Totally different van and spins very easily to 4000rpm through the gears.

Huge amount of torque even in 5 gear. So much so that seldom do I need to change back to 4th gear to overtake another vehicle, even on a hill.

Yes very impressed with this van which has now just ticked over 432000km.

I have several friends lining up to purchase the same and even the original owner who now has a T5 petrol!

However, it simply is not for sale.

Cheapest car I've ever had – I bought my manual 2.5 litre petrol 96 t4 at the end of 2012 on ebay for $4000 AUD. It had just over 200k on it and was being sold by an old German guy who was the second owner. I'm guessing that he looked after it because in all it's been a very reliable car. I got it for $5000 AUD under the RACV agreed value which I thought was strange, but then… Read more

I noticed that it sometimes had trouble selecting 2nd gear. Long story short, it turned out to be one of the gear selector bushes which was an easy fix but I'm guessing that the previous owner let it go cheap because he thought that it was going to need a new gearbox soon.

In the time that I've had it I've done around 150k in it and it has only broken down on me 3 times. The first time was when I cracked the oil cooler casing by driving it up a huge mountain and then parking it in the snow. It lost a bunch of oil but thankfully I had the smarts to get it towed to the mechanics and get a new part fitted rather than trying to drive it there and seizing the whole deal. Second time was when I burnt out the rotor button which was an easy fix, and third time it was the ignition coil which again was an easy fix on the side of the road.

I'm not sure whether I've just been extremely lucky but this is the toughest car I've ever owned. I've driven it all over Australia and even up to the tip of Cape York and back on roads that are supposed to be 4wd only. The height of it has meant that I've been able to take it places that most of my other cars never would have gotten to. Also, I find that I get around 10/11 litres per 100 k's using 95 ron, and even better if I use 98. However, the fuel economy does go downhill once it gets up around the 100 kph mark and above.

On the negative side, the thing I that I dislike most about it is the lack of power. I normally don't have it loaded up that much but I find that I have to go through the gears a lot on back roads and up hills. Also, it's quite an old van now so the handling isn't great. The other annoying thing is that the instrument panel crapped out at around 270k's so I got it replaced with a working second hand one which is now starting to crap out as well.

I've had my t4 for a long time now and am seriously thinking about trading it in on something else just for a change. Realistically though I can't see myself getting a better value car than this has been over the years. It's been such a reliable and versatile car. I use it for work in construction as well as for travelling so it has paid for itself 5 times over. If it died tomorrow I couldn't fault it because I've already gotten far more than my money's worth out of it. I've been looking at getting a t6 but they're still up around 30k for a decent one. I figure that I might as well just keep driving it until it dies and find out how many k's it will do.

Does the VW transporters stack up against the Combi – I recently purchased a 1997 VW Transporter Camper. The vehicle has covered 345.000klms, uses no oil, engine has loads of power. Having the up front 5 cylinder Aldi engine allows much more room in the van section. Years previous I own a VW combi Camper. It was well set out but engine a the rear used up valuable storage space. The VW vans handle and drive like sedans.

Exactly what i needed – T4 1.9 TD. Bought at 140k miles. I deliver locally produced food, and cover 200 miles a week. Best van I've owned. Had transits, a Vito (yuk) LDV, and an Iveco. This runs sweetly, and is easy to work on..garage replaced cambelt, as im not THAT confident, feels better. As long as you keep fluids and filters changed regularly, it will be good to… Read more

you. Overall spend so far £1100 for van, and about £1100 for new brakes, filters, belts, fluids, tyres and replacement dummy cat section of exhaust. Ready for another 100k miles now probably.

Gear box trash and weight load a lie – After transporting a washing machine and 60kg gearbox the van started rolling back on me even when my foot was on the brake and gear was in drive I checked the brake servo levels where fine transmission fluid was fine and oil level is good but the transmission 8s gone the gears grind this van is a waste of time effort and money you smart enough to cheat emissions test but not smart enough to to reduce the stress on the transmission Show details

Good after 22k repairs – I purchased a 2010 T5 in 2014 dual turbo diesel with 264k on the clock. I dont know what animal got their hands on this engine but every thing was wrongly done. After a few weeks I have the engine rebuilt, the turbo replaced, stater motor, battery, injectors, etc etc and 22000 dollars in repairs. I must to admit that after all that she drives nice… Read more

but I shake every time I think of how expensive they can be to keep on the road. My last one was a T4 with no faults ever. This car is used for business every day and it gets around 700/800 klm with a full 80 L tank in the city. This is my last WV ever.

Transporter tdi400 oil consumption – 2012 campervan used doing longer drives 2000 to 8000 KMs , regular services, sudden onset of excess oil consumption.VW don't want to know about it, new engine required approximately $20,000 , this has been a continual problem, my engine has done only 65,000 KMs ,what a disgrace. I hope VW hold their head high, I would never recommend them or purchase another one it is shameful. Show details

Good van for my purpose – I’ve driven transporters since 1980 ..the T2 T3 T4 T5 each owned for ten years or just under now waiting for the T6.1 to be delivered a 22 month wait. I work in construction and can not complain with the performance of any of these vans maybe though good luck but also fortunate to have them from new so no guessing to how they have been treated… Read more

prior and I changed oil and filter every 10k after Vw the warranty My only bear bug was the T 5 cup holder

Total waste of money – In 2013 I've bought my 2010 transporter T5 has 66000kms. August 2016 it broke a fan belt which doesn't sound to bad, but the fan belt made its way into the cam belt. There is a hole in the cam belt cover. It wrapped around a cog and caused the engine to go out of time. It destroyed the engine and cost me around $13000 to put new engine. Its… Read more

transmission start kicking in 2018 and anywhere I took it for repair they said its cost a fortune to fix it up and now the transmission gene and cost me $9000 to $14000 to repair, just sent it to wreckers. Don't do my mistake and run from VW, its very costly car.

Great car for work it’s strong enough for the job – I use this car every day and it still handles like a dream. I must say .. great car volts wagon for me I must say well for 12 thousand dollars Show details

Time will tell – Company van brand new, picked up around November 2018. It’s a service vehicle and is used everyday. It is the 2.0 litre diesel with a single turbo so they performance is very car like. It has heaps of torque and very pleasant to drive. You can hurl it round a fair bit so the road holding it quite good for a heavy vehicle providing you put good… Read more

tyres on it. Fuel economy is good with around 1000ks to a tank. It has a bench seat in the passenger side so you can carry two passengers (very handy for the school run). Now onto the not so good. The gearbox is a 7 speed dsg auto. I’ve had a few of these vans including an early 5 cylinder turbo diesel and the box in that was far superior. To be honest this current box is the worst. It’s hesitant and at worst juddery and a couple of times after hard breaking it has refused to go into gear and flashed up the spanner symbol. Never has this happened on the earlier models. It has been serviced on the button as it’s a leased vehicle. The van is currently upto 100000k’s and will probably be replaced at the 140k’s mark so it’ll be interesting to see how much longer the dsg box will go before something serious happens. So like I said, time will tell.

Best engineering – Have a 2018 diesel Frontline T6 campervan, and enjoy using it as my everyday car. Mechanicals are excellent, and the dual clutch gearbox is marvelous with its freewheel action, and 7 speed. Very comfortable ride. As usual VW are very sparing with the extras you get, and accessory costs are over the top. Just hope nothing goes wrong. Show details

Love and hate - can’t trust it – - Brought a 2007 T5 with out looking cheap with 100 k with manual transmission - I suspect the van had a hard life potentially towing heavy loads. - After 8 months of owning needed a new gear box with a few other bits and bobs - costing 12 K - So not a great fist impression - It’s had a new alternator and power steering pump in the 5 years… Read more

I’ve owned it and few other minor things Some times the passenger door won’t unlock but then works again ( strange )

- Services and parts are way to expensive in my opinion.

- Some days driving on the longer runs or when the van has been warmed up it drives like a dream Other day it just feels clunky and touchy

- On car sales you don’t see many with over 400k kms so I figure thats about the max you get out of the t5 life span A Toyota Hiace seem to consistently get 600k kms plus with out major repairs from what if read.

- I think Vw look good and feel nice and comfortable to drive but definitely not built to last I’d definitely never buy another Vw ever again.

Definitely going back to Japanese made with my next car

Reliable Biturbo T1340 132kw 7 speed DSG ex nsw cop van – rattling in the twin clutch area now at 165000km's no worries ,this is my third VW Van, first one was a 1974 T2 Factory camper 1800 Auto, second one was a 1976 "African 2.0 litre twin carb manual 14 seater, Totally reliable.I could pull the engine out of either in 1/2 an hour, no problems. This one will be a challenge.  Show details ·  1

Don't buy VW Crafter 2.0 Engine – I write this review, here at vw transporter because I couldn't find something for vw crafter.if some want to buy a vw crafter, don't. I have this crap car from March, brand new 46000.since then I was 4 times back to the vw service. First with aircon problem, who drain the water on driver foot, next I was needed to replace the disc brakes at 17000… Read more

km end cost me 700 dollars from my pocket because the warranty don't cover this...then I ask them how much can drive this car with a full tank...they couldn't answer me, is somewhere 15l per 100km, I test the car in all conditions, nope...nothing under this. Now I'm going back again because my whole roof edges is in waves...I have a roof rack from rhino, special for this car to carry 2 ladders, nothing heavy end the car looks like was made from paper. Full with dent. Crap car, don't buy.

Best of a great bunch – I bought a T4 three years ago with 300K kilometres on the clock. It is the 5 cyl 2.5litre petrol converted to dual fuel ( since new) . It has just ticked over 400K and is still purring. I have driven VW vans my whole life and consider this particular model to be virtually bullet proof...Bruce  Show details

Reliable. Fuel efficient – Reliability excellent Cost of parts can be high Extremely fuel efficient Tough Cheap to run Bought at 100000 I’ve done 150000 more and only replaced tyres, brakes and clutch. Good amount of space and carrying capacity Few jiggly things like door handles failing, otherwise can’t failt it........it’s 15 years old  Show details

Nearly as reliable as a swiss watch or a swiss – Correction: Date purchased is April 1995. Well, where to start, if you ever need a car / van you can count on and go were you need to go with whatever you need to take with you, the VW T4 is the tool. It belongs to motoring history in terms of transporting goods and people, like the Land Rover Defender to Africa. Learn to listen to your car as… Read more

it will tell you what it will need. Keep your oil levels correct and check when ever you refill your car, and this car is unstoppable. In nearly 25 years and over 600 000km everything is still original, except the usual replacement parts. There are little things which are easy fixed and I have learned to attend to it by myself. It is soooo simple.

I learnt unfortunately that most VW dealers here in Australia don't have or don't understand the German philosophy.

That is the only let down of VW in Australia

T5 not like the T4 – Replaced our T4 with a new T5 4 years ago. Despite regular service from the agent we have found this van to be crap compared to our old T4 that basically ran to 250000 without issue. 4 years old (70,000km) and needed new brake disks on the front, catalytic converter shat its self, doors are no longer hanging straight, and on it goes... We won't be buying VW again on the back of this poor life.  Show details

Brilliant van – Bought new done nearly 180000 reasonably hard kms carrying heavy loads. Always regularly serviced, including new fuel filters more regularly than required by VW. It can be hard on front tyres and disks when driven hard. Only problem was when it went into limp mode a couple of times @ about 90000 kms. This was fixed immediately with a recall by… Read more

VW at no cost to me. After driving my previous Hi Ace the VW was like a really comfortable powerful reliable car to drive. I had the 2 seater bench passenger seat fitted and Rhino Lining sprayed on the vans floor - turned out to be a great move. Thoroughly recommended

Great workhorse – Great work horse. Fully loaded & kitted out service van, carries over 1T everywhere and handles it perfectly. Manual, drives like a car, excellent fuel economy, and enough power for a work van. Very easy to get around, neat interior, comfortable seats, big door pockets etc. Had this one nearly 6 years with no issues whatsoever. Will be replacing it with the same when required.  Show details

You need to ask more questions – Handling of this vehicle is heavy. Performance, steering is good. Interior is great. Seller did not disclose major repairs needed - neither did the paid inspector list major issues on pre-purchase. You need to fully inspect all Transporters, and from various inspectors independently, prior to purchase (which I thought I paid for) Running… Read more

costs are average.

Repairs are expensive for all Volkswagon vehicles. I need to warn you re this. Don't go genuine parts.

If you have the right mechanic who is in the know, you can get parts much cheaper elsewhere.

Fuel economy is only average.

It all depends on what type of VW vehicle you want, and what you expect it to do for you. Many don't deliver expectations.

Don't buy VW - great to drive & good fuel economy - unreliable & expensive - not built to last – 2010 LWB 103kw 2.0l diesel 6spd manual - this is a beautiful van - prefect for what I want it for - looks sexy - drives as good as a car - well finished - great fuel economy - get from 900 to 1200km from an 80l tank. Thank dog i got a manual to save me from the auto dsg issues - and I have not had as many problems as some - but more than others -… Read more

so after 6 years and 130,000km - egr valve failed - water pump leaked - some obscure wire broke in the engine bay wiring look...$300 - 2 window winder switches broke at $90 each just for the part - windscreen wipers so bad you have to pay $267 for euro model that used to be standard in oz - front drivers axle broke - non vw mechanic also changed passenger side when it didn't need to be - now 12 months later I have to replace the drivers side again - and I have a shudder in the clutch that I believe is the dual mass fly wheel which I probably need resolved before I can offload this.

I have not had any engine, turbo, diesel injector or gearbox problems yet - praise the drol.

If you still insist on buying one - don't use your local mechanic or the VW dealer - find a quality independent VW specialist - wish I had done this sooner - but I'm getting rid of it anyway.

I compare this to my prior car - a trusty Daihatsu Charade that did 370,000km without 1 repair - now that's made in japan for you.

Never tried to get VW to come to the party on repairs out of warranty - but I hear that is a nightmare.

I also had a terrible experience buying this new and getting addons from Frankston VW all care and no responsibility...but that's a story for another day.

Disaster – This vehicle is a financial disaster. Gearbox went at only 120,000 kms. Price to fix $10,300.00. Couldn't believe it. But wait it gets worse. They advise fly wheel and drive shaft also need replacing. Price $12,500.00!! The drive shaft is only stocked in the Philippines not Australia. 14 day wait. I have lost 2 weeks of income plus need to find the cash for the repairs. Keep clear of this van if you want to get anywhere financially.  Show details

A Great Work Vehicle – I stepped out of a hilux and into this VW transporter . I new that this ute was something special from the first test drive. Driving, cornering, breaking and gear box all excellent. Cabin noise was a little high, you can't listen to the radio while driving along A highway. Softer compound tyres fixed that problem. Fuel economy is great even… Read more

with a full load. Will never go back to a petrol powered ute again.

The interior is basic plastic and vinyl, so it's easy to keep clean. The dash looks great when lit up at night and is very easy to read. The dash mounted gear leaver feels natural to use, this frees up the floor area and you don't feel boxed in.

My dislikes., would be the cost of repairs.You have to change the timing belt every 100000km and VW recommend that you change the water pump at the same time, that's $1400.00 each time.

I had a turbo blow up at 135000km , VW quoted $7k to fix. I had it replaced for $3k. After that I change the oil every 10000km not at the recommended 15000km.

Replaced the steering rack after 240000km and just now at 285000km I had to replace the two drive shafts.

There is a lot of front end repairs I think this is due to this vehicle being front end drive. I do drive up and down gutters a lot this could cause some long term damage. I am in my VW all day everyday, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

After the normal service book servicing at $450.00 /10000km this vehicle has cost me on average $1000.00 each year.

I do work the VW hard , I just love driving this large bug.

Much less than what I expected – Brand new :At first I thought it was the best vehicle, Whitin a month a seal went on the turbo, within 3 months my remote control stated playing up, the car would remain unlocked even though it gave you the idea it was locked.pasenger side electric window would not close all the way and when driving you could hear the wind noise, dealer tried many… Read more

times and never fixed it to an acceptable level.at 23,000 Klm my air con compressor died. At 28,000klm my water pump failed and leaked water into the motor, it was me noticing what happened and stopping the vichcle that saved the motor from also failing, we found 3 litres of water in the motor mixed with the oil. At 34,000klm had problems with the power steering. After 37000klm the turbo kept going into over boost and the car would go into limp mode. at 38,000klm the motor Started making strange noises. After 38,000klm not sure what happened because I sold it. Never, ever again. The dealer was just as bad as the car, that's another story I want to forget.

would I buy another, not in my lifetime.

Good points it drove nice in between those problems.

Transporter 1994 & 1997 – I have a 1994 transporter with 492,000km on the clock & the last 6 months I thrashed it knowing I was taking it off the road- due only roadworthy issues - I owned it for 4 years and spent almost nothing on the mechanics. I now have a 1997 transporter and I do get between 500-600km per tank - I've read some reviews that say - the meaner you treat… Read more

them - the more they will give you. After sitting on Japanese motors especially in Australia NSW & QLD summers I truly appreciate the motor out the front and not under my bum. I did have a hiace camper and even on a trip was battling to get 350km out of the tank. Thus far the transporters have been good value for me.

T5 with 216,000km – 2.5 L Tdi auto 2008 ex ambulance. Been good so far, used mainly for long trips escorting wide loads till recently, purchased with 46k on the clock. Looks like I am up for a new set of brake rotors and CV shafts. Just had the auto serviced (very important) and the mechanic (QLD Automatics not VW dealer rip off artist) said it looked like new. I had… Read more

an aftermarket oil cooler fitted last service (45k ago) I think it very important to get the auto serviced regularly. My T4 transporter 2.5L Tdi totally self destructed the auto trans at 128k. Cost me over $9000, ouch. Did well over 400,000km on the reconditioned box tho till I parked it in the back yard for retirement. Had a big oil cooler fitted to the T4 after the recon, which seemed to do the trick. So far the T5 has been cheaper to run than the T4 as far as general maintenance goes by 2 to 3 grand up till the 216k mark anyway.

This van is a lemon. Buyers beware!!! – My T5 has 47,000kms. It broke a fan belt which doesn't sound to bad, but the fan belt mad its way into the cam belt. There is a hole in the cam belt cover. It wrapped around a cog and caused the engine to go out of time. It destroyed valves, pistons and the head. This can happen at any time in the vehicles life. Volkswagen want nothing to do with it as its just out of warranty. Car is a lemon. Buyers beware!!!  Show details

Not bad. Not great – My company vehicle. Driving at a minimum of 4 hours a day up to 14 hours. Pros: *Great fuel economy. 14 hours of highway driving on one tank. *Plenty of space. I have shelving installed and I have enough left over to load in a pallet jack and carry a lot of tools. *Good interior. Nice place to be in day by day. Easy to keep clean. Plenty… Read more

of storage holes.

*Drives well. Great turning circle and general ease of getting from point to point is fantastic.

*Easy to access engine bay for light servicing.

Cons:

*The seats have ruined my back. No support controls. Worst seats ever. No lower back support. Has cost me a lot of money to get physio after long drives for work.

*Fiddly controls for Bluetooth. No music controls. Poor speaker quality. Hard to control HUD.

*Sluggish engine even for the manual. Hard to get to moving anywhere quicker because it is just to small for the size of the car. For a diesel its power to pull out of low revs (like a diesel should) is just non existent. Absolutely gutless.

*Noisy even for a work van.

*Hard to fit any shelving kits due to layout in rear area.

*Interior is very plastic. Everything but the outer steering wheel and gear stick cover is plastic. Easy to keep clean. Hot to the touch in the summers.

*Poor lighting in the back area. Had to install LED strips to see.

*Headlights give poor visibility. Installed new Narva spotlights to compensate.

*The clutch is pathetic. I have never stalled so many time while trying to get going in any other car ever. The amount of revs you have to use to get the van moving is ridiculous. And it comes and goes. I will have a day without issue and the next day stall three times when sitting at the lights. It's dangerous. I drive a Toyota Hiace from time to time and I never stall it.

The engine and clutch need to be reworked by VW.

I will not answer stupid question about issues with your own vehicle. I am not a mechanic.