Oppo Question: GTI reliability?

"Long Live the Longdoor" (victoryred08)
10/24/2013 at 15:41 • Filed to: gti, oppo questions

I know we have GTI owners around these parts and I'm curious how unreliable the Mk 6 Gti is? Is it really that bad?

I want one, but will it break the bank?

DISCUSSION (20)

EL_ULY > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 15:47

every car will break eventually, even if you buy 2 or 3 of the exact same car, they will age different. But that's just my opinion. Not an enthusiast but like cars :]

Cixelsyd > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 16:08

Never had that particular model, but my Mk V Jetta was the most unreliable car I ever owned.

Slave2anMG > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 16:30

I had a 2010 Jetta TDI wagon that was rock solid for 70,000 miles...then I turned it back on its lease. I really liked that car...

Long Live the Longdoor > Cixelsyd
10/24/2013 at 16:41

How so? What went wrong?

Long Live the Longdoor > Slave2anMG
10/24/2013 at 16:45

Right on, I've heard some good things about VW's diesels (not to mention their resale value), maybe I should look more at a GTD once they get here. How was the TDI to drive? I drove one once before I knew anything about cars and floored by how peppy it was.

Cixelsyd > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 16:51

Numerous electrical gremlins mostly.

Passenger airbag ignitor went bad twice, triggering an alarm notification

Left headlight would short out whenever the car was driven in the rain and turn back on once it had dried out a day or two later.

Ignition coil shorted in one of the cylinders intermittently, requiring four trips to the dealer (two of them via tow truck) before the asshole service folks could correctly diagnose the problem

The ignition in the column had a piece of plastic crack inside, making it so I couldn't stick me key in to start the car (requiring another tow).

Various rattles and buzzes from interior components due to lack of insulation.

Radio wouldn't get any reception in certain weather conditions, likely due to an electrical issue.

All within the first 50K miles, at which point my warranty expired and I traded the car in before anything else could go wrong.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 16:53

I've driven a 2004 Jetta TDI Sport Edtion, owned by my father, and it's fairly nimble, the engine is nice, Very torquey (this one has a PD engine instead of the ALH from that generation, has a good 10-15% improvement over the base diesel at the time).

hobbes567 > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 16:53

They aren't as bad as people say. Old neighbor of mine has a Mk5 and hasn't had a single issue with it yet. I know for a fact he beats the dogshit out of it. I believe he has somewhere near 25k on it, so take that into consideration. At the same time, a good friend has a Mk5 TDi and the cabin would leak and fog up from the inside. This started before he hit 10k.

SkarTisu > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 16:57

I've got an '11 GTI with DSG and it's been very good overall, but not quite perfect.

I had the dealer re-adjust the front doors because of creaking you could hear when twisting the body structure, like when you slowly drive crooked over a speed bump.

There's a quirk with the car that has been there since it was new, based on receipts I got with the car from the previous owner (I bought it CPO):

When the car is in an either not-fully-cold or not-fully-warm state, it will sometimes run poorly immediately after start-up. One dab of the accelerator clears its throat and then it's fine.

43,000 miles on mine. Everything else has been fine. No other mechanical nor electrical issues to report.

J. Walter Weatherman > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 17:04

My wife drives a mkV that we have owned since new (6 years) and have never had any significant problems. I think we have just shy of 70k miles on it. I think it is a fantastic car and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I think it is just the perfect combination of fun and practicality.

We were even impressed enough with the car to buy a 2nd VW recently - a Jetta TDI. I've only put 15k on it so far, but it has been fantastic so far. The diesel grunt with the 6-speed manual actually makes for some fun and enjoyable commuting, and the gas mileage is shockingly good (much better than EPA numbers)

WhiskeyGolf > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 18:34

My '10 Golf has been very good so far over 75,000 km but not perfect.

Early on the HVAC resistor burnt out, so the fan was either 0% or 100%. That was warranty. Handbrake cable locked (thank you, Canadian winter), so there was a rubbing noise. Both rear brakes were replaced (rotors and pads) under warranty but I had to pay for the opposite side (half price rear brake job). At the start of the summer the AC compressor went out, and fortunately that was warranty too.

Clearly that's not a perfect record, but I've been happy enough with it that I'm going to to get a Mk7 GTI (hopefully extended warranty, too).

pachood - Cheap rent; fast cars. > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 20:38

I have an 09 TSI (basically a mkvi) that has had no reaaaal issues since new. Only real issue it has had was a bad throttle body. Being a fly by wire it made the car undriveable. I have a down pipe, apr intake, and a switchable APR tune. On 93oc it rips.

I work for Audi/VW so I sort of have to drive one, but I really wouldnt want it any other way. I have owned a ton of cars and the GTI is probably my favorite daily driver. Next year I will move to a mkvii, A3, or Q3.

Agrajag > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 22:22

I had an 06 MKV Rabbit from new till 75k miles. In that time it needed a wheel bearing and the drivers side CV boot, other than that faultless. I traded it in on an 09 GTI(still MKV), at 65k miles now and no issues whatsoever. I guess they can be slightly more on parts, but I don't quite get the stigma towards them.

I will say I don't think I've seen a VW over 10 years old with both functioning headlights. Electronics overtime seem less reliable, but mechanical they seem to run just as long anything else.

If you're looking at used and want the plaid seats, I'd recommend the MKV's 09 or after. The plaid is much heavier material in them they have the same engine as the MKVI. The only differences I'm aware of are the exterior(better than MKV) and interior styling. I've understood it to be more of a MKV.5 rather than a full new generation.

Kinja'd!!!

THOMAS5 > Long Live the Longdoor
10/24/2013 at 22:27

My grandmother has one (I don't know why, she is an extremely slow driver) and I think it is worth it

Long Live the Longdoor > J. Walter Weatherman
10/26/2013 at 01:11

Interesting, a GTI without significant reliability issues! Just out of a curiosity, does the GTI have the DSG or the manual?

I like the TDI's, pretty solid in my books. My uncle had one for a while but got some bad gas and it bricked the HPFP (not the car's fault), he loved it thought.

Long Live the Longdoor > SkarTisu
10/26/2013 at 01:12

Cool, thanks for the feedback! I had mentally written off the GTI long ago after reading countless posts complaining about it's reliability. I'm keeping an open mind and I think for my next car I'm going to keep an open, but well informed, mind.

J. Walter Weatherman > Long Live the Longdoor
10/26/2013 at 01:34

The reliability issues are way overblown. VWs from the late 90's/early 2000's had some serious issues, but have been significantly better since around 2005 or so.

Ours is a DSG. I prefer manual, but if you aren't going to have a clutch pedal, the DSG is about as good as it gets.

SkarTisu > Long Live the Longdoor
10/28/2013 at 11:19

No problem! Research is all you can do. Seems to me that if you go looking for posts bashing a particular car, you'll always find tons of them almost without exception.

FireSpittingV12 > Long Live the Longdoor
11/01/2013 at 21:44

2 failed water pumps. 850 and 8800 miles. First one was a terrible high pitched noise at idle, the second dumped some coolant.

kchin > Long Live the Longdoor
11/02/2013 at 08:47

2010 GTI manual 4door, with 46k. Out of warranty now, with no problems ever. I just keep up with maintenance, and things have worked out for me so far.