Damn stupid modern features

"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
08/21/2014 at 10:10 • Filed to: None

The ONE THING I was worried about lasting when we bought our Passat Wagon in '08 - the power hatch. Yup, broken. A bolt snapped off on the closing mechanism. It will still open with power, but you have to push it closed. Brought it to the VW dealer because they've always been very reasonable for repairs on this car in the past... but they won't try to extract the broken bolt, just replace the hinge. $380. Oh, and they 'recommend' replacing both hinges for $760.

I'll bring it home and try my drill and easy-out first, thank you very much! They won't even TRY!

Seriously, it was the one single feature I looked at and said "That's not going to last, is it?" Just put proper lift struts in it and it really doesn't give much of any gain to have a power lifting and closing hatch. Damn you VW.

Have a picture because I can't put one in the comments.

DISCUSSION (12)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > deekster_caddy
08/21/2014 at 10:14

VW's (and most german car manufacturer's) biggest flaw.

Over engineering something that could be much more simple, which then makes it unreliable.

Brian Silvestro > deekster_caddy
08/21/2014 at 10:16

I'd you could still close it by hand, then why bother fixing it?

#firstworldproblem

deekster_caddy > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/21/2014 at 10:18

Really, it's more of an annoyance than a feature. It doesn't work very well from the fob (way too slow to react for the range) and it's a bit on the slow side to open. Plus you have to wait until it's all the way up before you can close it. The 'old way' was much better in this case.

deekster_caddy > Brian Silvestro
08/21/2014 at 10:20

You can still close it by hand, but there's this button there, needing to be pressed. For $380 we'll probably be closing it by hand from now on. My complaint is why have it in the first place. It's annoying.

It's also annoying because I don't like to have broken things on my car when they should be working, so I have a need to fix it... but for $380 I'm damn well going to try a drill and easy-out first! Worst case is I screw up the hinge and we have to replace it anyway!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > deekster_caddy
08/21/2014 at 10:24

Yep, and I remember on my old blazer having to replace the struts for the back glass. It took.....5 minutes lol.

Brian Silvestro > deekster_caddy
08/21/2014 at 10:26

Yeah that would bother the shit out of me too, good luck! Hey, the worst that could happen is that it doesn't work!

M54B30 > deekster_caddy
08/21/2014 at 10:33

I don't think I'd ever want this feature to begin with. They look slow to open/close and are (obviously) expensive to repair.

For what conditions is this a good idea? It's literally longer to use a power hatch than doing it yourself.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > M54B30
08/21/2014 at 10:52

clearly when you've gone on a big high end shopping trip:

http://www.lincoln.com/crossovers/mkc…

M54B30 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/21/2014 at 11:32

the hands-free kind like the escape I can kind of understand, because your hands are full. But the ones where you still have to push a button on your key or on the tailgate confuse me... Why not just lift it up on your own and be done sooner?

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > M54B30
08/21/2014 at 11:37

ok that's a fair point. if you still have to push a button, it's stupid.

I'm not a fan of them either way though for the record.

M54B30 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
08/21/2014 at 11:43

me neither. If my hands are THAT full, just bring a cart out with you

deekster_caddy > M54B30
08/21/2014 at 11:43

The idea is you hit the button from the fob as you are approaching the car with your arms full of groceries. In reality, you can't get the fob out because your arms are full of groceries, then you have to wait for the thing to open anyway.