The initial dieselgate fix/tune was horrible. The second one they did made a huge difference in drivability. If the cayenne was my DD I'd probably do a Malone Tune, but since its my wifes, and she could care less, it remains stock. Which is good since its still under powertrain warranty for another 2 years and ~30k miles.
Did you check to see if your car had the most updated software flash on it from VW?
In reply to docwyte :
Doc, to my knowledge it was up to date. At least there are no open recalls on it.
It wasn't a recall, it was an update on the software fix. Literally a night and day difference in how it drove....
Time to update this.
I've put right at 6k miles on it so it's sitting right at 101k miles. So far my impressions are it has torque for days, tows like a Super Duty, rides fairly well, and drives nicely.
However, it's definitely German. It has eaten an alternator and an HVAC blower in the last 6K. The chain auto parts stores want insane money for parts. The alternator was listed at $800+ but no one stocks it. I bought one from RA for $300. I'll repair the old one and throw it on the shelf. The blower assembly with controller was also $800+. I ordered one from FPC Euro for $200. As someone who is used to American cars, those prices are just stupid. Blowers should be $40 and alternators should be $85. I don't mind paying a premium for parts that last, but if it's no better than a Ford, they need to sell at Ford prices.
While I like the car, the reliability is going to have to improve if it's going to stay in the fleet.
I agree an alternator should last more than 100k miles ... but on the other hand I have not seen an alternator go for under $100 in 20 years, domestic or not.
Advance has them anywhere from $310-$500+ for a 2014 F150 Lariat.
Sometimes its inconvenient to buy online, but the price difference makes it worth it. The parts you bought from FCP euro have a lifetime warranty, so you are good there.
Thanks for the update.
In reply to Slippery :
The last alternator I bought was for my XJ. It was $85. The one before that was for my Crown Vic, it was $95. Granted those are Amazon prices and not the chain stores.
In reply to Toyman! :
You don't buy parts for these from the local Autozone. Just forget about that. Order parts from either FCP Euro, RM European or ECS Tuning. The parts prices you listed are on the cheaper side, you still haven't had a real expensive part failure yet. So if those parts prices are giving you pause, my advice would be to sell it and cut and run now.
To give you a reliability benchmark, at 120k miles the alternator in my Lexus (Toyota) GX470 died and the part cost $350. So 100k for one on the Touraeg isn't out of bounds...
In reply to docwyte :
Again, I don't mind the parts prices, but for 2-3 times the money, they should be better parts. 100k out of an alternator or HVAC blower is worse than any other car I've owned. Even my 70s-era Ford Pinto did better than that.
In reply to Toyman! :
OK, but that's not a realistic expectation. Just because they cost more doesn't mean a Bosch alternator in a VW will last any longer than a Delphi alternator in a Ford. If that's what you're hoping out of this, I can tell you flat out you're gonna be disappointed and you're better off selling it.
I wouldn't say a failing alternator is common. My 2003 TDI went over the 300K on the original alternator. I did replace the battery at roughly 100K intervals as preemptive maintenance. But otherwise I agree with doc - if you want American car parts replacement prices, then buy an American car. It's one of the things I like about my Grand Caravan. Yes, it's cheaply made. But Chrysler made boat-loads of them, and parts are often the same as other models they also made boat-loads of - so parts are cheap.
I wouldn't say my American cars were any cheaper made than the VW. Several of them were better made. Even the plastics in the XJ creak less than the VW and its 14 years and 180k miles younger. Even the Crown Vic was as good and it was a fleet car built as cheaply as possible.
I can see where the economy of scale drives prices down but with Germans being so famous for their engineering they should be building better stuff. So far it's looking like the same quality at a higher price.
We will have to see how well it holds up moving forward. If it continues to be a money pit it will be moving on.
In reply to Toyman! :
After you've dealt with a few German cars, you'll understand my joke: Lucas engineers didn't die - they crossed the Channel to work for Bosch.
Slippery said:I agree an alternator should last more than 100k miles ... but on the other hand I have not seen an alternator go for under $100 in 20 years, domestic or not.
Advance has them anywhere from $310-$500+ for a 2014 F150 Lariat.
Out of curiosity I looked up an alternator for my fiesta...cheapest I could find was $250. If you're basing part price expectations on 20 year old American E36 M3boxes, yeah just go ahead and sell it now. And don't replace it with anything else made in the last decade (from any manufacturer) because prices are still going to be 2x your expected price and probably worse build quality.
I don't understand where German engineering gets it's mystique when their $100,000 cars routinely sell for $4,000 (pre pandemic anyway) at ten years old, while suffering multiple system failures.
In reply to Toyman! :
Parts are cheaper for an XJ and Crown Vic, eh? Wierd.
Perhaps stick to them?
Personally, I've found German car parts prices to be a mixed bag. Some stuff for the E38 has been surprisingly cheap (even compared to an equivalent part for the ZJ). And other parts are bordering on "I hope I never need one of those" territory. I've also found it much easier to determine what is a good quality replacement part or not for the BMW, but that's partly down to the places selling the part making it easier. And also better information online, as the owners aren't 99% people trying to sorta-kinda fix it with the cheapest parts they can find.
Greman car parts prices are all over the map. For my E36 328is, mechanical parts like brakes, suspension, etc. were cheap, but any body or interior part was expensive. Seat rails were $600 (12 years ago), and I think the driver's door seal was something like $300 new (I ended up buying a used one).
In reply to dps214 :
That could be because the Fiesta was designed in Europe and built in Germany and Spain.
In reply to Nathan JansenvanDoorn :
I would but they are getting a little long in the tooth to be a business vehicle.
In reply to rslifkin :
Looking through RA, it appears that Touareg parts prices are also all over the place. The alternator just happens to be one of the more expensive parts.
I guess they could be as expensive as Bentley parts.
Here's hoping I don't need any more parts for a year or two.
In reply to Toyman! :
I hope that for you too, but having been there, done that, I'd expect you to be doing more maintenance on a 100k+ mile German car...
In reply to docwyte :
The brakes have been done. I just did tires, alternator, and HVAC blower. It will be interesting to see what pukes next and how long it goes before that happens. I really like how it drives and would hate to have to replace it due to constant failures.
Another week in, another CEL. 
This time a P205B for a temperature sensor in the DEF system. It was about 23 degrees Sunday morning. I don't know if it was just a fluke or if a sensor is actually having an issue. I cleared the code. It hasn't come back. It should be back into the low 20s Friday. If it comes back I'll look into it more.
Looks like there's a related TSB
That could very well be covered by emissions hardware warranty. Especially after Dieselgate.
Depends on the age of the car. There are different warranties in place for different stuff. For instance our cayenne is powertrain covered for 10 years and 120k miles for instance. Which I think covers the emissions stuff too, but I'm not sure...
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