VW Eos flubbs USA Today review by not starting
USA Today's James Healey really liked the new VW Eos. "... boy, was the car nice when it wasn't broken." Uh oh. Broken? In technical terms, giving a non-working car to the nation's highest-circulation newspaper is offically called a "whoopsie." Healey loved how the Eos looked, drove and operated until he stopped for gas. After filling up, the gorgeous hardtop convertible showed signs of electrical problems by refusing to start. Not Good.
After waiting a few minutes for VW's mechanics to show up, Healey nervously played with the key fob, inadvertently opening the car's locks, thereby accidentally discovering the Goddess of the Dawn had awakened. After returning the car to its makers, Healey is told the car's battery cable had been disconnected for a recent car show and not properly replaced. Forgivable, we suppose. But then he's also told the mechanic found a missing seal in the car's air-intake system. A bit more difficult to explain.
Probably just an honest mistake that will never happen again and is not indicative of Eos's reliability. But then, not exactly the kind of thing you want printed in more than 2.2 million newspapers nationwide, or on Autoblog for that matter.
[Source: USA Today]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Don 11:36PM (2/08/2008)
"Probably just an honest mistake that will never happen again and is not indicative of Eos's reliability."
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure.
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ssgtakeo 3:34PM (1/24/2007)
Give me a break! There is one thing I agree with, if this had been an American automaker no one on autoblog would have give it a pass as "forgivable".
The real junk cars aren't Japanese, Korean or Domestic, it's the unforgivable quality (or lack thereof) and poor reliability of European cars.
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dan spalinger 2:39PM (1/24/2007)
Shocker!! a VW with electrical problems?? Nooooo...its not possible!!
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Tiger 2:41PM (1/24/2007)
VW exposed on a national stage for the crap they put out on the roads.
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VW-Guy 3:47PM (1/24/2007)
Let the flaming begin! Oh wait, it already has.
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P to the C 3:12PM (1/24/2007)
If you drive a VW you have to expect these kinds of problems. Just goes with the territory.
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big jimmy 3:18PM (1/24/2007)
no wonder some people hate VWs
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steve 3:52PM (1/24/2007)
James Healey comes across like a crotchety old man with nothing nice to say in his columns every week. Heck, his review of the Miata said it was great fun but don't buy it because it's small. No duh.
To be fair, while VW reliability doesn't match Toyota or GM for that matter, the EOS didn't start because of a loose battery cable. This is not a symptom of poor build quality but rather a car that was prepped badly by the dealer or just abused by different journalists before he got it.
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Mr_Oak 3:37PM (1/24/2007)
In keeping with Tradition:
My ex-girlfriend's Beetle that got 50 miles to the quart of oil.
My Navy buddies' Sirocco that repeatedly embarrassed us up and down the eastern seaboard. Every stoplight was an adventure.
My A6 (VW product) that left me stranded in the sticks between Jacksonville and Orlando, Fl.
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Michael Karesh 3:29PM (1/24/2007)
If the problem was truly a poorly attached battery cable, I don't think it was fair to report it. Even if intelligent readers will recognize that this wasn't indicative of the car's reliability.
In my research I'm actually seeing decent repair rates for the 2006 Jetta and the 2006 Passat:
http://www.truedelta.com/results0906.php
They're falling between the Asians and the domestics.
I'm preparing the next update, with an additional quarter of data, and the rates for the VWs (and most of the other models) will be changing very little. The updated results will be based on 51 Jettas reporting for a total of 332 months, and 36 Passats reporting for a total of 197 months.
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Nick 3:51PM (1/24/2007)
Shocked. Truely shocked...please note my HEAVY sarcasm. They are overpriced, sacks of moving garbage. Even if this incident is not indicative of the Eos's quality...a disconected cable...years of licking the bottom of places like Consumer Reports and JD Power ARE. Combine this with the WORST dealers in the country and an incredible case of denial...you have the equation needed for the worst cars currently built for sale in the US.
I'd rather call this a microcosm of VWs existance in the US. I agree with Tiger...this ends up being more of an expose, than anything. So freaking tired of VW/Audi.
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Matt 1:16AM (1/25/2007)
Look! A "VW guy" pissy about a VW problem. How original! ;)
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G 4:17PM (1/24/2007)
I agree with the other readers. VW is known by educated people to be garbage. Only high school kids who haven't had any car experience buy a Jetta or Golf(Rabbit), but after that, its inexcusable to buy a VW. I think the main reason why they sell is because short term drivers (like car reporters) rate them well after driving them for 5 minutes, and not actually owning them. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of that.
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dug7714 4:34PM (1/24/2007)
I think the VW tops the vitriol list. Haven't seen too many people HATE a brand like Vee-dub. Not even Ford, Pontiac or Kia.
Personally, I can't stand riding in my partner's car. The '01 GTI that doubles as a greenhouse when all the water from the soaking wet floor starts to evaporate during the warm days. By 6:00 PM when it cools down, you can actually watch it rain inside the car.
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Mark 5:02PM (1/24/2007)
2003 Passat 1.8, 62K, love it! Next car will probably be a 2.0 Jetta, since they've gotten larger. But that is some years down the road, me thinks.
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Atomicbri 5:19PM (1/24/2007)
So how many of you responders actually have owned a VW product??I have owned 3 before and never had any kind of problem save 1 that arose from oil getting into the air intake system... other than that no issues. I realize perhaps some people may have had issues with theirs, but I have either had really great luck or maybe they are not as bad as people seem to say they are. I own a Focus ZX3 SVT and the battery cable on the negative on it was not properly put back on and I too exhibited the very same issue. Did it lend to the overall reliability of my car, no. But it was however embarrassing and I am sure that incident probably embarassed the writer of this highly published paper. More of an ego hurt than anything else. I will wait and pass judgement on this car after a year or so cause every first year car sucks.... My friend bought an '07 Camry and it has already screwed up on her. The transmission went out with 3000 miles on it!! Now because of that incident, does that make all Camry's crap?? I sometimes just don't understand some bloggers thinking
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CANative 4:18PM (11/17/2009)
I've owned a '56 and a '69 before buying the 2008 EOS. Convertible top operation is a problem. Long story starting with a chemical spill which corroded all the non-painted parts in the trunk. Conv Top stopped mid-way down due to one of the side-flaps not opening. The fix involved a NEW top and nearly $18,000.
Now the car is in the shop again with a "fault" in the Conv top operation. Technician at the dealership was last reported on the phone to VW for further instructions. I have the ominous feeling that this will keep happening until the car earns its "lemon" badge.
why not the LS2/LS7? 4:21PM (1/25/2007)
steve:
VW saying it was a battery cable was a cover story, there's evidence to believe it wasn't the actual reason. Read the article.
I currently own a VAG product, and this is all too believable to me. My rear dome light blink on and off when you touch the headliner, and my power locks don't work in the Wendy's drive-thru (RF interference?).
And looking at the interior "wood" all broken up in my brother's Passat is heartbreaking. The car is only 5 or 6 years old and it looks like its 12 inside. My Saturn never looked like that when I got rid of it after 8.
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Dave M. 6:06PM (1/24/2007)
I love Healey's reviews - more than any other reviewer he takes the common man's perspective in his close look. This car would have been a hit out of the ballpark had he not had that problem, which dredges up VW's challenging reliability anchor. Was it as simple as a battery cable? Or indicative of something bigger? Notice he didn't judge....he just raises the question. If anything, his reviews are some of the most professionally balanced I've read....
But that goes part and parcel with a VW - they'll never be Honda, but they'll never be Fiat. VW's have never been "Japanese" reliable....they were just very simple to fix way back in the day. They are some of the most affordable cars to meet your driving "jones"....I've loved my VWs (2) and my Audi(1). I just know they'll cost more to own/operate than my Honda or even Isuzu.
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lalaland 6:08PM (1/24/2007)
I have ooned two VWs and had a couple friends who have owned them as well. Teh cars have all sucked. Radiators giving out, water pumps quitting, head gaskets blown, bad alternator, bad starter, rust in the wheel wells (in Los Angeles?!?), body trim falling off the car, headlamps that stop working, fog lights that never worked, electrical gremlins. These are not minor failures. Most are multi-hundred dollar fixes each time if you go to a mechanic, and at least $200 in parts costs if you dare try to repair it yourself. And, yes, some of the cars were "under warranty," although that concept is subject to loose interpretation when you enter the "blame the customer" VW service drive. Oh, and their engines sludge too. It all derives from a car company and the overpaid German unions that _demand_ a 30-hour work week with full salary and benefits that make socialism seem conservative. And for all the outrage over Mark Fields flying home on weekends, at least he never hired prostitutes on the plane like VW executives do. May the reborn dynasty of Ferdinand Piech drive VW into the ground so we never have to suffer with such garbage any more.
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