VW Amorok.

Ah Phil,
Sadly we will probably never know, as all fantasies are short on detail.

True Kev - Maybe we should recall Margaret Thatcher's stance on such reports....she would have said..."Who is this Bob W5 ? I want to speak to him ..... who is this Kununurra Mechanic ? Tell me his name.....I want to speak with him too" !

Probably Automatics Phil, Manuals don't really just fail, Gee I hope the manuals are not that weak.. Can you buy a manual?, its getting to a stage where they are not available in some brands and models. Michael

Yeah, I was hoping for a response so I could save my breath!
The Automatic Roks were only released late last year, but have had a few torque converter failures (according to the amarok forum). The vast majority of Amaroks are manuals, and I recall them having clutch slave cylinder problems - but you have to drop the gearbox to get to it. pity they have these teething problems, but unfortunately they are problems that will stop you dead in your tracks.

I'm guessing there's some truth in all this.

Peter

I have a theory about the opinions expressed by mechanics. In regional Australia, there may not be enough work to support a mechanic specialising in every make, so mechanics tend to focus on the most common make. They have no expertise in the less common makes, so are threatened by them. Human nature, being what it is, sees the mechanics disparaging the less common makes. This behaviour can be seen in relation to other minorities - racial, religious, gays etc Imagine a pair of Burkah-wearing lesbians getting their Amarok fixed in Kununurra!

I tried to get a mechanic in a northern SA town to seal a leaking coolant level detector probe in my Land Rover. The initial response was very antagonistic - I was made to feel that anyone not driving a Toyota was unwelcome in this part of Oz, and that he certainly didn't want to help. And this despite the fact that I told him I found him a very attractive man in his butch overalls;-) Eventually, he fixed the leak and refused payment (so I donated a slab).

So the Amarok story from Kununurra is likely a total crock.

Peter, an ethnic driving a Peugot! Brave man :-)

Bob

Peter, you are spot on.
40 years ago the tool box in the car had, 4,6 & 8" shifters, pair of pliers, bit of wire(fencing & electrical) insulation tape, gaffa tape.
and a gregories manual under the seat.

Now it consists of a code reader, a laptop to look up the codes and a phone to ring for a sensor. Under the sea you keep the magic wand and a prayer matt.

Keep it quiet on the Peugeots please...you"ll have everyone driving
one...:))))......oldbaz.

I don't see where the prejudice is. Let's just assume that this conversation did take place rather then writing off the entire post. This mechanic has said that 6 have come in on tow trucks in a month. It wouldn't matter if he was a VW, audi or landy mechanic, 6 have arrived in an un-drivable state in one month. That part alone should be ringing alarm bells. The fact that he can't repair them is a different issue again and I don't think its being prejudicial.
So the mechanic calls VW for some technical advice. An hour later he gets told to change out this bearing in the gear box. Now the VW mechanic in Darwin has it written in front of him that the job takes 3.6 hours and that is what you will get paid for under our warranty system. Old mate mechanic who has never seen the inside of a rok-box before now has 3.6 hours of paid work before it starts coming out of his pocket. I don't blame him for not wanting to even look at it. It's not an issue of being scared, it is an issue of being in business, time is money. To put it in prospective, there is 7 VW dealers in WA and 37 Toyota dealers.
I am an electrician but there are certain things I won't even look at, It is simply not worth my time and I already know the chances of fixing some problems (mainly in devices with complex circuit boards), it doesn't mean I am threatened by it, it means I do not have the experience tools or knowledge to diagnose the problem.
I brought this up on a post before and got shot down for it. If you buy something that is not as well known or as popular as others, you can not expect the same convenience when it comes to warranty support, particularly in remote areas. If I had some cheap crappy fridge that stopped working in the middle of WA I would expect to have to freight it back to Sydney. If my engel did that I would expect to be able to take it the nearest regional centre and swap it over. Its the same with a vehicle. Yes you may very well pay more for the item but you are paying for the reassurance that if something goes wrong, you will have better support.
Tim

Tim you're a little wrong with the time thingy...... we do a lot of work for dealers and if the job is sublet there is no limit to an extent.

All the manufactures will pay for reasonable time as long as it's realistic.

The biggest thing is most mechanics don't care about training, I'm a member of Repco Autotech who offers regular training courses on newer vehicles........ your lucky to get 20 mechanics coming to these courses, so where are all the rest.

About 2 years ago I went to a 18hr training course over two days on advanced automotive electrical...... there were 12 people in the class, 3 from my business, 2 from another, 3 from a regional town and 4 form interstate....... on the Sunday the 3 from the regional town never turned up.

Bob and Baz,

If Peugeot still had as rugged a vehicle as the 404s that I owned I would still be buying them. When I lived in Zambia all the taxis were 404s and there were 6 of them to every one other car on the roads. As the roads sometimes had potholes big enough to lose a car in, this is a good indication of their reliability. I love all the fancy facilities available on modern cars, and yes I do have an Amarok, but I wonder how many of them will still be on the road in 10 years time when all the electronics have started failing. I doubt it's going to make much difference which make you own. I suspect a Toyota from the era just prior to the increase in electronic gadgets (2005?) is probably going to have a longer life.

Peter H

I brought an Audi 80 over about 25 years ago and kept getting "an Ordi mate? nah, no good on our roads them commie cars" lol ....The father in law is still running it and we have a little chuckle now the advertising gurus have finally cottoned onto "vorsprung durch teknik" nearly 30 years on.

You also might be suprised to know there are at least 3 britz amoroks in town, and another 2 in my caravan park alone. We presume a lot. I asked a simple question and got an answer. Who knows what the answer will be next month ? However I thought it was worth posting on the basis that these vehicles have come to a halt in a remote area.And caused some grief... I've also posted regarding the many overloaded vehicles that have come to a halt and had to be towed into town, no specific makes or models. I work in a busy local store, conversations happen pretty quick, and a quick reply was what I got.

Well said Landy. I get that crap all the time from builders oiks in the pub whose vehicles only ever get off road onto building sites.
Keep up the good work.
AlanH.

Ah yes the venerable (or should that be venereal (;=)) ) products that came from the diabolical minds of Messieurs Maurice and Spencer Wilks.
Many a pleasant hour spent in my workshop a few years ago, well actually now that I think about it many many years ago, up to my elbows in one of their creations. Not to mention the various 90, 95 100, 105 models. Anyone remember the Roverdrive transmissions?
Oh the joy when the job was finally finished and I took my revenge making out the invoice...hehehe.
Well I mean fair go, a bloke had to pay for the Band-Aids and Valium somehow.
But I'm sure the later versions have corrected all those minor problems........
They have haven't they???

Cheers
Pop

We believe all you say Pop, just like we believe the ramblings of all the others drivers/mechanics etc who've never had to even lift the bonnet of any Tojo/Nisscan/Mitzi.
Dream on old fella, it's all you've got left.
AlanH.

Fair point but the big difference is that a Toyota dealer or representative will be available in a nearby regional town whereas the VW's etc that will most likely have to go to a capital city.
The difference can be a day or two lost out of a trip compared to having to abandon a trip completely
Likewise much better chance of spare parts being available locally as well

There may be a rep nearby but they will not be able to fix a 2012 V8 twin turbo diesel that requires diagnostic support. So tilt tray to a capital city or major city but not a regional agent.

The point I was making is that you have a better chance of getting back on the road with a vehicle with a bigger support network than the ones that are not nearly as well represented but yes if a vehicle needs major computer diagnostics you will need to go to a larger regional centre
The difference still might be hundreds instead of possibly thousand plus klms to freight a disabled vehicle to get it sorted

There seem to be many who have to knock late model 4x4's, it's funny how nobody reports with great enthusiasm on older 4x4's breaking down.

When travelling in the outback we see 5 newer vehicles to 1 older vehicle...... it seems everyone with older vehicles keep them for travelling shorter distances close to home.

"it's funny how nobody reports with great enthusiasm on older 4x4's breaking down."
grenades-reported with great enthusiasm all the time :-)

It's always the owner of the grenades who report it....... you never hear "I was at such and such and a 2000 model MitsuToyosan broke down", if it was one of the newer 4x4's it would make front page news.

don't worry..
the people on here "cant handle the truth"

they would rather spread rumours and crap..
bag everyone out, and sit in their armchairs claiming to be "armchair" experts.

god I hate this forum sometimes.
people bring stuff to the forum to the benefit of others.
on reliability which is paramount in touring this great country.

yet its others that knock them down, because they know better..
and its generally the old timers on here that just need to grow up.
respect peoples views, and if they mention a vehicle breakdown..
ooh its a made up story from woop woop..

damn it people get a life and grow up.

this story was basically to the benefit to amarok owners, current and in future, as well as travellers who see these vehicles on the side of road broken down.

You don't need to go to the outback to see a VW Amarok broken down. It happens where it decides to break down. Anywhere in Oz will do. It isn't the location which decides the outcome.
As GBC said, transmission problems. It might be a good vehicle but if many of them don't go for long from new then the refinement means nothing.

All makes are supposed to not be released in OZ until the supporting spares are available. Most companies do not comply with the rules and long waits are the result because they have no spares here.

Hi Disco tourer, Happy to hear you a fortunate one. And pffffftt right back at ya arm chair cowboy. We presume a lot ! It's peak season and what breaks down breaks down...

Bob,

Which workshop was it ?

Brett....

I wouldnt usually bother, but since you're being such a smart arse about it -
http://www.ausamarok.com.au/forum/showthread.php/2097-Flashing-spanner-and-gear-selector-on-display?highlight=spanner

There's 8 pages of australian auto amarak owners left in the ditch right there - Spinner exits.

Gbc,

Had a good look through this, and no mention of 6 Amaroks on trucks to one workshop in Kununurra.

Vehicle specific forums provide accurate info....not forums like this.

Same with aulro, lcool, and others.

The question was 6 at one Worksop in one town in one month.....

Brett......

Come on Brett, although not directly related to the original report, it does add considerable weight behind this issue at question - let's not split hairs here.
Why is the mechanic spinning a yarn? Your word is not Gospel.

Fact is, these things have a major issue with a major component.
Yes, you have had a good run out of your Toureg and you would expect that from any brand commanding a high price tag.

After reading the Amarok forum thread, The last thing on my mind is "Gee, they seem to be relaible for a $50+k ute"

The 8-speed auto in the Rok is a ZF.
But the 8-speed auto on the Toureg is an Aisin, not a ZF.
My wife's Tiguan is also an Aisin(6 speed) - never heard of anyone having problems with them and its a nice auto to drive.

Torque converters aren't rocket science - makes you wonder why the Amarok has had problems. VW's have been the flavour of the month for quite a while now - huge sales, huge range, great fuel consumption, quality finish etc etc.....maybe reality is catching up!

Phil,

Mine is a 2008 T2....its a ZF 6 Speed.
But makes me wonder why the change ?

Brett....

I'm probably more dirty than most about this - I had pretty much settled on the auto Trendlines for our fleet replacements after about 12 months of looking.
There is no way I'll get them now, so its auto rangers instead. I've got the same feeling in my gut about the amarok as the twin cab 130 rover - On paper it is the right thing, but living with a fleet of them would kill me.

I know of a local earth moving company that has new defenders of various types and has no issues and continues to turn them over every 18 months or so as a returning customer and is very happy with them.

You are talking about DSG vehicles not Amoraks which do not have DSG,

Garrycol,

My post was basically in two parts, the first part related to the DSG problem in their passenger cars and the second part related to Amorok's "Flashing Spanner"

I realize that they are two different problems but VW have taken the approach to Flatbed breakdowns so as to avoid any further PR problems.

Sorry I did not make that clear.

Well after reading all this !,think i'll buy a Beetle and a box trailer!


Nah, ..keep the Deefer.


Axle.