Transporter Ute owners

**vdubin** · 26-01-2015, 08:50 PM

People who own a Transporter utes Reviews please ? I can find plenty Non ute reviews but wanting UTE reviews
I'm not getting an Auto because I've heard nothing but bad things .
Also not buying brand new one .

Just like to know what issues you've had, Do they pull a heavy load good , Are they a little to big maybe ?
just anything really.
I've been looking at standard utes for a while and just noticed a Trans ute thought it might be another option.

Cheers

**Sunny43.5** · 26-01-2015, 10:00 PM

I will only relay an experience a mate of mine had with the 2.5 Turbo diesel model around 2008 , he bought the ute after the glowing report I gave him about our van at the time . now after his purchase he found that the weight that the ute was supposed to be able to tow was incorrect . When he attempted to take off with the trailer he custom built he found the ute was not able to get away from a stop on a small incline . Long story short he had the purchase price for his ute and the mods he did to it refunded by VW , since then I believe that VW have amended down the towing capacity of that model to ensure that no repeat problems came up .

**vdubin** · 29-01-2015, 08:13 PM

Ok interesting cheers Sunny !

**Tornado T5** · 01-02-2015, 07:46 AM

How much was he tring to tow Sunny?

**Umai Naa!!** · 01-02-2015, 07:56 AM

Interesting.

Was it the low-output motor, or the fast one? One of my customers has an AXD-powered DoKa manual that gets along ok, unlaiden.

I remember our dealership selling a customer a 66kw (I think. But was definitely the bottom-rung engine) 1.9L single cab, with a big steel A-frame on the back for carrying large sheets of glass. That thing was frightfully slow. Story goes, he needed a new truck ASAP, but was short on money, so settled for the cheapest one.

**Sunny43.5** · 01-02-2015, 11:54 AM

The VW in question was a 128 kw 2.5 turbo diesel with 400 nm torque now it was a manual so the figures may differ only a small amount ie torque etc . I am not sure of how much the rig he was going to tow weighed , but I do know it was below the recommended load for his ute . As I said he found that if he stopped on a small incline it would not get away cleanly , after repeated calls to VWA he was advised to make an appointment with the selling dealer . They sent a tech or someone out to do a test drive with him , as it turned out the tester was slipping the clutch to get the rig away .So when they went back to the dealer some heated words were exchanged about how the tester drove the rig , in the end as reported they refunded the cost of the ute plus costs to modify the tray to tow the rig as he had fitted a 5th wheel unit . I believe that VW then amended the weight for that model down to a lower level to prevent any other complaints . You need to look at the towing capacities on the label on the body to work out maximums etc.

**Sunny43.5** · 01-02-2015, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Umai Naa!!

Interesting.

Was it the low-output motor, or the fast one? One of my customers has an AXD-powered DoKa manual that gets along ok, unlaiden.

I remember our dealership selling a customer a 66kw (I think. But was definitely the bottom-rung engine) 1.9L single cab, with a big steel A-frame on the back for carrying large sheets of glass. That thing was frightfully slow. Story goes, he needed a new truck ASAP, but was short on money, so settled for the cheapest one.

I can agree with you on the low output motors as my work T5 has the 2.0 litre engine and I was told by the dealer that it had similar output as my old 2.5 T4 . Turned out VW pulled a swifty they may have sort of matched performance but they reduced the final drive ratios dramatically . At 100kays it is pulling over 3200 rpm but the 2.5 was only around 2700 rpm for the same speed . I made note of this many times over the years on this forum as I believed that the engine running at such high revs would not last . I NOW RETRACT that statement because it has 253000 kays on and is still going , all that's been spent on the engine is two timing belts and water pumps at the designated intervals . Clutch is rooted but hey its a mongrel DMF and should never have been fitted to a low output engine in a vehicle designed to haul up to a ton of load . One attempt to reverse up a hill one day started the demise of the DMF and that was with only a quarter of its capacity on board . Clutch was replaced at 180000 kays but at the time I did not know about the DMF so it remained inside untouched , the bugger still shudders like hell when reversing but I'm used to working around those situations . I never drive into any place where I may have to reverse uphill out of .

**Umai Naa!!** · 01-02-2015, 12:21 PM

I cringe at the thought of reversing uphill in my 1.9 TDI.

Have let the magic smoke out of the bell housing a few times now.

IN2VWS · 01-02-2015, 03:08 PM

Transporter utes..........Love them.
Mines a single cab. Motors along quite nicely. Slow and steady when she has a load in the back.
I would prefer a bigger engine. Might look at the possibilities of fitting a bigger power plant in the future. I'll have to do a cost-benefit analysis first though.
She is a bit long in the tooth now, but I can't see myself getting rid of her for a while yet.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...psa63f40b8.jpg