@@HumbleMechanic I don't know what this trailer adapter that you showed is all about but if we are talking bulb detection with no smart communication then you need to match the current draw for each bulb on the trailer plug. That means basically putting resistors across your LED bulbs. Checkout how people put LED turn signals on older cars that have those mechanical clicky relays, it's the same principle. When the trailer lights module doesn't see the 1-2 Amps current draw but instead some 0.1A from your LED lights, it assumes that bulbs are gone.
I've had a 04 Touareg (V8) for 5 years now, and I knew little about cars let alone Touaregs back then. Today I have enough knowledge and understanding to post advice here, lol. So here's what I think- 1) Mechanically, 1st Gen Touaregs are respectably well built suvs. My 04 had some issues, but that is to be expected for the first year of any car. 2006's have plenty of those issues resolved. (Note: T's built in 2004-2006 are called *T1* Touaregs and those built in 2007-2009 are *T2* , but they're both considered 1st generation. 2010 and onwards are 2nd Generation.) 2) The engine in the T1's is a Multi Port Fuel Injection engine, which means that it doesn't suffer from carbon-buildup-on-valves issue the way engines with Direct injection do. IMO it is a very well made/designed engine. As long as you change the oil every 5000 miles and do timing-chain/water-pump service every 80,000 miles, it will last a long time. The one failure point on these engines that my mechanics don't want to mess with, is the seized actuator arms on the intake (discussed in the video). 3) The transmission, transfer case, differentials, etc, also are high quality. They perform very well, and with regular service they don't fail. Altogether, the drivetrain is great and tough enough to not only take it off-roading, but also tow 7700 lbs (which is a lot for a vehicle of this physical dimensions). 4) I wish I could say these nice things about 1st Gen's interior. The interior is so bad that you'll be better off just taking it to an auto-interior shop and have them rebuild the entire interior from floor to ceiling. 5) As for electrical issues, if you encounter those, take your Touareg to a VW technician. If he cannot fix those, he shouldn't be calling himself a VW technician. But before you do that, make sure to check the battery. *The Touareg's electrical system is quite sensitive to a weak battery, way more than other cars are. You have to almost obsess over making sure that the battery stays fully charged at all times.* Also, even a high quality battery would need to be replaced every four years. If the electrical issues happen despite you having a good battery, only then take it to the technician. So should you buy a 1st Gen Touareg? Before I answer that, realize that even a 2009 model is 14 years old today, so there will be plenty of issues to resolve. IMO you should get a V10 Touareg only if A) you tow 4000+ lbs on a regular basis, *and* B) your auto-repair skills are on par with professional mechanics. If you do not meet both these criteria, do NOT get a V10. If you live in the midwest plains and you don't tow much, a V6 Touareg is sufficient. I live in the Chicago suburbs and I knew within a year that having this suv was overkill. Why does one need low-range transfer case in the plains? The only reason I've kept this suv is because I like the ride. If however you live in hilly areas, or if you tow (but you're not an auto-mechanic) then you should get a V8 Touareg. The car has some features built in that automatically provide extra power when needed, and that makes towing or driving on inclines/declines a pleasure.
my friend group all have touaregs. two t2 3.6's, 1 t1 v8 w/air ride, and mine and another friends t3 tdi. I owned a V8 w/air, and a t2 3.6, prior and honestly the 3.0L TDI in my t3 out performs even a v10 when towing or just driving normally. its such a wicked engine. the t3 isn't as hardcore offroad as the older ones, but it can still do everything the older ones can, just with an issue of clearance and damaging a more expensive vehicle if you run into something. The 2013+ 3.0L TDI is the best engine in any touareg in north america in my opinion.
Disregard everything the OG poster said. I'm an engineer and had an 06 with very low miles and full extended warranty. We went through 12k in warranty repairs before dumping it. Now I'm a Toyota owner and can confidently say thus doesn't hold a candle to a Toyota or Honda. EUROPE must have some nasty environmental laws that sabotage these cars with eco friendly parts that destroy themselves. For example: The coating on the buttons wears off very fast. The protective shielding on the wiring also disintegrates (never seen that before). There's a notorious problem with the drive shaft carrier bearing. It will disintegrate after 4-6 years. The replacement is a new drives haft! They do make aftermarket kits to retrofit your axle bearing to a serviceable unit but it's $1200. I have 40 year old Toyota that still have the original carrier bearing and rubber! Wtf VW. If you want a car that will leave you stranded this is the car for you.
@@LibLibertyLibertarian Funny, I worked at Toyota from 2016 until last year. They're phenominal appliances. If I recommended my mother a vehicle, it would be a toyota or lexus. But no, a comparable 4runner from 2006 is not going to outgun a Touareg. Especially since the touareg was made to do it all. The 4runners powerplant falls on its face on the highway, it's not a good tow vehicle, and a Touareg will outshine it offroad when both are similarily equipped. Figured that out when we took our rigs and my other friends GX470 out to the trails right quick. And well if that were true across the range, then my 7 examples of mine and my friends touaregs would've fit your experience, but aside from one leaking air hose on my air ride, and an alternator on my 260k 3.6L, none of our touaregs have had major faults. And I've had my TDI for 6 years now, and the ones prior I had anywhere from 2-3 years. Like I say, you either get a good Volkswagen or a bad one. No in between. They can be nightmares, which is why I don't recommend them to people who don't know anything about cars. But to those who dont mind wrenching and learning, the euro suv's like touareg, cayenne, ML, Range rover, etc. are a total world above anything from Japan. Save for a Land Cruiser, but at that price point, it better be able to compete with them...
@brandonfriesen5389 your comparing a v10 diesel to a I4/v6 4 Runner? Keep in mind that you're only shining a light mostly on the power plant benefits. These vehicles spend 99% of their life doing errands around town. On top of that, the 4 Runners aftermarket support far exceeds that of the VW, so even if what you say is true, it could easily be compensated for. On top of this the Toy will bring you home from the trail while the VW could easily leave you stranded. On top of all this, we must consider the resale value. The VWs are so cheap because they break down, are complicated to repair, and expensive parts. You dump money into the VW to turn it into an off-road beast you'll never get your money back. You will out of the Toyota or a Jeep.
My .02 is for a "channel build" aka Pull all the suspension, hit the entire underside with a pneumatic needle gun to get the worst of the rust off, fix the bits and bobs that you pulled, hit the whole underside with some rust remover and then with some bed liner spray....and start the off-road conversion.
Keep up the Touareg content! Both this one and the 2015 TDI! The Touareg market is huge and we all would love to see more content about all things Touareg. Also you should definitely lift this one 👍🏻
I've had mine going on 12 years. Its been reliable and not much has gone wrong other than your average maintenance stuff. I LOVE MY TREG!!! Going to be keeping an eye out for videos on this project. Especially for that JXB center support. Best wishes to you with the Touareg! I know you'll have some fun with it.
Oh Charles I really hope you create a series on this, I adore my Touareg and a couple of my friends have some too. I know my way around them fairly well, but I can always learn more. I really hope you make more videos on it, either repairing, offroad building, etc. TFL's Tough T series was a complete success for them and seriously grew their audience. People are interested in these things, they are a gem of an SUV. They look like every other mall crawler, but they are just overbuilt to an insane degree where they can compete with a half ton pickup for towing, a buttoned down sedan for highway bombing, and a jeep for offroading. Awareness of that is spreading, and I think you could accelerate it even more. Here's hoping we get to see more!
To fix the trailer lights I installed an enclosed box on my trailer out of an outdoor electrical box and installed regular light bulb sockets with bulbs in line as resistors and now it works perfectly as designed.
This Reg is almost identical to the first car I bought for myself, they were pretty cheap back in 2016 too lol. Had it for a year before I gave it to my parents and it’s been in the family ever since. Last I heard it’s at 180,000 with no issues but a worn front diff. Love these cars!
Bought a 2006 3.2 VR6 Touareg 5 years ago... for $1000. Runs like a champ after refreshing the front suspension, replacing the thermostat & housing, crossover pipe and fixing various electrical gremlins.
Paul did a video on fixing the peeling buttons with aftermarket stickers. You could probably do something similar but take it to the next level by painting the black pieces that are really bad. As for the suspension, as you remove/replace stuff, I'd take that opportunity to de-rustify things. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it - I hope you do some videos on it!
There’s a video on CZcams somewhere of a company that specialises in Ferrari sticky buttons. Full on re-coating and laser etching of the buttons. For VW stuff there are a lot of switches and buttons out of china and they are the same across multiple VW vehicles.
Awesome! I got one a few months ago. Same spec! I put a set of Wrangler DuraTracs on it. I have the eurowise lift in a box, but it offroads sooooo well, I don’t know if I am going to bother. Also I installed that same xtrons head unit. It’s working well. After 3 stick amplifiers, I found that if you tear the CANBUS chip off the board, they work again!!! Can’t wait for more videos on this!!!
Love it; bought an almost identical spec back in 2019, having been a long time German car enthusiast and figuring it'd be as easy to maintain as my B6 Audi. Then realized the base engineering of the platform was 90% Porsche and way more compilated. I will say that the more often it was driven, the more reliable it was. Leaving it sit would bring out the gremlins. The JXB carrier is great. Suspension overhaul after 140k of PA salt was a nightmare. Cat pipe flex sections are trash and the cheap ebay replacements are worthless (Magnaflow fits great but are $1400/set). Sunroof drains... ugh. Someone should come up with a sunroof delete panel kit for them. When it's working, man what a great platform. Smooth as glass at 90mph on the highway (and cranking out 13mpg at 3000 rpms), handles great on backroads, way more than any 5000lbs SUV has any right to.
The LED load resistors work good for the trailer light issue, need 3 in total (left signal, right signal and running light), I’ve got all my trailers wired up with them. The T1/7L is quite a shock coming from mk4’s, especially paired with the v10.
@@kw57rx8dr.9 they should get warm but not burn-your-trailer-down hot. Another option is wire in little peanut bulbs, it doesn’t take much of a load to work.
I already did the light bulb idea after I burned my fingers on the stupid resistors and they were definitely hot enough to burn the trailer over a period of time, as I posted and that worked fine.@@JoshsJettas
I am so excited for this because there has been a ton of these popping up for sale near me. I will pay serious attention to it. I believe i messaged you a few times about these. So i hope to get to see this serious all the way the trough
i picked up a 3.2 liter touareg for 1000 bucks. one owner fully maintained 137k miles no rust. i love it. minor cosmetics lift gate doesnt stay up and headliner sag but its been a great car handles phenomenally. had to replace the mass a/f and a set of toyo tires im only about 2k into and ive put over 10k miles on it. great deal. i missed my 2008 rabbit that was totaled so i had to have the treg. one thing im not liking is the whine that i think is coming from the front diff bearings. it goes up with speed and not engine rpm
I tow with a 2004 V10 TDI. I love it. I just use a plug adapter for trailer LEDs. Sometimes I get a dash warning light, other times I dont. But it works.
The 1st generation Touareg is the best one. I am super excited to watch your videos fixing this car. Finally, I have 2 Touaregs and I am very happy with them. The petrol one is 3.2, I changed the timing chain and the oil pump, runs like a dream, the other one is 3.0 TDI, changed all gaskets and seals in the valley, runs great. Thank you Charles for bringing the videos. Cheers mate
The Curt 57003 adapter worked on my 2005 touareg. Also double check settings in VCDS to make sure the trailer module is being read correctly. I assume it is but its something to check.
Well if you decide to off road it with a lift kit, etc then that removes much of the rust issue LOL I was looking at touaregs a few months ago, so it'd be interesting to see a deep dive into them so I could know what to look out for - optional equipment, issues with said equipment, problem areas, livability, availability of replacement parts, maintenance intervals, etc As always, keep up the awesome work Charles 👍
You can replace all the buttons with ones from an 08+. They don't peal and get nasty. Your headlight range control issue is most likely a failing headlight harness either inside the head light or just behind it. You can also swap the cluster with a fancy one if you like, its plug and play no immobilizer built into it. I tow with mine all the time and i have LED trailers, i use the LED adapter you showed. If you didn't want to use the adapter you could wire the trailer lights directly to the tail lights like aftermarket hitches do. Only the factory hitch ties into the canbus network. Fun fact, if you lock the Touareg with a factory hitch plugged into a trailer and you unplug the trailer, the alarm goes off.
I hope this one gets more views!! i have an 04 V8 similar to this one. I LOVE taking it offroad! Mine is called "Murph" (short for murphys law, cause everything that could break in that car, broke, LOL; from chain tensioners to valve body to kessy draining the battery. it currently has 226,000 miles! so they can go forever once things get figured out!. Oh and if you still want to use the factory amp, there are 3 wires (ground, left and right) that would need to connect to the front and back of the speakers in the after market harness. Looking forward to learning more tricks from you!
I'm a masochist... I have all porsches and VW. I've been looking at 2nd gen Touregs / Cayenes as a tow vehicle for over a year now. Keep the T reg content coming!
2:05 those cost like 200 from the dealer, the metal repair kit doesn’t replace a torn bellows or ball (worth checking) you can get them for around 70 as a Porsche brake component I believe.
@@HumbleMechanic They are all insane, especially the TDI owners. Not so much for how they act but because they'll get a quote for $6000 and approve it in the blink of an eye.
Loved the Touareg Charles! I am thinking of buying one from this generation for myself for quite some time. Will watch closely this series. Just cancelled cable TV.
@@HumbleMechanic Hopefully I can find a decent one for a decent price. Want one to tow my MK8 GTI to National Autocross events across the country and as a 4th car.
i have a Touran from 2005, with the same trailer issue, mine has a westfalia trailer control module (can bus controlled) I found a jäger controle module, also with can-bus, very easy to swap, and no coding needed, if not changing from 7pole to 13 pole as I did
Great Video! I hope you do more. I miss my Touareg! I had a 05 V8 in Colorado Red with air suspension. The biggest frustration I had with it was finding a shop to do the flex pipes without pulling the motor. My local VW dealer did it without pulling the motor.
My local VW dealer charged me 6 hours labor to do the job. I was shocked when they agreed to do the job. Every other shop wanted at least $1500 or they refused to do it.
I asked the same question. The mechanic at my local VW dealer was able to do it. The only thing service told me was that this guy was a Touareg expert and he came up with a way to do it without pulling the motor. I was very happy because it saved me a lot of money. Still paid $650.
It’s a great project, fix it. I want to start one too. Like you said it’s a $80000 suv for $3500-$5000. Most of the suspension is due for an update so fox or kings suspension would be perfect for an off road project. Great vids, lots of vw teachings. Thank u man
We bought a 2010 Touareg TDI with the V6 It’s been a wonderful car, other than some emissions sensors going out we’ve had 0 issues. Very reliable and nice driving car
That’s because the system is looking for a resistive load. I had to get one of those seven pin harness adapters with a built-in resistor mode, since the Torregon, the Cayenne from his arrow are pretty much exactly the same. CURT 57003 this is what I got and works.
Get about 6 cans of black fluid film and go to town on the undercarriage. Will hide all the rust and prevent it from getting any worse in the future. Pro tip, wait till you complete all the repairs because working on the car after you spray is a mess.
Maybe can get the frame and under carriage sand blasted to get all the rust off. Then to wipe it down clean and then primer and paint it. Then spray whatever is real good so it don't rust much or at all anymore.
Bought an '07 V8 steel springer in 2019 with only 67k miles and it was in great shape... Pre-frontend makeover but post-V8 update, so I have the BAR not the AHK. Soft touch button problem was apparently fixed by then. No towing package so I put in a Curt powered 3-to-2 trailer light converter. No issues with LED trailer lights and the bulb check doesn't have any say in the matter... It stays plenty busy anyway with those bunk-ass taillight assembly electronics you gotta wire brush every 3rd Wednesday. Otherwise, one of the most reliable cars I've ever had, which I realize is not necessarily the norm. I've had it across the country and back twice, off-road enough that I really need skid plates, lots of 3-wheel action, lots of open-diff-Wrangler-killer fun... This thing doesn't get stuck unless you're REAL insistent upon doing so, and I only have the center diff lock. Lots of trail WTF from onlookers. No lift and mild tires that still allow burning down interstate sections at an insane rate in perfect, smooth, quiet comfort. Love mine.
My biggest pet peeve with my treg is that in heavy rain when the water puddles and you run through it, it comes up over the front end and inundates the front windshield, that is a big problem if you have the auto wipers on and they don't respond quick enough to the water covered windshield when you're at speed and completely blinded.
Traler fix: make an adapter harness with resistors in-line. Look up led flash resistors. Use a male on one end, female on the other, and you can remove it when not needed, and use it on other cars. You're welcome.
I was looking at touregs recently in p.a and I thought that one looked familiar lol its one I seen online for sale I'm glad someone got it I thought it'd be pretty cool to get it and fix it up
I used to have a 2010 Touareg TDI. The powertrain was amazing, so was the ride and handling for such a heavy SUV. It nickel and dimed me with little things in the interior that kept breaking but the powertrain was bulletproof. I also used to have a L322 Range Rover which felt like a much older car vs the Touareg even though they were both developed around the same time and sold around the same time. The Touareg felt about a generation ahead of the Range Rover in terms of driving dynamics.
If it’s anything like my 2010 Q7, you will need some resistors installed inline with your trailer plug wiring that goes to your bulbs. You can Google what ohm to get.
2 years ago, I bought a ‘08 with 73k miles in California. It’s been ok after paying a small fortune 😅 to clean out the intake, all the drainage lines and replace some parts under the hood. It would have been a steal for a mechanic I’m sure. Eventually it will be my off-road, dogmobile. After having trucks most of my life, I do enjoy the turn radius.
great video , the paint looks great ! , imy 06 has a great shape interior still except the heat air fan button its the only one peeling , i remember at uhaul giving my brother a adapter thingy for the trailer lights to work , uhaul seems to be the most updated place about hook up problems and fixes they see it all
oh man this truck is a complete love hate relationship I have a 08 v8 as a toy. where do I start, kessy module drains battery when the resistors go caput, engine out to replace starter, chugs gas, eats tires and goes through brakes. But when its running right I LOVE IT! also for you folks with 04-07 tregs with peeling buttons go find a junked 08-10 and take all the climate controls, all the buttons ect since VW switched to plastic vs rubber in 08
Nice, I'm looking forward to this series as I want to buy exactly one of those for myself. I would wanna see some hardcore dual shock and some bolt on chassis reinforcements bits, since I would want to turn mine into a semi-baja truck, but nothing crazy like I said just bolt on stuff
Yeah these are definitley challenging to work on. I have a 2010 tdi and the driver's side exhaust compensator/up pipe is broken which requires the engine/subframe being dropped
I have a 2008 Cayenne S and a 2016 Touareg 3.6. Love the content. On my Cayenne, one of my 7way to 4 pin adapters would not work on LED trailer but I found the Curt 57004 does allow LED trailer lights to work although I still get the one-time trailer light warning at times, the trailer lights still function. The cayenne had some rust underneath.. it’s worth using a rust converter on. I used the POR15 stop rust kit. Also, thanks for the prior video on cleaning intake valves on 2.0/1.8t EA888 engines. Eventually I’d like to do that on the VR6.
I'm in for some good Touareg content! Yes, they are EuroTrash to maintain... But also very hard to beat capability wise even against later model new cars!
I have 2005 and is a Amazing car all works not perfect but have gone way above my expextatios. I use mine as dailyand overland rig 200,000+ and running smooth as almost new.
I know this isn't a TDI but it would be really interesting to see some videos on the 7p TDI. pretty sure you own one right? Common problems, tuning and modifications, etc. I just got one a few months back and the more information the better. Love it, my favorite VW I've ever owned (aside from my 78 Miami Blue rabbit Wolfsburg edition)
Got 2 Touaregs: a 07 3.6 and a 08 4.2 FSI. We tow with both (TT) and my daily is the 3.6…We run BFG KO2s on both (longer wear). They do require $$ now and then but actually seem better than other vehicles we have owned. We LOVE them. Had the 3.6 now for over 14 years… On adapters for towing we purchased one from UHaul that was wired wrong…might test to see if it is working right (the adapter)?
I've had 3 Touaregs now. 04 V8 pretty much identical to this one, 2012 Hybrid, and now a 2016 TDI. I love the TDI the most, but miss my v8. It sounded so good. I would do an exhaust, maybe a small lift with some slightly bigger tires, and call it a day on this one. Eventually that rust will start causing you to replace things so thats when you should start the upgrades. That's my methodology on my Golf R and Touareg. If I have to replace something, its getting an upgrade if it exists.
I swapped out the bulbs for LEDs on a 11 Mercedes C Class with bulb monitoring. Phillips make a clip-on ballast that runs in parallel to the bulb itself that provides the resistance that the bulb monitoring is expecting. The errors all went away. Just don’t mount to a painted surface because they get HOT.
For Touareg content it would be nice to see more repair and upgrade stuff. Changing NoX sensors, cleaning the intake of carbon deposits, changing out worn bushings and such. Now it’s about keeping these vehicles maintained like the high level SUV’s they are.
I bought one with the air suspension and rear locking diff a few years ago with 80K one owner and about 20 pounds of maintenance records for $5K in San Jose, CA. No issues since and I've made it into an off roader with Eurowise suspension upgrades and winch mount, and added an APEX 12K synthetic winch. I also added larger tires, have a full size spare that ratchets to the roof, and other modifications. I did the timing job myself and added a bunch of improvements. Zero issues, except for a mystery warning light for a bulb that is probably either, a.) going out or b.) housing has corrosion or something. It's been awesome. I am adding a second fullsize battery to where the original donut spare is soon but this is an awesome and comfortable rig for sleeping in on climbing trips and it gets me everywhere! I've put about 5K into this car when you look at the tires, the timing, all the parts I decided to replace or upgrade it with, etc, but for $10K and a car that has done 50K more miles with zero issues, I don't think you can find a more dependable, reliable, or capable vehicle. Just be sure you know what you're getting into and have no issues working on a VW/Audi/Porsche yourself! I also own a B7 Audi S4 manual that I've tuned and tuned. I love the challenge but these are complex machines that you can master and reap the rewards! Just pay attention, and be attentive, and do your homework!
I hope you do an episode on doing the blend doors in the HVAC system. I have the 2 zone and I hear getting to them is a nightmare. Also it may be possible to clean or rebuild them for $10 vs buying new ones for $250 each. Also adding the tom module and getting it coded RIGHT. Lastly I did the TPMS module replacement and coded it and got it to work again. Have fun.
1. The button peeling only affects the pre-2006 models. Later models have revisioned coating, that will not peel and will actually look perfect even after 15+ years. 2. The LED trailer needs an adapter with extra resistors - or you can add the resistors or extra (hidden) bulbs yourself to the trailer lines to work properly. 3. Check the bulk head drain holes at the top of the front wheel well behind the liner, because that likes to clog up, then water pools in the plenum chamber area and overflows into the cabin, and can cause a lot of issues. Similary the A/C drain tube also tends to clog up, so, check also that in the passenger footwell area.
Definitely, if you're going to leave the somewhat rusty underbody be: get the rig oil sprayed to stop what's already there. You can treat/sandblast/repaint bits and pieces of that when you do have to get to refreshing suspension bushings, especially if the role is "beater that will be the tow vehicle". Just plan those impulse must-be-towed purchases around the tow car being apart to change up parts. :D I totally get why you're grabbing one, though! Like your ol' B5 Passat, you "grew up" on these at the dealer -- repair familiarity + low base price beats out a new shiny high-dollar vehicle, or a vehicle brand you're a bit less familiar with the quirks on. Same sorta reason I've stuck with mk4 cars. I'm just insane because I live in the rust belt (so is all of Canada, basically).
Im not sure how many more Touareg videos I will do. LOL lot depends on the reaction from this one. The last T-reg video flopped HARD HAAHHA
@@VroomNPew Pay attention to the part about towing. Im running into a few issues I haven't figured out yet.
Charles, you should trash this on the rally and also keep it for the daily commute if you like
Got a q7 same bit nice 170k miles and its brilliant only thing thats annoying is the panaramic roof gutters tubes come apart and leak 👍👍👍
@@HumbleMechanic I don't know what this trailer adapter that you showed is all about but if we are talking bulb detection with no smart communication then you need to match the current draw for each bulb on the trailer plug. That means basically putting resistors across your LED bulbs. Checkout how people put LED turn signals on older cars that have those mechanical clicky relays, it's the same principle. When the trailer lights module doesn't see the 1-2 Amps current draw but instead some 0.1A from your LED lights, it assumes that bulbs are gone.
@@VroomNPewgreat tow car thats why i wont get rid 👍👍👍
"just because you paid 3 grand it doesn't mean that you're fixing and maintaining a 3000$ car" words to live by!
One of my running jokes with any luxury car brand is “The only thing that costs more than a luxury car, is an out of warranty luxury car.”
A tough pill to swallow, but I'm glad I did.
The purchase price is the entry price!
This should definitely be turned into an off-road build
im thinking turn it into razer blades and brillo pads lol
YES TO TOUAREG CONTENT!!! these have such a special place in my heart
I've had a 04 Touareg (V8) for 5 years now, and I knew little about cars let alone Touaregs back then. Today I have enough knowledge and understanding to post advice here, lol. So here's what I think-
1) Mechanically, 1st Gen Touaregs are respectably well built suvs. My 04 had some issues, but that is to be expected for the first year of any car. 2006's have plenty of those issues resolved. (Note: T's built in 2004-2006 are called *T1* Touaregs and those built in 2007-2009 are *T2* , but they're both considered 1st generation. 2010 and onwards are 2nd Generation.)
2) The engine in the T1's is a Multi Port Fuel Injection engine, which means that it doesn't suffer from carbon-buildup-on-valves issue the way engines with Direct injection do. IMO it is a very well made/designed engine. As long as you change the oil every 5000 miles and do timing-chain/water-pump service every 80,000 miles, it will last a long time. The one failure point on these engines that my mechanics don't want to mess with, is the seized actuator arms on the intake (discussed in the video).
3) The transmission, transfer case, differentials, etc, also are high quality. They perform very well, and with regular service they don't fail. Altogether, the drivetrain is great and tough enough to not only take it off-roading, but also tow 7700 lbs (which is a lot for a vehicle of this physical dimensions).
4) I wish I could say these nice things about 1st Gen's interior. The interior is so bad that you'll be better off just taking it to an auto-interior shop and have them rebuild the entire interior from floor to ceiling.
5) As for electrical issues, if you encounter those, take your Touareg to a VW technician. If he cannot fix those, he shouldn't be calling himself a VW technician. But before you do that, make sure to check the battery. *The Touareg's electrical system is quite sensitive to a weak battery, way more than other cars are. You have to almost obsess over making sure that the battery stays fully charged at all times.* Also, even a high quality battery would need to be replaced every four years. If the electrical issues happen despite you having a good battery, only then take it to the technician.
So should you buy a 1st Gen Touareg? Before I answer that, realize that even a 2009 model is 14 years old today, so there will be plenty of issues to resolve. IMO you should get a V10 Touareg only if A) you tow 4000+ lbs on a regular basis, *and* B) your auto-repair skills are on par with professional mechanics. If you do not meet both these criteria, do NOT get a V10.
If you live in the midwest plains and you don't tow much, a V6 Touareg is sufficient. I live in the Chicago suburbs and I knew within a year that having this suv was overkill. Why does one need low-range transfer case in the plains? The only reason I've kept this suv is because I like the ride.
If however you live in hilly areas, or if you tow (but you're not an auto-mechanic) then you should get a V8 Touareg. The car has some features built in that automatically provide extra power when needed, and that makes towing or driving on inclines/declines a pleasure.
my friend group all have touaregs. two t2 3.6's, 1 t1 v8 w/air ride, and mine and another friends t3 tdi. I owned a V8 w/air, and a t2 3.6, prior and honestly the 3.0L TDI in my t3 out performs even a v10 when towing or just driving normally. its such a wicked engine. the t3 isn't as hardcore offroad as the older ones, but it can still do everything the older ones can, just with an issue of clearance and damaging a more expensive vehicle if you run into something. The 2013+ 3.0L TDI is the best engine in any touareg in north america in my opinion.
Disregard everything the OG poster said. I'm an engineer and had an 06 with very low miles and full extended warranty. We went through 12k in warranty repairs before dumping it.
Now I'm a Toyota owner and can confidently say thus doesn't hold a candle to a Toyota or Honda.
EUROPE must have some nasty environmental laws that sabotage these cars with eco friendly parts that destroy themselves.
For example: The coating on the buttons wears off very fast.
The protective shielding on the wiring also disintegrates (never seen that before).
There's a notorious problem with the drive shaft carrier bearing. It will disintegrate after 4-6 years. The replacement is a new drives haft! They do make aftermarket kits to retrofit your axle bearing to a serviceable unit but it's $1200.
I have 40 year old Toyota that still have the original carrier bearing and rubber! Wtf VW.
If you want a car that will leave you stranded this is the car for you.
@@LibLibertyLibertarian Funny, I worked at Toyota from 2016 until last year. They're phenominal appliances. If I recommended my mother a vehicle, it would be a toyota or lexus. But no, a comparable 4runner from 2006 is not going to outgun a Touareg. Especially since the touareg was made to do it all. The 4runners powerplant falls on its face on the highway, it's not a good tow vehicle, and a Touareg will outshine it offroad when both are similarily equipped. Figured that out when we took our rigs and my other friends GX470 out to the trails right quick. And well if that were true across the range, then my 7 examples of mine and my friends touaregs would've fit your experience, but aside from one leaking air hose on my air ride, and an alternator on my 260k 3.6L, none of our touaregs have had major faults. And I've had my TDI for 6 years now, and the ones prior I had anywhere from 2-3 years. Like I say, you either get a good Volkswagen or a bad one. No in between. They can be nightmares, which is why I don't recommend them to people who don't know anything about cars. But to those who dont mind wrenching and learning, the euro suv's like touareg, cayenne, ML, Range rover, etc. are a total world above anything from Japan. Save for a Land Cruiser, but at that price point, it better be able to compete with them...
Whats that bad about the interior? Seems about par or a bit better than most other cars of its debut year...
@brandonfriesen5389 your comparing a v10 diesel to a I4/v6 4 Runner? Keep in mind that you're only shining a light mostly on the power plant benefits. These vehicles spend 99% of their life doing errands around town. On top of that, the 4 Runners aftermarket support far exceeds that of the VW, so even if what you say is true, it could easily be compensated for. On top of this the Toy will bring you home from the trail while the VW could easily leave you stranded.
On top of all this, we must consider the resale value. The VWs are so cheap because they break down, are complicated to repair, and expensive parts. You dump money into the VW to turn it into an off-road beast you'll never get your money back. You will out of the Toyota or a Jeep.
My .02 is for a "channel build" aka Pull all the suspension, hit the entire underside with a pneumatic needle gun to get the worst of the rust off, fix the bits and bobs that you pulled, hit the whole underside with some rust remover and then with some bed liner spray....and start the off-road conversion.
Keep up the Touareg content! Both this one and the 2015 TDI! The Touareg market is huge and we all would love to see more content about all things Touareg.
Also you should definitely lift this one 👍🏻
I've had mine going on 12 years. Its been reliable and not much has gone wrong other than your average maintenance stuff. I LOVE MY TREG!!! Going to be keeping an eye out for videos on this project. Especially for that JXB center support. Best wishes to you with the Touareg! I know you'll have some fun with it.
Oh Charles I really hope you create a series on this, I adore my Touareg and a couple of my friends have some too. I know my way around them fairly well, but I can always learn more. I really hope you make more videos on it, either repairing, offroad building, etc. TFL's Tough T series was a complete success for them and seriously grew their audience. People are interested in these things, they are a gem of an SUV. They look like every other mall crawler, but they are just overbuilt to an insane degree where they can compete with a half ton pickup for towing, a buttoned down sedan for highway bombing, and a jeep for offroading. Awareness of that is spreading, and I think you could accelerate it even more. Here's hoping we get to see more!
I would like to see you address the rust with dry ice cleaning. This would make for an awesome video.
Yh my dad used to do that
RIP💔
Have a 2007 V10 Diesel.. 250+K drive every day!! Love it. It has a bunch of achievement lights on the dash so I know it's well seasoned. Great video.
To fix the trailer lights I installed an enclosed box on my trailer out of an outdoor electrical box and installed regular light bulb sockets with bulbs in line as resistors and now it works perfectly as designed.
This Reg is almost identical to the first car I bought for myself, they were pretty cheap back in 2016 too lol. Had it for a year before I gave it to my parents and it’s been in the family ever since. Last I heard it’s at 180,000 with no issues but a worn front diff. Love these cars!
Bought a 2006 3.2 VR6 Touareg 5 years ago... for $1000. Runs like a champ after refreshing the front suspension, replacing the thermostat & housing, crossover pipe and fixing various electrical gremlins.
Paul did a video on fixing the peeling buttons with aftermarket stickers. You could probably do something similar but take it to the next level by painting the black pieces that are really bad. As for the suspension, as you remove/replace stuff, I'd take that opportunity to de-rustify things. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it - I hope you do some videos on it!
There’s a video on CZcams somewhere of a company that specialises in Ferrari sticky buttons. Full on re-coating and laser etching of the buttons. For VW stuff there are a lot of switches and buttons out of china and they are the same across multiple VW vehicles.
Awesome! I got one a few months ago. Same spec! I put a set of Wrangler DuraTracs on it. I have the eurowise lift in a box, but it offroads sooooo well, I don’t know if I am going to bother. Also I installed that same xtrons head unit. It’s working well. After 3 stick amplifiers, I found that if you tear the CANBUS chip off the board, they work again!!!
Can’t wait for more videos on this!!!
Love it; bought an almost identical spec back in 2019, having been a long time German car enthusiast and figuring it'd be as easy to maintain as my B6 Audi. Then realized the base engineering of the platform was 90% Porsche and way more compilated. I will say that the more often it was driven, the more reliable it was. Leaving it sit would bring out the gremlins. The JXB carrier is great. Suspension overhaul after 140k of PA salt was a nightmare. Cat pipe flex sections are trash and the cheap ebay replacements are worthless (Magnaflow fits great but are $1400/set). Sunroof drains... ugh. Someone should come up with a sunroof delete panel kit for them. When it's working, man what a great platform. Smooth as glass at 90mph on the highway (and cranking out 13mpg at 3000 rpms), handles great on backroads, way more than any 5000lbs SUV has any right to.
I would love to see the timing belt, timing chain, and intake manifold runner control repairs! Then maybe the lift kit, and go PLAY!!!
The LED load resistors work good for the trailer light issue, need 3 in total (left signal, right signal and running light), I’ve got all my trailers wired up with them. The T1/7L is quite a shock coming from mk4’s, especially paired with the v10.
I tried load resistors but they got literally burning hot.
@@kw57rx8dr.9 they should get warm but not burn-your-trailer-down hot. Another option is wire in little peanut bulbs, it doesn’t take much of a load to work.
I already did the light bulb idea after I burned my fingers on the stupid resistors and they were definitely hot enough to burn the trailer over a period of time, as I posted and that worked fine.@@JoshsJettas
I had a 2006 with the V6 and it was built like a tank. Great off road SUV for your purpose. It was hard on gas, tires and breaks.
I am so excited for this because there has been a ton of these popping up for sale near me. I will pay serious attention to it. I believe i messaged you a few times about these. So i hope to get to see this serious all the way the trough
I would definitely enjoy a build series👍
Australian VW dealers offered a genuine inline plug to solve this issue. Worked well on both my old Touaregs.
i picked up a 3.2 liter touareg for 1000 bucks. one owner fully maintained 137k miles no rust. i love it. minor cosmetics lift gate doesnt stay up and headliner sag but its been a great car handles phenomenally. had to replace the mass a/f and a set of toyo tires im only about 2k into and ive put over 10k miles on it. great deal. i missed my 2008 rabbit that was totaled so i had to have the treg. one thing im not liking is the whine that i think is coming from the front diff bearings. it goes up with speed and not engine rpm
yea Charles overpaid, I buy these for $800-$1500 in this kind of condition
@@I6N54lol you sound like you've bought a lot to start a dealership. Do you really buy a bunch? Charles's purchase price is fair in this market.
I tow with a 2004 V10 TDI. I love it. I just use a plug adapter for trailer LEDs. Sometimes I get a dash warning light, other times I dont. But it works.
The 1st generation Touareg is the best one. I am super excited to watch your videos fixing this car. Finally, I have 2 Touaregs and I am very happy with them. The petrol one is 3.2, I changed the timing chain and the oil pump, runs like a dream, the other one is 3.0 TDI, changed all gaskets and seals in the valley, runs great. Thank you Charles for bringing the videos. Cheers mate
The Curt 57003 adapter worked on my 2005 touareg. Also double check settings in VCDS to make sure the trailer module is being read correctly. I assume it is but its something to check.
Well if you decide to off road it with a lift kit, etc then that removes much of the rust issue LOL
I was looking at touaregs a few months ago, so it'd be interesting to see a deep dive into them so I could know what to look out for - optional equipment, issues with said equipment, problem areas, livability, availability of replacement parts, maintenance intervals, etc
As always, keep up the awesome work Charles 👍
You can replace all the buttons with ones from an 08+. They don't peal and get nasty. Your headlight range control issue is most likely a failing headlight harness either inside the head light or just behind it. You can also swap the cluster with a fancy one if you like, its plug and play no immobilizer built into it. I tow with mine all the time and i have LED trailers, i use the LED adapter you showed. If you didn't want to use the adapter you could wire the trailer lights directly to the tail lights like aftermarket hitches do. Only the factory hitch ties into the canbus network. Fun fact, if you lock the Touareg with a factory hitch plugged into a trailer and you unplug the trailer, the alarm goes off.
I wanna see more of the tuareg.
Good video Charles
Love the TReg of this era. Pls keep the videos coming.
My dad had one of those his front bumper was held together with ducttape i loved that car
I hope this one gets more views!! i have an 04 V8 similar to this one. I LOVE taking it offroad! Mine is called "Murph" (short for murphys law, cause everything that could break in that car, broke, LOL; from chain tensioners to valve body to kessy draining the battery. it currently has 226,000 miles! so they can go forever once things get figured out!. Oh and if you still want to use the factory amp, there are 3 wires (ground, left and right) that would need to connect to the front and back of the speakers in the after market harness. Looking forward to learning more tricks from you!
Mine had 280,000 miles and the engine still ran strong, but the immobilizer finally did it in.
I'm a masochist... I have all porsches and VW.
I've been looking at 2nd gen Touregs / Cayenes as a tow vehicle for over a year now.
Keep the T reg content coming!
2:05 those cost like 200 from the dealer, the metal repair kit doesn’t replace a torn bellows or ball (worth checking) you can get them for around 70 as a Porsche brake component I believe.
As a new VW apprentice I dread seeing a Touareg on my work order
I totally get that! How are the customers on these today? They use to be a nightmare. Now to be fair, they paid a TON of money for them back in 04-06.
Just make sure its not a job for the starter motor 😬😬😬
When you do the fuel filter and there's forbidden glitter inside...
@@HumbleMechanic They are all insane, especially the TDI owners. Not so much for how they act but because they'll get a quote for $6000 and approve it in the blink of an eye.
@@CallOfDuty1458the TDIs are reliable though no?
Love this! Can’t wait for more!🔥🔥🔥
Loved the Touareg Charles! I am thinking of buying one from this generation for myself for quite some time. Will watch closely this series. Just cancelled cable TV.
Can’t wait to see how this one turns out
Love the Treggy content…..I’m glad you mentioned about the trailering issue with the lights. I think I’ll keep looking for a T3.
The t3 is so good! I have a v6 TDI. It’s my wife’s daily
@@HumbleMechanic Hopefully I can find a decent one for a decent price. Want one to tow my MK8 GTI to National Autocross events across the country and as a 4th car.
i have a Touran from 2005, with the same trailer issue, mine has a westfalia trailer control module (can bus controlled) I found a jäger controle module, also with can-bus, very easy to swap, and no coding needed, if not changing from 7pole to 13 pole as I did
Great Video! I hope you do more. I miss my Touareg! I had a 05 V8 in Colorado Red with air suspension. The biggest frustration I had with it was finding a shop to do the flex pipes without pulling the motor. My local VW dealer did it without pulling the motor.
I went to 27 shops before I found someone willing to do it. Now one of them is bad again. Glad I'm moving somewhere with no inspection or road salt
My local VW dealer charged me 6 hours labor to do the job. I was shocked when they agreed to do the job. Every other shop wanted at least $1500 or they refused to do it.
How did they do the job without pulling the engine??
I asked the same question. The mechanic at my local VW dealer was able to do it. The only thing service told me was that this guy was a Touareg expert and he came up with a way to do it without pulling the motor. I was very happy because it saved me a lot of money. Still paid $650.
It’s a great project, fix it. I want to start one too. Like you said it’s a $80000 suv for $3500-$5000. Most of the suspension is due for an update so fox or kings suspension would be perfect for an off road project. Great vids, lots of vw teachings. Thank u man
We bought a 2010 Touareg TDI with the V6 It’s been a wonderful car, other than some emissions sensors going out we’ve had 0 issues. Very reliable and nice driving car
Did you buy it new or used?
That’s because the system is looking for a resistive load. I had to get one of those seven pin harness adapters with a built-in resistor mode, since the Torregon, the Cayenne from his arrow are pretty much exactly the same.
CURT 57003 this is what I got and works.
Get about 6 cans of black fluid film and go to town on the undercarriage. Will hide all the rust and prevent it from getting any worse in the future. Pro tip, wait till you complete all the repairs because working on the car after you spray is a mess.
Have the same exact spec; own it, love it, whenever needs repair, I am on it (almost every week:D)
I say flip it and get a non-crusty example and some 33’s on it, do some light off-roading and camping or make it a chase truck for a rally car build
I love the two-rags, fix it up and have some fun with it.
Maybe can get the frame and under carriage sand blasted to get all the rust off. Then to wipe it down clean and then primer and paint it. Then spray whatever is real good so it don't rust much or at all anymore.
Bought an '07 V8 steel springer in 2019 with only 67k miles and it was in great shape... Pre-frontend makeover but post-V8 update, so I have the BAR not the AHK. Soft touch button problem was apparently fixed by then. No towing package so I put in a Curt powered 3-to-2 trailer light converter. No issues with LED trailer lights and the bulb check doesn't have any say in the matter... It stays plenty busy anyway with those bunk-ass taillight assembly electronics you gotta wire brush every 3rd Wednesday. Otherwise, one of the most reliable cars I've ever had, which I realize is not necessarily the norm. I've had it across the country and back twice, off-road enough that I really need skid plates, lots of 3-wheel action, lots of open-diff-Wrangler-killer fun... This thing doesn't get stuck unless you're REAL insistent upon doing so, and I only have the center diff lock. Lots of trail WTF from onlookers. No lift and mild tires that still allow burning down interstate sections at an insane rate in perfect, smooth, quiet comfort. Love mine.
My biggest pet peeve with my treg is that in heavy rain when the water puddles and you run through it, it comes up over the front end and inundates the front windshield, that is a big problem if you have the auto wipers on and they don't respond quick enough to the water covered windshield when you're at speed and completely blinded.
Traler fix: make an adapter harness with resistors in-line. Look up led flash resistors. Use a male on one end, female on the other, and you can remove it when not needed, and use it on other cars. You're welcome.
I was looking at touregs recently in p.a and I thought that one looked familiar lol its one I seen online for sale I'm glad someone got it I thought it'd be pretty cool to get it and fix it up
I used to have a 2010 Touareg TDI. The powertrain was amazing, so was the ride and handling for such a heavy SUV. It nickel and dimed me with little things in the interior that kept breaking but the powertrain was bulletproof. I also used to have a L322 Range Rover which felt like a much older car vs the Touareg even though they were both developed around the same time and sold around the same time. The Touareg felt about a generation ahead of the Range Rover in terms of driving dynamics.
Looking fwd to seeing what You do with it.
Love these, oil and solvent mix, spray on rusty bits, drive down dusty dirt road, repeat once a year, no problems.
If it’s anything like my 2010 Q7, you will need some resistors installed inline with your trailer plug wiring that goes to your bulbs. You can Google what ohm to get.
2 years ago, I bought a ‘08 with 73k miles in California. It’s been ok after paying a small fortune 😅 to clean out the intake, all the drainage lines and replace some parts under the hood. It would have been a steal for a mechanic I’m sure. Eventually it will be my off-road, dogmobile. After having trucks most of my life, I do enjoy the turn radius.
Please more toareg videos!! I want one so bad but still expensive here in Norway....
great video , the paint looks great ! , imy 06 has a great shape interior still except the heat air fan button its the only one peeling , i remember at uhaul giving my brother a adapter thingy for the trailer lights to work , uhaul seems to be the most updated place about hook up problems and fixes they see it all
OMG I can't believe that this is an old crusty oldskool car. I remember when they were new and expensive status symbols. Time flies by...
great video, just what I needed. I'm still considering my decision to buy one as a family car.
oh man this truck is a complete love hate relationship I have a 08 v8 as a toy. where do I start, kessy module drains battery when the resistors go caput, engine out to replace starter, chugs gas, eats tires and goes through brakes. But when its running right I LOVE IT! also for you folks with 04-07 tregs with peeling buttons go find a junked 08-10 and take all the climate controls, all the buttons ect since VW switched to plastic vs rubber in 08
Nice, I'm looking forward to this series as I want to buy exactly one of those for myself. I would wanna see some hardcore dual shock and some bolt on chassis reinforcements bits, since I would want to turn mine into a semi-baja truck, but nothing crazy like I said just bolt on stuff
Off-road build for sure! Not just overlanding, either. I wanna see this thing rock crawl!
We have a 2010 tdi and towing with LED lights have not been an issue! Love the rig!
Good stuff Charles, well wear and good luck, Happy 4th of July to Ye All👍🙏😎☘
Good timing, been contemplating getting a T3 TDI lol
Yeah these are definitley challenging to work on. I have a 2010 tdi and the driver's side exhaust compensator/up pipe is broken which requires the engine/subframe being dropped
Inline load resistors work really well for the bulb issues.
That’s likely what I’ll do. Or something like that. The adapter I got is easy to open.
I have a 2008 Cayenne S and a 2016 Touareg 3.6. Love the content. On my Cayenne, one of my 7way to 4 pin adapters would not work on LED trailer but I found the Curt 57004 does allow LED trailer lights to work although I still get the one-time trailer light warning at times, the trailer lights still function. The cayenne had some rust underneath.. it’s worth using a rust converter on. I used the POR15 stop rust kit.
Also, thanks for the prior video on cleaning intake valves on 2.0/1.8t EA888 engines. Eventually I’d like to do that on the VR6.
Love the VW, Lots of great content can be had on this machine!
FULL RESTORATION
I saw that you worked with "Engineering Explained" working on a Miata. Very cool!
I’m sad Jason sold it. Lol. Love that guy
It's low mileage and in pretty good nick. .
Give it the love!
I'm in for some good Touareg content! Yes, they are EuroTrash to maintain... But also very hard to beat capability wise even against later model new cars!
I have 2005 and is a Amazing car all works not perfect but have gone way above my expextatios. I use mine as dailyand overland rig 200,000+ and running smooth as almost new.
I know this isn't a TDI but it would be really interesting to see some videos on the 7p TDI. pretty sure you own one right? Common problems, tuning and modifications, etc. I just got one a few months back and the more information the better. Love it, my favorite VW I've ever owned (aside from my 78 Miami Blue rabbit Wolfsburg edition)
I have a 2004 v8 w air suspension. Love it. Happy to see you w videos on the t-reg. I just put 265-65-18 BF Goodrich all terrain tires.
how do you like those tires? Il be needing some too.
@@HumbleMechanic looks great; aggressive tread for an SUV; no clearance issues; looking forward to the first PA snow.
Got 2 Touaregs: a 07 3.6 and a 08 4.2 FSI. We tow with both (TT) and my daily is the 3.6…We run BFG KO2s on both (longer wear). They do require $$ now and then but actually seem better than other vehicles we have owned. We LOVE them. Had the 3.6 now for over 14 years…
On adapters for towing we purchased one from UHaul that was wired wrong…might test to see if it is working right (the adapter)?
I've had 3 Touaregs now. 04 V8 pretty much identical to this one, 2012 Hybrid, and now a 2016 TDI. I love the TDI the most, but miss my v8. It sounded so good. I would do an exhaust, maybe a small lift with some slightly bigger tires, and call it a day on this one. Eventually that rust will start causing you to replace things so thats when you should start the upgrades. That's my methodology on my Golf R and Touareg. If I have to replace something, its getting an upgrade if it exists.
I swapped out the bulbs for LEDs on a 11 Mercedes C Class with bulb monitoring. Phillips make a clip-on ballast that runs in parallel to the bulb itself that provides the resistance that the bulb monitoring is expecting. The errors all went away. Just don’t mount to a painted surface because they get HOT.
For Touareg content it would be nice to see more repair and upgrade stuff. Changing NoX sensors, cleaning the intake of carbon deposits, changing out worn bushings and such. Now it’s about keeping these vehicles maintained like the high level SUV’s they are.
I bought one with the air suspension and rear locking diff a few years ago with 80K one owner and about 20 pounds of maintenance records for $5K in San Jose, CA. No issues since and I've made it into an off roader with Eurowise suspension upgrades and winch mount, and added an APEX 12K synthetic winch. I also added larger tires, have a full size spare that ratchets to the roof, and other modifications. I did the timing job myself and added a bunch of improvements. Zero issues, except for a mystery warning light for a bulb that is probably either, a.) going out or b.) housing has corrosion or something. It's been awesome. I am adding a second fullsize battery to where the original donut spare is soon but this is an awesome and comfortable rig for sleeping in on climbing trips and it gets me everywhere! I've put about 5K into this car when you look at the tires, the timing, all the parts I decided to replace or upgrade it with, etc, but for $10K and a car that has done 50K more miles with zero issues, I don't think you can find a more dependable, reliable, or capable vehicle. Just be sure you know what you're getting into and have no issues working on a VW/Audi/Porsche yourself! I also own a B7 Audi S4 manual that I've tuned and tuned. I love the challenge but these are complex machines that you can master and reap the rewards! Just pay attention, and be attentive, and do your homework!
My new to me 05 Cayenne S looks the same underneath, subbing to see how much I can do based on these two sharing platforms.
Love it and care for it.
Can't buy one today (past 2017) looking at what could be a classic.
I like it already, good thing your an experienced VW tech.
Yes to touareg content!❤
I hope you do an episode on doing the blend doors in the HVAC system. I have the 2 zone and I hear getting to them is a nightmare. Also it may be possible to clean or rebuild them for $10 vs buying new ones for $250 each. Also adding the tom module and getting it coded RIGHT. Lastly I did the TPMS module replacement and coded it and got it to work again. Have fun.
I’d love to see more TDI content from your channel.
No charles i stay away nothing good tourage is nightmare to repair good video
1. The button peeling only affects the pre-2006 models. Later models have revisioned coating, that will not peel and will actually look perfect even after 15+ years.
2. The LED trailer needs an adapter with extra resistors - or you can add the resistors or extra (hidden) bulbs yourself to the trailer lines to work properly.
3. Check the bulk head drain holes at the top of the front wheel well behind the liner, because that likes to clog up, then water pools in the plenum chamber area and overflows into the cabin, and can cause a lot of issues. Similary the A/C drain tube also tends to clog up, so, check also that in the passenger footwell area.
Sorry, 2007 still has peeling issues, still love this suv, but so many items in this video are so true.
3:20 salivating with all of those goodies
I've always wanted one of these but probably couldn't afford to maintain it the way I would like to. Haha. Great video.
I love my 04 v8, and I'd love a Touareg vlog to follow along!
That's not rust, that's character! Greetings from Pennsylvania!
Definitely not that cheap where i live, lol. Keep up these nice videoes xD
Definitely, if you're going to leave the somewhat rusty underbody be: get the rig oil sprayed to stop what's already there. You can treat/sandblast/repaint bits and pieces of that when you do have to get to refreshing suspension bushings, especially if the role is "beater that will be the tow vehicle".
Just plan those impulse must-be-towed purchases around the tow car being apart to change up parts. :D
I totally get why you're grabbing one, though! Like your ol' B5 Passat, you "grew up" on these at the dealer -- repair familiarity + low base price beats out a new shiny high-dollar vehicle, or a vehicle brand you're a bit less familiar with the quirks on.
Same sorta reason I've stuck with mk4 cars. I'm just insane because I live in the rust belt (so is all of Canada, basically).
I love it!!! ❤ i'm looking for a 2013 or 2015 Touareg right now. Greetings from Chile!