Before this book I had no idea on how to make small repairs on my VW Passat but thanks to J.J. Haynes it is so simple now. I’m not gifted working with my hands but with this book I’m proud to say that I do all the small repairs on my vehicle. Also, bought the Honda Accord edition for my wife’s car.
I am finding this book to be very useful. The book provides troubleshooting advice that I have never received from anyone in the auto repair industry. I recently took my car in to a garage because the check engine light came on. They read the trouble code from the computer, saw that it was related to the cooling system, and immediately recommended that I replace the water pump. And since I was replacing the water pump, I might as well replace the timing belt too. Total cost $2000! The book offers several no-cost/low-cost fixes to try first. This book also suggested replacing the valve core, to resolve a slow leak in a tire. I took the tire to two tire repair shops, and neither one suggested that. It might be because the valve cores cost 50 cents, whereas they could sell me another tire for a lot more. I no longer have any faith in the auto repair industry.
Along with this repair manual, I bought the Roadi RDT55 Diagnostic Trouble Code Reader for Volkswagen and Audi Vehicles with OBDII Vehicle Live Data. I’m very happy with that product too.
I found this book very sparse in detail for even the simplest of repairs. I am an experienced shade tree mechanic but have little experience working on newer VWs, so I was relying on this book heavily. It did not provide, for example, detailed enough info on how to replace the headlight bulbs for my year or any trouble shooting information for the interior heater. It does show you how to remove the entire dash board, steering wheel, and airbags to replace the heater core, an insane job for a weekend mechanic to undertake. I suggest if you are going to work on your car to always purchase at least two different aftermarket books so you have a comparison of information for your project. I’m not sure if I would recommend this book as being one of them.
I usually do all the maintenance and repairs on my vehicles. I have purchased one of these manuals for eash of my vehicles at one point of ownership or the other. This one is just as expected from a Haynes manual. Very informative, book is based on a complete tear-down and rebuild. I trust Haynes books, and they have never let me down.
I bought this book with the intent of replacing the timing belt on my 2003 Passat. The book has clear step by step instructions with pictures, but it doesn’t seem to have as many pictures from different angles and detailed instructions as the bentley manual. So a -ve point for that. But for the price it sure is a good deal. Just a word of caution that you might ruin the engine trying to replace the timing belt if you are not careful with it. I highly recommend you take help of someone who has already done it at least once (on any car). Even though the book explains everything there is always a chance that you might just not do it right and it could be a $5000 mistake!! Good luck!!
I bought this manual so that I could do routine maintenance on my 2002 Passat GLS. I’ve used other Haynes manuals in the past, so I knew what to expect. Step-by-step instructions for most tasks, with pictures for the more difficult to understand steps. Also of note is the recommended maintenance schedule in the front. If you plan on doing any Passat maintenance on your own, buy this manual!
the book is great if you own a vw passat, for the audi a4 is more like the vw’s stepson a4’s manual. many of the topics, diagrams & instructions just touch in the details of the audi, not very audi a4 specific. I will be ordering the big book ( bentley’s )spacially for the audi a4. I hope this will have the info in grater detal.
This manual doesn’t compare to a Bentley but it’s alright. Any electrical diagrams you’ll have to get online. My main complaint was that it was listed as excellent quality and when I got it was NOT in excellent quality but more like good….a couple little tears and several creases…also gunk all up on it…which I somewhat expected as if it’s being used it’ll have grease on it, but not in excellent condition. As my review title states is comparable to a Chilton’s. I bought it to replace my timing belt but haven’t gotten around to it yet…will probably update this when I do. Although I’ve already printed a better walk thru from passatforum.com that I may use instead. A nice book to have if you do a lot of your own work, things like maintenance are included and explained well for the most part I do alot of maintenance so I’m sure it’ll pay for itself. I was mad when I saw a brand new version on sale at Orielly’s the day after I ordered it for $19.99…I paid $17 for this one and had to wait a wk for it to be delivered…also tried to find info on removing/replacing my secondary air injection pump for my emissions as I’m getting a emission CEL code and all it had to say about replacing the combi valve and SAIP was to SEE THE DEALER. I think that’s kind of BS but it is what it is…
The book really helped me understand what I needed in order to fix my car before I saw the mechanic.
..this is good but for beginners, it is general informations … you pay $ 20 ..you have informations for $ 20 🙂
Before this book I had no idea on how to make small repairs on my VW Passat but thanks to J.J. Haynes it is so simple now. I’m not gifted working with my hands but with this book I’m proud to say that I do all the small repairs on my vehicle. Also, bought the Honda Accord edition for my wife’s car.
I am finding this book to be very useful. The book provides troubleshooting advice that I have never received from anyone in the auto repair industry. I recently took my car in to a garage because the check engine light came on. They read the trouble code from the computer, saw that it was related to the cooling system, and immediately recommended that I replace the water pump. And since I was replacing the water pump, I might as well replace the timing belt too. Total cost $2000! The book offers several no-cost/low-cost fixes to try first. This book also suggested replacing the valve core, to resolve a slow leak in a tire. I took the tire to two tire repair shops, and neither one suggested that. It might be because the valve cores cost 50 cents, whereas they could sell me another tire for a lot more. I no longer have any faith in the auto repair industry.
Along with this repair manual, I bought the Roadi RDT55 Diagnostic Trouble Code Reader for Volkswagen and Audi Vehicles with OBDII Vehicle Live Data. I’m very happy with that product too.
I found this book very sparse in detail for even the simplest of repairs. I am an experienced shade tree mechanic but have little experience working on newer VWs, so I was relying on this book heavily. It did not provide, for example, detailed enough info on how to replace the headlight bulbs for my year or any trouble shooting information for the interior heater. It does show you how to remove the entire dash board, steering wheel, and airbags to replace the heater core, an insane job for a weekend mechanic to undertake. I suggest if you are going to work on your car to always purchase at least two different aftermarket books so you have a comparison of information for your project. I’m not sure if I would recommend this book as being one of them.
I usually do all the maintenance and repairs on my vehicles. I have purchased one of these manuals for eash of my vehicles at one point of ownership or the other. This one is just as expected from a Haynes manual. Very informative, book is based on a complete tear-down and rebuild. I trust Haynes books, and they have never let me down.
I bought this book with the intent of replacing the timing belt on my 2003 Passat. The book has clear step by step instructions with pictures, but it doesn’t seem to have as many pictures from different angles and detailed instructions as the bentley manual. So a -ve point for that. But for the price it sure is a good deal.
Just a word of caution that you might ruin the engine trying to replace the timing belt if you are not careful with it. I highly recommend you take help of someone who has already done it at least once (on any car). Even though the book explains everything there is always a chance that you might just not do it right and it could be a $5000 mistake!! Good luck!!
I bought this manual so that I could do routine maintenance on my 2002 Passat GLS. I’ve used other Haynes manuals in the past, so I knew what to expect. Step-by-step instructions for most tasks, with pictures for the more difficult to understand steps. Also of note is the recommended maintenance schedule in the front. If you plan on doing any Passat maintenance on your own, buy this manual!
the book is great if you own a vw passat, for the audi a4 is more like the vw’s stepson a4’s manual. many of the topics, diagrams & instructions just touch in the details of the audi, not very audi a4 specific. I will be ordering the big book ( bentley’s )spacially for the audi a4. I hope this will have the info in grater detal.
This manual doesn’t compare to a Bentley but it’s alright. Any electrical diagrams you’ll have to get online. My main complaint was that it was listed as excellent quality and when I got it was NOT in excellent quality but more like good….a couple little tears and several creases…also gunk all up on it…which I somewhat expected as if it’s being used it’ll have grease on it, but not in excellent condition. As my review title states is comparable to a Chilton’s. I bought it to replace my timing belt but haven’t gotten around to it yet…will probably update this when I do. Although I’ve already printed a better walk thru from passatforum.com that I may use instead. A nice book to have if you do a lot of your own work, things like maintenance are included and explained well for the most part I do alot of maintenance so I’m sure it’ll pay for itself. I was mad when I saw a brand new version on sale at Orielly’s the day after I ordered it for $19.99…I paid $17 for this one and had to wait a wk for it to be delivered…also tried to find info on removing/replacing my secondary air injection pump for my emissions as I’m getting a emission CEL code and all it had to say about replacing the combi valve and SAIP was to SEE THE DEALER. I think that’s kind of BS but it is what it is…