Toledo v5 - to buy or not to buy?

[Baffled Spoon]

Hi all,

I'm new to SCN and was hoping to ask for some advice and info regarding the Toledo v5.
I've seen a few on autotrader and the like and it seems you can pick up a good one for between £1.5-£2.5k.

The cars seem temptingly cheap for the amount of stuff you get and they have that lovely sounding warbling 5 pot. However, after reading up and doing loads of searches on here about the car/ engine, I've seen and read about many rather scary faults that these cars can experience. I'm pretty much set on getting one of the 170bhp versions but before I take the plunge I was just hoping to clear up some things. Well here goes;

1. How common are the water leaks? Is it pretty much to be expected on tollys of 2001/2002 vintage?

2. How reliable are the timing chains? I've read quite a few account of them failing at 50k-100k miles with expensive consequences.

3. How reliable are the coil packs? I've read lots of reports on here from owners who have had coil pack failures.

4. A lot of reported MAF sensor problems. Are they really that likely to fail or am I just seeing more problem ones than good ones on here?

Sorry for this rather long post . I'm just hoping that with this being an owners club, there is a greater percentage of problem reporting rather than the cars actually being unreliable as I would love to get one otherwise.

I think I’m just being overly cautious reliability wise as coming from a boringly reliable Honda Civic I don’t know what to expect here

Well thanks in advance for any help you can offer,

Spoon.

 

[car_guy143]

I've had my v5 for 2 days now. It's the older 150bhp version with 82k on the clock. i had problems with electric window switches but i found this problem very very easy to fix. It didn't take me long to remove the switches and then clean em up.

One of the main reasons i got a tolly is because of their VW underpinnings which are mainly from the VW Bora/Golf.

The chains (from what i read) are meant to be very reliable, just make sure there's no strange rattles from the engine. Keeping the engine servicing up to date will definately help maintain the life of the chain and engine in general.

As for water leaks, i've not had any problems with mine as of yet. Air con is a very common fault though. Mine seems to suffer from a strange aircon problem, but that's about it.

Hope you find the car you're after.

EDIT - mum has a Civic and it too is boringly reliable. lol

 

[GrayT]

They are essentially very good cars. The faults you describe are generally niggles rather than terminal faults. It is true that you will generally only hear about the faults on a car forum. Not many people post "the car ran great today"!

I have a remapped 10v version so can't comment on the coilpack issue, but there have been a few on here.

In 5 years ownership my MAF has gone once. It's relatively common but then a £70 easy fit part (on an exchange basis) is not a huge issue - it's just that there can be a very gradual deterioration in performance before it's diagnosed.

My fan fuse went, but again this is common to a number of SEAT models, especially Ibiza's.

Brake switch has failed twice but subsequently replaced with a supposedly uprated switch.

Door seal leaks are frequently being reported on the forum with the onset of rainy weather and probably more muck around blocking drainage holes, etc. But my late '99 model has had no leaks at all.

I'm surprised that you have heard about chains breaking. Of course if they do it is potentially very bad news but I believe they are meant to be inspected from 60k onwards and I can't remember any reports on here. I really don't think that's a worry.

The good news is that the engine is great and it feels bullet-proof. It gives a very relaxed torquey drive. It is a cruiser rather than a racer so if that suits you then go for it. It will be a totally different type of drive to the Civic. There is no question that you get a HUGE amount of kit for the money and many people think it drives better than the golf/bora rivals. Choosing another car after the V5 will be very difficult. Boot is a very good size, but being a saloon it makes the load carrying less practical with the limited boot opening. You must consider fuel costs if you do a lot of town driving. Large engined cars are not selling right now so you should be able to haggle and get a great deal.

Oh... and welcome to the forum!

 

[Thev5]

Hi,

I've had my 99 V5 for almost 6 years and it has covered over 130k miles. I change the oil every 5-7k miles and try to keep it very clean. I have only had a few problems with the car and none serious or (thankfully) very expensive. Problems listed below:

MAF sensor - Went right after I put in a KnN air filter - £75 replace

Brake Light Switch - Gone 4 times now! Annoying but only £8 for a new one.

Drivers Door Lock - This went and would only work with the key and not C/Locking. Got one off ebay for £35 and it took less than 1/2 hour to fix.

Water Leak - This happened as a result of changing the door lock. There is a gasket you need to remove and it broke. Used silicon to sort it out.

Engine Mounts - These went around 2/3k ago. It cost £170 for them and took a few hours for me to replace them. Even if you had to get this done from a garage, it should only take them an hour maybe 2 tops.

Other than that I've had the usual wear and tear items go i.e. suspension struts, bushes, brakes etc... On the plus side, I am still on the original clutch and exhaust with no signs of either going anytime soon.

I think it is a great car and is a wonderful cruiser on the motorway and the on the windy roads alike. Like people say, its not the fastest car out there, but it is quick enough for most and will leave a few surprised faces off the lights as you pull away! When it comes to replacing it, I will be hard pushed to find something else that offers the toys, comfort, performance & reliability for the money. And considering its a Golf/Bora underneather and an Audi A3 on the inside, its a bargain.

 

[Baffled Spoon]

Thanks for all the responses guys

So the chain would not need replacing then in the near future on a car with about 90-100k miles on the clock then? How long can it last if the car has regular oil changes? I ask because I have read reports of some sprockets (rather than the chain) wearing and therby causing the chain to skip due to VW not manufacturing them properly.

Apart from that, I think I'm all set to go. I've read the thread on how to fix the leaks if they occur and seemingly the rest is far more reliable than I thought so I think I can start trying to hunt out a good one near me.

 

[kewe]

I have had my 2001 v5 170 for just over a year and the only fault in that time was a coil pack going. I got all 5 replaced which cost about £230 from a VAG dealer. Other than that no problems at all and coming up for 50K miles.

Every day I drive it I love it, fantastic car!

 

[Baffled Spoon]

Thanks for the reply kewe.

Out of curiosity, how likely are the coil packs to fail? I thought it was only an issue with a batch of coil packs in 2003 on the 1.8t engines but one member of PH were I asked about the reliability of the v5 motor said he has to get a new set of coils (all five) about once a year! Surely they can't be that bad.

I do quite a few Euro trips so would hate to get left stranded due to unexpected coil pack failure.

 

[kewe]

No problem.

The coil pack failure is quite common, but I am not sure of life expectancy. As far as I know, 1 had gone before I got the car and 1 went shortly after I got the car which was 6 years old at the time. When I handed it in to a VAG specialist they informed me the ones fitted to the 2001 model cars were a fire risk and VAG advised them to replace all coil packs at the same time. I thought this was a good idea as the others would probably have gone shortly after one by one or caused a fire

I think the new ones came with a 2 year warranty but I would need to check that. If it is a real concern then the best option is to join AA, they carry them around in their vans as it is so common amongst the VAG engines and they charge about £40 to replace one should it go.

 

[kestrel4000]

I'm on my second V5, the first one was a '99 150 model other than a MAF needing replacing had no probs,

After a 3yr gap playing with a merc C250td, i bought another V5 this time an '04' plate 170 (44k on the clock) this one unfortunately seems to be suffering from water ingress in the pax area nothing too serious tho no big puddles (well not yet!). it does sometimes seem a bit hesitant when accelerating so looks like the MAF is starting to play up, sometimes cold starting can be hit an miss,

but all in all a great fun car with lots of standard goodies, auto dimming mirror, sat-nav, auto wipers, electric seats, climate control etc,

Fuel wise i'm averaging 30-32mpg on mixed driving and 32-35 on motorway driving so not too bad on the wallet!!!

 

[4rings]

Hi, I have a V5 with 225,000 miles on the clock and still going strong! It burns no oil and still runs and idles smoothly. The only issues I've had are:

Clutch - original lasted until 220,00
Thermostat - went last winter and was a pain to replace, cost pennies for the part
Door leaks - wet carpets, need sorting with some sealant
Heater motor - easy to get at behind the glove box. Fiddled with it an now its fine.
Waterpump - this has been done a few times in the past, before I owned the car
MAF - again done some time in the past.

All in all a well equipped motor with VAG build quality

 

[nak]

It's simple, if you've done a search to find problem areas with the V5, then thats whats you are going to get, issues with the V5 as above, in comments are these really bad points, " NO there not ", it's a good motor with more extras then a VW and price wise cheaper and we the Tolly boyz and girl's love them, so stop scratching your head and go out and get one , do the checks , test drive it and u should be ok

 

[v5er]

I bought mine 18 months ago from a main dealer. Its a 2003 v5 170. I did a fair amount of research on the net and nailed this model for the VW basis and performance/value for money equation. I have absolutely no regrets. I love this car - especially after 2 weeks in a 1.6 Astra hire car, driving my Tolly away from the airport is bliss

So far I have only had to replace 2 tyres (after a year) and a couple of minor engine components (under warranty) Servicing is not cheap, so if you know a good local independent garage then go for it.

 

[Baffled Spoon]

It's simple, if you've done a search to find problem areas with the V5, then thats whats you are going to get, issues with the V5 as above, in comments are these really bad points, " NO there not ", it's a good motor with more extras then a VW and price wise cheaper and we the Tolly boyz and girl's love them, so stop scratching your head and go out and get one , do the checks , test drive it and u should be ok

That is very true. I am dead set on getting one now. I've looked high and low but nothing else can touch a v5 for the money in terms of pace, equipment and looks. Will probably be getting one over the next few months when my insurance is due for renewal. I can't wait