Altea less than reliable?

[Nappa]

Hi everyone, I am picking my Altea up on Saturday, (56 plate, 1.9 TDI Reference Sport, 38k, Black), I bought it because I thought VAG reliability in a more stylish shell and we wanted a cheap to run, relieable car.
However, I have been browsing these forums, and from what I have read, the Altea seems a bit of a problem fraught car lol!
I appreciate that people are likely to come on forums looking for answers to problems, however there are a few problems that seem quite costly to fix, my question is, are there are any more I need to know about? The list so far;
1) Windows winding themselves down when left
2) Windscreen turning white and needing replaced
3) A shimmy on tickover
4) Not really a problem, but something thats concerning me, quite low mpg?
5) Terrible quality original speakers

I am starting to think I have not made a wise buy.

Cheers

Chris

 

[andyj]

As you've said mate, people only ever tend to post about the 'bad' things about the motor !!!!

I've had mine for just over 1 year, and the only problem I've had (pre-collection) was the windscreen, which the dealer replaced under warranty before I collected the car!

I wouldn't say the speakers are 'that' bad to be honest. Yes they're rubbish compared to Alpine/Rainbow speakers etc, but they're alot better than alot of standard fit speakers I've experienced, like the Mrs' Suzuki Swift.... they're appauling !!!

I get an average mpg of about 44mpg on the dailu commute to work, 25mile round trip, 50/50 town/dual-carriageway. On a long run averaging 75-80, I see an average of about 49mpg. Which for a sporty diesel I think isn't too bad. Alot better than the 32mpg I was getting out of my old LCR !!

 

[Henning Bech Ma]

Hi everyone, I am picking my Altea up on Saturday, (56 plate, 1.9 TDI Reference Sport, 38k, Black), I bought it because I thought VAG reliability in a more stylish shell and we wanted a cheap to run, relieable car.
However, I have been browsing these forums, and from what I have read, the Altea seems a bit of a problem fraught car lol!
I appreciate that people are likely to come on forums looking for answers to problems, however there are a few problems that seem quite costly to fix, my question is, are there are any more I need to know about? The list so far;
1) Windows winding themselves down when left
2) Windscreen turning white and needing replaced
3) A shimmy on tickover
4) Not really a problem, but something thats concerning me, quite low mpg?
5) Terrible quality original speakers

I am starting to think I have not made a wise buy.

Cheers

Chris

generally I don't think the Altea has more problems than other cars.
Ref. 1): Heard of it.
Ref. 2): Never heard of that issue before.
Ref. 3): Don't understand? (I'm Danish ... What's tickover?)
Ref. 4): mpg is depending on your style of driving (applies to all cars)
Ref. 5): The speakers are OK, but the radio sound quality is terrible.
I have had my 2.0 tdi dsg for 4 years and 98.000km not without troubles, but not many

 

[Rusty FR]

Well, we are 5000 miles into our Altea FR 2.0 TFSi ownership. We love the car but it's currently sat at the local dealer with major problems! I've told them I don't want it back until they've fixed it properly...

The problems started when we got a service due reminder from the dealer. Now, Bournemouth SEAT at Castle-Lane have closed so it was their grotty little service center in Hankinson Rd Charminster which called. (No dis-respect to their staff!). We booked it in although it was not due for some time (As we later found out). Just before the service date came up the ESP light lit up on the dash, although there appeared to be no actual problem.

At the service center they informed me there was one or two recalls to be done and that the ABS/Traction control pump needed to be replaced!!! At least this would be done under warranty. I still thought £159.13 was outragous for a simple first service. They charged £2 just for screen wash which I know didn't need topping up!!!

Anyway, the car was booked into Meadens at Sway to have the warranty work carried out. They collected the car and dropped it back, which I thought was good service.

The following day we started our holiday. A drive up to London for a long weekend followed by a drive down to Cornwall. It was on the way down to Cornwall that the problems really started!

First the CD player stopped working and wouldn't eject the disc. (Now 72. Worked in every other player I've put it in!)
But worse, at one point I went to overtake a lorry on a short stretch of 3 lane road. I floored the throttle expecting the DSG to kick down and 'unleash' the full 200bhp but nothing happened! I mean it sort of hunted gears and the upshot of it was I just got by by the skin of my teeth. Not a good experience!

Later I went to pull away from the roundabout and instead of going from 1st to 2nd the DSG just hit neutral! Screaming engine and no go Once the revs dropped back to low it seemed to 'plop' back into gear and off we went again.

This started to happen regularly (With all the danger that went with it) Sometimes random lights on the dash lit up including all the gear number lights which flashed. Only by stopping the engine and restarting would all these reset, and allow me to drive on.

I took it into Bodmin Seat dealer. They did a diagnosis and said it was hardware related. (Got print out).

Now back home. Went out for meal and upon leaving the car park it did it missing gear trick again. Only this time it completely locked up!!! I put it in Park and shut the engine off. When I went to start it again, noty only would the key not turn in the ignition but I couldn't remove it! Nor could I move the Gear selector. As you can imagine, the time being 10.45pm I was not in a happy frame of mind by now.

I called the SEAT AA helpline. They said they'd send an agent out. In the meantime the Altea decided to start working again!!! Anyway, the agent, complete with flatbed truck finally arrived well gone midnight by which time my wife and I were well miserable and tired. Rather than go to the trouble of putting the car on the back of the truck, I decided to drive it home with the breakdown truck following us. We arrived home safely.

Now if you've patiently read all of this tale of woe... You may remember the car is currently at the dealer awaiting repair. The upshot of all this is that we have lost all confidence in the Altea and maybe SEAT in general. So even if it is fixed soon, I think it will be for sale. And SEAT may well have lost a customer...

PS. I went to post this on a new topic, but it wouldn't let me! Said I couldn't post URLS until I've done more than 15 posts.... Can anyone see a URL in my post above? Eh Moderators?

 

[Nappa]

Thanks for the replies, the windscreen issue HBM, is off a thread I read on here, which has an alarming number of replies. Will definately be checking that when I pick the car up on saturday.

Tickover is when the car is running with no load, at idle. I have heard a few people talk about having rough running problems at idle. I have read that running Millers diesel additive can help, so I will be doing this.

Speakers I can change without too many dramas, you just wouldn't expect to have to, I expected the car would be of such a quality, being as it's VAG, I thought most components would be of a good quality.

As for the MPG, it will certainly be better than the 30 I get in the current car, its just that I have had many many hire cars, that have returned high 40's, even when ragging them to death! You are certainly right though, I have grown out of that, so 49mpg average, is good enough for me!

Rusty, I am very sorry to hear about your woes with the DSG, I really do hope you manage to get it fixed, sounds like a new gearbox is required, did you buy it new?

 

[sootycat]

Altea - reliable

Mine is a 1.9 TDI Stylance, 08 plate. 1st one I had, reliable but dodgy heating system causing burns to hands. It was replaced. Replacement one - fine. Traded in in 08 as warranty ran out - combined mpg test shows 35 to the gallon. Seat say thats OK. I disagree but there we are. Not broken down yet so reliable - yes. Economic - suspect!

 

[NorthernMonkey2]

Chris, I think you will be fine fella.

I had a Passat 1.9 tdi that had some expensive bills looming for what was an old car [DMF/Clutch] so I chopped it in for a 1.9 tdi Stylance.

I do 50k a year on business so need a comfy reliable car, when I looked at Ford, Peugeot, Volvo, BMW, Merc and even Honda/Lexus forums, you will still see many owners experience nightmare scenarios with DMFs etc. They certainly aren't any better off than us Seat owners, probably less so because they spent 3 times as much on their cars .

I think what you have to remember is that the VW myth of lasting forever can lead to neglect, which is the biggest killer for any car. I've had Beetles, Golfs, Passats - they have all been good reliable cars in my tenure.
Thats not to say they never went wrong or needed money spending on them.

- Rusty, seriously, what a nightmare! Can you not reject the car or is it too late? ref the washer bottle, Merc did same to me once when I had filled it up day before - but they charged £12!

Low mpg is a tricky one, as it could be car or driver related. I can get 60mpg on a long run from Manchester to Bridlington if I try hard enough, and conversely I can get it down to late thirties if I hoof it all the way back past Leeds [anytime the M62 isn't blocked it seems rude not to!]
I was reading Auto Express the other day and they were raving about some 1.2 litre Punto or Fiesta or something as an economical choice. They got 38 to the gallon out of it. Now THAT is poor!

I average 47mpg, which is a little shy of my old Passat which was the 130 BHP engine, but I think this is more than acceptable for such a size and weight of vehicle.
Although it is seen as an ageing engine, I'm fond of the 1.9 as it is well proven and will go to very high mileages if looked after - 250k plus if you look at VW Audi forum.

Speakers I think are the covers - mine do it too in the back, I'm just going to pop the covers out and pack them with a few double sided foam stickies.

The windscreen issue I have heard about - mine is ok, it will be covered under warranty but after that worse case scenario is to get it replaced on insurance if it should somehow break...

Finally, the Altea came top out of all the MPVs in 2009 JD Power survey - so to beat all those Picassos, Zafiras, Scenics etc it must be doing something right.
I like it, it feels tight, is roomy, economical and at least it has some style. I feel like I've bought an Alfa without the risk! Enjoy.

 

[CrispDust]

OK mate welcome to forum.
Car is generally OK to good. EVERY car has its faults, end of of. But the more you pay for car I suspect the less you moan about faults because you may get looked after a little better by dealer.
SEAT is VAG but built to a cost. All the important bits are standard VAG - my DSG or 2.0TDI is the same as that fitted to an Audi A3. Its the other stuff that will not be as good quality - like speakers. You pays your money, you takes your choice. Personally I think our Alteas look a whole shite load better than the Golf Plus equivalent.
Windscreen problem is present on almost all cars. Its minor and I seriuosly don't think it is a problem but don't tell the dealers that!
Not sure about mpg on 1.9 but 2.0 is a very quick car. Yes you can get good mpg if you pootle around but floor it for that superb torque or motorway at over 80, forget it.
Rusty FR- don't take no cr@p from dealers. Sounds like a lemon. Refund or replacement time if its a new car. DSG on mine has behaved almost wiothout fault. Just very very occasionally it has too higher gear and labours.

 

[gaz258]

Hi everyone, I am picking my Altea up on Saturday, (56 plate, 1.9 TDI Reference Sport, 38k, Black), I bought it because I thought VAG reliability in a more stylish shell and we wanted a cheap to run, relieable car.
However, I have been browsing these forums, and from what I have read, the Altea seems a bit of a problem fraught car lol!
I appreciate that people are likely to come on forums looking for answers to problems, however there are a few problems that seem quite costly to fix, my question is, are there are any more I need to know about? The list so far;
1) Windows winding themselves down when left
2) Windscreen turning white and needing replaced
3) A shimmy on tickover
4) Not really a problem, but something thats concerning me, quite low mpg?
5) Terrible quality original speakers

I am starting to think I have not made a wise buy.

Cheers

Chris

hello mate!
i have a 07 model bought new. i have not encountered any of your mentioned problems and would recommend the altea. the only problems i have had is the heating system. there appears to be no in between from cold to hot? hard to explain but i feel the system has a fault as when i turn the control down from hot i get nothing but cold? the car has been to the dealer several times but they say there is nothing wrong when carrying out their checks! the only other problem i have had is when it snows! the snow gathers behind the covers of the wipers and stops them from going back to their position unless you clear the snow by hand which i now do when required. the 1st times this happened to me the 2 wipers came out of position resulting in me having to take it to the dealers. all they said was thank god it doesn't snow that often?

 

[Donitsi]

the snow gathers behind the covers of the wipers and stops them from going back to their position unless you clear the snow by hand which i now do when required. the 1st times this happened to me the 2 wipers came out of position resulting in me having to take it to the dealers. all they said was thank god it doesn't snow that often?

That is funny!

I live in Finland, it snows here in the winter. That is somekind of problem, I had issue with it last winter but it was snowing really heavily! Difference is that we have the winterpacket with heated mirrors, seats and wipers. But even so I wouldn't say that is a fault.

Low mpg a problem? That is a new one If it runs fine and doesn't consume sh*tloads of petrol why would that be a problem? Get an old Mustang.

 

[markirel]

Don't jump to the wrong conclusion about the number of posts relating to problems. Most people post on the forum when they have an issue they want advice/help on to share experience about. Rarely (unfortunately) do the many persons who have positive experience post of this fact. I'd say the Altea is as reliable as any VAG group car, and seems to do well in JD power survey's (above the Golf IIRC). I've had the milky window temporarily after heavy rain and when cold but it dries up and becomes normal again. Its just water getting between the glass and plastic laminate.

I've had 2 Altea's now and they're superb and I would recommend one to any one. There will always be the Friday cars which are to be avoided and those that have been neglected by previous owners but there are may good ones out there.

Economy is as good as you want it to be, depends on the right foot. Some hire cars I've had return better mpg but these are lowly powered and no-where near as fun to drive.

 

[Nappa]

Hi everyone and thanks very much for all the replies. I am more than a little bit relieved to have so many people jump to the cars' defence, and it certainly does seem that the bad cars' are the minority.
I picked ours up on Saturday, and I think it is brilliant. It looks well, goes well, is solidly built, and the mpg is higher than I was expecting. Certainly better than the car we part-ex'd for the Altea anyhow.
My windscreen is ok, it has been dry for a few days, so that probably explains that, will see how that goes.
I am more than pleased with it anyway, there is something about it, that I am becoming fond of, it just makes sense and everything works.
Cheers all,
Chris

 

[Rusty FR]

... There will always be the Friday cars which are to be avoided and those that have been neglected by previous owners but there are may good ones out there.

True... Perhaps you have some advice on how to 'avoid' a 'Friday' car

We should have been getting our FR back today but as it hasn't arrived yet (7.30pm!) I'm guessing either something went wrong again or they forgot!!! Despite telling me on the phone earlier they were doing so

Anyway, they say they have fixed it with a new ECU... Watch this space....

 

[iwcham1979]

Well Rusty, Im sorry to hear about the problems ur having, but you must be aware that yours is an isolated case. Seat Altea, Skoda Octavia, Golf 5 and Audi A3 are basically the same car - the same mechanics, the same electronics. A3 and Golf have better materials inside, softer plastics, better speakers if you say so (although I am fine with mine) , better image - hence the price difference. The Dsg, which is btw considered to be a work of art, in your car is completely identical to a Dsg in A3. The same for all the mechanical and electrical components... Saying that Altea is unreliable is saying that A3 and Golf and Octavia are unreliable...which is, obviously, you'll agree, not true...

 

[sahar]

iwcham,
I do not think Rusty is that far off with his opinion
You're saying golf, audi reliable ? well, just browse some of the golfV forums and you'll see some resemblance to altea forum - a lot of problems going on there as well...

Just to add to list of Altea problems:
- Turbocharger (just replaced at 57k) - noticed some intercooler pipe oil leak about 6 month ago. Seat dealer replaced the intercooler pipe (under warranty) then the car started taking more and more oil, turbo gone 3 weeks ago, £800 out of my pocket
- starter (hot start problems - starter reconditioned) but I am still experiencing kind of hard start both at cold and hot engine now (do not feel smooth and engine kind of shutters at starr but starts fine anyway)
- vibration on tickover (veryyy annoying),
- judder when pulling away - DMF, clutch on its way(I think) - another £800 probably to spend
- extensive tyre wear , fronts gone after about 18k (right foot very light to be honest) (perhaps not a real problem but anyway)
- door window noise (mirror seal replaced, several approaches by dealer to get it fixed - noise still there)
- windows down lock not working, when pressed all windows can be still opened

But apart from the above cool car

s.

 

[iwcham1979]

Hmmm, my father is currently @ 150000km with his 1.9Tdi atm without any problems wahtsoever, just oil change every 10000km and big service done at 100000km. I took this as a matter of course since 1.9Tdi is a synonym fo endurance... I dont take seriously when ppl complain about blown engines etc... Lots of people buy cars with forged service histories, cars with enormous milage, then complain about blown turbos and whatsnot when their cars have actually done four times the km the display shows...so... lots of problems any forum you browse....Golf has definitely not got the whole class bearing its name by being unreliable and blowing tutbos and windows at every corner...
In the "Golf class" Golf is on the reliable end..

 

[Rusty FR]

iwcham1979, I'm not saying 'all' Seat Alteas are unreliable just because mine has had a few problems. But surely you must also acknowledge that some may be unreliable because the proof is right here on this forum.

I help run a Japanese grey inported car forum which also has tales of woe from individual members who have had no end of trouble with their vehicles. It so happens mine has been completely trouble free. I do not tell these people they are "isolated" because 'mines ok'

One has to put this into perspective. Some cars, yes even VW based cars can be unreliable. Most however are probably trouble free for many years, thank goodness. Unfortunately mine ain't one of them

I also find it some what strange you have no sympathy for people who are shafted by sellers of dodgy motors who's engines blow up. Is it their fault if they cannot tell if a car has "4 times the mileage"... I don't mean this to start an arguement but come on have some sympathy fella

 

[Toxic]

I think the opinions here will always be biased over to problems with the Altea. How many people who own a Seat Altea would come on this forum to brag they had nothing wrong with it

I dont think however many people would have trouble free cars. there is always something wrong...

mine are:

1. Worry of DMF failing (remapped)
2. Water ingress on lower part of Windscreen.
3. Oily Intercooler, bad design top of Breather pipe (getting fix for this soon!)

Apart from these niggles, then TDI Sport is a great car. I just love it!

got some custom work going on soon however to get it the way I want.....

 

[iwcham1979]

@ Rusty - regarding the ppl that cannot tell if a car has "4 times the mileage"...yep, I have sympathy for them... But on the other hand, It is sooo easy to check whether the car is worth buying, it's soo easy to check whether the mileage and service history are authentic and quit if things seem suspiciousthat that.... at some moments.. I don't have it.... It's just as CrispDust said: "EVERY car has its faults, end of of" There is not a car brand in this world that has the troubleshooting forum section empty! It seems that I am among few VERY satisfied Seat (Altea) owners! I actually bought an Altea muself a couple of months ago because my father has done 150k without ANY problems whatsoever!!! If I were in ur shoes i'd still be 99% sure that once my car was properly fixed.. i'd have no problems with it.. As Vulcans say..'Logic dictates..."

 

[Rusty FR]

Quite so...

Well on the positive side. We have our FR back now and we just did the shopping trip (Going the loooooong way and so far so good... Gotta love that 200 horsepower after a few days of company van only driving


PS. Oh yes the company van's a VW