Volkswagen Passat Complaints (2001)

432 consumer complaints on file.

#10140817October 26, 2005
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
I HAVE A 2001 PASSAT WITH 66,XXX MILES ON IT AND THE TRANSMISSION WENT OUT. IT IS GOING TO COST 4000.00-5000.00 TO HAVE THIS FIX. I DO NOT THINK A CAR WITH THIS MANY MILES SHOULD HAVE A TRANSMISSION GO OUT AND TO TOP IT OFF WHEN I PURCHASED THIS CAR 6 MONTHS AGO WITH 51,060 FROM WALSHER IN BLOOMINGTON, MN THEY SAID I HAD A 10YR/100,000 MILE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY ON IT, WELL COME TO FIND OUT SINCE I AM A SECOND OWNER IT ONLY GOES TO 50,000 MILES WHICH MEANS *JBWHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR IT DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE WARRANTY.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10140719October 25, 2005
VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY
DT: THE CONTACT STATES THAT THE VEHICLE IS A 2001.5 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE WINDOWS FOGGING. THIS OCCURS WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS AROUND 50 DEGREES OR LESS. THE FOG WILL APPEAR ON THE WINDOW AFTER THE VEHICLE IS STARTED. SOMETIMES THE FOG WILL APPEAR AFTER THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING. IT WILL OCCUR WITHER OR NOT THE HEATER OR FAN TURNED ON. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE LESS SEVERE ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS HEATED . THE ONLY WAY THE FOG WILL GO AWAY IS IF THE AIR CONDITIONER IS TURNED ON HIGH. SHE HAS ALREADY TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP TWICE, EACH TIME THEY DID A PRESSURE CHECK TO THE HEATER CORE , BUT NO REPAIRS WERE MADE. SHE IS TAKING IT BACK AGAIN TO THE DEALER. THERE WAS A PREVIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE RADIATOR LEAKING. THE RADIATOR WAS REPLACED ON OCTOBER 4, 2005. THE FOG PROBLEM APPEARS TO HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE THE RADIATOR WAS REPLACED. *AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10137432October 20, 2005
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
DT: 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THE PLUG IN THE BULB FAILED. THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT WAS TO BUY A HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE AND THE PASSENGER'S SIDE. ALL CONNECTORS DON'T RESIST HEAT. CALLED DEALER, CONSUMER DID NOT WANT TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. *AK *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10139990October 17, 2005
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
THE FUEL GAUGE ON MY 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT HAS BEEN MALFUNCTIONING FOR THE PAST FIVE WEEKS. THE GAUGE DISPLAYS A "FULL" READING FOR THE FIRST 100-150 MILES OF DRIVING, AFTER FILLING THE GAS TANK. AFTER 100-150 MILES, THE GAUGE DISPLAYS 7/8 FULL, AND THE NEEDLE DOES NOT MOVE UNTIL APPROXIMATELY 300-380 MILES HAVE BEEN DRIVEN, AT WHICH POINT THE NEEDLE DISPLAYS 1/2 TANK OF FUEL REMAINS. THIS VEHICLE WILL GENERALLY YIELD 400 TO 430 MILES ON A FULL TANK OF FUEL. MY WIFE DRIVES THIS VEHICLE DAILY, AND HAS NEARLY RUN OUT OF FUEL TWICE ON THE INTERSTATE DUE TO A FALSE READING ON THE FUEL GAUGE. THE LOCAL VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP, AND VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA STATES THERE IS NO RECALL CAMPAIGN ON MY VEHICLE, AND REFUSES TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE COMPONENT AT THEIR EXPENSE. *NM
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10139048October 7, 2005
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ENGINE OIL SLUDGE- I HAVE BEEN READING ABOUT VOLKSWAGENS PROBLEM WITH 1.8 TURBO ENGINES CREATING A SLUDGE THAT RESULTS IN LOW TO NO OIL PRESSURE. I HAVE ONE OF THE CARS AFFECTED, A 2001 PASSAT. RECENTLY MY "STOP ENGINE" LIGHT CAME ON. I DID STOP AND CHANGED THE OIL AND FILTER IMMEDIATELY. I CALLED A VOLKSWAGEN DEALER AND HE SAID THAT YES MY CAR WAS COVERED FOR 8 YEARS FROM IN SERVICE DATE. HE DID SAY HOWEVER THAT TRYING TO GET EVERYONE TO "SIGN OFF" MIGHT POSE SOME DIFFICULTY WHEN THE PROBLEM ACTUALLY ARISES. MY FRIEND HAS A 2003 AUDI WITH THE SAME 1.8 T AND HE HAS HAD HIS CAR IN FOR THIS PROBLEM TWICE. I THINK THERE NEED TO SOMETHING FROM A GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO DOCUMENT THIS PROBLEM AND HOLD VOLKSWAGEN ACCOUNTABLE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE STILL ALLOWED TO MAKE THESE SAME ENGINES. *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10138082September 29, 2005
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITH A MESSAGE DISPLAY OF "EMISSIONS WORKSHOP!" AROUND 73K MI. THE CAR DEALER I BOUGHT IT FROM THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE THE O2 SENSORS, BUT IT TURNED OUT NOT BE TO. I TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL VW DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A "RECALL/SERVICE BULLETIN" PROBLEM OF SOME SORT SO THEY RESET MY ONBOARD COMPUTER. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN WITH THE SAME MESSAGE SHORTLY THERE AFTER. I TOOK IT IN TO THE VW DEALER AGAIN AND THEY REPLACED BOTH OF MY CATALYTIC CONVERTERS (WHICH WERE COVERED BY THE VW EMISSIONS WARRANTY). THIS SEEMED TO HAVE RESOLVED THE PROBLEM. (THE PROBLEM OCCURRED THE SAME DAY I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE SO IT WOULD BE A GOOD ASSUMPTION THAT THIS PROBLEM HAD OCCURRED BEFORE I ATTAINED THE VEHICLE). *NM
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10138154September 29, 2005
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT, POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT, STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
I OWN 2001 VW PASSAT WITH 43200 MILES. THIS PAST YEAR I NOTICED FAILURES OF OUTER CV JOINT BOOT BOTH SIDES AND RUBBER DUST BOOTS ON ALL BALL JOINTS WHICH CAUSES A DIRT AND WATER TO DESTROY BALL JOINTS. I CHANGED OUTER CV JOIN BOOT BOTH SIDES AND ONE UPPER CONTROL ARM BALL JOINT AND OTHERS WILL FAIL SOON. *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10137490September 24, 2005
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
MY VW PASSAT IS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE ALREADY REPLACE MY EXTERIOR HEADLIGHTS/TAILIGHTS REPLACED 9 TIMES. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND THE DEALER ALONG WITH THE VW CUSTOMER CARE SAYS THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT. BASICALLY, I HAVE TO KEEP PAYING TO GET NEW HEADLIGHTS THAT ONLY LAST ABOUT A YEAR. *NM
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10137022September 19, 2005
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
AT APPROX. 74,300 MI. OUR 2001 VW PASSAT GLS V6 AUTOMATIC HAD AN ABS FAILURE. WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW FROM A VW DEALER IN 2001 AND HAVE IT SERVICED BY VW DEALERS. OTHER VW OWNERS I HAVE SPOKEN TO (SOME WHILE IN THE SERVICE AREA OF THE DEALERSHIP!) HAVE ALSO HAD ABS FAILURE. THE ABS UNIT IS BACK-ORDERED AND WAIT LISTED BECAUSE SO MANY HAVE FAILED AND BEEN REQUESTED. I AM ON MY 4TH WEEK OF WAITING FOR THE PART, AFTER HAVING TO PAY FOR IT IN FULL UP FRONT. THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE PART: REBUILD KIT IS $650 WHILE THE UNIT ITSELF IS APPROX. $1,100. I BELIEVE THIS PART SUFFER CHRONIC FAILURE AMONG VW'S AND AUDI'S. I ALSO BELIEVE THE IGNITION COILS SHOULD BE RECALLED AS MINE ARE FAILING AND SO MANY OTHERS ARE FAILING.*JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10134298September 16, 2005
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY, SUSPENSION:FRONT
DT: ON AUGUST 25 ONWER WAS UPSET BECAUSE HE HAD TO REPLACE TIE RODS, AND HAD THE VEHICLE ALIGNED. HE SAID THE TIE RODS HAD TO BE REPLACED BECUASE THEY WERE FROZEN. THE REPAIR SHOP REPLACED THE TIE RODS.*AK *NM
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10133362August 18, 2005
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
LACK OF POWER WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR MAY HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT, PULLING OUT IN TRAFFIC. THIS WAS DUE TO WATER LEAK IN POLLEN FILTER BOX (CRACKED) WHICH AFFECTED THE SHIFT LOCK SOLENOID, AFFECTING THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE. *NM
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10132251August 10, 2005
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:FLASHER UNIT, EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HAZARD FLASHING WARNING LIGHTS:UNIT
FUNCTION OF TURN SIGNALS AND HAZARD LIGHTS ON MY 2001 PASSAT (40,000 MILES) HAS BEEN DEGRADING OVER TIME. BOTH SYSTEMS ARE NOW COMPLETELY INOPERABLE. VW (800-822-8987) CLAIMS THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM, ALTHOUGH THERE IS AN ACTIVE VW RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM ON 2000-2002 GOLF, GTI AND JETTA, AND THE NHTSA REPRESENTATIVE TO WHOM I SPOKE HAS TOLD ME THERE ARE MANY REPORTS OF THIS PROBLEM ON 2001 PASSATS (BUT NO CURRENT RECALL). OBVIOUSLY, WE WILL BE GETTING THIS FIXED ASAP. HOWEVER, I WOULD REQUEST THAT 1) A RECALL BE INITIATED AND 2) VW PROVIDE REIMBURSEMENT TO ALL OWNERS SUCH AS MYSELF WHO WILL HAVE PAID FOR THIS REPAIR OUT OF THEIR POCKETS. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM THAT IS CLEARLY WIDESPREAD ON 2000-2002 VW VEHICLES OF ALL MODELS. *NM
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10131788August 6, 2005
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM
THE FRONT CONTROL ARMS ON MY 2001 VW PASSAT NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE CAR ONLY HAS 54K MILES ON IT. *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10131611August 4, 2005
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
NHTSA 01V157000 SITES A PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL TANK GAUGE MY VEHICLE ABSOLUTELY HAS THIS DEFECTIVE PART. THE GAS GAUGE WILL RECORD 280 MILES THEN AFTER DRIVING A FEW HOURS IT WILL SAY 380 MILES LEFT FOR FUEL THEN IN A 30 MILE DISTANCE IT WILL PLUMMET DOWN TO 60 OR LESS. THE CAR IS A 2001 PASSAT AND NEITHER THE DEALERSHIP NOR VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA HAS THIS AS A RECALL AS OF 08/04/05 *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10130813August 1, 2005
SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM
CAR WAS MAKING NOISE AT SLOW SPEED AND WOULD SHAKE AT FASTER SPEEDS. I WAS TOLD I NEEDED 2 TIE RODS WHICH WERE REPLACED. THE PROBLEM CONTINUED AND I WAS THEN TOLD IT WAS THE CONTROL ARMS AND I NEEDED ALL 4 REPLACED. MY CAR IS NOT EVEN 4 YEARS OLD AND HAS ONLY 45,000. I UNDERSTAND FROM OTHER SITES THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM ON VW'S AND AUDI'S. *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10130630July 29, 2005
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC, SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
BRAKES PROBLEMS - LESS THAN A YEAR OLD, IF DRIVE 40 MPH AND UP, AND IF THE BRAKE PEDAL IS APPLIED, THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE FOR A BRIEF SECOND BEFORE IT DECELERATES (VERY SCARY AND DANGEROUS). FOUR YEARS OLD: ABS LIGHTS ON AND IF THE BRAKE PEDAL IS APPLIED, THE VEHICLE WOULD SHAKING. REPORTED TO VOLKSWAGEN, BUT NO CARES HAS TAKEN. SEAT BELTS PROBLEMS: TWO AND HALF YEARS OLD: FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT DOESN'T RECOIL. *NM
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10129291July 19, 2005
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW
DT: CALLER SAID THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING. WHILE DRIVING CALLER SAID BOTH CURTIN AIR BAGS DEPLOYED OVER THE DOORS. CALLER SAID HE DID NOT HAVE A CRASH OR HIT A BUMP. CALLER SAID AN ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON ,AND THERE WA SA BLINKING WARNING LIGHT. CALLER MADE APPOINTMENT TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT, BUT DID NOT MAKE IT BEFORE THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED. VEHICLE WAS AT DEALER, AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE. MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED YET.*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10126434June 24, 2005
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
A/C SLOWLY STOPPED BLOWING COLD AIR, FUMES OR SMOKE BEGAN COMING OUT OF THE VENTS. COOLANT LEAKED ALL OVER THE PASSENGER FLOORBOARD WHICH IS NOW RUINED. DEALER SAID THE HEATER CORE NEEDED REPLACED WHICH WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. TOTAL REPAIR COST WAS $1700, ALL THIS AND THE CAR ONLY HAS 35,000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE HEARD THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ACCORDING TO THE DEALER. EYES HAVE BEEN BURNING LATELY FROM THE SMOKE THAT WAS BEING BLOWN THROUGH THE VENTS. DEALER REPLACED HEATER CORE AND THERE IS STILL A BIT OF SMOKE BEING BLOWN OUT. VERY DISPLEASED.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10125526June 16, 2005
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM
DT: CONSUMER RAN OUT OF GAS ON A TWO LANE STREET GOING OVER A [XXX], THERE WAS NO PLACE TO PULL TO THE SIDE WHEN VEHICLE RAN OUT OF GAS. THERE WAS NO WARNING OF LOW GAS FROM THE VEHICLE. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT, NO WARNING TONE, OR WARNING OF ANY KIND. GAUGE DID NOT SHOW EMPTY OR SHOW THE CORRECT GAS LEVEL. THIS HAPPENED IN THE MORNING ON WEDNESDAY WITH TWO KIDS IN THE VEHICLE.*AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).* TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10125169June 13, 2005
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
RUNNING OUT OF FUEL WITHOUT WARNING WHILE THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATES THAT THERE IS SUFFICIENT FUEL IN THE TANK.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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