Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
VW Passat Troubles (B5 platform, nee Audi)
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
There sure seem to be a bunch of problems with these cars not found in others. The only VW I am interested in is the 4 motion Passat, but only if problem free.
I can not understand oil leaks, excess oil consumption, and interior/exterior wear problems in the first 20K of ownership. From what this board is telling me, VW needs to wake up and improve quality. The Passat is the best looking car in its class and has so much to offer, if only it didn't have the problems.
Leather discoloring on your steering wheel? What type of handcreme/aftershave do you have on your hands? Remember..it is leather, the same type that is used in clothing etc. The leather wheel on my Expedition is discoloring too, I figured out how to stop it..I clean my hands!
I have come out of 10 years and well over 300,000 miles in such benchmarks as 2 Camrys, a 626 and a Maxima and find the quality in our Passat V6 to be the same if not better than the above mentioned models.
This car is not a Mercedes E-Class. Cars have problems. Deal with them.
Only other problem I've experienced in 10 months of ownership is having the air bag warning light replaced about a month ago. Have 8500 miles and used zero oil between changes. I had it up to 100 mph briefly while driving I-8 west of Yuma on Tuesday. I love this car!
Good luck--Gregg
I ran over a small curb that was sticking out into the street. The
steering appears to be fine, but I find myself analyzing the steering
wheel position on every turn. The curb was maybe an inch high.
Should I be concerned. Is the steering on the passat very sensitive
and easily thrown out of alignment or is it tough and can take a few
bumps and bruises?
What kind of Synthetic oil do you use?
Erik (Chicago)
Yesterday, I filled the tank up with 92 octane gas. I drove the car about 35 miles after the fill up. This morning when I left for work, the "check engine light" stayed on. I checked the gas cap and closed it fighter. The antifreeze reservoir cap seemed a little loose so I tightened it.
I called a local WV place and they said it would cost $65 for a diagnostic. He said 95% of the time it is safe to drive. Most of the time it is a air hose or gas cap problem.
Any comments?????
That dealer was booked through Feb. 1st!!!!!
What the beck is going on with these cars?
My used dealer called another WV place and I can get it in on Monday morning.
Why are these on board diagnostic so sensitive?
Advice?
Thanks,
Jim
Erik
1) A rattle coming somewhere from the front passengers seat.
2) At 5500 miles, a whistle appeared in the front windshield while traveling over 70 mph.
3) A "vibration" when the car is idling at a stoplight or when in traffic. I have turned the AC/heater off, but it does not solve the problem. I do remember other VW's having the same problem, but this is fairly new in ours.
4) Rear windshield washer does not work. I am convinced that the line froze and is now spilling into the area behind the rear wheel where my amp is.
5) When playing a CD in the indash player, once the volume is turned all the way down, it won't go back up again. It also sometimes happens when the car is turned off. You have to remove the CD to reset it to start at song 1.
6) I did the routine maintenance at 4500 miles, and am considering using Mobil 1 from here on out. Any thoughts? I have had great success with the oil in my other cars and it is cheap at Costco.
7) The car burned about 1.5 quarts of oil in the first 4500 miles! This was alarming but the dealer said not to be worried about it. So far so good since the first oil change.
8) it is hard starting some mornings when it is cold out. IN FACT, we have to crank it a couple of times to get going. I'm putting this on my list too!
The car is scheduled to go back to the dealer next week. I will report back then what they say about the above.
My wife and I love this car. We have recommended it to family and friends. It's fast, fun to drive, has more room than our old Jeep Grand Cherokee and handles a heck of a lot better. Other than the whistle (which does drive me kind of crazy) we are still committed to it.
Any thoughts or ideas to the above would be greatly appreciated!
Picked up my '01 GLS V6 wagon in early December.
At 2000 miles, the automatic transmission would "drop out of gear" -- the car would stop, and depression of the gas pedal resulted in an increase in RPM, but the car wouldn't move. Took it to the dealer, who replaced the transmission controller cover which he said was misaligned during vehicle manufacture.
3 Days later, same problem. Back to the dealer, who replaced the transmission.
A week later, same problem. The vehicle is still at the dealer having another transmission installed. We have requested a replacement of the Vehicle under the Virginia Lemon Law.
We're fighting with VW of America since the new, freshened Passats won't be at dealerships for another month, and they say they can't find us a comparable car.
Anybody familiar with this particular problem with VWs/Audis?? Isn't the engine/drive train identical to the A-4 2.8?
If you don't mind me asking, what dealer are you using in VA?
Thanks
I then looked in the 2001 Buyers Guide. The '98 V6 was listed as one of the cars to avoid. Though they still recommend the Passat overall, their data doesn't seem to support giving the V6 such a low rating when considering the lowest mark received was average. The '99 V6 seems to be alright, as does the '98 1.8T.
Does anyone know of any differences between the '98 & '99 V6 - or anything else that could lend credibility to this rating? I've posted on the Vortex board and haven't had much luck.
We were both completely underwhelmed with VW's service. The first time the light came on, we were out of town for Thanksgiving and took it to NJ dealer. They diagnosed a loose and/or dirty gas cap (it was neither - the thing was spotless, and she always tightens it three clicks). They essentially did nothing more than reboot the computer, which made the light go out and also made her wallet $65.00 lighter. But on the way home to Virginia the next day, the light came back on again.
Furious, she contacted a local import repair shop with a good reputation. They told her that VW's computer diagnostics printouts for 1999 cars are still VW-proprietary, so only a VW dealer can decipher them; how's THAT for guaranteeing the customer will get his repairs done at your dealership?
So she took it to the local dealer. This time they decided she needed new injectors, that the OEM ones installed on Passats in 1999 were inadequate and had been superseded by a better model and at $150 per injector for six injectors, it would run her...
She yelled at them long enough and loud enough to get them to charge her for only two injectors, and after getting the car back (check engine light now extinguished) she decided to dump it before it got a chance to bite her again.
I haven't discussed a couple of other other electrical problems this car had, but the bottom line on this story is that she dumped a car we both liked a LOT because of lousy, expensive service and intransigent electrical problems. It had about 26-28k miles on it when she traded it in.
Is yours a pale green four door?
I told them to take it back in and look again, just so that I wouldn't have to have it towed back in a day or so. They did, and found no problem. All in all, my dealer was very helpful, and it cost me nothing.
Postmortem: In retrospect, I remembered that the last time the car had been started, I had moved it in the driveway on a very cold day. In the process, I had plowed through some deep frozen slush, which I bet got wedged into the starter housing, and froze up the solenoid. The day it was towed to the dealer, the weather warmed to above freezing, allowing it to thaw out. I have never seen the starter on this car, so I don't know if that is the true cause or not.
Lesson learned: Always use VW roadside assistance for the tow - then it does not cost anything!
1) Engine "drops"
This is my second winter with the car, and I noticed that at 3000 rpms, averaging around 60/70 mph (here's the kicker) in wet, wind blown, snowy conditions. The engine would just "drop" for a sec. It feels like the transmission misses a gear and recovers automatically. The feeling inside is a literal buck in the car. This ONLY happens under the weather conditions I described. The road has to be wet, and the snow has to be blowing -- I guess at 60 mph it would be blowing At any rate it's unnerving and can't figure out what the problem is. I was told that it might be the fuel filter. Thoughts?
2)Rear Passenger window -- I have an appointment with my dealer about this problem. The window keeps slipping off the track. So once it's rolled up, the track will roll down without the window. This is the 3rd time the dealer is going to attempt to fix this, so wondering if I'm going to have to continue playing this game, or I can demand a complete replacement.
3)Rattle noise. I too also noticed a rattling noise around 20K at highway speeds. Sounded like it was coming from the left rear seat. Drives me nutts, but can't but my finger on the exact location of it.
4) In the only ME category. I too accidentally broke off the remote mirror knob. Of course the engineers at VW probably never expected someone breaking this thing with their knee (I'm 6'6') , but I did.
I love the car -- and this site (My mother saved a bundle on her Volvo S60) Your thoughts, comments would be appreciated.
I'm assuming it's because I spent so much time in the car, but with my no eating rule, can't figure how the car developed that odor.
It's really strong when the system is just warming up.
Can the Traction Control engage without a visual confirmation?
thanks
-Gregg - Brooklyn, N.Y.
I had the problem with my 2000 Expedition due to it being inside all of the time. I park it outside occasionally and let the interior get warm-thus drying it out. It seems to help.
Of course, clean socks always help as well!
For wagon shoppers, it often boils down to the Legacy vs the Passat. The people I have talked to agree that the Passat is a driver's car - much more fun, if you love to drive. The Subaru is fun, but a bit more isolated fromt he road. Both good cars. AWD is a real attraction, but I have had no trouble in snow with my Passat.
Can't vouch for either dealer - sorry. I used Wellesley, and the service has been great. I'd go for the VW again any day. Good luck. :-)
I am incorrect in asking about experience others have had with VW dealerships and service departments. Lexington, Mass., should not have been on the list; the VW dealers nearest to me are in Bedford and Lunenburg, Mass., and Nashua, NH. I'd be happy to hear of anyone's experience regarding any of those dealers' attitude, honesty, customer loyalty, warranty decisions, reasonable prices, good judgement, promptness, parts availability, loaners, etc., etc.
"Hiwaysanity," I do understand your observation that mostly dissatisfied people use this kind of chat site, but it's interesting to look at the comparable Subaru site, where people are talking about challenging repairs but seldom complaining about Subaru warranty, service, and reliability. I guess I'm generally hearing a different tone from those owners in comparison to VW owners. Therefore, your endorsement gives me some comfort. Thanks!
Minuteman has a great web page complete with MSRP and invoice prices for every car on the lot, but according to their site the 2001 1/2 wagons won't be in until April. Don't know about Wager, but they also own the BMW/Merc dealership in Boylston, so they know German cars pretty well.
Has anyone else encountered this problem? She has 24,400 miles on the car (conveniently the warranty expired at 24,000). What could the problem be?
Thanks
Chris (proud owner of a Honda Civic...but I DO love the Passat)
2000 Passat GLS 4 cyl Tip Tronic
I since went on to a Mazda Tribute, 4 tries to fix the fuel smell. It's an okay vehicle except for the multiple times to fix the problem. I'm again in the market to trade, VW will not be on my list, expensive service, poor reliability over all. Friend has a 2000 Jetta, not that great, lots of problems. Get a Honda or Toyota, why keep running back to the dealer.
Several times when driving on the freeway at speeds of 60 MPH and higher, the speedometer gauge hesitated for a second, then swung quickly up before settling back to the correct speed. In each case, I was driving under normal conditions. I was not accelerating briskly nor was I going up any hills - it was just normal freeway cruising. Has anyone else experienced something similar?
Well, so far I've liked the car but ...
it's needed a new ignition coil (an expensive job covered by the dealer I purchased the car from)
new window sealer because air and water were leaking in (a job I paid for)
new ignition control module (covered under VW's prorated warranty). For this job, the transmission (automatic) suddenly downshifted and the cruise control failed.
I've had to do two front-end alignments and I get vibrations in the steering wheel when I brake, indicating to me that the rotors are wearing unevenly. There's still plenty of pad left.
Just yesterday, I smelled a burning plastic smell in the cockpit and found that the doorlocks, trunk release, and interior lights are all not working and I hear a scratching sound from the instrument display when I start the car up. When I start the car, the trip computer and trip meter inexplicably reset.
My question is are these typical problems for Passats. Just perusing some of the posts here, I think I've noticed that a lot of people have had quirky problems with these cars at fairly low mileage. Mine's only got 47K on it. I've owned Japanese and American in the past and am beginning to think I made a big mistake buying German. They have the styling and performance but definitely seem to be lacking in the relibability area.
Is this the case?
Justin
1) The backlighting for the climate controls is intermittent - if I tap the dash just above the fan speed knob, they turn on/off
2) The passenger side front speakers (mid and tweeter) no longer function. Blown channel?
Has anyone else had this problem?????
Help!