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Volkswagen Passat Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    Not to split hairs, but you wrote:

    As far as the owners manual is concerned - timing belt replacement every 90,000 miles is pretty reasonable (given that the timing belt itself is very robust) - with one caveat. If you replaced the original OEM plastic water pump with a new OEM plastic water pump, I wouldn't go beyond 65,000 mile intervals, given the water pump's uncanny ability to disintegrate at that time.

    I took that to mean that you thought the owner's manual recommended a tb change at 90K. It doesn't.

    I still agree with your recommendation for changes/ :D
  • arhoparhop Member Posts: 1
    I am wondering if there is any way to open the hood of the car without the "tab". Mine broke off about two weeks ago and I have not been able to get it into the dealer to repair it and would like to check oil...I can not find my owner's manual (the one book I need is not in the binder!) so just wondering if anyone know of an alternate way to open the hood.

    Thanks!
  • mikel6halfmikel6half Member Posts: 4
    I have a 99 passat and i had just put $950 dollars into the dang thing for the ignition control module, valve cover gasket, and a variety of other things. Needless to say i'm tired of putting money into this car. Plus the nearest volkswagen service center is 250 miles away. So anyways when the switch for the air conditioner is turned to positions one through three the blower does not kick on the "AC light" is illuminated and the radiator fan kicks on. Also when the switch is on one through three the condenser is cooling the air but just not being blown. When you turn the switch one step further (to position 4) the blower kicks on, the AC light turns off and the air gets progressively warmer as the condenser warms up (turns off). Is this just the switch going bad? A Relay? please help me with this. Thanks
  • mikel6halfmikel6half Member Posts: 4
    Excuse me. Do you know if the "resistor block" fixed the problem for that guy? i have the same problem. Can you let me know please? Thank you much.
  • kelvin4kelvin4 Member Posts: 1
    Hi All
    I have an m reg vw passatt 1900 tdi 172000 miles on the clock.
    I recently took it to the garage as the actuator arm on the turbo was stuck. the garage released it but i have still got a problem when going to overtake a car i lose power in fact at one time when doing 80 mph it has dropped off to about 60mph Has anyone any ideas what the problem could be is say the turbo on the way out or what. When i try to accerlerate at times its as though it is holding back slightly though on level ground seems fine.

    Any help with this would be very much appreciated Thank You.
  • cheif810bcheif810b Member Posts: 3
    i just bought a 97 passat and i love it, the passanger side blinkers work but the marker light in the bumper and on the side of the headlight as well as the tail light on the same side all do not work any ideas?
  • cheif810bcheif810b Member Posts: 3
    I would like to put an aftermarket cd player with sat radio hook up in my 97 passat glx with the premium sound system, tape deck with changer. Any thing I need to know or worry about with this swap out? I am gonna use a wire harness and stuff so nothing gets cut but I hear it might mess with the computer?
  • topassattopassat Member Posts: 2
    I have a '99 passat and I have a aftermarket radio, the problem is some of the older model radios can mess up the computer when ever you go to a shop to get your car fixed. But if you can get a new model radio and if you take to the shop and they want to check your computer they just have to turn off the radio and it will be fine so you can use a aftermarket radio. Just make sure its a good name brand radio.
  • topassattopassat Member Posts: 2
    The best type of polish what made my headlights look brand new was novus polish the polish is amazed before i put it on it was yellow and hazy now it's so shine and nice the website is novuspolish.com
  • cheif810bcheif810b Member Posts: 3
    thanks it is a kenwood cd player with sat. radio hook up. It is about 4 years old but works well, I have it all hooked up and everything seems to work so I think I am ok, thanks for info.
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    08 Passat Turbo 2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A

    I have seen people reported great MPG on 08 passat at around 30 MPG. But this never happened to me. I don't know how these people got the number.

    For me if I checked on the instrument display by flipping the Trip tip it showed I had around 22 MPG and 27 MPG. However, I don't believe that. I did my own calculation: after each fill-up I reset the trip to 0. On next fill-up I divided the trip mileage by the # of gallon of the 2nd fill-up and I had barely above 19 MPG (1/4 were on highway) on the last calculation. I had got 26 MPG once with much of highway driving and usually I got about 22 MPG on mixed driving. So far I had driven 1600 miles. Hope the MPG will improve as I drive more.
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    08 Passat Turbo 2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A

    I wanted to check the air filter but it seems it is not accessible easily. Intuitively it should be visible and connected to the motor but I haven't located it. I did not touch anything and closed the hood. I did not find any instruction on replacing air filter in the manual. On other cars this should be the easiest DYI thing and even grandma can do it. So what's the trick here?
  • cragg3rcragg3r Member Posts: 16
    follow the black hose from the radiator to a box,
    and that is where it awaits your mercy,
    to shake it down of its dusty core
    or give the job to its new cousin!
  • richard_gommrichard_gomm Member Posts: 1
    Hi all,

    Need a bit of advice from anyone in the know please.

    Have a strange problem with a VW Passat I just brought. Its got 83k on the clock, 1.9 tdi 130 on a 2002 plate.

    I started up one morning and drove off. All seemed fine until I tried to overtake a car and found I had no acceleration left - the car had no pull, it felt like a 1000cc mini or something.

    I did all the usual things, turning the engine off, waiting, restarting, etc. Nothing made any difference. It stayed that way until I spoke with a friend who said to take the petrol cap off and start the engine, so I did that and funnily enough it worked and all power came back to the engine.

    About 400 miles later the same thing happened - I 'fixed' it in the same way.

    I think the idea was that no air was getting into the tank and a vacum was building. By opening the tank it was released.

    I took the car into a VW garage and they ran the tests. Apparently one of the cylinders is misfiring and thats their reasoning for the loss of power. But I don't see why it would be resolved by opening hte fuel cap, and wouldn't it show power loss all the time with a mis fire??

    I only question this as they told me the car may need a new turbo system, or injectors. They want to run a compression test at 2 hours labor and then depending on the results rebuild the head gasket (??) or replace the turbo system (ata cost of 1500!)

    any thoughts anyone - I've seen a lot of talk about the mass air flow on these cars but have no idea if that might be relevant in this case...

    thanks in advance

    Richard
  • katerrinakaterrina Member Posts: 1
    About a week ago my EPC light came on, then a day later, while I was stopped at a red light my car shut off completely. It restarted but the EPC light stayed on. I contined driving it to work for about for days. ASll the while my car would stop at a red light or stop sign (while idle). Today I noticed another light on in conjuntion with the EPC light. The light is the MIL light. Im so confused I took it to my mechanic, but all testing proved nothing was wrong. Does any one have an idea what the problem is?
  • new2vw_lifenew2vw_life Member Posts: 1
    Hi Everyone,

    I just bought a 2000 VW Passat GLX and it just hit 100,000 miles. I am the 2nd owner and when i bought it from the dealer, they said this car is in the best condition that they have ever seen. Yeah sounds like BS, but I took their word for it since I went through a close friend that personally knows the owner of the dealership. They also extended their warranty since they felt so confident about this Passat. I'm not sure what type of maintenance has been done in the past since I just bought it at 93k.

    It talked to a VW dealership and they said I am going to need the 20k maintenance done. They also said I should start taking "special care of the car" and recommended a coolant flush and new timing belt.

    If anyone can offer advice on what type of service/maintenance should be done, it would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks a million,
    Steve
  • tgiftgif Member Posts: 1
    Hi, I own a 2002 Passat GLX and it is experiencing the same problems you are having, I purchased a replacement engine computer which should fix the problem
    as soon as I figure out how to re-set the darn thing!
    Let me know if you have resolved your issue, my mechanic would love to know!
  • sweeper3sweeper3 Member Posts: 1
    The a/c in my Passat died on the hottest day of the year last year. For some reason, I thought the warranty had expired so I didn't take it to the dealer.

    This past week I took it to my local repairman - a great person - and after checking it all out he told me he believes the issue is with the computer as the a/c worked fine when he "jump started" it. He hopes there is a software fix and that they won't tell me I need an entirely new computer.

    I now have to take it back to the dealer if I want a/c this summer - unfortunately, I don't have a great deal of faith in the dealer and if I'm paying $110/hr. for labor I want them to get it right the first time and I don't want to be, pardon the pun, taken for a ride.

    So, my question is: does anyone know if there is a software fix to get the a/c running again or am I looking at a new computer? If so, any idea as to how much that might cost.

    TIA
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    Anybody has done the calculation as I did? Seeing other people posting they got more than 30 MPG on mixed driving drove me nuts.
  • btweedybtweedy Member Posts: 2
    I have a 03 Passat, GLX. The LCD display located behind the stering wheel starts fading as the car is driven. When the car is first started the display works perfectly, but after the car is driven, the display starts to fade. Any suggestions?
  • stingray7868stingray7868 Member Posts: 5
    I have a similar problem with my 02 passat. At nighttime I could see clearly all of the information on the lcd display, but in the daytime I can only see the bottom half information, the top is barely visible. wonder what the problem could be.
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    I did it again, opened all the way near radiator to the engin chunk and did not see air filter (2008 Passat 2.0T) at all. It's clearly from the openening for air intake till the part connected to the engin and it is empty all the way. I did not open the large cap over the engin afraid of messing up things I am not familiar. As I posted in the original post on air filter, this should be the most easily accessible part and even grandma can do it. While I was doing this another guy with car enthusiasm also checked under the hood carefully. Both of us could not figure out where is the air filter. We concluded it's either under the large cover over the engin or it's missing. A car should have an air filter any way.

    I called VW and was told I better go to the dealer to find it out.

    The metal clip over the air intake tube is a stupid thing. Unless you have proper tool it's very hard to put it back if you moved it from the car. So if in any case you need to remove the soft plastic tube just push that clip over the metal inner tube for easy reinstallation.

    I believe there must be some people who checked their air filter on the 2.0T model given the gas price skyrockets. Where is the air filter? I can't find a replacement air filter anywhere, in local auto stores or online.
  • ekg426ekg426 Member Posts: 3
    I definitely have the LCD fade on my '03 Passat, as well. Been there since I bought the car. What's odd about my fade is that it only occurs during the summer months - i.e. when it is really hot outside. Starts at about 80 degrees and is worse the hotter it is outside. The fade does not lessen or increase with driving - it stays very consistent, which anywhere from 80 degrees to 112 (highest I've recorded on the car), is pretty faded out. Any ideas? Again, this is not a new issue, came compliments with the car.
  • cragg3rcragg3r Member Posts: 16
    2008 Passat 2.0T engine compartment image

    Im guessing that is the same model as your car. I see the black hose disappearing into the engine and I understand what you are saying. I wouldn't want to pry in there either, even though you probably couldn't mess anything up. Although the black box to the right looks similar to what mine looks like, but I'm pretty sure that is probably the fuse box or something.

    Anyway, why are you looking to change your air filter if you have a 2008 passat. Its barely a year old. I don't think you need to worry about a clogged air filter bogging you down in such a new car.
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    Yes, thanks. that image is exactly the one for my 2008 passat 2.0T. There are three parts on the right side of the engine on the image: fuse box, battery, and the hose/tube for air intake from the far right side. So I opened the whole hose/tube for air intake part and did not see air filter and the whole part is empty. First I just wanted to take a look how the air filter look alike and I wanted to order one permanent filter with another car. After I could not find it I became more curious about it and wanted find out. Now if the air filter is indeed under the big piece of the cover over the engine I would say that's a stupid design. If not then is it missing on my car or where is it? I would report here after I visit dealership.
  • spudly1spudly1 Member Posts: 1
    April my Monsoon Premium 6 radio died. I ejected a CD and it never turned on again. I tried all the tricks I could find regarding fuses.

    The car sat for 11 days and upon return from vacation, the battery was dead (it was 5 years old). I replaced it.

    I then started thinking these things were related. I brought it to VW and they assured me there was no drain from the dead radio. I bought a new radio - same thing and you can only get refurbished. I plugged it in the parking lot, entered the code, and music again. I then wen to my next stop and when I locked the car with the remote, no beep was heard. The lights flashed and the little red light on the driver door need the lock flashes.

    I came home and tried my other key pod. It doesn't work with that one either. The panic works fine.

    With our Pathfinder you can program the remote to beep or not beep. I couldn't find anything about this in the manual. Is there such a thing? Did I hit some combo of buttons that did this? Or is something hosed?
  • btweedybtweedy Member Posts: 2
    I called the local dealer to discuss my problem with the lcd screen. They informed me that the only way to fix the problem is to replace the instrument panal. Apparently the lcd is not lighted by an individual bulb. This would be very costly, so I guess we will have to live with fading problem in the summer months.
  • linznblinznb Member Posts: 3
    My passat decided that when i turn on any part of the air conditioning/heating system that it is not going to do anything at all. I've checked the fuse inside the car and it is fine. Not sure what else to do and hoping someone can give me an idea ... My baby is hot! Thanks! :confuse:
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    My baby is hot, too. It's 08 automatic turbo. I have to run the 3rd or 4th gear of the fan for 10-20 minutes to get it cool and have to run at 3 to keep it cool. It's barely better than my 14 year old trade-in. My 3 year old only need to run at the 1st gear fan to coll down and keep cool. This Passat AC is like 10 year old. Will have the dealer check it.
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    Confirmed. I went to dealer and asked about the air filter (for 2008 2.0T Passat) and was told it is under the large piece of cap (with FSI sighn) covering the engine. He told me not to open it myself and the air filter only needs replacement every 40-48 thousand miles. I did not question that but I am still suspicious because I never heard of anything like that regarding air filter. So please follow this up if you hear similar confirmation or contradicting or alternative explanation.
  • piraterunnerpiraterunner Member Posts: 1
    I bought a 2003 Passat GLS Wagon used recently(2 days ago)
    a woke up this morning to go outside and detail it and vaccum it and noticed a significant amount of water in the floorboard passenger side back seat --- not sure where it came from
    there is some sort of ac/heat vent on floor under passenger front seat could this be the cause???? any help would be greatly appreciated :)
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    Notorious issue. The usual suspects are:

    1) Most likely - Clogged drains in the plenum area under the hood (where the battery and brake booster are) allows water to enter through the fresh air system.

    2) Possible - Clogged sunroof drain.

    3) Door seal is leaking or possibly a leak around the windshield.

    Check this website for help: http://www.weirdlittlebiscuit.com/passat/leak/
    Bear in mind that is a UK website, so the steering wheel is on the right side.
  • mkl001mkl001 Member Posts: 4
    my 07 passat wagon 2.0T, the fan sometimes need to drive 10-20 minutes to kick in and then the AC begins to work. The car has been to the dealers for repair 2 times to change the relay about 2 month ago, and today, the problem occurs.

    Does anyone have the same problem, and how to fix it?
  • greatcarsgreatcars Member Posts: 66
    I believe the Passat 2.0T (mine is 08) has problem on its AC or at least that's a weak park of the vehicle. Mine was hot and I had it checked by the dealer. They found the O ring was pinched and refrigerants was leaking. They replaced O ring and refilled the refrigerant. It's better now but still not as cool as my other 3 year old car and the Beatle they loaned to me on the service. I will get a thermometer and take exact temprature number to the dealer on the next service.
  • mikel6halfmikel6half Member Posts: 4
    ok the heat wave is on and my ac in the 1999 passat doesn't run. The cooler is running but the blower isn't blowing hot or cold. The blower fan blows when the switch is on 4 but not 1-3. And when it's on 4 the cooler doesn't make the air cold. Does this sound like the blower resistor to anyone? or is it something else?
  • kilaueokilaueo Member Posts: 1
    I bought my 99 1.8t at a non-VW dealer and had him change the timing belt (70k miles) on it. After reading alot about the tensioners and water pumps giving out I am wondering whether the dealer exchanged these as well or cut corners :confuse: How can I tell whether they are the upgraded or still the old parts?
  • luchianobossluchianoboss Member Posts: 1
    I own a 95 Passat Wolfsburg GLS with a 2.0.

    I am having problems with my windows, warning lamps, a speaker and the cruise control.

    The previous owner hurriedly installed a new head unit(SupertunerIIID) and speakers but I have a bad feeling they piggie backed power or used power they weren't supposed to.

    I can open 3 out of the 4 windows(can't open LR passenger window)with my key but not with any of the switches while only being able to open the drivers side with the switch.

    I can occasionally open the passenger side with the switch but it's moody as well as the cruise control. I checked for vacuum leaks but could not find any.

    I also do not have power to the master window switch in the center dash, I even replaced the switch to no avail.

    I took it to my mechanic and found a high/low voltage error/spike so I assumed that was the problem; but that is not the case unless there is a short somewhere

    When the car was bought I noticed the warning lamp for the ABS/EBRAKE/AIRBAG was defective and when I opened it up(I work with electronics for a living) the circuit board had blown traces and blown LED'S. I repaired it but still no power.

    If anyone could help me I would greatly appreciate it!

    THANKS!!!!
  • kotalkotal Member Posts: 2
    We are considering buying a 1999 Passat for my teenage son...would you all reccommend one? I'm worried that upkeep may be too expensive on this car. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • kotalkotal Member Posts: 2
    PLEASE SOMEBODY RESPOND..........Would you reccommend a 99 Passat for my teenage son? I have been reading the forum and am afraid that repairs would be way too much for him to handle. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Do keep in mind that you are in a Maintenance and Repair discussion, so naturally the focus is on that subject. There are other discussions in the Passat group you can check out as well.

    Good luck.
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    Depends on what you consider "expensive" and what your own mechanical abilities are, but frankly, no, I wouldn't recommend it.
  • linznblinznb Member Posts: 3
    I recently posted about the air conditioning and heating system not working. Couldn't wait any longer... It was a switch in the control panel. The funny thing is that the lights had gone out on the panel months ago and now that the switch has been replaced they work too. Oh well... Thank GOD for AC!
  • ekg426ekg426 Member Posts: 3
    Go for a.) something more reliable and b.) less costly to repair. Passats are fun, but they are neither inexpensive nor easy to fix. Any 9 year old car is a gamble, but the records of repair issues you see here - on newer models - gives you a good read on the road ahead.
  • timdemiotimdemio Member Posts: 8
    I have been researching the net about changing antifreeze in my 2000 Passat. Informations are somewhat conflicting, some say that one must use G12 from dealers, others say one can use Dex-Cool (no silicate) by either Prestone, Valvoline or Zerex. I have been topping up with Valvoline Dex-Cool and am about to flush and replace the antifreeze. What is the concensus? Gel issue was caused by incompatibility between different kinds of antifreeze, so one should never mix green/yellow with red/orange/purple. Besides that, is there any reason why one cannot use Dex-Cool for VW cars? Any chemist out there, would you mind render your opinion? Thanks.
  • cragg3rcragg3r Member Posts: 16
    get dealer stuff, why take the risk or go to the hassle of finding another kind of antifreeze?
  • cragg3rcragg3r Member Posts: 16
    Just like I told my friend... don't buy a passat for anybody who doesn't know how to work with cars... especially an old one! They are high upkeep and very expensive to fix. I would go with a smaller car. If you buy that 99 passat, you will start with the front suspension and struts - $1500, timing belt, water pump change - $1200, then finally the transmission - + $2000 ^ infinity
  • urbannomadurbannomad Member Posts: 14
    on saturday I got the oil indicator up and stop the car message. I went to the dealer and have the oil changed. Right after that 10 miles later, malfunction light came on(check engine) and car started shaking, (also when a/c was one it was shaking more) The dealer suggests me to tow the car. I checked out the internet and people talk about an oilslug problem. I almost paid close to 3k for extended warranty for this car. I really had it with this car as I spent so much time at the dealership service. I am paying a loan for this car to VW credit. Can I also just give the car back to VW credit and get rid of it ?
    I knew this would happen but my wife would like to keep it, she did not settle for a nice Camry.
    VW should be penalized for producing crappy cars.
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    I'm having a difficult time conjuring up a whole lot of sympathy for you based upon your post. Why?

    1) While you took the time to research engine problems with 2003 Passats, you didn't apparently read what it was you looked up. If you had you would have learned that the sludge problems were limited to the 1.8T four-cylinder turbocharged engine and not the Audi V6 that's in your car.

    2) As a general rule, cars that were maintained with the proper oil services (i.e. every 5,000 miles WITH a synthetic oil that was certified to meet the VW 502.00 oil spec or better) had no sludging problems (especially so the V6 cars; in those you really needed to try to get them to create sludge).

    3) You don't even know what's wrong with your car yet.

    4) If anything, Toyota had even more sludge related engine failures than VW did, so your comment that said, "I knew this would happen but my wife would like to keep it, she did not settle for a nice Camry", makes me wonder if you deliberately didn't maintain your car properly just to show her you were right.

    So, assuming that your engine is sludged, the questions you are now going to be faced with are as follows:

    - Can you prove that you had your oil changed every 5,000 miles?
    - Can you prove that only VW 502.00 (or better) oil was used every time the oil was changed (i.e. 502.00 oil from the dealership, Castrol Syntec 5W-40, Castrol Syntec 0W-30, or Mobil 1 0W-40)?

    If you can prove those things, then all you need to do is to show your dealership the receipts and they'll happily put a new engine in for you (assuming that its still under warranty of course).

    Best Regards,
    Shipo
  • urbannomadurbannomad Member Posts: 14
    Shipo,
    I had so many problems with this car that I needed to spend countless hours at the service for the last 4 years. Instead of the weekend quality family time, I wasted those hours at the VW service. I am also very careful w/ the maintenance.
    I think I really had it this time. To prevent further financial pain, I got the extended warranty early this year. Oil changes are done usually at the dealership but 5K mile before was done at the car wash facility next to our house.
    From what I read the symptoms look like slug problem to me.
    Unfortunately VW as a company very hostile to its customers and their overall attitude towards customers really annoys me.
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    I guess I need to say it differently; there is no "sludge" problem with the V6 engines. That problem is isolated to the 1.8T four cylinder engine, an engine that is not in your car.

    Best Regards,
    Shipo
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