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There is a program available called VAG COM that allows anyone with a laptop and a special cable to hook into the car's computer port and monitor and program a good many features. I bet remote control programming is one of them. Although it's all water under the bridge for you now, if it happens again, try doing a search for "VAG COM locator" on Google, and see if you can find someone in your area who has that software. I located someone close to my house who was able to reset my throttle body and save me several hundred dollars in dealer charges.
Hope this doesn't happen to you again.
What do I do? Any suggestions?
Her car is a 2003 Passat Wagon V6 4Motion. If not for the recall we would have had to replace 8 modules and the carpet out of our pocket. Our son has asthma and it is critical for no mold in the car. I don't know if I can post it here or not. I copied it into a PDF file to give to Edmunds but they can't receive attachments and told me to post it here. I have not been able to find this recall anywhere on the net. It was sent to us by VW as we are the original owners.
VW Recall for Heat shield and water Damage.pdf
Let me know if the file doesn't come through.">
kcram - Pickups/Wagons Host
Problems started about a year ago.
Wet Driver's Floor after rain
Took to a VW dealership and they cleaned out the moonroof drains. As soon as it rained, the floors were wet again washing away that $175.
Took it back to VW dealership and told them the car still was leaking water somewhere and that everytime it rains the drivers side floors are wet, we aren't talking damp, we are talking several inches of water standing in my floor. Naturally I had to vacuum it out, which took several times because everytime I do so, a few minutes later, there will be yet another puddle, especially in the back, so it usually takes three or four attempts to get it all out. Well, they state that they can't tell what's going on with no water in there when they get it! Are you kidding me? So anyway, a third trip back and they say they still can't find the problem.
Well, over time I have been having electrical issues, such as cruise control, moon roof controls, trunk pull, key control, etc. all work sporadically, and the alarm goes off randomly and will not shut off. To the point that something was draining my battery down every night and I would have to be boosted off daily even with a new battery in place. All of the above issues are more pronounce after a heavy rain.
So I was blaming it all on a leak, however, also going on in almost the same amount of time, more like 9 or 10 months, I have been losing coolant from the reservoir. During the winter months I was replacing the coolant on a weekly basis but in the summer months I have been just replacing with water instead as the vw coolant is extremely expensive plus I assumed it would be ok during the moderate weather. I can't find where this fluid is going. But as of today I am having to add at least 1/2 gallon for every trip out of the house whether it is 1 mile or 10...pretty much every few miles I am adding water now. I had just put water in it today, and no sooner than I could get out of the driveway the STOP light comes on saying to add coolant! I give up! I filled it back up and did a little bit of driving, mostly just 30's and 40's, only stopped for a couple of seconds at a redlight, and soon there is steam coming out of the vents up by the windshield and from under the hood up around the firewall mostly on the driver's side. And even though I am only putting water in it, it kinda smells like coolant. When it starts getting warm like that you will hear a gurgling type sound from under the dash.
Any ideas? I took out the battery casing and cleaned out the drains there which weren't completely blocked by any means. Now I'm back to no power windows, locks, blah blah blah.
I'm thinking possibly heater core? But I was thinking most cars have water in the passenger side floor in that case. This is my first VW so I wasn't sure if things were 'backwards' or not...lol. I truly love my Passat! It runs absolutely great (motorwise) and I really don't want to get rid of it but this is starting to get to me and I just don't trust the VW dealerships anymore.
Is there anyone out there in Cyberworld who can help a girl out???
And thanks in advance!
PS. The Pollen Filter Recall issue was supposedly already fixed...by the same dealership that I refuse to trust!
thanks so much
We learned of a guy who specializes in repairing water leaks/issues in cars. He came to our house for a free inspection, and determined that because we have a sun roof, it was clogged up due to dust and small debris that can clog the four rubber hoses that normally should allow water to run through the sunroof and empty at the tire wells.
To test this, he simply opened the sunroof, poured a cup of water down each corner of the well in the sunroof (on the metal), and looked at the tire wells to see if the water was freely pouring through (with the front doors open). It wasn't - it was just a trickle coming out near the tires. At the driver's door there is a small black rubber hose that ends there, and if it gets clogged it won't work properly and water backs up into the floor of the car. He said he sees this ALL THE TIME with cars and it's a simple fix. For some reason the ends of these rubber tubes, where the water and silty debris is meant to run out, are tapered, instead of having a larger opening. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the ends of the hoses so the opening was larger than the small slit it originally had (poor design). Then he poured the water down that corner of the sunroof again, and the water poured freely through the hose, to the water well, bringing a bunch of black gunk with it. He then did it for the other 3 hoses - The rear ones are harder to get to - He had to take the trunk lining out.
HE CHARGED US ONLY $75 AND THE CAR HAS BEEN DRY EVER SINCE. Had I not found this guy, I'm sure we would have spent thousands at the VW dealer trying to determine the problem. This company is called Water Doctors, and I believe they are in several states. We are in North Carolina. I'll bet this is your issue! Good luck!!!
The alarm finally gave out but the windows, locks, gas release, mirrors, lights, and trunk buttons don't work anymore....
I guess I am going to have to get another car and take my losses on this piece of crap. I called VW but they didn't even want to talk about helping with these issues. I will definitely never buy another one. Everyone told me how great VW is and how they work with you on issues....NOT :lemon:
Answer each of these questions:
1) When exactly does this water collect? Obviously in the rain, but in the rain just sitting, or while the car is in motion?
2) Has the windshield ever been replaced?
3) Has the car ever been in an accident?
4) Does the car sit any any particular angle that makes this worse?
5) Does it have to be a heavy downpour to get the water pooling?
If it collects while standing still, then it's simply a matter of running a low volume water hose around these areas:
Around the door to check the door seals.
Around the sunroof to check the drain tubes.
Around the base of the windshield to see if the water is entering via the HVAC.
Around the rest of the windshield to check it for integrity.
There is the possibility that the A/C condensate drain is clogged. Does running the air conditioning have any impact on the water situation?
There is also the possibility that one of the sunroof drain tubes has become disconnected, allowing the water in the car, via the A pillar.
Here is my top-ten list of possible causes on Passat water ingress issue in the order of the most likely to the least likely IMHO:
1) Water leaks into underneath the A pillar and get into the rear footwell due to disconnected or clogged sunroof drain tube.
2) Bad window regulator/assembly carrier seals in rear door caused water seeping through the door seal.
3) Leakage through degraded or improper installed outer foam gasket of the pollen filter housing.
4) Leaves clog 2 drain holes under battery tray, makes the water backing up and leaking through the firewall.
5) Clogged door drain holes.
6) Leakage through the bad rubber seal for hood cable.
7) Leakage through the degraded ECU box gasket.
8) Bad roof antenna gasket.
9) Leaving your sunroof open in the rain.
10) Accidentally disconnecting the drain tubes for the sunroof in the A-pillar while following the Bentley recommended procedure for cleaning out the sunroof drains with a piece of throttle cable.
Does anyone have an idea of good online dealer where I can purchase these for a lower cost? I'm afraid that if I take my car to the VW dealership, they will charge me too much. I do understand that their regulator might be better quality, but at this point, it's an older car that I'm hoping to get rid of in about a year or two.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MAutomotive/Aftermarket/Products/Fe- atured_Products/Headlight/
I used this kit on my '03 Passat and it made a big difference. Not bad for under $20.
today my wipers/heaterblower and sunroof all stopped working I thought fuse but on examining them found them all to be sound but I replaiced them anyway and things still will not work. Is there 1 relay that works all this equipement and if so where is it and what number is the darn (not the word I want to use lol) thing.
many thanks in advance for any help.
Paul K.
After:
Solution: open hood, remove rubber molding and the entire plastic bulkhead cover exposing battery, a/c stems, wiper motors etc.
The rubber boot is on the driver's side near the windshield, just follow the hard black hood latch cable.
If the boot is split just shove it back in and silicone the ....... out of it.
Major issues:
Windows will all roll down by themselves.
Alarm no longer works.
Heater/AC quit working.
Interior lights quit working.
Windows, when not rolling down by them selves, will only work intermittently. I have to repeatedly push the window control and it will eventually move but only a short distance (not all the way up or down). Seems to be shorting almost.
Driver rear window will only roll down when the car gets a mind of its own and rolls all the windows down.
Driver side door lock control quit working.
Clicking noise from driver side and trunk constantly unlocking. I have stopped the clicking by pulling the fuse for the locks and this stops the trunk from popping by itself.
I did some research online causing me to pull the CCM. It is is great shape. Dry as a bone. No water looks to ever have leaked to floor boards. No corrosion. Wires look great.
I know about the possibility of, when new, one could roll all windows down with drivers door lock. Could that lock mechanism be causing many of these problems. That lock no longer works. The cylinder just spins freely? Could it all be broken and causing the whole electrical system to short out?
But if you DIY it, yeah, pull out the battery and you should find a rubber grommet installed in a hole in the sheet metal. Clear that area of debris/dirt/leaves to get the water to drain. Then remove the grommet. Same under the brake booster.
The CCM is the Comfort Control Module. It handles a lot of electrical stuff onboard - power windows, sunroof, maybe locks, I can't remember. The CCM is located in a recessed section of the floor under the driver's feet, under the carpet.
My rear light started acting up (well it should be called 'acting down' as they were not operational from time to time). It seems that my light switch broke and after replacing it everything is back to normal.
Krzys
My husband just bought a 2002 VW Passat W8 in May of this year and a month later was experiencing deep puddles of water in the back driver's side seat. We lived in Seattle at the time, so it rained often. Shortly thereafter, he began haviing electrical issues with the car, such as the trunk not opening, and the automatic door locks not working.
He bought an extended warranty from the dealership in Oregon where he bought it, and just brought it into a VW here in Minnesota for the 60K miles routine maintenance. He asked then to check out the electrical issue as well since it was already in the shop. The mechanics just told him that it would cost $4000 to repair the electricacl system since water had flooded and corroded the system. He said the the extended warranty would not cover this repair since it wasn't a common or acknowledged problem.
Could you send the pdf for the recall again or a link so that we have proof that this is a common enough problem that a recall has taken place? I would really appreciate your assistance and would be forever grateful. This car really was my husband's dream car, and now he calls it "Christine" (from Stephen King's movie) because it's been nothing but trouble since he purchased it. Thanks so much.
Tammy
Do you mean the light switch on the dash or the switch on the brake pedal, under the dash? Just curious. My brake light switch went bad once, but it kept the brake lights on all the time, even when the car was off. I had to pull the fuse to stop it from killing the battery before I could get it fixed.
It started a few months ago with lights not turning off after turning the switch and burnt plastic smell.
I ended up replacing (or rather paying mechanic to do this) the whole switch in the dash.
Krzys
Well this design is prone to clogging and when it clogs water gets into the car and expensive electronics is on the floor under the driver's and passenger's seats.
For more water fun there are drains under the battery, which when blocked allow water to enter the passenger side through cabin air filter opening.
I think you can try to call VW and ask them for recall notices to be sent to you.
Krzys
PS This is recall for plenum - battery/cabin filter
NHTSA recall link
Krzys
if i remember it right,try that!
HELP!!!