Volkswagen Passat Maintenance and Repair

cllaw

There are 2 things I notice during my first month ownership of my 06 Passat:
1: There are some vibration when you hit on the brake during a downhill road and you are over 40 m/hr

2: The car seem hestisate to start up when you leave it over night.

I bring it to serivce for check up and the said the vibration on the brake is an indication that the ABS is working and the hestisation to start is just VW takes longer to start up.... I hope that is the end of it because I hate bring my car to shop every other 2 months

angrydriver

How about,road feed back,do feel smaller undulations in the pavement,amplified inside,do u feel the suspension of this car is harder as compared to a toyota camry,how about the gaps in between the concrete pavments,do u feel any diffrence between american cars and this one?,the service manager admits that this car will have more vibrations because it has a harder suspesion and broader tyres,aslo the steering wheel on the 06 2.OT model vibrates when the car is turned and it is stationary,it vibrates while moving,also in between 55 mph 75 mph,this is not Normal.I would request you,to test this car more meticulously,so that we can have a better test.
thanks

altair4

I'd say that most VW's have a tauter ride than most Toyotas. If I'm reading you correctly, you don't really care for the way German cars ride. Without going back and reading your prior posts, did you test drive any other Passats? Did you test drive the one you bought? And, finally, have you ever owned a VW or other European car prior to this one? If "yes," how does this one ride compare to your past Euro car?

fish8

Vibrations are not normal in such a new car. Boy, do you love commas!!!

abuie

I really need some advice. A little background first. I purchased my 2002 Passat new and at the time of purchase I was assured this car would be good for at least 175,000 miles. I travel a great deal in my job and I wanted a car that would stand up to a lot of road miles I have had the car serviced religiously by the dealer. My saga begins on Wednesday, 11/9/2005. My Passat began rolling black smoke from the tail pipe. The dealer informed me the turbo was shot and I would need to give them $1,900 to order the part. The total repair bill would be $2,400. I coughed up the money and left the Passat. I had been told on the previous service that the brakes were wearing and needed service so I told them to go ahead and service the brakes while the car was in the shop. I was informed that the car would be ready late Thursday or early Friday. On Thursday afternoon I get a call that the brakes are worse then they thought and they will need rotors (??) another $500. I said okay and they said the car would be ready by lunch on Friday, today. At 11:00 I get a call that the car is now blowing white smoke and is burning coolant. The only way they can tell what is happening is to remove the head gasket for which they want $200 to determine what is wrong. At 5:00 I get a call that informs me they have not removed the head gasket, but feel certain there are major problems in the top of the engine and their estimate is that the total repairs will be at least $6,000. I feel like I am getting screwed royal. But don't know what to do. They have set up an appointment for me to speak with the Sales Manager tomorrow for him to tell me what he will do on a trade in. I still owe $7,000 on the car and know they probably won't even offer me that for it. Any suggestions?

Mr_Shiftright

Well the turbo diagnosis was way off base from the beginning, so that just confused things.

If you have engine damage, they should be able to show you quantifiable evidence (actual numbers) to back up this diagnosis, either from a compression test or better yet a cylinder leakdown test.

There is no need to "guess" about a bad head gasket or low compression---it is all easily provable.

If they put a turbo on the car to solve the problem and it didn't, then don't pay for the turbo.

alman08

"They have set up an appointment for me to speak with the Sales Manager tomorrow for him to tell me what he will do on a trade in."

Sorry about what happened to you. Sounds to me that they just wanted to frame you into an urgency to buy another car from them. By the way, was it the salesman who assured you that the car would be good for at least 175k miles? I sure would like to know where he got his crystal ball from.

Also, please don't tell me that this dealer you're dealing with is in northern CA... I don't want to have to deal with such.

alman08

In the past I was told that with turbo charged engines, one must let the engine run for 2 mins or so before turning it off to prolong the life of the turbo. Reason being was that the turbo would continue to spin even though the engine's turned off and there would not be enough lub because the oil pump stopped pumping oil. With my 1.8T, I did not see anywhere the owner's manual to do such. Does anyone know anything about it?

alman08

crap! I read the manual again and it did say to wait 2 mins before turning off the engine... grrrrrrrrrrr

tamaraster

The thing that opens your garage door? Yeah (though I don't have a garage door and never have). Is that what causes it? I thought that was the most bizarre thing, though it's only happened very occasionally.

robr2

Read it again - it probably prefaces that with "after hard driving".

alman08

yes, you are right, and it also said prolonged drivings (meaning the car has been on the freeway and turbo's been running?)

fish8

It's also VERY important to use full Synthetic during your oil changes.

angrydriver

How many miles you have on ur car??
My sales men told me the 06 passat will go 300k
i knew it was bull , :P ,i thk,i bought the passat for the gas efficiency,and sleek interior design,plus the manuvarability at high speeds,i feel that at high speeds,like 90mph plus,i can control this vehicle,the same way as if it was running 45mph,but yeah i am awwfully upset,with the road feedback(virabtions). :confuse:

angrydriver

I thk i also noticed the hesitation u are refering too.
but when it had good years tyres on this car,it was not hesitating as much as compared to the french/german michelin tyres.I thk when u expirience the hesitation,u should hear the turbo air intake noise/sound also.i the turbo causes the hesitation. :confuse: ,let me know if i am wrong.

altair4

Do a google on your problem and Homelink. You'll probably find some threads on this topic. I recall reading similar stories on some Passat-dedicated forums elsewhere on the web (rules here prohibt my from posting a link).

vmswink

Just had my 2003 heated seat burn a dime size hole in the drivers side seat. Cloth seat and I felt hot spot while sitting waiting for my daughter with engin off. Smelled like buning crayons! Next day got notice from VW on heated seat replacement notice. Is anyone else getting the actual burned seat cushion?

patrickb2

I have a 99 Passat 1.8T with 103k miles. Last week the engine seized up. Apparently, the belt tensioner pulley failed and stop working the timing belt and end result bent valves and the whole engine needs replaced. It is past the engine drivetrain warranty of 10 yrs 100 k miles. I have contacted VW customer relations to see if there is anything that they can do about this and he said he would check but would not make any promises. I am beside myself because I have been very diligent about maintaining this. In fact, I just had timing belt replaced in May (along with water pump as preventive maintenance). My question is does anyone have any comments or recommendations on this?

altair4

Who did the timing belt in May? Did they replace the tensioner then? How many miles on the car since the May replacement?

If you check most of the Passat-dedicated forums and if you look at the parts recommended by places like ECS Tuning, you'll see that most recommend changing the timing belt, the tensioner and pulley, water pump, etc. In other words, everything that can either kill the engine if it fails plus all the other bits that are exposed while the timing belt is off. Here's what ECS Tuning sells in their kit:
ECS has decided to offer a more complete kit with everything customers usually order when replacing their timing belt.

Kit includes the following:
Timing Belt
OEM Tensioner
OEM Tensioner Roller
OEM Idler Roller
Hepu OE Water Pump With gasket
Wahler OE Thermostat with O-ring
A/C Belt
P/S Belt
Alternator Belt

The early Passats had a weak tensioner - that's why most places want to replace it when they do the timing belt.

You might have better luck going after them for an incorrectly done replacement than under the 10 yr / 100K warranty. Good luck.

alman08

can it cause a fire? just curious

dc_dave

I have a 2000 Passat Wagon with the 1.8L Turbo. I'm starting to hear the secondary air pump (or so I'm told), a very loud squeal for the first minute after I start the car. I'm an idiot on car repairs but I've been very precise on my regular maintenance. I was also wondering if this should be covered under the drivetrain warranty?

Dave in VA
:lemon:

robr2

Here's a link to a local news station that did a recent story. They showed a B5 Passat in the piece.

http://www1.whdh.com/features/articles/specialreport/BOS8528/

justagirl1

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about Volkswagens Passat W8? If there have been any problems with them at all or if they have had any kind of recalls or such? If anyone has any information, it would be great if you could let me know! Thanks!

angrydriver

:sick: By the way,
Has any one expirienced,crackling noise in the front suspension ?,also some times if i turn the steering wheel all the way to either right or left,i hear a vissling/squeaking noise??what this might be,any thoughts?

angrydriver

Extended warranty,any one knows any good extended warrantys on this vehicle???of course cost effective ones
initially i bought a 40k extended warranty for 2000$ from the dealership,it has a 50 doll deductible.

audreym

We have an 04 v6. As I recall it actually states in the manual not to turn the wheel all the way one direction or another. Ours makes a slight sound, but I belive other cars do this too. I guess the question is if it is louder than is should be? ::shrug::

vwchic

I too have a '99 VW Passat that currently has about I'm not certain if I had the exact same problem but last summer I experienced engine seizure as well. Just cut off in the middle of rush hour traffic. Once it was hauled in via tow truck and checked out by a neighborhood mechanic we were told it was the timing belt and that it should be covered under drivetrain warranty. However, after my husband and I received MUCH "run around" at the dealership, who denied that engine belts were even covered under drivetrain warranty, the appropriate timing belt and various other parts were replaced UNDER warranty. I was a little over 2000 miles away from the 100K mile warranty cut off. Over $2K worth of work or so the dealership claimed. Makes you wonder if they rig vehicles to have issues at or near end or warranty time.

vwchic

Just today I was driving my 99 Passat and the doorbell began to ring (like when you leave the door open and the keys are in the ignition) and the interior light over the rearview mirror came on at the same time that the bell began to ring. At first I'm thinking my driver's door was not completely closed so at a stop I opened it and closed it again although no lights on the dash indicated any doors or even the trunk was not completely closed. I continued driving and about 20 mins later at 65-70 mph the bell and light thing happens again. I'm pretty spooked by then and rush to get home thinking the car may break down or something. I'm sure if I call my service dept to describe this incident they'll just say "you have to bring it in" but I have never experienced that with any vehicle. I was thinking this may be electrical, I did experience when I first purchased the car that when it would rain the passenger side window would not work at all or only sporatically. It was taken in under warranty to have some computer chip replaced twice and the issue seemed to have went away. However, now that I am no longer under ANY warranty it gives me problems maybe 10% of the time where it doesn't "auto" go all the way down with one touch of the button or it WIll go all the way down when I only wanted to "crack" it or go down one third of the way. Any other such issues out there?

lovecd

I'm considering to change my current car to new Passat next year. Can sb. give me some of your experience like:

1. Is it a reliable car compared with its rivals such as Honda Accord?

2. Is its maintainance cost reasonable or kind of high?

Many thanks!

angrydriver

thanks for replying

but i thk the noise ,in case of my vehicle comes more like from the suspension,especially,pulling out of a parking space,most times i don;t even turn the wheel all the way.but still the sounds comes,not sure if this is the suspesion or the electrical power steering pump in this 06
also do u feel more vibrations in this car as compared to other cars????

angrydriver

what do u mean by tauter ride?,i test drove 3 vehicles,except the one i purchased,i took the delivery around 9 pm in the night,next day i noticed that one of the tyres on my passat was wrong(this is freaking madness),i took it back to the dealer ship,they gave me a strange look? and then replaced the entire wheel,next week they replaced all the four wheels,since i was complaining about vibrations.I neve owned a german car before,i had a 92 ford taurus before,which is freaking smooth,with full electronics,and excellent shocks,i drove my taurus all around colorado ,new mexico,all rides where very smooth,no vibrations at all,but,suddenly this car appears very annoying,especially,on concrete pavements,i didn;t like this word 'road feeback'something goofy about it.r u saying that,german cars especially a volkswagen is not smoother when it rides and the vibrations or the so called road feedback is normal?

pier

B6 Passat scored the second highest points (251) in the 2006 European Car of the Year. The Renault Clio III (with 256 points) is rated as European Car of the Year.
Some posts have been maligning the B6 Passat's quality. I think this award speaks volumes about its positive points. Personally, I hold the European automotive quality control in the highest regard.

As far as US-available cars, the B6 Passat is the number one car in this category. The BMW 3 Series (4th with 203 points) and the Mazda5 (5th with 198 points).

http://www.caroftheyear.org/pages/Voting06.htm

The new 2006 Mazda5 has already encountered a recall. Autoblog: "Mazda will be giving $500 cash to customers affected by the recall and resetting the start date of their warranties to December 1st, 2005."

http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000897065725/

Also, for all the Honda-has-superior-quality-over-VW members, note that the new 06 Honda Civic has already encountered a recall too. Autoblog: "About 25,000 2006 Honda Civic sedans manufactured from June through October have been recalled over pedals that were improperly installed and can result in an accident. The installation error leads to a loose pedal that causes the throttle to stick, thus potentially causing a crash."

From I do not see any serious defect trends for the B6 Passat from this forum. Again, I receive confirmation of a best-buy in the Passat. I actually considered the Mazda5 and the Honda Civic EX as alternatives. Talk about dodging a bullet!

Consider these facts: This is the Passats track record for the European Car of the Year since 1964:

1989

Third place with 46% less points than the 1 spot: Fiat Tipo. For US-available cars, the Passat was #1 in this category (#2 spot: Opel Vectra). The Passat appears in the top three for the first time in a quarter century.

1997

Third place with 39% less points than the 1 spot: Renault Mégane Scénic. Again, for US-available cars, the Passat was #1 in this category (#2 spot: Ford Ka). The Passat appears in the top three eight years after its first appearance.

2006

Third place with only 2% fewer points than the 1 spot - only 5 points less than the Renault Clio. Again, for US-available cars, the Passat was #1 in this category (#2 spot: Alfa Romeo 159). This is the third showing of this car since 1964 - remarkable.

tamaraster

I've had a Passat wagon since 2002 and I haven't been thta happy with it in general. I find the maintenance costs are high, but I don't know what they are in comparison to an Accord, for instance. I hate that my windshield wiper blades never work very well, even when they are new, and cost a FORTUNE to replace (like $100 for all three including the back window). My car needs a $400 brake job at 23K miles. The car requires a strange grade of oil that you can hardly find anywhere (such that if you take your car to a non-VW place, they not only don't have that type of oil, but often stare at you like you must be from Mars to even think such a type exists).

Consumer Reports has found the Accord's reliability to be far superior to Passat's in the past, and with 2006 being an all-new model for Passat, it will probably be subject to more problems than a car that is later in its model cycle.

Those are just my opinions and experience. Do plenty of research and test driving before you buy any car.

altair4

I don't recommend buying a first model year of anything.

altair4

Just to comment on your issues:

Wipers: You can now get Bosch replacement wipers at Autozone ($19 for the front pair) - these are OEM style. Trico makes a wiper that will fit the newer Passat wiper arm - it looks more like a traditional wiper; I don't know the price. I bought the rear wiper for about $6 or $7 at the dealer.

Like your car, I needed rear brakes at about 25,000 miles. I did the job myself for $80 (using quality parts) and several hours of labor. I realize that not everyone is up for this type of thing.

Oil Viscosity: You're right - it's not readily available everywhere. However, I've had great success in buying Valvoline Synpower 5w-40 at NAPA Auto Parts stores and Mobil 1 0w-40 at Advance Auto parts. Both meet VW's 502.00 specification.

Overall, I'd suspect that most Accords are probably more reliable than most Passats. But you can get a lemon or a gem in either model. YMMV.

audreym

I am pretty disappointed with our '03 GLX. We have had 8 or 9 warranty issues in the first 2.5 years. Currently, we have a rear window off its track and a recall on the seat heaters that need to be taken care of. I am sure it does not help that there are no dealers around that do not require a detour from our normal routine (work or home). Sorry - quite a few double negatives in that one.

I absolutely love the car when nothing is broken, but lately the feeling of wondering when the next break-down will happen is outweighing everything else. We will be trading in ours in February when the next model year of what I want comes out.

selm

Yesterday on two occassions my wife's 2004 1.8T sedan automatic wouldn't release the key from the ignition. We tried moving the steering wheel and it wasn't locked. I pulled out the manual and all it said was that the gear shifter had to be in the P position. Well it was, but just to be sure, I put the car in neutral and then put it fairly forcefully into park. The key then released on the next try. Since it happened to my wife and I on separate occassions, I find it unlikely that it was user error of not fully engaging Park. Do I have a gearshift problem, potential transmission issue? I only have 11,500 miles on the car. Any suggestions would be appreciated since you guys tend to know more than VW service departments.

alman08

altair... just a question about the oil...
According to the owner's manual, it said to use 5w-40, but I have always thought that the 0w-40 would be better for the turbo unit. However, do you think 0w-40 would amplify the cam seal oil leaking problems that have mentioned on here by a few posters?
thanks.

anointedhelp

I own a 2005 Passat TDI GLS. I have noticed since day one that when I have to stop suddenly it "feels" like the tires skip or slide before I actually come to a stop. Is this common? Or should I ask the service department to look into it.

Also, has anyone noticed a peeling or chipping of the chrome trim on their car? Is it plastic? I don't think it's chrome.

:confuse:

fish8

Are you talking about severe braking? If yes, then that is your ABS working.

krzyss

I feel this only when there is water outside (raining or otherwise).
I think that when the disks get wet they do not shed water well (I do not recall the same feeling with 97 Passat, or 95 Ford Contour or 96 Plymouth Neon).
New Passat has a feature that squeezes brakes lightly from time to time, when it is raining, to get water off the disks/rotors.

Krzys

PS In dry I do not feel delayed brake activation.

altair4

Sorry, I don't know and don't have an opinion - I've used the 5w-40 stuff with no problems and I'm currently running Mobil 1 0w-40 now. You might want to check a certain well-known oil forum on the web for comments on that issue.

pillar1

I've had the same problem with my 2003 VW Passat V-6 wagon - only 35,000. But this isn't the first issue with this one - also rotors, auto air conditioning compressor, etc...My third (and last) Volkswagon...I used to be VW loyal until this one! Good luck!

pillar1

This is my 3rd VW, but I'm very disappointed with the 2003 Passat V-6 wagon. With just under 35,000 miles it's had air conditioning problems (2-3 times), rotors (front/back twice) and now fuel pump. Lots of problems, maintenance cost is higher than others as regular repair shops cannot deal with VWs (usually).

unless

I had the same problem at about the same mileage with my 2003 18T wagon. The linkage between the gearshift lever and the ignition lock had to be adjusted. Fine now. But annoying that so many similar things happen to a car that's great when it's working.

angrydriver

any one tried out the sports suspension with the 06 passat 2.0T,would like to read some expiriencces on this?

thanks

sullyboy

I haven't heard of a Passat 2.0T having a sports suspension (in the USA).

seahorse

I have an 02 Passat, which recieves regular maint. I usually get about 28-29 mpg. With the same driving, it suddenly dropped to about 24 mpg. I have not done any thing different (use correct octan. gas) and have noticed this over 2 tanks of gas. Any thoughts what might cause a sudden drop such as this? Thanks">

krzyss

just a guess.

Krzys

zhd535

Any one has the same problem with 06 passat?

The pump stopped as early as I just start refilling. I have to re-start several times to fill the tank. Happened at several different (brand) gas stations. Any advice?