VW Passat Troubles (B5 platform, nee Audi)

reidk

A couple for thoughts, fwiw:
1) I have no doubt that, On Average, the Passat is not as reliable as a Camry (or an Accord for that matter).
2) However, my '99 Passat has proven to be more reliable (in terms of car-at-fault problems) than my wife's '99 Camry (each car had 1 recall; + Camry's radio failed. A critter chewed through the gas line on the Passat; the Camrys dealer - installed security system got flakey).
3) It would be interesting to know what the reliability difference is between Passat's with the 1.8T and those with the V6. My guess is that the Turbo engine is more of a problem, esp as mileage gets up there. It also calls for more frequent, and apparently more expensive, maintenance, which a lot of owners may postpone / avoid - to their ultimate chagrin.
4) The dealership HAS to count - esp on anything remotely complex / performance oriented (like a Turbocharged engine...). I appear to have had luck here (Fox VW in Roch Hills MI): at least they got all of the basic stuff down w/o doing any apparent collateral damage! And after a number of years of rather poor sales, it might not be surprising that VW's dealership base is somewhat weak. Not that they are alone here: ended up taking my SHO to WISCONSIN for service. Live in SE MI (think Ford World Hdqtrs) and could not find a single dealer that even had a CLUE how to service the engine!
4) Two + years after purchase, the Camry is gone. Yes, it was a "very nice" car; yes, it's long term reliability record is outstanding: but it was always basically an 'appliance.' When she made the decision to trade it in, wife's comment was "I would like a car that I can love as much as you do the Passat." The driving experience DOES count - it is simply more important to some drivers than others (and, admittedly, can take a different form for each driver: Acceleration? Cornering? Handling at speed? Overall Balance? Or is it Gas Mileage; Carrying Capacity; or Safety?)
Ideally, fun & reliability would be givens; in the real world this is not always the case. The Passat - or, at least MY Passat - has been a wonderful car. If it had proved an absolute lemon, I would doubtless be among those calling for a lynch mob - but it is SO MUCH FUN to drive that I would be willing to put up with a few glitches in exchange for the ride. (And I can say that with a straight face: after all, I do own a SHO....(!!!))

BTW: shopping criteria: 4 door, V6, FWD w/ Manual Trans; enough comfort/features to coddle a baby boomer; priced under $30K; large enough to carry 2 adults on Long trips(& maybe 1-3 kids + luggage on reasonable trips), w/ decent mileage, & enough Balanced performance to give the "standard-of-comparison" (SHO, Yamaha V6, 5spd) a run for its money.
The SHO, of course, is no longer available; the Passat fit the bill (so did the Maxima, which was the only Serious contender after roadtesting - but liked Passat styling better + it seemed slightly more balanced than the Maxima). The A4 was / is too small; the A6 too expensive (& no 5spd in '99 anyway). THIS YEAR, the Altima becomes a serious contender: am I missing anything? (Remember the criteria: there are lots of fine autos available, but when you start getting Particular the list narrows in a hurry!)

May all your trips to the dealer be pleasant & cheap!

mentor34

The headlights on our new 2002 Passat have proven to be the poorest performing lights of any car I have driven in 20 years. In the low beam position, both sides offer poor illumination, and additionally the left side seems to be aimed much lower than the right. You can count to about 1.5 seconds before you reach whatever they are shining on at 60 mph. On the high setting, they are OK, but not as good as other manufacturers. We called the VW service department, they said there is a service bulletin stating to use the fog lights to help out. This gives more light in close, but again, nothing beyond 30 or 40 feet. Anybody else have the same performance out of this vehicles lights????

hiwaysanity

They seem to have a reflector that shields the lights from on-coming traffic to the point where they are not very good close-in. Not bad, just not as good as some cars I have owned. The fog lamps don't really help at all.

OTOH, I find my hi-beams very good, with well focused long distance beams. Your lights could be mis-aimed too low. Raising them might help both.

My Passat is a 2000, so my reflectors are different from the '02's, so I don't know if this will help. Keep us posted!

hidr

I have been looking at New Passat since last summer and reading up on this message board and other boards. I have learned a greatly about past and new Passat. I love the power of Internet to voice our opinion and get some respect from dealers and manifucture.

I have been test driving many cars including Accord, Camry, Altima, and Maxima. Also, I have test driven Jetta and Passat 1.4 and V6. Over all, I fell in love with the Passat GLX. My heart is set on the good looking one. However, other people ask and ask again about its reliability and service from VWoA and dealers. Reading all of this message board scared me a littile and started to have second thought. I realized that this message board is for TOROUBLES and not for posting happy thoughts.

I drive compact car and I think it is time to upgrade it to a sedan. I am planning to keep the new car for easily 8 years. I want reliability and functionality. My closest dealer is located in 60 miles from home. So I can't make frequest trips all the time for a fix.

I want to ask you all who are happy and sad Passat owners out there to give advise on buying Passat and future of VW in U.S. market. Especially, a person who have never bought VW before. Also how to deal with local VW dealer for purchasing one that I love.

Your advice will be appreciated.

hiwaysanity

average, or better, reliability with the Jetta/Golf's spotty reliability.

I have 2 years and 30k miles into a 2000 Passat GLS V6 wagon, and it's been nearly faultless. Nearly? Well, I had a tire balance problem that the dealer resolved - end of story.

I am seriously considering a Jetta or Golf as a second car. I understand they have had reliability "problems", but I believe we have to keep that in perspective. "Average" reliability (i.e., Passat) means that you have something like a 9 in 10 chance of getting a very good vehicle, with no major issues. "Slightly Less Than Average" reliability means your chances of as good a vehicle are maybe 7 or 8 in 10. With the new warranty, I'll take those odds any time. Besides, my VW dealer's service department has been excellent.

diy1

My 2000 Passat 1.8 turbo is approaching 40K miles and since my nearest VW dealer is 3 hours away, one way, I plan to change the plugs and air filters (engine and passenger compartment) myself. The fact that the dealer has proven to be less than trustworthy also enters into the equation. Anyway, having always done these minor procedures myself on all my other vehicles, I was amazed to find no DIY information available. The owners manual is no help at all,(not surprising) and there seems to be no aftermarket manuals published for the late model Passats. Neither the plugs nor the filters are obvious from a look under the hood. Would appreciate any advice anyone might have.

jrct9454

Actually, all of my Japanese cars [Honda and Toyota in the past 20 years, including an '01 Accord] include basic DIY info in the owner's manual, i.e. bulbs and plugs and filters and fluid access, etc. They discourage you from cracking the case, as it were [go to the dealer to change a timing belt] but are quite helpful, otherwise. Essentially, you could do all of the required routine maintenance for the first 100k miles with the info provided.

Of course, these cars are only appliances and not the Precision Driving Instruments produced in Germany. I'm sure that accounts for the philosophical difference. [And yes, I've owned plenty of the PDIs, as well...]

sitka

I have a 2002 GLS 4-motion wagon purchased in Sept of this year. When I put it in park and try to engage the parking brake, it won't lock in place. At first this was occassional but now it is more often than not. It appears that the metal button on the parking brake is "stuck" in the in position, and has to pop out in order for the parking brake to lock in position. I haven't figured out how to make it pop out except to fiddle with it for awhile. Has anyone else had this problem or know a solution?

jed1894

I posted this same question on another Passat site before I found this site....I'm sorry.

Anyway, have any of you guys heard that if the VW filter is not used for oil changes it will void the warranty?

Please provide details, if available.......

thanks John

jed1894

Since the oil change intervals have been established by VW to be every 5000 miles, I'm considering switching to Mobil 1..... Have any of you guys experienced any bad experiences using synthetic oil?

John

cjdixon

I have had my '99 Passat (GLS, V6, stick) for 24 months & 45K (highway) miles.

After the 40K oil change, I noticed a slight rattling in the engine. It sounded like it was coming from the crankcase. At first, I could only detect when I was next to a wall & I thought I was hearing things. But, this engine always runs so smoothly, it kinda stood out.

It wasn't a regular beat. It sounded like there was a pebble in the crankcase. Other times, it sounded a little louder.

Earlier this week, it sounded as if a bolt was knocking around in there.

I took it to the dealer on Monday.

Verdict: water pump - (covered under the powertrain warranty)

I'm only posting this because they've, since, told me that this is the third one of these they've had to replace this week. All of the cars have, roughly, the same mileage on them.

-jd

mauislick

sheez, almost every car know to man is in this forum of maintaince and repair......what's that tell us.....all car have problems!!!
some more some less, but the ALL seem to have something sometime

adksurf

I have a 97 Passat TDI - I drive alot on business and have put on 150,000 miles. Having bought this car on a reccomendation from a VW motorhead friend (his Passat has 200K on it) - there was an ephiasis made on maintenance as the key to longevity in these cars. Baloney... when these cars start to die, bury 'em. I maintained this car over the last 10 months to the tune of 5,000.00 +
The reason for this post is that I've been having a glowplug problem - the dealer service dept. has replaced them and the relay a few times over this 10 month period. Last month - the car just wouldn't start. After adding conditioner to the fuel and a push start I got to another dealership (other than the one who previously serviced it) - they diagnosed the problem to the glowplugs and claimed the ones in the car were "aftermarket" glowplugs - this engine failure managed to burn out the EPS computer - all told it will cost 2300.00 to repair. The VW North America people blew me off saying it was a dipute between dealerships and they wouldn't take any action.
Has anyone ever experienced a glowplug / computer problem like this???
Or do I need a lawyer to make some lemonade out of this lemon.
The car has mileage but they are supposed to last for more than this. Thanks, BD

teo

Sorry, I am afraid you are too late for lemon law. A state lemon law board will throw your case once they find out the age and mileage of the car. Your only way out is to sell/trade/dump the car.

State lemon laws have strict statues of limitations. In other words after 18-24 months after initial purchase or 15K to 25K miles or whichever comes first, your recourse under state lemon laws ceases to exist.

Sorry to rain in your parade, but I think a 4 year old car with 150,000 miles put on it, doesn't sound like it is that bad of a car. Not great, but not terrible either.

Time to trade, I think.

kevinvw

I owned a 01 4motion since 8/00 & has 47,000 miles with one major problem (throttle body need to replace, under warranty) around 12,000 miles. Other than that I REALLY LOVE my car. I start using Mobil 1 @ 20,000 and replace the oil every 10,000. Everything is fine so far. This is my first VW. Has anybody change there transmission fluid yet??

jimtoy

I purchased a 2001.5 Passat GLX V6 10 days ago. I love the car. About the 4 of the last 10 days have been pretty chilly 30 - 40 degrees.

On these cold days when I first start the car in the morning it makes a "pencil caught in a fan" sound for about 3 seconds.

The car now has 1000 miles. I called the dealer, "no idea", they asked me to bring it in next week.

I thought I would throw it out and see if anyone else had a similar problem.

Thanks.

dlseek

I was tooling down the expressway last week when I heard an "oh, that can't be good" sound. I pulled over to find my front left blinker hanging out of the "socket" by the wiring harness.

The light assembly is held in place by a spring with a hook on one end (which fits into a little hole on back of the fixture) and a latch with a round plastic loop that looks like it would fit a finger perfectly. The piece of plastic with the little hole in the assembly broke off.

I thought this was a weird fluke until I started to inspect the other one and saw that the hole in it was beginning to show a stress crack. It will most likely fail in the near future.

To check yours, open up the hood and look behind the headlights, you should be able to see the white plastic finger loop and follow it to the spring and to the hole in the light assembly... I have a feeling I'm not the only one with this problem.

dlseek

oops - forgot to mention, I have a '98 1.8T wagon.

jed1894

My Passat does the same thing in cold weather...sounds like top end is going to blow off.

I took it to the dealer, who said that was normal (who'd guess he'd say that). Anyway, I thought about switching to Syn. oil, but I haven't decided yet.

good luck

John

mikeg61

I have a 2001.5 GLS V-6 wagon with 13,000 miles on it. The sound at startup occurs sporadically, but only when it's cold out (under 45 degrees). Reminds me of piston slap in one of my old cars. More likely it's inadequate levels of oil in the top of the engine, which is not a good thing.

If you have been using regular oil in the engine for a while, and you have decent mileage on it (10,000+) you shouldn't switch to synthetic. The compounds in the synthetic can cause the engine seals to leak like a sieve. The last thing you want to do is have to replace them. Knowing VW dealers, they'd probably say failure of these is not covered by the warranty part and then they'll charge you through the nose for labor.

mlayton694

Hey all, have a one month old 2002 GLS and I have to say its a blast to drive, very happy so far.
However, at low speeds I hear something loose(definitely not inside the cabin) or shifting apparently coming from the front-driver side under the vehicle. This sound is especially apparent when turning and going over small bumps. I wish I could describe the sound better but I cant. Shock, suspension? I know its a shot in the dark, but anyone have any ideas ? It doesnt sound like something small, its sounds like something is under stress. Dont want to take car in until 5k scheduled maint. but it looks Im gonna have to Thanks

jed1894

Mike, I'm not being a smart a#@, but do you have any proof that switching to Syn. oil after 10,000 miles will cause anything to leak? I've heard alot of people on the Internet say that, but I have found no one with actual experience with the topic. I've been using Syn. oil in all my vehicles, most of which I switched to Syn. oil after 30,000 miles or so. None of them (GM, Honda, Mazda) have ever leaked--even up to 179,000 miles.

I'm about to switch my 2001 Passat to Syn. oil (35,000 miles) and if you know something, or if I've missed something, please tell.

thx.....

mikeg61

I should have qualified that. You can go to a full synthetic, but you should go to one of the synthetic/petroleum based blends for at least one oil change to get the seals used to the synthetic compounds. The rubber seals react differently to the lubrication compounds in synthetic oil and tend to stiffen up if you don't put in a blend for a little while. When they get stiff they leak.

charles15

I have a 2002 Passat 1.8T with Tiptronic and during the first 2000 miles there have been three occasions when I have experienced hesitation of 2-3 seconds when moving out from a stop. I push down on the accelerator and nothing. Kind of scary when something big is fast bearing down. The vwvortex site says the problem is noted as a problem with the 2002 Passat in the January issue of Consumer Reports. Anyone know anything about this issue. Oh by the way the same CR also says the Passat 1.8 T has above average realiability.

miked17

I have 99 Passat Wagon and want to use Mobil One synthetic. I live in North Carolina where it gets pretty hot(near 100) and in the winter gets to freezing if not a little below that. In the owners manual diagrams using 50W for 100 and 15 weight would be thin enough for here where it doesn't get that cold. I'm using 15-50 weight. In talking with someone he said not to use such a heavy weight oil. Mobil says that the 15-50 weight is for turbo charged engines. If someone knows what oil i should use, please tell me.

jed1894

Mikeg61: okay, that makes sense to me....... I agree with that....I also found out (from Mobil 1) that the old thinking that Syn. oil will cause leaks may be true. When Syn. oil was first used, some compound used in the oil caused the oil leak through the seals, etc. However, the oil now produced by Mobil 1 uses a different compound that actually swells the seals as conv. oil does. I don't know if any of this is true....coming from the manufacture, but it sounds understandable.

Miked17: I live in Georgia and probably have the same climate conditions as you do....I use Mobil 1 10w30 in my truck and now in my 2001 Passat. I have not experienced any problems since I started using Syn. oil. The VW dealership recommended 10w30 for my area...they also used Castrol 10w30 for the required oil changes the first 24k miles.

John

vtassap

Recently purchased a 2002 GLX Passat Wagon and have approx 2500 miles on it. Despite the following I really like the car. It has the "new" CD player and Monsoon system (I mention that because this was one of the few on the lot w/a CD player vs cassette).

After ~300 miles the cruise control started acting up (not setting). Sometimes it would work but if car was turned off and back on would not.

Eventually none of the controls on the steering wheel (volume/channel change/cruise set) would function. Seat belt light would occasionally blink (though seatbelt(s) were connected), right rear elec door lock sporadic, clock on tach resets to 12:00. Once while traveling down the road at 60mph at night the center dome light came on and the "annunciator" in the center of the dash said one of the right doors was open (they weren't).

The first time I took the car back for service (after ~300 miles) the cruise wasn't working but after it sat for a half hour the mechanic went for a ride and it worked. I dropped it off again this week and had the service writer witness that nothing was working before turning off the car.

The dealer has now put me in a rental while they diagnose the problem. As of this morning the service writer told be that the mechanic had a long list of diagnostic codes to check and called the VW Tech Line and will probably need to call again.

Has anyone come across this problem. Might it be a problem in the "data bus"? And if so how extensive is it to replace or repair the "data bus" after the car has been manufactured?

matrix2003

Hi all! Purchased a 2001.5 Passat 1.8T and was a little curious about the fuel gauge. I generally fill the tank until the pump kicks back and stops fueling, which leads me to believe the fuel tank is full. After driving about 30 miles or so, I notice that the fuel gauge is reading only a little more than 1/2 tank?? I realize that in light of other potential problems this is pretty insignificant, but I was curious if any one else has had any weird problems w/ their fuel gauge? Any solutions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
AJ

mulfomi

I have a 2001.5 1.8t 5 spd and have had no trouble with it other than a burned out headlight(minor). I love the car and would buy another one in a second. I am switching to Mobil 1 at 20,000 miles but have already bought the oil and the Mobil 1 filter. I take it in on Saturday for the 10,000 mile service. (Was going to switch now but with the free service decided to wait)

New cars with few miles should have no trouble swithching to straight synthetic. Also, according to my VW dealer, they currently use Castrol Syntech which is already a synthetic/dino blend.

Change over and dont worry about it. Im not going to.

dmagaud

My 2001.5 GLX Wagon has a problem with one of the seat memory buttons. When the seat is out of place, a single touch of the button is supposed to adjust it back to the memorized position. When I press the button, the seat goes part way to its correct position, then stops. I need to press the button a second time for it to go all the way. The behavior is the same when I use the remote control on the key. The dealer was unable to find a problem, but has agreed to look at it again. Any suggestions?

charles15

I have posted this problem on vwvortex and Edmunds with a few responses so it must only be an issue with some cars but because it is so dangerous, I intend to continue posting on all sites periodically.
I have owned a 2002 Passat 1.8T with Tip for about 3 months and 4000 miles. Four times during this period I have experienced a completely unresponsive throttle for a period of about 3-4 seconds each time. This is not turbo lag which I find to be very minor and I am used to. On the four occasions that the problem has happened I have tried to move away from a stop and when I pushed down on the accelerator nothing was there. The engine stays at idle for about 3-4 seconds then finally kicks in and off we go - fortunately before what is bering down on me catches up.Trust me - this is a scary problem. My service manager believes it is related to the drive by wire system but it is so intermittent is ulikely that a mechanic will duplicate it. Several other people have had the same problem but it seems that at this point it is not enough to get it up on anyone's radar screen. Would appeciate any feed back from those who have or have heard of the problem so I can get it fixed before it gets me fixed - for good.

krishnav

I have an 2000 GLS Auto. Just 15K miles so far. Have not had major problems so far (except one small probelm -the front-right door lock not locking properly. Was fixed by dealer in few minutes)
The dealer in Huntington Beach has 6year/60K miles bumper-bumper warranty for $1800. He says some ppl faced problems with the A/c after 5 years costing $800. I have a power train warranty for 10yr/100K miles. Still could not decide on the Extd. warranty. Any suggestions , experience would be appereciated.

Thanks

alcan

A second option is to put the $1,800 in a high yield account and spend from it if/when problems occur. After 6 years take a nice vacation with the balance.

donfischel

I have a Passat GLX V6 with 4-Motion and I'm having the same hesitation problem that Charlie has expressed in his messages (#325 & 332). I burn the highest octane fuel I can find (per the mfr. recommendation). I've reported it to the NHTSA but unless they get many complaints about this problem nothing good will come of it. Like Charlie says, it's pretty scary to be in an intersection making a left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic. What really gripes me is the attitude of my VW dealer and the response from "Customer NO-Service" at VW America.

lasher5

When I borrow my brother's 1999 V6 it would hesitate on take off a few times. I hit the switch for the traction control to disengage and have had no problems except to reactivate it when I return the car. I think part of the action of the traction control is to limit fuel to the injectors when it senses wheel slip.

charles15

There is an inherent hesitation in the Turbo models known as turbo lag and hesitation in both the v6 and turbo engines in model years 2000 and after due to the Drive By Wire system. However the lag that some of us are talking about is very intermittent - only happened to me several times in 4000k - but it could be deadly because you have no power off the line for about 3-4 seconds. Donfischel in post 335 best describes it as the same feeling as the old vapor lock problem. Believe me if you ever experience it you will remember it.

soupnazi

Miked17:
The beauty of using mobil 1 is that you can put virtually any viscosity oil in any weather condition and still be protected. Viscosity grading in synthetics is far less important than in conventional motor oil. Mobil 1 will retain it's flow characteristics and protective value at far greater temperature ranges than conventional oils.
I would say based on your situation, 10W-30 would work the best, but there's not much difference between it and Mobil 1's 5W-30. You have been properly informed on the use of 15W-50 though. The rationale being that turbochargers operate at much higher temperatures than what's typically seen in the contact areas inside a normally aspirated engine. At that high temperature, the turbo needs the higher viscosity to keep from volatilizing.
I would go with the 10W-30 if I were you. I think you'll be impressed. I've used it in virtually every vehicle I've ever had. It is far superior to conventional, in my opinion. I use 5W-30 Mobil 1 in my 2000 Jetta VR6 (Missouri winters) and used it for years in my previous jetta until it was rear-ended at 346,000 miles.
Best of luck with your oil swap and many happy miles of VW motoring!

anandun

Last week while driving home in my 2000 Passat V6 I felt a loss of power + shuddering + Check Engine Light came on + "Emissions Workshop" message.
The CEL is still on continuously and I am taking the car in for repairs later this week. I have 22K miles but my regular warranty expired last month. I have had this exact problem once before and a injector was replaced under warranty at that time.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Do you know if the injector will be covered under warranty? If not, what would be cost to replace an injector?

Thanks!

docarch

I have a 2001.5 passat....while i was driving the Malfunction Indicator Lamp turned on....it's a steady light, it wasn't blinking or a lightning bolt there.....i callled the service dept. and they said it's nothing to worry about cause its a cycle that the car goes through or something....is this something to be of a concern
thanks

jimmyb7

My 2002 Passat also has the problem of prematurely shutting off the gas pump when refueling. I think the gas gauge is reading correctly and the problem is the way the gas pump determines when to stop. In the Bay Area we have those big rubber boots around the nozzle and I'm guessing that because the area around the fill pipe is sealed in plastic, it fools the nozzle. This is a only a WAG, but it's not the fuel gauge....I can tell that because when I force the pump to keep going, I don't get covered by overflowing gasoline.

froggie47

I bought a 2001 Passat GLX V6 5 speed in September 01. I've had a number of cosmetic problems and a few squeaks in the dashboard area. One was in the glove box and was fixed the third time in. The passenger air bag was taken out and a special lubricating powder applied which seemed to stop that noise. The last noise that they have attempted to locate is in the front of the dash. I feel that it has something to do with the windshield. It sounds like an ice build-up at the bottom of the windshield. It makes this noise under all conditions, acceleration, cornering and deceleration. The dealer felt it was in the dash so the pulled it and put foam and tape in there. The said they had a windshield professional in to check it and in his opinion it's not the windshield. Pulling the dash seemed to help for one day, now the same noise is back. It is fairly loud and very annoying. I tried spraying silicone between the windshield and dashboard on the inside and the windshield and cowling on the outside to no avail. Any suggestions.

linettekay

We are contimplating a 2002 Passat 1.8 T. We presently drive an Altima and have looked at the new 2002 Altimas and Camrys. Looks and features of the Passat have won us over, but can anyone tell us of reliabilty for the long haul??? We want a car we can drive for 100k+. Will the Passat make it like our past Nissans have driven???

njcbarnes

On February 8th I purchased a NEW 2002 Passat GLX. On February 26th the transmission blew with only 800 miles on it. Some of the messages on this board talk about hesitation and that was my first symptom, then there was no response. My car has been in the shop ever since waiting for a replacement transmission. VW will only give me a REBUILT transmission and not a new one. I bought a NEW car not a REBUILT car. VW Customer Service in the Michigan US headquarters is unhelpful. Not only is my 2.5 week old Passat GLX broken, but VW has taken away my peace of mind. Both problems could have been fixed by simply putting in a NEW transmission. Buyer beware!

ritgrad83

I have a 2000 Passat with 1.8L T and Tiptronic that is now at 37,500 miles. Just last month the serpentine belt failed and costs $284 to replace. Shortly after that (1-2 weeks) the check engine light and EMISSIONS WORKSHOP! message appeared. I took it in and they told me the O2 sensor has to be replaced - another $300.00 repair!! This is so aggravating!! I thought VW built good cars - but their components suck!! I am hesitating about buying another Passat next time.

daylight

I have a 2000 Passat GLS 1.8 turbo with a history of brake problems that have been documented. The car now only has 26,000 miles on it. It is now out of warranty. At 12,000 miles the ABS lamp started coming on, when the outside air temp was above 90. Sounds crazy! After several trips to the dealer, the ABS Module was replaced. Two months later we lost brake pedal pressure and returned to the dealer again. This time they replaced the master cylinder. Yesterday the right front brake started smoking badly and we pulled to the side of the road. After an hour we started home only now we have very little pedal pressure. The master cylinder is full. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

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rickinga

I'm debating whether or not to trade my 95 Passat GLX in or sell it on the open market. I've had a few electrical problems with my car in the past, but most of the problems (electrical) have been fixed. Or so I think. It has 118K miles, is a 5 speed, 6 disc CD changer, etc. but I've had lackluster interest when advertising in the ATL paper at $6K.

A woman who has shown interest came to look at my car yesterday, but she noticed the red 'water temp' light going off and now has demanded a mechanic take a look, which I can understand, but it's the first I've seen this problem. It's now in the shop, being evaluated.

My question is twofold: Since the immediate impression from the mechanic was that it's either a bad hose (not bad), head gasket needs repair (worst case scenario), or a bad thermostat, does anyone know if Passat's in this year have a problem with the cooling system? Second, if it turns out to be a major repair, am I better off trading it in? (I have a feeling my buyer will drop interest if it's a major repair, even if I pay for the repair).

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

th83

My mom's 2000 Passat GLX has developed a leak which causes lots of standing water to accumulate on the rear floorboard after a rain shower. The dealer has tried three times so far to fix it and has been unsuccessful. The first two times took about an hour and the third time they left my poor mom sitting for two hours before telling her they needed to keep the car a few days. They took the car apart and put it back together and it still didn't fix the problem. I think it's time to say 3 strikes your out to the VW service department. My question is: How hard is it to get VW to buy back a bad car? I think it is ridiculous that my mom wrote a $28k check to get such a terrible car. She should at least get dealer retail for the piece of crap. Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

help10

Help! I have a 2002 GLX Passat. It has about 7000 miles on it. I have had a near death experience twice in the last week and one-half. The most recent incident: I was getting on the interstate and an 18-wheeler was in the lane I wished to enter. I accelerated the car and it STUCK in the accelerated position. The speed did not increase, but it would not decrease when I removed my foot from the accelerator. The cruise was not on. I applied the brake at least ten times. It would slow the car down slightly but when I released the brake the car returned to the accelerated speed. Luckily the truck moved to the center lane because I was approaching a bridge with a slow car. I applied the brakes hard until the car went down to 40 MPH. At that point the car returned to normal. I drove 1.3 miles before I could get the car to slow down. Luckily there was not a lot of traffic on road. I am still shaking from the incident.

I had the same thing happen 10 days earlier. In the first incident the car returned to normal after hitting the breaks four or five times. Again, I had to hit the brakes hard to get it to return to normal. After the first incident(it was evening), I took the car to the dealer when they opened the following morning. They checked out the car. It did not show any computer codes. After the second incident, I exited the interstate and headed directly to the dealer. I did not turn off the car. They checked the car and again no codes. They have tried to reproduce it without any luck. They can not figure out what is wrong with it.

Does anyone have any ideas? I bought the car because of it's good safety rating and I liked the idea of head current airbags. I am petrified to drive the car again.

georgek44

first - log on to NHTSA and fill out a complaint form.

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/ivoq/default.htm

next - go to the dealer, describe the problems to a manager and get that person to sign for receipt of a written description of the problems. If he or she refuses to sign, send a copy by registered mail. Send copies to VWA

Ask the dealer to replace the car or give a full refund. Explain that you'd rather keep it friendly. If that doesn't work, hire a good litigator.

nafrong00

I testdrove a VW Passat GLX w/ 4 motion today. I absolutely loved the car and I intended to buy, but there was this odd problem of hesitation whenever I pressed the accelerator. Actually the engine doesn't hesitate exactly, rather it simply doesn't respond at all for about 1-2 seconds after you press the throttle. The vehicle had 16 miles on it. Very strange. The salesman told me that this is a characteristic of german vehicles and that they do this deliberately so that "The customer doesn't embarrass himself by screeching the tires at stoplights." Hmmm... I feel deprived since my current vehicle has more horsepower and doesn't have this wonderful feature. Something doesn't seem right. Is the passat really SUPPOSED to be like this?? Having driven many cars ( and I work for GM for now) This can't be normal. Has anyone else experienced this and if so is there a fix. I would love to buy this car for my wife but she wants the manual and a "feature" like this would make it near impossible to drive.