Volkswagen of America sent me a letter to check/replace front suspension lower control arms 1998-2000 Passat vehicles. VW dealer informed me they will fix the control arms at no cost to me but as a result of the work performed the vehicle will now need an alignment which is not covered as part of the recall. This is absurd. I paid for an alignment 5 months ago and prior to the recall my vehicle obviously does not need an alignment but as a direct result of fixing the control arms my car now needs an alignment which I have to pay for. The alignment should be covered as part of the recall for the control arms!!!

- Oakland Gardens, NY, USA

I've had a clunking sound in the front suspension whenever I hit a bump. It has gotten progressively worse for the last several months. The dealer tells me it is the front upper control arms and ball joints and that there is a tsb on such. This is a common well known problem with this model and poses a safety issue.

- Louisville, KY, USA

Both control arms failed on 1999 Passat glx @ 60000 miles on left and right side of the car. Repair covered by VW extended warranty to the tune of $689 per side of the vehicle, but these control arms should not be failing! steering, control, and tire wear suffer serious impairment as a result of these failures.

- Allentown, PA, USA

Control arm's of '1998-'2000 Passats are failure prone much earlier then the norm for passaneger automobiles. (a fact they recognized by a redesign of the control arms on '2001 and up Passat's. I purchased my car in 7/99. I drive 70 miles a day, mostly freeway, which as all know is actually very easy on an automobile. Yet with-in 2 years (40K) my front suspension was showing signs of premature wear. I get many "creaks" and "clunks" that are easy to hear at low speeds. After researching in popular internet forums for the car, (www.clubb5.com, www.vwvortex.com) I found out this failure is very common for this automobile. Vmoa (Volkswagen of America) has not issued a recall yet (even though they have received thousands of complaints) as of this late date. (6/04) the response from vwoa and your dealer network has been inconsistent, to say the least. Some dealers will not even look at the car, some will look at it and say nothing is wrong, and some will say that it is the control arms, but will not help out the owner when the time comes to contact the customer care center at vwoa. Vwoa is not much more help, promising to get on the problem and telling you they will callback, only they donT. or if they do, it is, sorry we cannot help you.. so what happens is that many of the owners that are out of warranty, must pay for a costly repair out of pocket. A repair that should have never happened. (I have never had control arm bushing failure in my previous 13 automobiles!) repair costs run over $700 for parts, and the same amount in labor. I am purchasing my car from the bank soon. Overall it is a great car. I must replace the control arms very soon. I dont look forward to that and the high cost it will run me. I wish for vmoa to treat its customers like a modern customer focused company. Bad designs happen. They owe it to their customers to make it right. Thank you. John E. tami.

- Mission Viejo, CA, USA

The consumer heard a creaking noise coming from the front end. The mechanic informed the consumer. The consumer stated that the vehicle became unstable at highway speeds. Many other drivers of the same vehicle on the internet have experienced the same problems.

- Rochester, NY, USA

Upper and lower ball joints making grinding noise dealer suggested replacing all upper and lower ball joints on left and right sides.

- Brockton, MA, USA

A loud noise was heard while driving the vehicle. The dealer determined the front upper and lower ball joints were cracked on the right side and leaking oil.

- North Andover, MA, USA

Control arms and ball joints need to be replaced with only 43000 miles on the vehicle. Volkswagen went by recommendation of dealer not to help with the cost of repair.

- Beverly Hills, MI, USA

1999 VW Passat. Front suspension problems. Refer to tsb 4001-01. I brought my 1999 Passat to the dealer regarding a noisy front suspension problem and informed them of a tsb on the vehicle. I was informed that VW provides a repair kit for this problem that requires the replacement of the lower control arm assembly. Which includes the defective ball joints (both sides). The dealer informed me that VW will not cover the repair and that the cost to me would be $875. Spoke with VW representatives on April 2 and was given a decision on 4/9 that they would not assist with the cost in any way since "this could also be caused by normal wear and tear". this assertion, in my opinion is bogus since a. VW knows there is a problem, hence the tsb. Provide a "kit" to repair the defect. The case number is 30164333. Suspensions should not be falling apart on a 3 year old vehicle with 50,000 miles on it. And the cost ($875) is quite excessive. The noise started showing up in early January of 2003.

- Ludlow, MA, USA