The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Passat. While driving at approximately 60 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the timing belt needed to be replaced. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14E007000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- Laurel, MD, USA

Timing belt broke at only 66,000 miles and 3 years of vehicle use. Manufacturer recommends replacement at approx. 100,000 miles. Failure to advise purchasers of premature catastrophic timing belt failure is inexcusable. It poses a grave risk of harm to drivers. Our timing belt blew on a busy street in miami. We were very fortunate that we were not injured. There have been class action lawsuits involving the exact same engine-- used in Audi cars-- that were settled by providing a warranty extension for these failures. A similar warranty extension should be offered to VW owners whose vehicles have the same engine (1.8L turbo, 4-cylinder). A class action against VW should not be necessary (though it may be forthcoming)-- they should accept their responsibility for this design defect and thereby potentially save lives. What if your son or daughter were hurt in a timing belt-related crash? shame on VW.

- Key Largo, FL, USA