This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
2009 VW Passat 2.0T. Oil leaking from rear main seal. Rear main seal failed at about 75,000 miles, not covered under warranty. First indication was oil spot on driveway and then check engine light came on. Inspected bottom of engine and it was coated with oil. The PCV valve failed and caused rear main seal to rupture and shoot oil (and possibly gas vapors) all over bottom of hot engine. Although nothing ignited in this case, began to question if some of the other fire incidents listed on NHTSA site were possibly caused by similar condition. Failure of approx. $40 part caused approx. $1700 in damage- all out of warranty. Warranty is for 5 years/60,000 miles. No maintenance data available to owner indicated that PCV valve should be checked as part of scheduled maintenance. VW leadership declined to accept any responibility for situation.
2009 VW Passat 2.0T. Oil leaking from rear main seal. Rear main seal failed at about 70,000 miles, not covered under warranty. First indication was smell of burning. Shortly before this failed, the PCV valve failed - also out of warranty. Warranty is for 5 years/60,000 miles.
Initial failure occurred while accelerating onto main thoroughfare. Vehicle lost all engine power and stalled out. Vehicle was send to VW dealer for repair where some warranty repairs were made as well as preventative maintenance that was advised. The car was returned as "repaired" and after driving home experienced the exact same failure while the car was idling in the driveway. Car was returned again and experienced the same failure a second time while I was traveling on I275 in detroit. The car stalled out and I again lost all power. I was forced to the side of the road where the car then failed to start. I was forced to sit for three hours in 20 degree weather with a twice in 2 weeks repaired issue as my car was buried in snow on the interstate. This is a major safety hazard!
After being driven for a short time our 2009 VW Passat was parked in our garage. No signs of any problems when driver went inside the house. About 15-20 minutes after being parked noise was heard from garage and at that time intense smoke and fire from front of vehicle was discovered. Before help could arrive front of car was completely on fire and nearby materials in garage were ignited. Car was considered total loss along with extensive damage to inside of garage. Fire department attributed the cause of fire as "car engine/electrical". fortunately, ,there were no personal injuries but significant property damage..
I was stopped at a red light and smoke with the distinct fire smell started pouring out of my hood. I had to run the red light to get off of the street where I ended up in a big parking lot. I raised the hood and saw heavy smoke and small flames. I grabbed my phone and took a picture and then ran and got water to put the fire out. This will cost me a 500 dollar deductible and the potential for my insurance company to raise my rates. I am so pissed to find out this is a recurring issue! I am glad I was driving instead of my wife with our kids in the car! VW the fight is now on! I was wondering why my service adviser new exactly what caused the fire. A 27 dollar part failed and caused a couple of grand in damage.
- El Cajon, CA, USA
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The car suddenly has 50% or less power and begins stumbling very badly. Acceleration is so poor that it's quite dangerous in heavy traffic and the ability to pull off the road is severely hampered. The only way I'm able to keep the car moving and running is to use the manual feature of the automatic transmission and keep the RPM's very high. The four coil packs in the car were replaced this spring. Suddenly, the same exact problem is back again 4 months later. Codes were random misifre and multiple misfires at various cylinders. Strange that all four packs go out at the same time...." that's not logical unless is something other than normal wear causing the issue. This problem has occurred twice and both time it begins in the middle of heavy traffic where the situation is very dangerous as the power loss is nearly complete. Both times were under acceleration when the heavy stumbling occurred. I turned the car off and disconnected the battery for 5 min. To hopefully reset the cars epc as the problem is so sudden it almost certainly is electrical. There is no logical explanation for four coil packs all needing to be replaced at the same time and 4 months after the last replacement..." undoubtedly a consistently dangerous situation.
I stopped at a stop sign, the car accelerated normally and after a few minutes the engine sputtered, the check engine light illuminated, and the battery light illuminated. The engine quit. Attempts to restart the engine failed. I was located at an intersection and pushed the car off to the side of the road. I attempted to restart the engine and noticed an aroma of burning plastic. I opened the hood and there was smoke emanating under the top engine cover, top LH side viewed from the front to the rear. Upon further investigation I noticed that there was a fire under the cover. I removed the cover and extinguished the fire. The #1 ignition coil harness was melted from the fire and associated fire damage was noted on the inside of the engine cover above the engine coil location. I had the vehicle towed to the local dealership and they confirmed that the failure of the #1 engine coil was the cause of the fire. I reported the incident in detail to the Volkswagen America customer support as soon as I returned home. Vehicle is currently undergoing repairs to replace the defective items. I was told there were no current recalls in effect. I went to the NHTSA website and found that this issue has been previously investigated and no recall was issued at the time. I felt obligated to report this incident as it pertains to public safety.
My vehicle's check engine light came on and stayed on for several days, and the engine started running abnormally, so I took it to a mechanic. The mechanic discovered that the intake manifold needed to be replaced, in addition to other work on the engine and fuel system. I found out that Volkswagen had issued an extended warranty for the intake manifold and fuel injectors of my vehicle's engine. However, although my engine was of the exact same type included in the extended warranty, Volkswagen claimed I was not eligible for warranty replacement since my vehicle's VIN was not included on the extended warranty list. Considering that my vehicle has been well maintained and is only about 5 years old, I believe that the intake manifold problem is related to the problem that resulted in the warranty extension, and my vehicle should be included in the warranty extension. Updated 02/12/15
For the last 4 years, I've been dealing with major mechanical and non-mechanical issues with my Volkswagen (VW) Passat 2009, which I bought brand new in 2008. VW's mechanics found that my car had defective parts in it, which were there from the time I bought it. I have had so many problems with the car that I don't trust it, even though VW's mechanics said they've either fixed or replaced the bad parts, but each time I've taken it in for repairs in the past, I've had the same parts repaired or replaced over and over. A summary of these issues: - rear side window sunscreen hook - replaced due to falling out " year 2009 - rear windshield sunscreen - replaced because it had broken ? year 2011 - engine fault - car died and running roughly ever since ? year 2011 - engine light coming on 4 times ? years 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014 - driver?S door lock - had stopped locking ? year 2012 - engine cover - screws fell out of the rear of engine cover ? year 2012 - 2 water pumps - replaced due to coolant draining completely out of the reservoir ? years 2012 & 2013 - knob to adjust side mirrors came off and now unable to adjust side mirrors " year 2013 I have paid nearly $40,000 to date on this defective vehicle and VW doesn't seem to care how many times I've been put in harms way and inconvenienced. I also have relatives and associates who've had problems with their similar model vws too, so I know I can't be the only one who has had these mechanical issues with a VW in the us. I feel there should be an investigation into VW Corp. Of some sort by government officials to uncover the defective construction of my car and others, so all of us who've suffered through this will be redeemed in some way and future consumers will be safer by VW improving their vehicles' construction.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The dealer confirmed that the manifold, cam shaft, and throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the problem persisted. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 87,000.
At 43,321 miles, the check engine light was on. Vehicle was brought to a Volkswagen dealership where the intake manifold had to be replaced along with the fuel induction. The manifold was covered by warranty but, not the fuel induction. Out of pocket cost $136.90 at 54,337 miles, when accelerated there was a hesitation in the engine and the check engine light had come on. Vehicle was brought to the dealership where the ignition coil for cylinder 1 had to be replaced (cylinder misfire fault and cooling fan faults) and also the cooling fan which was faulty. All not covered by the warranty. Out of pocket cost $864.35.
Traveling at posted speed limit on local highway when the engine lost power, battery light illuminated, A/C stopped blowing altogether. Vehicle was traveling up slight incline so vehicle pulled into nearest parking lot off of highway. Once vehicle pulled into parking lot it was turned off and the key removed. Attempted to re-start vehicle, engine would turn over but would not start. Removed key from vehicle, exited vehicle and noticed smoke coming from underneath hood. Raised hood and found top left rear engine cover and surrounding plastic tubing as well as the fabric on the underside of the hood on fire. Fire department was called but fire was extinguished prior to their arrival. Vehicle towed to local VW dealership and awaiting insurance adjuster and VW to assess damages.
As we were approaching a stop sign the engine hesitated or stuttered as we came to a stop. As I attempted to start again, the engine hesitated, I noticed that the engine light had come on, smoke was coming out from under the hood. I pulled over and opened the hood to find the top left rear of the engine cover on fire. I called 911 and the fire department arrived to extinguish the fire which had by then consumed most of the plastic components on top and rear of the engine.
I have a VW Passat cc 2.0 turbo 2009. I was driving down the highway at 60 miles when suddenly the car under the speed to 30 M. almost I have an accident with other drivers. I went to VW dealer and the problem I had was the ignition coil. The VW warranty did not cover the damage and I have to pay for it being that this is a manufacturing defect of these models of cars. Here I am sending you a New York times article where he talks about this situation. wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/ignition-coil-problem-identified-on-nearly-500000-VW-Passats/
There are 3 complaints. I have purchased 2 Volkswagen Passats in 2009. One is working fine except windshield tank leak, and the other one has the leakage and at the same time an engine problem. I would like to recall the other one of which I have registered with vehicle id here followed by the below reasons and requests. 1. windshield tank leakage since there was no accident and it naturally leaked. 2. on the 17th of November 2011, the car suddenly stopped and exhaled black smoke and I could not drive any more. I definitely stopped and called a wreck car and went directly to the dealer. The dealer reported as steering column module problem. (also mentioned about injector ) 3. on the 14th of September 2012, I was on my way to work and quite far away from the company, the car suddenly stopped with the same problem as 2011. I was late for work for sure and it was almost life threatening circumstance because of the environment. I called the wreck car and here is another report from the dealer. "customer states vehicle was driving rough, shaking and emitting smoke excessively: Smelled of fuel: Made it to the dealership and will not start. Check and advise. Inspected vehicle retrieved P0300 random misfire P0303 cylinder #3 misfire and P0087 for fuel rail. Noticed large amounts of white smoke coming from exhaust and strong odor of fuel...)" 4. I have power train warranty for 5 years or 60K mile (which will be the first) and the dealer fixed 2 times for free because of the warranty. Now even the warranty is being terminated and I have no other ways to secure my safety. Followed by the above reasons, I will not be able to drive this car which I have purchased in 2009. When I drive this car, I do not feel safe and even feel life threatening danger while I am driving because those moments in the past were very dangerous.
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle's engine stalled without warning. The failure was experienced several times and the vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. The dealer performed a diagnostic which located the failure at the battery. The dealer replaced the battery, fuel pump and the fuel pump control module but the failure was not corrected. The vehicle continued to stall sporadically. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage were 62,800 updated 07/11/12
This was a very dangerous experience. After stopped at one traffic light, the engine was total shut down when I press the acceleration pedal. Car stopped in the middle of the road right after the car made the left turn. Then I restarted the engine, it seemed normal, but after only 300 yards when I hit the gas pedal, the engine stalked again. Car just parked in the middle of the road. I restarted the engine again, this time the check engine light was on, and same problem happened after the car barely ran over 400 yards. I finally drove to home with 7 or 8 restarts for 4 miles. Then on May 21, I called aaa to tow my car to a local VW dealer. In the morning of May 22, the dealer's service adviser called me that the high pressure fuel pump was broken and need to be replaced. The cost including diagnose is $873. However, around 4pm in the afternoon, the dealer called again and advised that the replacement of fuel pump does not solve the problem. The dealer has made call to VW for the technical support.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Kansas City, MO, USA