10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 8
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
74,508 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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 Volkswagen Passat engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Volkswagen Passat Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #59

Sep 222021

Passat

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I put fuel in the car and about to start the car and it won-??t start. Lights flickering.

- Queens , NY, USA

problem #58

Apr 152020

Passat 6-cyl

  • miles
I got 09 4 motion cc 3.6. I had read spent close to 6G and nobody can fix the acceleration when start. Very frustrated change catalytic converters change other things I bad.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #57

Mar 022020

Passat

  • 167,000 miles
Loud sound when vehicle is in idle. Took it to local mechanic and they are saying it needs a timing chain replacement because it skips.

- Forest, VA, USA

problem #56

Jan 052018

Passat

  • 75,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Recall update: Currently, intake manifold needs to be repaired-engine light on-cost $1400. Took car to dealership for fuel pump was told it was replaced but would not give evidence that it was. Side frontal air bag never replaced-was told by dealership did not need it.

- Elgin, SC, USA

problem #55

Oct 112019

Passat

  • miles
The vehicle has issues with the fuel pump, intake & cylinders. I was able to change the fuel pump but noticed online the vehicle has been recalled for these same issues. When turning the car on and driving it turns off and hardening the steering wheel

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #54

Aug 302019

Passat 4-cyl

  • 115,000 miles
The consumer owns a 2009 Volkswagen Passat. The consumer stated that the engine intake manifold failed and caused the vehicle not to accelerate in a timely manner. The consumer stated that the vehicle failed the state inspection due to the intake manifold failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in the intake manifold system repair. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 115,000.

- Yonkers, NY, USA

problem #53

Jul 022019

Passat

  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My VW Passat 2009 sustained engine failure due to failure timing chain/timing chain tensioner and now needs very expensive engine repair or replacement of engine. Car drove okay for 15 minutes in the morning then it was then parked for about 2 hours. When trying to re-start the car, the car would not start. Mechanic noted absent compression in 2 cylinders and diagnosed it to be due to timing chain slipping. This happened at 80,000miles and less than 10 years (9 years 9 months) of purchase of the vehicle. VW's extended warranty covers repair/replacement of timing chain but does not cover repair of engine damage resulted due to timing chain failure. The car was serviced at VW dealer regularly and there was no warning or indication of impending failure of the timing chain. Other owners of VW vehicles have also complained of having identical problems on online community with some people complaining of engine stalling while driving. This appears to be a defective design rather than wear and tear due ageing and I feel that VW should recall the affected vehicles to repair the problems.

- Lutherville Timonium, MD, USA

problem #52

Apr 192019

Passat

  • 120,000 miles
To whom it may concern: I wanted to follow-up and discuss a recent incident. On April 19th 2019 our 2009 VW Passat was in our garage as this is the usual location we park our cars. On the 18th we completed yard work and nothing out of the norm was noted as we completed the yard work at around 8pm and nothing was noted to be abnormal. Around 4 am on the 19th my spouse and I were awoken to a loud pop sound. This sound was unusual to us. Shortly after the pop sound there panic alarm could be heard that waned out in about 30 seconds. My husband went to the garage and was met with black and pressure like force against the garage door. We immediately evacuated the home and called the fire department. At the time were not sure what caused the smoke but once the fire fighters arrived were told the VW Passat was on fire. The fire marshall reported to us that it was possibly electrical in nature. I wanted to touch based with VW pertaining this matter in an effort to save others lives. Our garage has been damaged as well as the VW atlas was damage from the fire. My concern is that the outcome could have been far worse. My VW Passat had was driven the day of the 18th with no concerns. I am concerned that another person could be gravely harmed if this issue is not addressed. I am a VW customer that enjoys the overall product and wish excellence and quality for the product. If you need to contact me for further inquiry please call (xxxxxx) parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Galena, OH, USA

problem #51

Jan 222019

Passat

  • 78,000 miles
Timing belt tensioner failure. Engine requires major repairs

- Warrington, PA, USA

problem #50

Aug 172018

Passat

  • 117,000 miles
Stopped running at traffic light- towed to dealership -timing chain/tensioner issue

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #49

Aug 102018

Passat

  • 105,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

3 different occasions my car would loose power and shut down on the highway. I had it towed and all three times they stated it was different things and that they had to take steps in replacing good parts to find the bad ones. Just to find out that it was the fuel pump control module that they thought it was the whole time. Now there is a recall on it. Which I have summitted the paper work and they conveniently cannot find. This past weekend my car wouldn't turn over at all when I tried to start it in a parking lot so I had it towed for the 4th time in 2.5years. They are claiming that the engine motor is bad and it would cost $7500 to replace. The technician cannot find any oil leaks nd claim there was only about a half of court of oil in the motor. I had the oil changed less than 2 months prior and both Volkswagen and my mechanic said that there is no way it could of run for that long on half a court of oil and should hold 5.6 quarts. Which leads to the motor eating so to speak the oil. ( a bad engine) although I spent over $20'000.00 on this vehicle and have had all these issues Volkswagen is telling me that they will not help at all with repairing the engine. That I will have to eat the $9000 still owed on the vehicle. Words cannot describe how disappointed I am with the customer service by Volkswagen.

- New Market, MD, USA

problem #48

Feb 292016

Passat

  • 74,009 miles
Rear main seal and breather unit blew out @ 74K miles. My vehicle was leaking oil and vacuum pressure. Cost me $1800 to repair. It caused my vehicle to stall out several times while driving/resting at stop lights.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #47

Jul 092018

Passat

  • 104,000 miles
Bad tensioner belt led to blown engine.

- West Haven, CT, USA

problem #46

May 122018

Passat

  • 97,800 miles
Began to drive vehicle yesterday to fuel up. "oil consumption: Stop engine" warning message came on. Went off after a few seconds and then came back on and wouldn't go off. Drove 6 blocks back home. Did not feel it was safe to drive car any further. VW dealer does not know why that warning message came on. They don't know what to do or what to fix. They said fuel pump recall may fix the problem. That recall is now 10 months old with no sign of parts being ready.

- Farmington, MN, USA

problem #45

May 072018

Passat

  • 97,100 miles
My son drove the vehicle to school this morning. As he neared the school driveway going about 25 miles per hour, the engine warning light came on "stop engine immediately." He drove the vehicle 1 city block to park in the school parking lot. The engine did not jolt when the warning came on but it came on none-the-less.

- Farmington, MN, USA

problem #44

May 052018

Passat

  • 97,000 miles
Driving car when suddenly a warning message is displayed "stop engine immediately." The car was in forward motion as I was driving on a 4 lane highway. This has happened several times. Not turning, not braking, not backing up. We discussed it with a VW dealer. They said the car has a recall on the fuel pump 10 months ago but as of yet, no parts and no eta. Online reports suggest the engine may overheat and seize or cause engine fire.

- Farmington, MN, USA

problem #43

Apr 092018

Passat

  • 135,700 miles
Rear main oil seal needed to be replaced. It was compromised by excessive pressure in crankcase because PCV breather was not functioning. There was no check engine condition prior to the rear seal being compromised. Rear main seal replacement costs $1146, parts and labor. PCV valve was also replaced. I noticed an oil leak on garage floor, which led me to bring it into service for a technician to inspect. I would like VW to compensate for some of the costs for this repair.

- Germantown, NY, USA

problem #42

Jan 102018

Passat

  • 111,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Volkswagen Passat. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. In addition, the engine warning indicator failed to illuminate. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact managed to restart the vehicle and drove to darcars Volkswagen (12511 prosperity dr., silver spring, md 20904, (301) 622-7000) where it stalled again. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 17V509000 (fuel system: Gasoline); however, the contact had not received a recall notice. The same dealer diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced, but the recall was on hold. The vehicle was repaired by an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The failure mileage was 111,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Wheaton, MD, USA

problem #41

Apr 152017

Passat

  • 50,000 miles
There is an interruption in electrical power to the fuel pump control module. This resulting in the fuel pump running continuously, resulting in a drained battery and cause a loss of motive power while the vehicle is in motion, this happened today on highway and almost I was going to have a fatal accident. Us. VW and the delar are not taking any action at that regard, they stated today that I pay to the repair and they will emberse me later. Pleas note that there is a recall on the fuel pump control module to solve that issue. Safety risk

- Cary, NC, USA

problem #40

Mar 042018

Passat

  • 107,000 miles
This vehicle had catastrophic engine failure due to a faulty cam chain tensioner. This is been known by Volkswagen as a service bulletin was issued in 2011. I was driving on a city St. And had to push the vehicle to the side. The fuel pump and sending units have also failed in this vehicle along with the turbocharger diverter valve which was a defective item. All these items have been known by Volkswagen for some time. The cost of repair on the vehicle has been over $5,000. I believe all these issues should have been a recall item. Failures on some of them have been happening at 20,000 miles. They could pose a safety hazard depending on where you were driving. Volkswagen has denied any reimbursement on most of these items. Had consumers known of these issues the cost would have been significantly less if the defective parts have been replaced. I am currently joining an active class action suit against Volkswagen for the timing chain tensioner.

- Paso Robles, CA, USA

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