1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Complaints

VEHICLE GOES TO THE RIGHT AND THERE IS A NOISE COMING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE. DEALER STATES THE TIE ROD IS DEFECTIVE.*AK

1. ABS & BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS APPEAR - NO OBVIOUS EVENTS LEADING UP TO FAILURE. 2. I DRIVE CAREFULLY TO THE DEALER SHOP DURING A SNOW STORM - CAREFUL NOT TO APPLY THE BRAKES TOO STRONGLY. NO ACCIDENT OCCURED - BUT DANGER OF ACCIDENT DEFINITELY INCREASED. 3. DEALER DETERMINES THE PROBLEM IS THE ABS PUMP. DUE TO SAFETY ISSUE, I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE ABS REPLACED AT MY COST OF AT LEAST $1200 . *AK

MY 1999 VW PASSAT, HAS A ABS CONTROL UNIT FAILURE. THE PART # IS 8E0 614 111B. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I NOTICE THAT THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM WITH VW. IF THIS IS SUCH A COMMON PROBLEM WHY HAVE THEY NOT BEEN RECALLED. I ALSO NOTICE THAT THE NEWER MODELS ARE NOW INSTALLED WITH A NEWER PART, IS THIS BECAUSE VW WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM? *AK

ABS BRAKE LIGHT- I TOOK MY CAR TO A VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP TO SEE WHY THIS LIGHT IS ON AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT COULD BE A MODULE, AND IT IS NOT COVERED BY WARRENTY, AND IT WOULD COST ABOUT $1300.00 TO REPLACE. SO I DID SOME RESEARCH AND IN MY RESEARCH I LEARNED THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM. I DID A SEARCH ON GOOGLE AND FOUND AT LEAST 200 COMPLAINTS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND IT IS A SAFETY CONCERN. MY BRAKES DONT WORK IN DAMP WEATHER.. THEY BECOME VERY HARD TO PUSH.. AND MY BRAKES ARE NEW I HAD THEM REPLACES ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO AND THE LIGHT WAS ON BACK THEN.. THAT IS WHY I HAD THEM REPLACED, IN HOPES THAT WAS THE PROBLEM.. BUT IF YOU DO A SEARCH ON GOOGLE YOU WILL FIND THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF STORIES AND SAFETY CONCERNS. I ALSO CONTACTED CORPORATE VOLKSWAGEN AND THEY TOLD ME THAT MY CAR WAS OUT OF WARRENTY AND THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO, THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR IT MYSELF.*AK

I HAVE A 1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT GLS - I AM DRIVING AT RANDOM SPEED. CHIME COMES ON BLASTING. ABS LIGHT COMES ON AND STAY ON. BRAKE LIGHT FLASHES (SAME BRAKE LIGHT AS WHEN E-BRAKE IS ENGAGED) CHIME KEEPS GOING. ALL GOES AWAY AFTER ABOUT 20 SECONDS OF DRIVING. *JB

FAILURE OF ANTI-LOCK BRAKE MODULE ON 1999 VW PASSAT 1.8T. NO CRASH/DAMAGE/INJURY (YET). STARTED 1/05, CONTINUES. COMMON DEFECT, CERTAINLY SAFETY RELATED. VW UNINTERESTED IN CORRECTING PROBLEM. *JB

I A 1999 VW PASSAT GLS 1.8T. I HAVE EXPERIENCED AN INTERMITTENT ABS WARNING LIGHT ISSUE SINCE MID DECEMBER 2004. WHEN IT FIRST CAME ON I PROMPTLY TOOK THE CAR TO MY REGULAR/LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP (POWER VOLKSWAGON, TORRANCE, CA) WHO REPORTED THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM, AND SAID THEY RESET THE SYSTEM. WITHIN A FEW DAYS THE ABS LIGHT WAS ON AGAIN AND I RETURNED IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THIS TIME THEY KEPT IT FOR A FEW DAYS TO TRY TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEM AND REPORTED THAT THEY HAD IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM AS A WIRING PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDED REPLACING THE ABS WIRING TO THE SENSORS (COST UNDER $500). AFTER GETTING THE VEHICLE BACK THE LIGHT WAS AGAIN ON INTERMITTENTLY (NOT AS MUCH AS BEFORE) AND THIS TIME THEY SAID THE ONLY OTHER SOLUTION IS TO REPLACE THE ABS CONTROL MODULE (QUOTED $1,500 PARTS AND $300 LABOR). GIVEN THE FACT THAT I HAD JUST SPENT $500 ON ABS WIRING THAT THEY SAID WAS THE PROBLEM I WASN'T ABOUT TO SPEND $2,000 WITH THEM. I STARTED MY OWN RESEARCH TO FIND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 1998-2000 ABS CONTROL MODULES ON VW/AUDI VEHICLES (SEE HTTP://TECH.BENTLEYPUBLISHERS.COM/THREAD.JSPA?THREADID=2447). I ALSO TALKED WITH INDEPENDENT/GERMAN MECHANICS WHO SEEMED WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM (EVEN THOUGH MY VW DEALERSHIP SEEMED TO FEEL IT WAS A MYSTERY). AS PARENT WHOSE CHILDREN ARE REGULARLY IN THE VEHICLE I HAVE TRIED TO DETERMINE WHAT LEVEL OF SAFETY RISK (IF ANY) THIS POSES. WHEN MY WIFE INITIALLY CALLED OUR VW DEALERSHIP THEY SAID IT WAS A CRITICAL PROBLEM AND THAT WE SHOULD BRING THE VEHICLE IN IMMEDIATELY. THEN WHEN THEY COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM, IT SEEMED TO BE "DOWNGRADED" TO NEEDS FIXED BUT NOT CRITICAL. THE VW OWNER'S MANUAL SUGGESTS THAT IT IS CRITICAL AS THE LIGHT ON MAY RESULT IN UNEXPECTED BRAKING AND ONE OF THE INDEPENDENT MECHANICS I SPOKE WITH SUGGESTED HE PERSONALLY KNEW OF A CASE WHERE THE VEHICLE'S ABS ENGAGED AT A HIGH SPEED RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT. I ENCOURAGE NHTSA TO ENGAGE VW IN RESOLVING THIS ISSUE.

I AM WRITING ABOUT ENGINE FAILURE REGARDING A 1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 1.8T. I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2003 AT 29,000 MILES AND THE CAR CURRENTLY HAS AROUND 77,000. VOLKSWAGEN HAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY THAT STATES (TO SOME DEGREE) THAT IF THE ENGINE FAILS DUE TO SLUDGE AND IS UNDER 80,000 MILES THE OWNER WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE THEIR ENGINE REPLACED, 'IF' THEY HAVE RECORDS OF ALL OIL CHANGES (OF NOT MORE THAN 5,000 MILES). MY COMPLAINT IS THIS, I DO NOT HAVE ALL THE RECORDS SINCE ONE OF THE LOCATIONS THAT I WENT TO NO LONGER HAS A RECORD OF OIL CHANGES DUE TO A COMPUTER MALFUNCTION. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN I CALLED VOLKSWAGEN'S 'CUSTOMER ADVOCATE' THEY INDICATED THAT THE DECISION IS REALLY UP TO THE AREA SERVICE MANAGER WHO CAN ARBITRARILY DECIDE TO REPAIR OR NOT REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THUS, MY COMPLAINT IS THAT VOLKSWAGEN KNOWS THAT THEIR ENGINE HAS A PROBLEM AND WILL NOT FIX IT. I HAVE ASKED TO HAVE THEM SEND ME A COPY OF THEIR WARRANTY INDICATING THIS, BUT WANTED TO LODGE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE COMPANY FOR THE 1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 1.8T WITH THE HOPES OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ENGINE AND WHETHER IT IS FAULTY. THANK YOU.*AK

I AM ONE OF MANY PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THE ABS CONTROL MODULE FAIL IN MY 1998 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THE DEALER SAYS THAT HE CAN FIX THE 'PROBLEM' FOR AROUND $2,000. I HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS OTHER PEOPLE POST INTERNET MESSAGES ABOUT THEIR ABS CONTROL MODULES FAILING ON THEIR VW PASSATS. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT VW WOULD ALLOW SUCH A THING WITHOUT ISSUING A RECALL. *JB

CONSUMER PLACED THE VEHICLE IN CRUISE CONTROL. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED AT A TOLL BOOTH VEHICLE ACCELERATED. THEN, VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE, ONCE GETTING ONTO THE HIGHWAY, TO 72 MPH.. CONSUMER PULLED OVER, TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF FOR FORTY MINUTES, AND PROCEEDED HOME. THE NEXT DAY, CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERS FOR INSPECTION, WHERE IT REMAINED. *AK