1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Complaints

PURCHASED MY 1999 VW PASSAT 1.8T WAGON IN AUGUST, 2002. IT HAD APPRX. 53,000 MILES ON IT. BY SEPTEMBER, 2003, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT SQUEAKING, CREAKING, GROANING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END. AT THAT TIME, CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY. 75K MILES. DIAGNOSIS WAS FRONT END SUSPENSION PARTS INCLUDING CONTROL ARMS, BALL JOINTS, BUSHINGS WERE DANGEROUSLY WORN AND IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT. VW DEALERSHIP PROVIDED ME WITH A COPY OF TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED BY VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA DATED MAY 31, 2001. IT CALLS FOR INSTALLATION OF PARTS IN REPAIR KIT NO 3BO498 798A. BECAUSE OF EXISTENCE OF THE TECH SERVICE BULLETIN FOR THIS PROBLEM, MY EXTENDED WARRANTY COMPANY (WYNN'S WARRANTIES) REFUSES TO PAY FOR REPAIRS. REPAIRS STILL NEEDED TO TUNE OF $1100. FRONT END IS NOW SO LOOSE FOR SAFETY REASONS I WILL HAVE TO MAKE REPAIRS IMMEDIATELY AT MY OWN EXPENSE. *JB

CONTROL ARM MADE A CLUCKING SOUND WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN AT LOW SPEEDS. DEALERSHIP INDICATED THAT THE NOISE OCCURRED BECAUSE THE CONTROL ARM WAS LOOSE, AND IF THIS PART FAILED, THE BALL JOINTS COULD BREAK WILL DRIVING. THE CONTROL ARM ON THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WAS REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SIDE. *AK

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.*AK

ON 6/10/2004, I HAD MY VW PASSAT REPAIRED AT MITCHELL VOLKSWAGEN, CANTON, CT, FOR ROUGH IDLE AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. DEALER FOUND SCAN CODES FOR CYLINDER #2 MISFIRES AND RANDOM/MULTIPLE MISFIRES. DEALER REPLACED ICM IGNITION CONTROL MODULE AND CLEARED FAULT. THEN DEALER ATTEMPTED TO SET BASIC SETTINGS AND A NEW PROBLEM WAS GENERATED, THROTTLE BODY WOULD NOT ADAPT. I NOW HAVE A CONTINUOUS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. DEALER DID NOT EXPLAIN WHY THEY TRIED TO SET THE BASIC SETTINGS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ICM. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IF THE BASIC SETTINGS ARE NOT PERFORMED CORRECTLY A MALFUNCTION TO THE THROTTLE VALVE CONTROL CAN OCCUR. THE DEALER TOLD ME THE THIS PROBLEM MAY BE SELF CORRECTING. IF IT DOES CORRECT ITSELF, I NEED TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY FOR APPROX. $500.00. I HAVE SPENT MORE THAN $539.00 TO HAVE MY ICM REPLACED AND NOW HAVE A NEW PROBLEM. NOW I AM TOLD "MAY REQUIRE REPLACEMENT OF THE THROTTLE BODY TO CORRECT, WILL NOT CAUSE VEHICLE TO RUN ROUGH, MAY CAUSE SURGING AT IDLE OR SLIGHT HESTITATION ON ACCELERATION, PART NEEDS TO BE ORDERED. IT MAY CORRECT ITSELF IN 200 MILES. THE DEALER SAID IT'S OK TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS (CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND HESTITATION AND SURGING). I CONTACTED VW CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY AGREE WITH THE DEALER. I THINK THIS IS A MANUFUCTURE'S DEFECT IN DESIGN AND YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DRIVE A VEHICLE WITH A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WITH HESTITATION AND POSSIBLE SURGING, THESE ARE SAFETY ISSUES. THE VW CUSTOMER SERVICE WOULD NOT GIVE ME SOMEONE ELSE AT VW TO EXPRESS MY SAFETY CONCERNS.*AK

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED THERE WAS EXCESSIVE SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL WELL. VEHICLE HAD BEEN TO THE DEALER FOUR TIMES FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM. DEALER CLAIMED THAT THE PROBLEM ORIGINATED FROM OILS FROM THE ENGINE. *AK

BUSHING HAS DRIED OUT ON LOWER CONTROL ARM ON ONE SIDE RESULTING IN FREQUENT LOUD CREEKING / SQUEEKING NOISES. WHEN MAKING APPOINTMENT WITH DEALER I ASKED IF IT WAS A SAFETY PROBLEM AND SHOULD I RUSH THE CAR IN. THEY SAID "NO, IT'S PROBABLY JUST A DRY BUSHING" AND SCHEDULED ME FOR 10 DAYS LATER. WHEN I LEARNED OF THE $1200 REPAIR COST AND THE NEED TO KEEP THE CAR OVERNIGHT, I HAD TO RESCHEDULE THE APPOINTMENT. AGAIN, ANOTHER 12 DAYS WAIT (YET TO COME). IF THIS IS TRUELY NOT A SAFETY ISSUE, THEN FINE, BUT INFO ON THIS SITE IS TO THE CONTRARY. BESIDES, WHY DO SUPPOSE THEY CALL THEM "CONTROL ARMS?" IF THEY MAL FUNCTION COULD THAT MEAN LOSS OF CONTROL? HMMM. 85K MILES ON THIS CAR, BUT IN RETROSPECT, THE NOISE STARTED A LONG TIME AGO AND THE DEALER ATTRIBUTED IT TO LACK OF STEERING FLUID. THE NOISE RETURNED AND CAME BACK. THIS CAR HAS A LOT OF HIGHWAY MILES. I'LL BET THE FAILURE IS TIME BASED RATHER THAN MILAGE BASED. THESE RUBBER BUSING CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH EXPOSURE TO THE ELEMENTS. VW - CHANGE THE MATERIAL FOR YOUR BUSHINGS, RIGHT!!*AK

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. *AK

PROBLEMS WITH FRONT SUSPENSION ARMS ON 1999 PASSAT. *MR THE RIGHT LOWER CONTROL ARM WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY AT 23500 MILES AND THE DEALER SUGGESTED THAT THERE WERE EARLIER PROBLEMS BEFORE THE CURRENT OWNERS. THE SUSPENSION PART WERE DESIGN DEFECTIVE. *SC *JB

TIMING BELT ON VEHICLE BROKE RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE VALVES. *MR THE NEWER EDITIONS OF THE PASSAT HAVE REDESIGNED TENSION SYSTEMS FOR THE TIMING BELT. *SC *JB

AT ABOUT 68,000 MILES THE ABS LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON, IN MY 1999 VW PASSAT 1.8T. THEY HAVE REMAINED ON, EXCEPT FOR BRIEF OCCASSION. THE WARNING SIGNAL GOES OFF AS WELL. LYNCH IMPORTS, DAYTONA BEACH, WAS UNABLE TO ACCESS INFORMATION THROUGH DIAGNOISTIC TESTING. I HAVE NO ABS AND THEY ANTICIPATE A HIGH COST TO EVEN FIND THE PROBLEM, ($78 PER HOUR TO MANUALLY GO THROUGH SYSTEMS) LET ALONE REPAIR IT. I UNDERSTAND NOW THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH VOLKSWAGEN. *AK