2006 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THE COMPRESSOR CREATED METAL PARTICLES THAT TRAVEL THROUGH THE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM CAUSING THE AIR CONDITIONER TO FAIL. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT IN ORDER TO CORRECT THE COMPRESSOR DEFECT THE REPAIR REQUIRED THE REMOVAL OF THE ENTIRE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND A REPORT WAS FILED; HOWEVER, NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 60,000.

2006 PASSAT WITH 54,000 MILES, SUDDENLY AM HAVING TROUBLE STARTING THE VEHICLE. GOT STRANDED ON DOWNTOWN FLINT, MICHIGAN (NOT WHERE YOU WANT TO BE AFTER 7:00PM AT NIGHT!). CAR JUST WOULD NOT START, THEN DISCOVERED THAT MOVING THE STEERING WHEEL ALLOWED CAR TO START. HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE, AND TWICE WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED, MAKING IT VERY HAZARDOUS TO PULL CAR TO SHOULDER. AFTER TALKING WITH THE DEALER, WAS INFORMED THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO REPLACE THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE COMFORT SENSOR FOR $1,600! I CALLED VWUSA, AND WAS TOLD THAT SINCE IT WAS 4,000 MILES OUT OF WARRANTY, I WAS ON MY OWN! THIS IS NOT ONLY A DESIGN FLAW, BUT IS PROVING TO BE HAZARDOUS AS IT IS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL DURING HIGHWAY DRIVING. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY SOMETIMES WHEN I PUSHING ON THE GAS, IT WILL JUST DIE, I HAVE TO EITHER FLOOR IT TO GET IT BACK AND GOING OR RELEASE THE GAS ALL TOGETHER AND THEN PUSH ON IT AGAIN FOR THE CAR TO PICK UP SPEED. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY AND I CANT AFFORD TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER TO SEE HOW MUCH IT WOULD BE TO GET FIXED. I AM ALSO GETTING THE AIR BAG FAULT AND I HAD GOTTEN IT FIXED ONCE BEFORE FOR ABOUT $300 AND THEN A WEEK LATER IT CAME BACK ON. THE WAY IT CAME BACK ON IS AFTER I REPROGRAMMED MY KEY BECAUSE THAT WASN'T WORKING EITHER... *TR

WHEN BRAKING OR IDLE, MY 2006 VW PASSAT (3.6L) WILL IDLE AT AN INCREASED RPM (JUST LESS THAN 1000, TYPICALLY IT IS AT 600-700 WHEN RUNNING CORRECTLY). THIS WILL MAKE THE CAR DIFFICULT TO BRAKE AND HOLD STOPPED AND HAS ALMOST RESULTED IN A ACCIDENT NUMEROUS TIMES. THE CAR WILL CONTINUE TO IDLE AT THIS HIGHER RPM UNTIL YOU BEGIN DRIVING AGAIN AND THE PROBLEM WILL LIKELY OCCUR AT THE NEXT TRAFFIC LIGHT. THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR WHEN THIS HAPPENS IS TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO HOLD DOWN THE BRAKE PEDAL UNDER THIS INCREASED ENGINE IDLE AND MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO BRING THE CAR TO A STOP. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE EXTREMELY FREQUENT WHEN UNDER HOT TEMPERATURES OR WHEN THE AC IS BEING RUN. THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR YEARS BUT THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIX IT. THERE ARE OTHER REPORTS OF THIS HAPPENING FROM OTHER DRIVERS. *TR

2006 VW PASSAT STEERING COLUMN LOCK DEFECTIVE DUE, EVIDENTLY TO COMPUTER MODULE MALFUNCTION INSIDE STEERING COLUMN WHICH PREVENTS THE CAR FROM STARTING RELIABLY. NOT COVERED BY RECALL OR WARRANTY. DEALER WANT $2,000 FOR NEW STEERING COLUMN, NEW STEERING COLUMN, LOCK, NEW STEERING COLUMN MODULE AND THEN THE CONVENIENCE MODULE HAS TO BE REPLACED TO SYNC THEM. WITH 8-10 HOURS OVER LABOR OVER 2 DAYS ESTIMATE IS $2,000. ALL BECAUSE THEIR CRAPPY DESIGN PUT THE DEFECTIVE COMPUTER MODULE INSIDE THE STEERING COLUMN AND THEY WON'T UPDATE THE SOFTWARE OR REPLACE THE MODULE. THEY REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN! *TR

2006 PASSAT PURCHASED OCTOBER 2009 WITH 48,000 MILES, ALREADY OUT OF WARRANTY. THE CAR NOW STARTS AND CUTS OFF IMMEDIATELY AND HAS CUT OFF AROUND 6 OR 7 TIMES WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS ON THE FREEWAY! I HAVE TO PULL OFF SAFELY BUT IN A HURRY TO AVOID POSSIBLE COLLISIONS. I WOULD LIKE TO START A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST VW FOR NEGLIGENCE. THIS PART SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED, IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE THESE MODELS HAVE. I'M GOING TO CONTACT AN ATTORNEY FOR THIS. IF NOT I WILL SUE MYSELF TO RECOVER THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS DEFECT. TO ALL THE OTHER OWNERS, BE SAFE!! *TR

MY 2006 VW PASSAT 2.0T SEDAN REFUSES TO START GIVING A "DEFECTIVE STEERING COLUMN DEFECT" ERROR. THE FIRST ERROR WAS ON THE 18TH OF MAY, 2010. IT HAPPENS AT LEAST 3-5 TIMES PER WEEK. AFTER REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO START IT FINALLY STARTS. 3-15 ATTEMPTS STARTS THE CAR. DEALER HAS QUOTED ME $1800 TO REPAIR, CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY IS THEIR RESPONSE. AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET, APPARENTLY IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE AND VW HASN'T DONE MUCH ABOUT IT. *TR

IN APRIL 2009, WHILE DRIVING, THE "STEERING COLUMN LOCK DEFECT" MESSAGE APPEARED. AS DIRECTED, TOOK IT IMMEDIATELY TO DEALERSHIP. AFTER SERVICE, THEY INDICATED NO PROBLEM COULD BE FOUND. AFTER THIS, I WOULD HAVE THIS SAME ERROR MESSAGE APPEAR WHEN TRYING TO START THE CAR. MANY TIMES, IT WOULD TAKE 5-10 MINUTES OF TRYING BEFORE THE VEHICLE WOULD START. HAD IT IN FOR OTHER SERVICE OVER THE PAST YEAR & EACH TIME RELAYED THE PROBLEM. THEY NEVER COULD DIAGNOSE IT & SAID IT WAS PROBABLY JUST AN ISSUE WITH THE COMPUTER. IN APRIL OF 2010, THE PROBLEM STARTED OCCURRING MORE & MORE FREQUENTLY. IN LATE MAY 2010, COULD NOT GET THE VEHICLE TO START AFTER SAME STEERING COLUMN LOCK MESSAGE. THEN COULD NOT REMOVE THE KEY. FINALLY GOT THE KEY OUT; HOWEVER, THE DASH AND INTERNAL LIGHTS STAYED ON AND RAN DOWN THE BATTERY. WAS ABLE TO GET A CHARGE TO THE BATTERY BUT THEN THE ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM IMMOBILIZER ENGAGED RENDERING THE VEHICLE UNUSABLE. AFTER A YEAR OF REPEATEDLY TAKING THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, IT IS NOW BACK THERE BUT IT HAD TO BE TOWED. DOING RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON OCCURRENCE WITH THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF CAR; HOWEVER, NO RECALLS, ETC. HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND OBVIOUSLY THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE/FIX THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT CAME TO THE POINT OF THE CAR BEING TOTALLY UNUSABLE. *TR

ON HOT DAY (90 DEGREE +/-) THE 3.6 ENGINE WILL SUDDENLY BEGIN TO IDLE AT 1000 RPM AFTER BEING DRIVEN FOR A WHILE. IN MY LATEST EPISODE, I HAD BEEN DRIVING IN STOP AND GO CITY TRAFFIC FOR 30-45 MINUTES WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY BEGAN TO RACE. THE FIRST NOTICE IS WHEN YOU ARE STOPPING OR STOPPED. WHEN STOPPED IT TAKES EXTRA BRAKE. PRESSURE AND CONCENTRATION TO KEEP THE CAR BRAKED. THIS HAS HAPPENED A NUMBER OF TIMES BUT, I ONLY RECENTLY LINKED THE CAR'S BEHAVIOR WITH THE HIGH AIR TEMPS. DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE AND DID NOT DETECT ANY ERROR CODES WHEN THE CAR WAS TAKEN IN FOR SERVICE. *TR

WHEN BRAKING OR IDOL, MY 2006 VW PASSAT WILL HAVE AN ENGINE SURGE THAT AMOUNTS TO A SUDDEN INCREASE IN RPM. THIS WILL MAKE THE CAR DIFFICULT TO BRAKE AND HAS ALMOST RESULTED IN A ACCIDENT NUMEROUS TIMES. THE CAR WILL CONTINUE TO IDOL AT THIS HIGHER RPM UNTIL YOU BEGIN DRIVING AGAIN AND THE PROBLEM WILL LIKELY OCCUR AT THE NEXT TRAFFIC LIGHT. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO HOLD DOWN THE BRAKE PEDAL UNDER THIS INCREASED ENGINE SPEED AND MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO BRING THE CAR TO A STOP. MY WIFE STRUGGLES TO KEEP THE CAR STOPPED FOR 3 MINUTES AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT BECAUSE OF THE HIGH AMOUNTS OF FORCE REQUIRED TO KEEP THE BRAKE PEDAL DOWN AND THE CAR STOPPED. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE EXTREMELY FREQUENT WHEN UNDER HOT TEMPERATURES OR WHEN THE AC IS BEING RUN. THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR YEARS BUT THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIX IT. THERE ARE OTHER REPORTS OF THIS HAPPENING FROM OTHER DRIVERS. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO A DEALER 4 TIMES TO TRY TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE AND CAN EASILY REPEAT IT BUT HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIX IT. THIS CAR IS NOW DANGEROUS TO DRIVE, ESPECIALLY FOR MY WIFE. PLEASE HELP RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. THANKS *TR