2006 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL MODEL OR FUEL PUMP FAILED AT LEAST THREE TIMES ON HER VEHICLE. THE DEALER HAS INFORMED HER TO STOP BRINGING THE VEHICLE IN FOR REPAIR. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES BECAME INOPERABLE. THE CONTACT COULD NOT MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND HAD TO PUSH IT OUT OF THE LANE AND ONTO THE SHOULDER. THERE IS NEVER ANY WARNING BEFORE THE FAILURE OCCURS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 63,000.

THE GAS TANK OF MY CAR WAS DAMAGED WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY OF 380 NEAR THE SCRANTON, PA. AT THE BEGINNING I DID NOTICE THIS PROBLEM UNTIL I PARKED MY CAR IN THE CITY MALL NEARBY THE HIGHWAY. THE GAS LEAK WAS SIGNIFICANT. 10 GALLONS OF GAS WAS LEAKED OUT IN LESS THAN 15 MIN. THE FIRE-FIGHTER HELPED ME CLEAN THE PARKING AREA AND AVOID A POTENTIAL FIRE. BASED ON AN INSURANCE DAMAGE ADJUSTER'S INVESTIGATION, THE DAMAGE COULD RESULT FROM AN IMPACT OF A HARD OBJECT SUCH AS ICE OR A SMALL ROCK ON THE HIGHWAY. THE GAS TANK IS GOING TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF $1400. I AM REALLY SURPRISED THAT GERMAN ENGINEERS HAVE NOT THOUGHT SUCH AN ACCIDENT DURING THE WINTER. OBVIOUSLY THE CHEAP MATERIAL OF THE GAS TANK AND LACK OF PROPER TANK SHIELD COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THIS DAMAGE. *TR

GOSH WHERE DO I START VW PASSAT 51000 MILES ALOT OF THINGS WENT WRONG.. CAR STARTER VOLKS CAME OUT CAUSING THE STARTER TO BREAK MY TRUNK DOESN'T CLOSE POPS OPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF ROAD/FREEWAY CAUSING ME TO LOOSE THING FROM MY TRUNK EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IN THE FREEWAY MY STEERING WHEEL LOCK IS DEFECTED DOES NOT LOCK I HAVE CALLED NUMEROUS OF VW DEALER SHIPS AND THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME CAUSE ITS WARRANTY EXPIRED AND FOR STEERING LOCK I WENT BEFORE WARRANTY AND THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME 90 DOLLARS I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY LYING AROUND I HAVE CAR PAYMENT. INS ECT... IM SCARED IF SOMETHING WAS TO HAPPENED WHILE ME DRIVING WITH MY KIDS. *TR

THE VEHICLE I HAVE THE PROBLEM WITH IS A 2006 VW PASSAT 3.6L 55,000 MILES. THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH AN ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE. ON DEC 27 2008, I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY APROX 60MPH AND THE ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE WAS ENGAGED INSTANTLY WITHOUT WARNING AND CAUSE ME TO LOOSE CONTROL OF VEHICLE, SPIN 180 AND I GOT HIT BY AN SUV DRIVING BEHIND ME ON THE SAME DIRECTIONAL LANE. AFTER THE INCIDENT I TRY TO MOVE THE VEHICLE FROM THE TRAVEL LANE BUT THE WHEELS WERE STILL LOCKED. AFTER TRYING TO DISENGAGE THE PARKING BRAKE SEVERAL TIMES I DRAGGED THE VEHICLE OF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURN OFF THE ENGINE. AFTER TRYING SEVERAL TIMES TO DISENGAGE THE PARKING I WAS ABLE TO DO IT AND LEAVE THE SCENE DRIVING ON THE SHOULDER UNTIL I EXIT THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE THAT HIT ME LEFT AND BECAUSE I HAD MINOR DAMAGES AND I DECIDE NOT TO REPORT THE INCIDENT TO THE AUTHORITIES. IMMEDIATELY I CONTACT THE LOCAL DEALER AND VW OF AMERICA AND INFORMED THEM ABOUT THE SITUATION AND OPEN UP A CASE #80411298. I DROVE THE VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL DEALER LOCATED IN NAPERVILLE IL AND AFTER 7 DAYS THE TECHNICIAN SAID: WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND THEY CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY THE PARKING BRAKE WAS ENGAGED AT THE HIGHWAY SPEED. AFTER DOING A RESEARCH ON VW FORUM CALLED VW VORTEX, WWW.VWVORTEX.COM, I FOUND OUT THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO OTHER VW PASSAT OWNERS. THE REASON I'M WRITING YOU IS BECAUSE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE HERE AND I SHOULD SAY I WAS VERY LUCKY BECAUSE I DID NOT GET HIT BY A HEAVY TRUCK, I DID NOT GET INJURED OR MAYBE KILLED. AS OF TODAY THE LOCAL DEALER DON'T KNOW WHAT TO FIX ON THIS VEHICLE AND THEY WANT ME TO PICK UP THE CAR BECAUSE THEY SAID IT?S SAFE TO DRIVE. I THINK YOU SHOULD INTERVENE AND ANALYZE THIS ISSUE AND MAYBE WE CAN FIND A SOLUTION QUICK BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED OR MAYBE KILLED. PLEASE FELL FREE TO CONTACT ME ON MY EMAIL ADDRESS OR MY PHONE NUMBER AT ANYTIME I CAN ASSIST WITH MORE DETAILS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. *TR

PARKING BRAKE WILL NOT RELEASE. HAS BEEN SERVICED THREE TIMES FOR THIS ISSUE. HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED FIRST TIME. THE OTHER TWO TIMES I WAITED A WHILE AND TRIED AGAIN AND THE BRAKE DID RELEASE. HAD TO HAVE THE ENTIRE BRAKE REPLACED. ALSO, PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED BY ITSELF ONCE. FORTUNATELY IT HAPPENED WHEN I WAS TURNING THE CAR OFF AND NOT WHILE I WAS DRIVING. *TR

FAILURE OF CAR TO REMAIN RUNNING WHEN STARTING; HAS HAPPENED FOR TWO DAYS IN A ROW NOW. TWICE IN ONE DAY. START CAR AND THEN IT STALLS RIGHT AWAY. ALSO RECEIVE STEERING COLUMN ERROR SOMETIMES WHEN THIS HAPPENS. *TR

BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 2008, I WAS HAVING MINIMAL ISSUES WITH HAVING THE KEY STICK INTO THE IGNITION. I WAS ABLE EASILY PUSH THE KEY IN AND TAKE IT BACK OUT WITHOUT A PROBLEM. AROUND DECEMBER 2008 I HAD A "STEERING COLUMN LOCK DEFECTIVE" APPEAR ON MY DASHBOARD AND MY CAR SHUT OFF. THIS CONTINUES TO HAPPEN ABOUT ONCE EVERY 10 TIMES I TURN THE CAR ON. I TOOK IT TO THE VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP AND IT WAS STATED THAT THE ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AS WELL AS THE COMFORT SYSTEM MODULE. TOTAL COST: $1,500. *TR

2006 VW PASSAT WITH STEERING ISSUE. MESSAGE IN DASH INDICATES "STEERING COLUMN LOCK DEFECTIVE." LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP SAYS ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT MY COST SINCE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY WITH 69,000 MILES. COST OF REPAIR IS CLOSE TO $2,000. THE CAR HAS PROBLEMS STARTING DAILY BECAUSE OF THE ISSUE. AFTER SEARCHING VARIOUS INTERNET SITES IT LOOKS LIKE OTHER 2006 PASSAT OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. I HAVE CONTACTED VW OF AMERICA, TRYING TO HAVE THEM COVER THE COST OF THE REPAIR. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THIS IS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE/DEFECT. IT SOUNDS LIKE A COMMON TREND FOR THE 2006 MODEL AND SHOULD POSSIBLY BE A RECALL. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY VW PASSAT 2006 2.0T TODAY WITH MY TWO CHILDREN IN THE CAR. WE STOPPED FOR A SHORT BREAK. WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR, I GOT THE "STEERING COLUMN LOCK DEFECTIVE" MESSAGE ON THE CAR COMPUTER. AFTER I RESTARTED THE CAR A COUPLE OF TIMES, THE MESSAGE WAS GONE. WHEN I CHECKED THE PASSAT OWNERS FORUM, I REALIZED THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM FOR THIS CAR. I DECIDED TO INFORM NHTSA ABOUT IT. I WILL SEE THE DEALER TOMORROW TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM. *TR

STEERING COLUMN LOCK DEFECTIVE CAUSING THE CAR TO SHUT OFF VERY OFTEN. VW DEALER REPLACING THE STEERING COLUMN AND COMPUTER UNDER WARRANTY. *TR