volkswagen passat Problems

volkswagen passat 2008 Complaints

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER

driving home with in freezing weather after a snow storm, every few minutes cleaning the windshield with washer fluid, where after stopping the car for a few minutes, the wipers refused to function while driving (attempting to clean the windshield from the road salt). had to carefully pull over, checked the fuses, and cleared all ice from the windshield cowl and wiper blade arms, then it worked. none of my older cars had this issue.

Reported in: LAKE HIAWATHA NJ || Crash: N || VIN #:

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

tl*the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen passat. while driving at an unknown speed, the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle continued to move. it took great effort to stop the vehicle. he exited the freeway and the failure recurred at the very next stop. the contact went to the dealer and shut off the vehicle. the mechanic attempted to duplicate the failure; however, it did not recur once the vehicle was restarted. the contact continued to drive the vehicle until he discovered nhtsa campaign id number 08v235000 (engine and engine cooling) on june 23, 2008. he took the vehicle back to the dealer and they informed him that his vin was not included in the recall, even though the failures were identical. the failure mileage was 1,500 and current mileage was 7,000.

Reported in: PASADENA CA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWJK73CX8E

VISIBILITY

severe distortion in windshield. vw replaced original with two more. than safelight replaced two more windshields and last was replaced be blue ridge auto glass. driving with this distortion causes headaches and nausea.

Reported in: WINCHESTER VA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWEK73C78P

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

1. slowing to stop at red light. 15 feet behind another car that was stopped, and with my foot firmly on the brake, the engine revved to top speed and the brake did not stop the car. i bumped the stopped car, put the car in park and turned off the engine. 2. no damage to either car. police were called and came out until tow truck arrived. car towed to dealer where the car (9 months old and 11000 miles) was purchased. 3. one week later, the dealer said they could find nothing wrong. they paid for a rental car for the week. i refuse to drive the car so they offered to trade it in on a new one and that it had depreciated 50% in 9 months. vw corporate offered a $1000 rebate on a new car. 4. i called vw corporate to register a complaint, but they said that the dealer was "empowered" to made decisions. they would do nothing.

Reported in: MASON OH || Crash: Y || VIN #: WVWCU73C38E

PARKING BRAKE

parking brake engaged at highway speed ( 1 2 ) considered buying one of these, but concerned after reading this forum post from vw vortex. the passat has a electronic/computer control parking brake system. it engaged at 65mph!

Reported in: ABQ NM || Crash: Y || VIN #:

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

tl*the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen passat. the dealer replaced the front axle at 2,200 miles because the vehicle was shaking severely. when the temperature drops below 50 degrees, the vehicle does not shift into gear and has to be warmed up for at least twenty minutes before it will shift. in addition, the air conditioning system has to be replaced because it was only emitting hot air. the radio also does not work on occasion. the contact has only owned the vehicle for eight months. the automatic transmission does not work and the dealer advised that it be replaced. there were no recalls available. the failure mileage was 12,000. updated 5/27/09 *cn updated 05/29/09. *jb

Reported in: FRAMINGHAN MA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73T48P

EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:AIR CONDITIONER

Reported in: FRAMINGHAN MA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73T48P

EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC.

Reported in: FRAMINGHAN MA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73T48P

POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY

Reported in: FRAMINGHAN MA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73T48P

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

2008 vw passat. fuel pump had to be replaced at 29k miles, after frequent stalls while driving at low speed, difficulties cranking and frequent display of fuel cap light.

Reported in: ALEXANDRIA VA || Crash: N || VIN #:

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

on three separate occasions, after stopping at a stop sign, my 2008 passat has slid into neutral gear when accelerating. the display still indicates the car is in 'drive', but the engine races when the gas pedal is depressed, and the car does not move. after moving the gear shift to another gear, and then back to drive, the car will again go into drive gear.

Reported in: BERWYN PA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73C78P

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

exhaust pipe broke at the flex pipe. hot exhaust gas burned through the wiring of the electronic steering rack. lost steering and then engine shut off completely and not able to be restarted. exhaust pipe, steering rack & steering wiring was replaced (wiring needs a heat-shield to protect the wiring).

Reported in: VERNON NJ || Crash: N || VIN #:

STEERING

Reported in: VERNON NJ || Crash: N || VIN #:

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

my '08 passat with a 2.0 t engine burns through a great deal of oil. about 1/2 liter per 1,000 miles. it is a new car (now 28,000 miles) and should not burn oil! vw states this oil consumption is normal, but i disagree. i lease the car and have had all maintenance done at the dealer. i must frequently add oil to the engine and have brought it in to be serviced for this oil consumption issue several times. from research done online, this is not a problem unique to me. please help!

Reported in: CROSSLAKE MN || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWEK73C08E

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

fuel gauge reads incorrectly. prior to first service call, gauge read nearly empty when tank was full; after replacing "sending sensor" the condition reversed and now reads full when tank is nearly empty.

Reported in: WHITE PLAINS NY || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWRU93C08E

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

2008 vw passat wagon. this car while parked, running and occupied, in a garage had a fire whose point of origin was the area of the driver's seat. the fire investigation determined the cause to be accidental mechanical. the fire caused significant damage to a single family home, damage estimated at about $200,000 also one occupant of the home had to be transported by ems for smoke inhalation. the driver of the car stated she to leave. she placed the 5 � year old in the child seat of the volkswagen and opened the garage door. she started the car and smelt smoke. immediately shut the car off and called the husband. the husband said that it was probably the seat heater, had her turn off the seat heater and restart the car. she restarted the car smelt and observed smoke again, turned off the car, got out and saw flame underneath the driver�s seat. she removed the daughter from the car and took her out to the driveway. she then went back into the garage and removed a gas can from the area of the car/snowblower. she again re-entered the garage and opened the other garage door (both now open) observed flames shooting out of the drivers door of the car. she exited the garage through an interior door, closing it behind her. she then went up into the house removed two dogs to a crate on the deck. in the meantime a neighbor had grabbed the little girl. while all this was happening the mother placed three frantic 911 calls. the owner of the car stated he had had problems with the heated seats in the past and that they had been repaired twice. the last time in november of 2009. the derry fire department has completed its fire investigation, and the car is being turned over to the insurance companies (state farm and liberty mutual).

Reported in: DERRY NH || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWLK73C38E

SEATS

Reported in: DERRY NH || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWLK73C38E

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

i have 2008 vw passat with 26k miles on it. the follower cam at hpfp go bad and damaged my engine it is a common problem on vw 2.0t fsi engines please make vw/audi to do something with it or extend warranty.

Reported in: ANTIOCH TN || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWJK73CX8E

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

vw passat 2008, low oil light come on before schedule oil change frequently. the car burns oil because of the turbo engine. and the emission system has a valve failure too.

Reported in: OTTAWA, ONTARIO CANADA 00 || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73C78E

STEERING

i have a 08 passat and for about a year now i have had a �steering column lock defective� problem. i would have wrote this letter a long time ago but when it started happening my warranty was already expired and it was not as severe, now it can take me anywhere from 5-15 minutes just to start my car and when i do get it started my car sometimes completely shuts off while i�m driving. i started doing research on this issue and there are a lot of upset vw owners with the same problem. if you google �passat steering column lock defective problem� you will see multiple websites and forums. i don�t understand if so many people are having this problem why there hasn't been a recall?

Reported in: HUDSON FL || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73C18E

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

owned the car for 9 months, and have had documented problems for 8 months including a complete failure that required towing. the primary problems are: 1. steering column warning light on - the comfort module and steering electronics were replaced 7 weeks after purchasing the car 2. ongoing intermittent problems starting the car. the car died on 6/15/10, was towed, and the ignition coil was replaced. current: car did not start on first attempt on 7/4/10, which is less than 3 weeks later! 3. car burns excessive oil. need to add oil between scheduled oil changes. in april 2010, oil pressure light came on. dealer added 2 qts of oil and tank was still not full. still had 1,000 miles to go before next scheduled oil change. have had oil added on two other occasions between oil changes. 4. car is sluggish, especially when going up hills. no response or resolution for this, but the car has a turbo engine note: this car has only been serviced by vw dealerships.

Reported in: ESSEX MD || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWJK73C78P

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Reported in: ESSEX MD || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWJK73C78P

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

the vehicle was parked in the parking garage after being driven at lunch and within approximately 15-30 minutes of owner having turned off the vehicle the garage attendant reported smelling smoke. according to an eyewitness, there was smoldering smoke coming from under the hood and within a minute or so of discovering the smoke an explosion took place under the hood and the entire front hood compartment was engulfed in flames. the fire department was able to put out the fire but the vehicle is a total loss.

Reported in: HOUSTON TX || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWTK93C48E

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

intermittent problem that causes engine to want to continue working instead of idle while foot on brake and gear in drive. rpms between 8-10k. appears to happen in hot afternoons when air is on full blast. when brake is engaged there is enormous pressure back on the foot and the car wants to go. first taken in to vw dealer and they had another car of same year and model and color which was doing same thing. they cleaned the throttle cable. as i pulled away from the dealership the problem happened again. i immediately called back and let the service guy know the fix didn't work. on 8/1 i took it back and the problem was happening while i was in their garage. the other car was back again with same issue. vw had a tech bulletin about a loose ground wire. the service tech put a jumper cable somewhere and told me to try that out. within a mile i experienced the problem again.

Reported in: MOORE OK || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWCU73C08P

VISIBILITY

the windshield wipers on the 2008 vw passat self-adjust their speed on their own without the driver touching them. on sunday, august 22, 2010, i was driving on i-95 and drove into an area under a tornado warning. it was raining in torrents and traffic came to a stop. my windshield wipers were on regular speed, and while stopped they suddenly changed to intermittent without me touching the controls. this happened four different times! i was trying to watch the sky for swirling clouds and watch the road for flash flooding and the windshield wipers kept slowing to intermittent! i called the dealership at 7:30 a.m. monday morning and learned that the wipers are operating as designed. i do not understand how the engineers and leaders at vw could possibly think that the car has a better sense of the driver's visibility needs than the driver! this is an absolute and obvious safety hazard! the driver knows the conditions they are in! how could the car self-adjust something as critical as the driver's visibility? please force vw to change this "feature" in the passat and any other models where it is present.

Reported in: BALTIMORE MD || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWJK73C78P

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

after going grocery shopping, after leaving the parking lot, i accelerated to about 2500 rpms and then engine cut out and stalled. i tried to restart the car and every time i try to put it into gear, the engine cut out and stalled. i managed to get it into a bank parking lot next door. fortunately, all this happened sunday night, which very little traffic on the road. there was a check engine light with the following codes: 001056 - catalyst system; bank 1: efficiency below threshold p0420 - 002 - lower limit exceeded - intermittent 012555 - low pressure fuel regulation: fuel pressure outside specification p310b - 008 - implausible signal - mil on 004767 - low-pressure fuel pressure regulation: pressure too high p129f - 001 - upper limit exceeded - mil on 000135 - fuel rail/system pressure: too low p0087 - 002 - lower limit exceeded - intermittent 000135 - fuel rail/system pressure: too low p0087 - 008 - implausible signal this is on a 2008 vw passat 2.0t (with the bpy engine). the dealership technician replaced the high pressure fuel pump (hpfp) sensor. apparently, there has been an update to the sensor, which my car lacked.

Reported in: VERNON NJ || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWYK73C98E

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

i got home after work saturday night around 7pm and park my 2008 vw passat in front of my house and two minutes after smoke start coming out through front grille i open the hood and it small like burned plastic. i sow coil and wire where is connected all melted. i was lucky that this did not happened while i was driving.

Reported in: HOUSTON TX || Crash: N || VIN #:

VISIBILITY

tl* the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen pssat. the contact stated that both rear doors housed pivoting tabs for a shade to keep the sun out of the vehicle. the contact stated that the design was poorly manufactured because the child occupant in the back seat could pull the tabs up and down and could potentially catch his fingers in the tab. the manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 23,000. the vin was not available.

Reported in: LOUISVILLE KY || Crash: N || VIN #:

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

check engine light comes on intermittently starting in march 2010 with a low fuel pressure fault. car runs fine most of the time, but sputters when the fault occurs and fuel economy suffers. after receiving this fault multiple times, repair shop suggests we try a new fuel filter to see if that clears it, but it will likely need a new fuel pump. new fuel filter helps for 3 weeks, but fault starts occurring again. i took the car to another shop for a second opinion and they agreed that i needed to replace the fuel pump and fuel pump sensor, which i had done in nov 2010 after the fuel gauge stops reporting accurate fuel levels. this clears both issues until february 2011, when low fuel pressure fault starts firing again intermittently every 2-3 weeks as it had before and fuel gauge is not reporting accurate fuel levels again. now vw states the fuel pump is not the problem (a $1k repair!) and is recommending a new high pressure fuel pump and cam shaft - a $2,300 repair! to add insult to injury my car now smells like fuel after driving it. vw refuses to provide any sort of warranty for any of this work, including the first two repairs that didn't fix the problem. i cannot afford to make these repairs at this time and i am considering asking vw credit to take back the car.

Reported in: FAIRFIELD CA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWLK73C98E

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

tl* the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen passat. the contact applied pressure to the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle would not respond. she was able to manually shift the gear in order to get the vehicle off the main roadway. the dealer diagnosed the vehicle with a faulty high pressure fuel pump and advised having it replaced. the manufacturer was not notified. no repairs were performed. the dealer had been waiting for the part needed for repairs for approximately one month. the current and failure mileages were 62,000.

Reported in: LEAGUE CITY TX || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73C78P

POWER TRAIN

tl* the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen passat. the contact was traveling 30 mph and heard a scraping sound whenever he shifted gears. the contact also stated that the transmission was manual. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on several occasions, but the failure was not diagnosed. the vehicle was never repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. the contact expressed concerns over a possible transmission failure in the future. the failure mileage was 35,000.

Reported in: TUSCON AZ || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWYK73C48E

POWER TRAIN

tl* the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen passat. while driving approximately 15 mph, the contact approached a traffic stop and depressed the accelerator pedal but there was no response. there were numerous attempts before the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated with extreme force. the failure recurred whenever accelerating from a complete stop. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer several times for the malfunction and they were unable to locate the failure. the manufacturer was notified of the intermittent problem but provided no assistance. the approximate failure mileage was 9,000.

Reported in: ANGOLA NY || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWDU73C08E

STRUCTURE:BODY

tl* the contact owns a 2008 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that the front passenger side door could not be opened from the inside of the vehicle. the contact mentioned that the failure occurred three times prior. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 31,000.

Reported in: ONTARIO NY || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWJK73C28E

ENGINE

while parked in the lot, the engine area caught on fire and burned the front half of the car before the fire department put it out.

Reported in: GLEN ELLYN IL || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73C08E

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

coming home from the grocery store my wife noticed a fuel smell coming from the back seat. i removed the back seat to see a access panel to the fuel tank. i removed the rubber cap and saw the top housing of the fuel pump, which is plastic, had a crack and fuel was spraying out of the crack. called dealerships in az and they all said the same thing, no fuel pumps available in the united states. they have discontinued the part # 3c0919051ag and replaced it with 3c0919051am. why did they have all dealerships return that part and no recall was issued?

Reported in: PHOENIX AZ || Crash: N || VIN #:

TIRES

i purchased tires for my 2008 vw passat turbo 4 door sedan. i selected four cooper cs4 touring tires. i bought them about a month ago, september 17, 2012. almost immediately after the installation of the cooper tires, i noticed a pulsating noise when the steering wheel is turned either left or right; the noise frequency is a function of speed. so, two days later, i brought the car back to the dealer. a mechanic checked the tires, wheels, and mounting; he could find nothing obviously wrong. so, i took the mechanic for a ride. he heard the noise, and told me that it would disappear after the tires were broken in or worn in. the noise has seemed to increase of late. i am concerned that the tires may be defective. what do you think?

Reported in: SD SD || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWUK73C28E

SEAT BELTS

the center rear seat belt retracting mechanism malfunctions and the belt tightens against the seat itself. passengers using the center belt find it difficult to release the belt when fastened. after the belt retracts fully, the seat belt can no longer be used. if the rear seat back is subsequently "folded" down to allow for trunk access from the passenger compartment, the folded seat back will be stuck in the down position due to the center seat belt retracting without release.

Reported in: MANASSAS VA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73CX8E

SEAT BELTS

the rear driver side seat belt retractor broke and will not retract.

Reported in: WHITINSVILLE MA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWXK73C18E

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

the car was parked and would not start even after a check of the battery. the car had no power whatsoever and could not be placed into neutral to tow. after 4 days in the shop, it was determined that the entire anti-theft system had burned out and fried the ignition as well. how this happened is a complete mystery as there had never been even the slightest indication that something was wrong before this incident.the entire steering column had to be pulled out of the vehicle and the module had to be replaced. i have seen many, many reports of this same issue with this car on the internet as i did some research after this happened. the price to repair the car was $895.00,,,which seems ridiculous to me given that the car only has 45k miles. i tried to get some help from vw customer care given that this seems like a design flaw...it really is upsetting to have to pay so much for a car so lightly used...and could it just happen again? vw was completely unwilling to work with me in any way. *js

Reported in: MIAMI FL || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWAK73C78P

ENGINE

car was serviced at the dealer at 90k miles. while driving locally one month after the service, the car was difficult to start, idled rough, sputtered while traveling, and bucked while stopped at a traffic light. it turns out that the timing chain slipped and caused the engine to break. the timing chain is not suggested to be replaced until 110,000 miles. upon further research, it appears there is a faulty engine component (timing chain tensioner) that vw is aware of, but refuses to let customers know about. please google tsb 15 12 01, dated july 23, 2012 which is a service bulletin released by vw detailing the faulty component. this faulty component has the potential to cause a major road hazard due to an uncontrollable vehicle.

Reported in: EAST NORTHPORT NY || Crash: N || VIN #:

ENGINE

my timing chain jumped timing at 74k miles. this caused the pistons to hit the valves and caused $6k worth of damage. the dealership informed me there was nothing preventative i could have done. they actually contacted vw to see what they would do to help with this issue. initially, they offered to contribute $1,000 toward repairs. i contacted vw because i saw 2 separate service bulletins on this model regarding the timing jumping. my timing jumped due to a faulty tensioner. when i spoke with vw, they didn't even offer the $1,000 anymore and simply got the dealership to reduce repairs by 15%, this was completely unacceptable considering a) their tensioners are faulty and are causing consumers to spend outrageous amounts of money on repairs b) this is not a normal wear-and-tear repair for the age and mileage of the car, per the dealership. the failure of the tensioner causes a jump in timing which immobilizes the car, which is dangerous if the car is operating at the time. it is costly because it causes significant engine damage. see service bulletin no.: tb-15-12-01 service bulletin no.: tb-15-11-04 .

Reported in: SMYRNA GA || Crash: N || VIN #: WVWXK73C88E

SERVICE BRAKES

2008 vw passat. purchased brand new from mcdonald automotive littleton co transmission slipping 2009 brakes / rotors. 2010 sunroof / would not close pouring rain. needs new motor 2011 leaking oil vacuum pump 2013. 87000 miles turbo cut off valve 2013 front rotors 2013 engine revving up 2013 headlights keep going out.