Fire in rubber boot housing between left rear door and car frame. Preceding events, left rear door speaker was not functioning, left rear window functioned sometimes. Door was closed after returning home and parking garage. Arcing was heard and smoke came from door. Owner removed many fuses from drivers side fuse panel and then removed connections to main battery. Door panel cover was removed and boot removed to find housing on 5 of the 8 wires burnt and most of the wire burnt through the wire. Pictures are available.
1998 Volkswagen Passat: fire, smoke or burning smell
5 of the 331 complaints about the 1998 Volkswagen Passat describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 18 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
What owners say
Owner was driving vehicle for approximately 5 minutes, parked it, and then noticed smoke coming from the heater and also noticed the hood light going on and off. Fire burned throughout the passenger compartment and part of the undercarriage. Cause undetermined.
While cruising at highway speed in my 1998 volkswagen passat, 3 events occurred simultaneously: a 'pop' sound from the engine area, copious white smoke (not steam) from under the hood, and the engine check light activation. Immediately pulled over, and white smoke increased substantially from (closed) hood, followed within 5 minutes by open flames from the passenger front wheel well. Fire crews were on scene within 10 minutes, but the entire vehicle was engulfed and a total loss.
The consumer's vehicle had smoke coming from the steering column. The smoke had an odor of burning oil and smoke combined. The appearance was white. This started one year ago and went away, and now the problem recurred.*ak took car to dealer in rapid city sd. They said there was an excess of grease on certain parts under the stering wheel / in the stering wheel. This build up of dust would cause smoke and smell.
While driving saw smoke coming out from under the hood. Pulled over, opened hood and saw vehicle was on fire. Vehicle suffered extensive damage. Also, throttle body and cv joints needed to be replaced. Vehicle stalles, misfired, and idle fluctuated from low to high.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Battery testing and charging using special tools VAS6161 & GRX3000VAS Charger
- Alternative method for radio code retrieval.
- Battery Testing and Charging instruction
- Tip for Scan tool concerns that may occur duing a test plan
- Updated to include model year 2014 thru 2018 applicability.
- Tech Tips (Heated Rear Window, One or More Lines Inoperative): To detect which line(s) is inoperative,...
- Technical Bulletin: Battery, Testing and Charging Using Midtronics VAS6161, MCR340V, InCharge 940, or...
- VW Elsa Newsletter
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1998 Volkswagen Passat fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 1998 Volkswagen Passat?
5 of 331 owner complaints about the 1998 Volkswagen Passat (2%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 2003.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1998 Volkswagen Passat?
There are 0 recalls and 18 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1998 Volkswagen Passat
Ball joint 82ABS 75Grinding brakes 14Engine failure 6Loss of power 6Power steering loss 6Stalling 6Door locks 5
VIN decoder
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