1998 passat both front control arms needed to be replaced due to defective. *bf
1998 Volkswagen Passat suspension complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Groaning and moaning noise emanating from the front of the car when turning.
Both front control arms defective which caused the vehicle to fail inspection. *bf the consumer's daughter received a recall notice but the dealer refused to repair the vehicle until she provided them with maintenance records.
Dec 2004, the driver side lower control arm snapped in two, sending the front end of my car to the ground. Luckily, I was in the driveway as many are telling me (even the dealer) that it would have been deadly at higher speeds. 2 years prior I had eeking/moaning/groaning in front suspension. Dealer said nothing was wrong, as I paid to have the sound checked out. I've seen many many complaints about these sounds being related to lower control arm failure, although I haven't seen anyone w/ one that actually broke like mine! Very scarey... After some fighting (my car as 103k miles) with the dealer and vwoa, they ended up replacing lower control arms at no cost to me. However, I did end up with a $1250 bill for other suspension parts in the front (tie rod, sway bars, link arms). Damage was also done to under side of my car from slamming to the concrete.
The vehicle made a loud noise. The dealer stated it was the control arm bushings.
The consumer stated that the control arm broke and it was noticed when the vehicle was being towed. The consumer was unable to drive the vehicle and it was no longer under warranty. The consumer was told by the dealer that he would have to wait until this problem was under recall before they would do anything. *ak *sc
1998 volkswagon passat 1.8 turbo 39, 250 mileage. Front end noise, reduced control in handling, resulted in the replacement of all control arms & tie rod ends on driver side- the lower found to have corrosion in the socket.
1998 vw passat: heard loud clanking noises especially when turning vehicle. Reported to vw service department local dealership. Advised the the upper control arm joint is worn and need replacement. Further, both left and right tie rods are totally shot and need replacing. Checked and found that the tie rod problem was recalled by the federal safety agency sep. 1999 (99v‑248) but that my vehicle was not included in recall. Do not know why as the problem described is the same. Additionally, numerous complaints about the control arms have been noted on this site, yet vw of america, who advised me are aware and sensitive to the problem, refused assistance in repairing the vehicle. Also the recalled tie rods replacement was refused to be fixed by them. Please follow up and investigate vw of america for these very important safety issues since I was told that they can cause serious driver accidents. I am also wondering why the brake rotors needed replacement when new brakes were installed. Do not trust vw to be a safe vehicle at this time.
I own a 1998 volkswagen passat and I'm the original owner. I have done all [even more than] the recommended maintenance on the passat. I had the control arms replaced once already 2 years ago [not under recall or reimbursed for this procedure]. I am once again getting considerable craking noises from my control arms in my front suspension. I do not drive my passat abnormally nor had any accidents with it. I feel that this happening to my passat is not a normal wear and tear issue, but something else - bad design or materials?
Contlor arms on my car have been damaged. The rubber used to produce tie rods is too soft and the car makes noise while driving over bumps. The failure also does not allow to perform aligment on my vehicle until fixed. Cost of repair over $600.*ak this is a well known problem on the suspension for vw, audi and car owners.
I purchased a pre-owned 1998 vw passat sedan with 36,000 miles on it in 2002 which was a great deal!! Or so I thought. Since that time I have started hearing a noise coming from the front right tire.. Or suspension .. Like a creaking, crunching, knocking noise. I took it to a vw dealership and was told that the control arms on the right and the tie rods needed to be replaced. I found out that the tie rods had been recalled and the ones on my vehicle had been replaced under that recall in 2001, but had again worn out. I find it hard to believe that tie rods would wear out over a 3 year period since the car barely has 70,000 miles on it. I have viewed this website and found over 200 complaints concerning this problem and am curious what vw plans to do.. Wait until someone dies when a control arm snaps? Vw needs to recall this item now!
Our 1998 passat has only 50,000 miles on it, and yet all of the expensive front control arms are starting to go bad. They are getting play in the ball joints, which are only replaceable by replacing the whole control arms. Since there are a total of 8 control arms, the cost of repair is potentially very high. And if they are not replaced, the potential for hazard and injury becomes very great if the joints get so sloppy that they affect the handling of the car and eventually come apart. Vw should not be allowed to get away with building such an under-engineered suspension system.
Mechanic is telling me all four tie rod assemlbies and control arms need replaced. I have been hearin a loud crunching noice everytime I go over a small bump or turn a corner.
I took my car to jim ellis volkswagen of atlanta to get the tie rods replaced as part of the recall campaign on my 98 volkswagen passat. The dealer tells me that this work has already been marked as completed in their system by another dealer . I have never taken my car to the other dealer. Please advice.
Upper control arm failure on my 1998 vw passat. Dealer quoted me $1200 repair, even though I bought the car "certified". My passat had only 55,xxx miles on it at time of failure. My concern is the repair- I don't have the money, so the parts wear more and more becoming more and more unsafe. Why isn't there a recall?
Premature failure of upper and lower control arms in 1998 vw passat. Had right control arm replaced at 43,000 all four replaced at 68,000 and now at 111,000 need to be replaced for the third time.
Constant noise seems to be coming from front end suspension.
Problems with left side upper control arms link, sway bar links and lower control arm. *mr *ts also the tie rod ends were replaced, there was a recall regarding the issue, however the consumer's vehicle was not affected.
Front control arm bushings torn and creaking. Possible safety issue if bushings deteriorate further.
Faulty lower control arm . *mr the consumer heard a noise coming from the front suspension.
I own a 1998 volkswagen passat. I am getting considerable creaking noises from my control arms in my front suspension. I have not driven the car abnormally or had any accidents with it.
Defective tie rod assembly and lower ink arm-n and lower control arm-n caused potentially dangerous steering condition and made loud grinding noises.
This is the 2nd time in less than 6 months that my control arms have failed. I have a stock car, with stock suspension. This is mind-boggling that control arms on a 1998 car would fail twice in 1 year. I'm not the only one. Please, my wallet and my kids christmas begs you, recall these control arms. Please before someone is killed. I have contacted vw of america 4 times on this and they do not care. I have written vw in germany, all I got was a gift certificate. Please, do something!! Dt
The right front suspensions is very noisy over bumps, including just pushing down on the right front fender. After taking this to our local vw dealer here in fort collins we were told the fix is to replace the control arms at a cost of $750. I called vw of north america to complain saying this was way below industry standards for durability of this type of component. Vw's response was sorry it's out of warranty. This is ridiculous. I have since done a search on the federal safety agency site and found this is a common complaint for the passat. Vw should recall the part & provide an improved replacement that meets industry standards.
Left front lower ball joint had sheared off while coming to a stop, and caused loss of steering. Manufacturer notified.*ak
Clunking noise from front suspension. Occurs when accelerating and braking. Also general looseness in steering that was not there when car was new. Car hard to steer straight and very susceptible to cross winds and turbulence. Dealership continues to claim that they cannot find anything wrong.
Lower control arms creak - cause for a safety concern.
It is very common with the passats 1998'-1999', that all the front control arms fail within a short period of time. This problem also occurs with audi a4, because they both share the same suspension. Please investigate, and issue a recall as soon as possible.
Several suspension components have required replacement within 70,000 miles. None have yet been catastrophic. But possibly because as a car guy I am able to detect them early.
Creaking clunking in front end, will probably replace most suspension components on this car.
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