Lower control arms and sway bar links failed at less than 50,000 miles. This severely reduces steering capabilities and poses an imminent threat. Volkswagen of america knows of this problem and has redesigned the arms in later model passats. However, they have not issued a safety recall.
1998 Volkswagen Passat suspension complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Front suspension made very annoying creaking sound.
Please investigate 1998-2001 volkswagen passats for control arm issues in front suspension. I had to replace mine at only 45000 for over $1,000!
Suspension was creaking from the front. Pulled wheel off of car and discovered the control arm bushing is destroyed. I took the car to the dealerhship and they will not repair under warranty.
I have had two failures of the control arms. The first one was covered under warranty. The second one was never recreated and accepted by the dealer until a year or so after it was reported in september of 1999. The manufacturer will only pay for the replacement of the parts. The issue with the control arms failure is it affects the ability to maintain an alighnment and causes the car to wander on the road.
Upper and lower control arm failure. Noises, creaking. Could lead to accident if not repaired immediately. This is a known problem on my year and make vehicle but the manufacturer refuses to recall the parts involved.
Control arms need to be recalled by mfg. For free replacement - safety issue.
There are a large number of these failures-check www.clubb5.com. Lots of these are being replaced out of pocket by owners. Please help us and order a recall on these. My family's lives depend on it. No safety defect listed.
1)trunk light stopped working just past the warranty period, wiring problem, cost to repair $200. 2)ABS light flashes continuously, about 1 year now,dealer gets 3 pages of diagnostic error messages. Can't determine problem with light but ABS is supposedly working. Cost: 3days car rental, and $300 out of pocket. 3)front end suspension: crunching noise and bounce. Bounce corrected-dealer replaced stablizer bar, $284. Noise continues(6 months), dealer can't determine problem. Getting worse, afraid front end will crash into ground. 4)timing belt broke, dealer replaced engine at no cost. 5)engine replacement caused problem with radio. Radio will not accept code. Needs to be replaced. 6)rear driver side window will not go down when indicated, falls down a few minutes later. Also, door will not open when unlocked. 7)sometimes the ignition switch will not turn when starting car.
Both front ball joint/lower control arm assemblies had to be replaced at 33000 miles, which is far earlier than it should be. It's also an extremely common problem with 1998 passats. Aside from the $900 cost to replace these components, the complete failure of the assembly would be a serious safety hazard if the car were in motion. Although vw has redesigned these components for later model year passats, they've done nothing to address the problem with 1998 models. A safety recall should be issued on these components so nobody dies due to their faulty design.
When turning wheel there was noise at the front of vehicle, dealer determined that the bushings needed to be replaced.*ak. Consumer states he replaced the tie rod end.
The authorized vw dealer was aware of the problem on 03/23/2001 and recommended 2 upper control arms be replaced. I contacted vw with this information during this time (vw case case# 10272316). Instead of repairing the upper control arms vw replaced the lower control arms. The car is still in need of upper control arms and vw will not cover it.
The handling of the vehicle became erratic and noisy. The dealership informed me that this was a common problem with these vehicles and with audis on the same (b5) platform. I cannot believe if this is as serious a safety issue as I was LED to believe, that there has not been a recall on these parts or a redesign.
While driving, there is a looseness in the front end, consumer could hear knocking noise like metal banging against something, took to a mechanic and they replaced struts on the left side bottom of front end. Then 2 weeks later mechanic changed right side bottom, 3 weeks later the top struts were loose. Consumer feels very unsafe.*ak consumer had to replace the entire front suspension system.
No description given. Nlm
Head gaske leaking oil can cause slick freeways causing accidents. Lower control arm failure can cause sudden death of vehicle in motion.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
I hear the nosie before my warranty expire and I can't tell what that was. So I brought it to the dealership to check and they said the computer show nothing wrong. But the noise still there and they knew that but they said if the computer show nothing wrong, they can't help me for that. Until my warranty expired they said is coming from lower arm controller(left & right). It costs $800-900+ to replace. I feel that they knew all along and use that computer to against me. Of course it operate ok but that nosie is so border me. I think they should have that parts recall. I also talk to vw headquarter and they can't help me. I do have that record during 40+ miles and I believe that I shouldn't pay for that replacement. Pls help- my email address: [email protected]
The lower control arms on the 1998 vw passat have failed, something that was known under a technical service bulletin from volkswagen on may 31, 2001 (tsb: c 40-01-01). Volkswagen has not responded to me as to whether they will pay for this known problem in their vehicles yet.
After approximately 23,000 miles, the lower control arms on my 1998 volkswagen passat failed. Symptoms of the failure are squeaking and/or clunking noises from the front suspension. My dealer determined that the ball joints on both front passenger-side lower control arms had failed, requiring replacement of both control arm assemblies. The cost of replacement is approximately $900. The lower control arms are not normal wear items. Volkswagen should recall the affected cars and pay for the replacement of the lower control arms.
Lower and upper control arms failed after 3 years of ownership. Vw has a technical service bulletin for the lower control arms that covers the payment if under warranty, otherwise vw would pay 50% of the job. However the upper control arm is not covered in the tsb. I feel that this is a critical safety issue if both control arms failed while I was driving. There should be a safety recall.
Creaking/grinding from front end. Vw service determined that lower control arm bushing(s) are faulty. $950 to repair. Contacted vw customer relations, after investigation, vw to pay 1/2 of parts and labour.
Loose steering there is noise everytime I hit the brakes and accelerate also when I go over bumps.the bushing of the all the control arms are gone.
Lower control arms have been replaced 3 times already and started banging again after third repair. Part previously on recall but new part also does same problem. Many passat owners have the same complaint. Thank you for your time.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Cost of repairs = $729.08. No safety defect mentioned.
Lower control arm failures are very common on the volkswagen passat, causing unpredictable handeling. Volkswagen of america is aware of this. They have release updated parts and a tsb on this issue, yet refuse to pay for this important safety related defect. Please investigate and issue a safety recall campaign.
The front suspension problem has happened to many passat owners, vw has failed to issue a recall. This is a clear workmanship failure and should be covered under warranty or recall. Many complaints have been made to vw and no resolve has been taken.
Wheel bearings malfunctioned, requiring new parts - premature wear.
Control arm: noticed a loud grinding sound coming from front suspension area. Dealer diagnosed as defective lowe rcontrol arm/ ball joints. Lower control arms and ball joints were replaced. Complained to volkswagen, who covered cost of parts but not labor. After repair learned that a friend had the identical problem in a 1999 passat at almost the identical mileage. Then saw on this website that about 17 of 160 complaints relating to the 1998 passat are for exactly this problem. This is clearly an engineering or manufacturing defect. Vw should replace this part for all passat owners and reimburse those who have already had it replaced. Sunroof: sunroof opens spontaneously when switch is in the "off" position. Problem is most pronounced on warm days when car is driven over sharp bumps. Problem occurs without warning and is alarming to driver and could pose a safety risk. Observed that this problem has been reported by several others already.
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