I am experiencing a creaking sound coming from the lower control arm bushings on both sides of the vehicle. From the federal safety agency site, I have now learned that failed lower control arms and bushings are a common problem in the passat. The vehicle was just purchased "certified" used from vw four months ago with 34,000 miles. I returned the car to the dealer, who said that the lower control arm bushings were "just dry from road salt", and proceeded to hose the bushings down with an aerosol can of lubricant. He said that if this did not eliminate the noise (it didn't) then I might wish to return in a week or so for them to investigate further. It is obvious from the other complaints I have read what the problem is. If this vehicle's lower control arms fail as frequently as other owners on this site have indicated, with the only warning being a dull creaking noise, it is conceivable that most ordinary drivers would never have the problem investigated. Those that do would find that the repair is extensive and expensive. It is likely that some of these may choose to delay or neglect the situation. Both scenarios pose a unique and serious safety threat to the operators and occupants of the vw passat. There are tens of thousands of these vehicles on the road, and all apparently share in what is an obvious design flaw that creeps up every 25 to 40 thousand miles in spite of very expensive replacement. Failure of a lower control arm could easily cause a crash. Vw should do the right thing by acknowledging this engineering failure and voluntarily recall these vehicles immediately for the safety and well being of its customers.
1999 Volkswagen Passat suspension complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 118, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Driver's side lower control arm (front suspension) bushing/link has worn out at only 62k miles, a common problem on vw passat and audi a4 w/quadralink front suspension, unheard of on other vehicles. This is a potential safety issue. There ought to be a recall. This car has 8 control arms in total. The premature failure of these parts is by now well known, quite expensive, and potentially hazardous, not to mention inconvenient to vw customers. Vw has done very little to address this potential safety issue. The only recourse is to pay exorbitant sums, repeatedly, over time to replace the defective parts with equally defective parts which also fail prematurely; there is no permanent solution to this problem. There needs to be a recall or at the very least vw should be fixing these cars for free each time, no questions asked.
Creaking noise eminating from passenger side lower control arm bushing over low speed bumps. Can be reproduced by manually compressing front suspension while vehicle is parked. Dealer says vw doesn't consider failure of front control arm bushings to be a safety issue.
Creaking/squeaking noise from front-right (passenger) side of front control arms. Dealer indicated need of replacing control arms for wear. Vehicle manufactured in 99 with 92414 miles, mostly highway miles, does not give a reason for these to fail as most cars have control arms to last a lifetime of a vehicle hence failing at the car's current condition should not be acceptable.
Front end knocking started at 35,000 worse when turning. Brought to dealer front right and left lower control arms needed to be replaced not certain of saftey risk if problem left unfixed. Dt
Bushing failure on all 4 front lower control arms. These bushings gradually became loose and began squeaking, accompanied by clunking over low-speed bumps. This is a common problem on these cars. Vw has refused to officially acknowledge the defect and do a recall, even though they are paying for part of the costs for some people's repairs and they have redesigned the bushings in question. Furthermore, the relatively inexpensive bushings can be replaced without replacing the entire control arm, but dealerships refuse to do that, instead to force most customers to pay for the much more expensive control arm assembly. These bushing failures pose a danger if they fail severely enough. The only reason they aren't causing wrecks is that the failure is gradual and most owners replace them before the bushings get too bad. But this is still a safety issue and the repair is hardly optional. Dt
While driving there's a squeaking and popping noise coming from under side of vehicle when going over bumps in road. Took vehicle to mechanic, and they replaced three control arms. A short time later popping started again, and consumer needed a fourth control arm. Consumer contacted dealer, and they stated vehicle was not under any recall. Currently, all eight control arms have been replaced.
Left and right control arms are worn and need to be replaced-common problem with 1999 vw.
Suspension system causes knocks in steering column. This affects consumers ability to properly control vehicle. Consumer had tire rods changed, and problem still exists. *ak
Control arm on left front wheel has begun creaking very loudly and I have been told it is about to fail. On most cars the control arms are built to last the life of the car, so at only 60,000 miles this is definitely a problem. Upon doing some research, it appears this is very common in recent model volkswagen passats, and that a recall has already been issued in germany where they have stricter automotive regulations. Also, the part was re-engineered for 2001 model passats, indicating volkswagen is well aware of the problem. If this part is failing on basically all 98-2000 model year volkswagen passats, it seems like only a matter of time until a catastrophic failure causes an accident, unless a recall is issued in the united states. Please keep me informed on any possible recall information. Thanks.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
The controle arm bushings are bad on my car and started to go at 5500. This should not happen on a car this new, and dealer service person said so too. Volkswagen will not pay for this since it is out of the warranty. I did a search on the internet and found many passat owners experiencing the same problem with the control arms. There must be a way to make vw owe up to the problem.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Front suspension begins squeaking due to failure of ball joints which are integral with the lower control arm. This defect requires replacement of the entire arm. I've learned this is a common problem for 99 passats. It is unheard of for these types of components to fail so early before 50,000 miles but they do on these passats.
1) coolant temp. Sensor failed at @47422 miles 2) chaplins checked car because I reported noise in front wheel area. They said both front wheel bearings needed replacing and refused to cover the costs. I took it to an independant vw specialist and was told only the right front wheel bearing was bad. Cost was $466.79. Vw still refused to assist. 2 independant vw specialists reported vw has a "bad wheel bearing design". 3) replaced original tires with exact brand and style of tire that was originsal to car. Tires felt odd, I had them checked by 2 tire retailers and did own pressure checks twice monthly. After 15,804 miles on tires left rear tread separated from sidewall while driving on freeway at 70mph.
Sypmtoms are creaking, groaning from front suspension
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Increasing "grinding" sound and increased "play" and movement in front suspension caused by failing control arm bushings-diagnosed by dealer (stated it was a known and common problem). 2nd. Vw passat with same problem ('98 model and '99 model) repair partially covered by vw on '98 model outside of original warranty. Concerned about safety as bushings continue to wear.
Lower control arm bushing failure, causing erratic handling, degraded since.
Right lower control arm sheared off wheel attachment, resulting in loss of control and crash.
Have contacted vw customer service and requested for coverage since this is quite a common problem on passat. However, vw refused to cover, not even half the cost! Other passat owners have at least got all parts covered by vw! The total cost sum up with up to $1000. The main problem happening is basically I heard consistent clunking noise when turning under low speed, going over a bump, and occasional braking. According to what I have heard, this is called the "lower control arm failure" and there's a bulletin in vw that this is recognized as a problem and service providers are infomed to install particular components to fix the problem. I think this is quite a critical part for the car as we don't want the car to lose control expecially turning. And the most thing that pissed me off is that vwoa refused to cover some costs! I know at least an owner got it all covered by contacting vwoa! The first noticing of the noise was at around 40000 miles but sunnyvale vw referred that this is a noise coming out from the engine pump which is leaking at that time. Noise of course didn't resolve and I didn't even bother to ask as they can't detect it. Hopefully, I can get some help from the federal safety agency. Thanks
Suspension control arms deteriorating. Common issue. Bushings drying out and disintegrating. Symptoms include creaking and clunking at low speeds. Vw is starting to pay 50% for some people with this issue, but no more.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
While driving a grinding sound would come from front wheels whenever vehicle ran over a slight bumps or potholes. Dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. Feel free to provide any further information concerning this matter.
Clunking in front end going over imperfections in road at low speed. Seems like possible control arm failure.
Control arm bushings are failing on the audi a4, they share the same front suspension.
Lower control arms did not "fail" but were significantly worn at 21000 miles and they required replacement`. Vw covered 100% of replacement cost. *****dims 11 ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over*****757901. *ak
Lower front control arms have failed in less then 30,000 miles. A loss of control of the car is possible.
Very common problem. Suggest investigation/recall.no safety defect listed.
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