Side airbag deployed for no reason while driving straight at the speed limit of 75 mph. The local VW dealer determined the side impact sensor is defective. This is a very interesting situation because a fail safe exists in these systems in that the supplemental restraint control module in the center of the car must simultaneously "see" a side impact g force in order to deploy the side air bag. In other words even with a defective side impact sensor The side air bag should not have deployed. At the time of the incident the vehicle was travelling straight ahead next to a semi truck. No such impact occurred and the VW dealer confirmed the vehicle has no evidence of such an impact. I had this investigated by Volkswagen AG and my local dealer. Suffered broken teeth, bruised ribs, hearing loss in left ear.
2000 Volkswagen Passat airbags problems
17 complaints (3% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 60,000. 5 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 17
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- typical mileage
- 60,000
- crashes
- 5
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Frontal3
- Side/window2
- Frontal: sensor/control module1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Volkswagen Passat airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2000 Volkswagen Passat airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Passenger air bag lid failure
This investigation involves the volkswagen (vw) passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (psir) lid utilized in my 1998-2002 vw passat.the psir lid may detach from the instrument panel during air bag deployment.the office of defects investigation (odi) of the federal safety agency opened the preliminary evaluation on may 23, 2003 to determine whether alleged psir lid detachment presents an unreasonable safety risk to passengers in the vehicle.odi?s investigation reveals that detachment of the psir lid during air bag deployment may occur for two reasons: 1) the shape of the psir lid, and the length of the attaching tether, may snag the air bag during deployment applying additional pressure on bolts that fasten the lid to the instrument panel (ip); and/or 2) the original psir lid design (subject vehicles) utilized six grade 4.8 mm carbon steel tack weld bolts which may not be as strong as the new design psir lid consisting of six grade 8.8 mm carbon steel press bolts that are heat treated.odi concludes that detachment of the psir lid is a defect because the lid should remain attached to the ip after deployment of the airbag.however, after analyzing vw?s responses, and test data collected by vw and faurecia, the psir lid supplier, odi believes that further investigation would not likely identify a safety-related defect trend because a detached psir lid and parts do not project towards a passenger during deployment of the airbag.the test data shows that the airbag pushes a detached psir lid upwards into the windshield during deployment, and away from the passenger compartment.it is highly unlikely that a passenger would contact the psir lid or associated parts during air bag deployment.therefore this engineering analysis (ea 03-020) is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist. For a detailed discussion of the psir lid and testing, see the attached report.
EA03020
Passenger sir door mounting stud failure
Odi opened a preliminary evaluation (pe03-021) based on two reports of failed bolt studs that attach the passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (psir) door cover to the instrument panel (ip) on the volkswagen (vw) passat (model years 2000, 2002).vw has indicated to odi that it has no additional reports.vw implemented a process change on march 1, 2002.this process change consisted of changing the bolt application that fastens the psir door to the ip from a weld on application to a press on application.vw also changed the material of the bolt.vw stated that the changes were made to ease production by eliminating a welding process.odi has upgraded its investigation to engineering analysis (ea03-020).
PE03021
What 2000 Volkswagen Passat owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
A rainy night, 10:30 pm., on the freeway returning home from a symphony concert, the engine simply quit. I, husband/driver, tried three time to restart it before yelling to my wife to turn on emergency flashers which she did. As we slowed, I remember seeing all icons on dash blinking. Both of us were knocked unconscious and do not remember being hit by the car behind. Air bags did not deploy. Injuries sustained: a contusion and minor whiplash by husband; fractured c-7 and t-1 vertebrates and concussion by my wife. She has been in a neck-to-waist brace from nov. 10, 2013 until present. We always maintained our passat scrupulously according to vw standards at their service centers by their trained mechanics. One month earlier we had brought the car in to be checked because sometimes it would not start after driving it someplace. Twice had to wait for aaa towing. Aaa able to start it right up as though nothing was wrong. Vw ran "fault codes" but found no problem.we bought a new battery at vw's suggestion. Something went horribly wrong with our car inspite of our responsible maintenance. We were extremely lucky not to be killed. We wish to know if there are other cases like ours. At the very least, we want others to know about this possible danger. I will appreciate your acknowledgment of this report.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, he crashed into another vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed however none of the air bags deployed. There were no injuries reported. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 130,000.
Fax from congressman on behalf of constituent regarding a safety problem with her vw passat. *kb immediately after the consumer purchased the vehicle, the air bag light illuminated. The consumer took the vehicle back to the dealership. She was told the problem had been fixed, however the air bag light continued to illuminated on a regular basis. The consumer has been to the dealer 8-10 times for the same problem. The battery was replaced. *jb updated 09/18/07
Premature driver's side air bag failure. I have received an air bag fault' warning code. Further diagnostics have indicated that replacement of the driver's side air bag is necessary. This on a 6-year-old vehicle. Considering that there are vehicles 3 times as old that are still on their original air bags, I would consider this failure unacceptable.
This vehicle had multiple problems. Consumer noticed that the ABS braking system failed, and the SRS air bag light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. Consumer was able to shift the vehicle into drive and reverse without the vehicle being turned on. Consumer took vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the ABS braking system, and the SRS air bag light module needed to be replaced. Also, a transmission problem.
Air bag light came on twice. The first time front and side driver side airbags were replaced, costing $1200. The second time the light came on vw was contacted and they agreed to pay for the repair, $300 for a wiring harness under the steering wheel. Please advise, this is a problem that should happen considering the car was not involved in any type of accident. Service manager at volkswagen compared air bag to a "light bulb." saying that like light bulbs airbags also burn out after a while, a rather pompous statement to make.
2000 vw passat wagon. My wife was driving on the highway (70 MPH) when her passenger side air bag deployed without any impact, bump or incident which should have caused deployment. The driver's side air bag then deployed about 1 minute later while she was still in motion. Preliminary investigation showed an electrical short/meltdown in the center console wiring. Futher investiagtion impending. Thankfully the front air bag did not deploy at that rate of speed and a full fledged fire did not develop.
Air bag warning indicator light came on. Circle volkwagen dealer quoted me $900 to fix four sensors. We called volkswagon u.s. And they said vw would pay all costs to fix the air bags sensors.
While driving I experienced a spontaneous deployment of the passenger side lateral air bag in my 2000 vw passat. With deployment, all electical power was lost to the vehicle, leaving me with no control of the auto. There had been no collision or impact to the vehicle. The air bag just went off by itself. There was no injury to passengers from the airbag, but it almost caused me to lose control of the vehicle.
Questions about the 2000 Volkswagen Passat airbags
Does the 2000 Volkswagen Passat have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 17 complaints about the airbags of the 2000 Volkswagen Passat, 3% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2000 Volkswagen Passat airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 60,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2000 Volkswagen Passat airbags?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Volkswagen Passat have bad airbags?
The Volkswagen Passat model years with the most airbags complaints are 2013 (382 complaints), 2014 (354 complaints) and 2012 (296 complaints).
Other 2000 Volkswagen Passat problems
Brakes 207Engine 101Fuel system 46Electrical 43Suspension 36Visibility 26Steering 25Transmission 19Acceleration 15Lights 11Body 10Tires 8Seat belts 6Driver assistance 4Seats 3Locks 1
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