The driver's side airbag of my 2001 VW Passat spontaneously deployed while I drove on Hwy 494 in Woodbury MN. Sometime within 24 hours before the airbag deployed, the airbag fault light turned on in the car's dashboard display. Within 15 minutes before the incident, the car's automatic locking locks unlocked twice while I was driving the car. After the second time, I tried to lock the car doors by pressing the lock button on the driver's door console but the doors would not locked. At that time I noticed that the two interior lights in the back seat area were turned on. All the doors of the car were properly shut. When the airbags deployed I was driving on the smooth 1 year old concrete section of Hwy 494. I did not hit anything on the highway. After the deployment, I parked on the shoulder, shut off the engine and opened the passenger door to air out the car. After about 5 minutes, I got back in the car and drove home. The automatic locks worked again. The interior lights automatically turned off. The drive home was uneventful.
2001 Volkswagen Passat airbags problems
26 complaints (6% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 64,445. 10 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 26
- of this car's complaints
- 6%
- typical mileage
- 64,445
- crashes
- 10
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Frontal8
- Side/window3
- Frontal: sensor/control module1
- Frontal: driver side: inflator 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 2001 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 2001 Volkswagen Passat owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My car is a 2001 model, and I'd like to know if it has takata airbags in it, even if it isn't covered by the recall. Dealer doesn't know if the airbags are takata or not. Can you give me this information?? I hope so, otherwise I don't know how to find out. Thanks [xxx] *dl information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
So I got rear ended at the other party's fault at high speed while I was at a stop sign and they neglected to stop pushing me into an intersection full of traffic...no airbags deployed..and since my heater doesn't work but passenger seat heat burned my 12 year old daughters butt...anyone help? I just want heat for my babies..below zero here :( thank you!! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I was stopped at a stop light that was out of order. The driver of the SUV in front of me took her foot off the brake and I assumed she was going to subsequently depress the accelerator, so I instinctively put my foot on the accelerator to ease forward. Unfortunately, I miscalculated as the driver in front of me did not move forward. As a result of my actions, I rear-ended the driver in front of me. I was going between 5-10 MPH. My car sustained about 90% of the damage. My complaint is regarding the deployment or lack thereof of the airbags. They never deployed. Maybe I was wrong to assume that they would deploy on such a low speed. Please advise as the impact from the accident was rather strong.
Recently I was in a rear end collision (I was car in the back) and I totaled my 2001 volkswagen passat. The passenger airbag deployed with no passenger and my driver airbag failed to go off at all. This worries me as to think if I had been going faster then 20mph whether the airbag would've gone off at all. My father in law who is a mechanic says he has never in his life seen the passenger airbag but not the drivers go off. He has seen it the other way around but not this way.
We hit a deer head-on and the air bags did not go off. We were travelling about 60 MPH and did not brake. The car was declared a total loss by the insurance company because of the expense to repair. This seems unusual because air bags are designed to go off at very low speeds.
Dec 12th 2008 the interior of my passt was flooded with water, vw service removed 10 + gallons of water which entered from air plenum /pollen filter hosing(cabin area). Service informed me of the p9 recall for the passats manufactured nov '00 to dec '05. But, vw of america will not help me they said my VIN # is not in the recall. The computers are on the floor of car. Air bag is in default damage from electrical damage from water damage.. My trans mod is wrecked from the water damage, just the part alone will cost $1,300. I have lost work and can not drive. The make of car & year is in recall so why is my VIN not included?! Someone please, please help me.
I have a vw passat 2001 model. I was driving my car to office. At around 8.10 am on 09/24/2008, a car collided from back while I was waiting at a signal. My bumper was damaged a little and my front passenger side air bag cover had popped out. Immediately I called my insurance and reported the accident explaining the series of events. The other party involved in accident complained his accident to his insurance company and accepted his fault, as per which their insurance company agreed on to pay for the damages. A estimator took an estimate after viewing the damaged car. A couple of days later there was a check issued on my name and also list of repairs to be done. The popped out airbag was not considered a part of accident by the estimator. I tried to clearly explain him saying that his client has seen the pop out happened because of the accident and has agreed on to proceed through his insurance. When I explained all this estimator was adamant that it was not a part of accident and said it would take 25-30 $ to fix it and as per which I took to a few mechanics to get it done and no one was willing to touch the air bag saying it is vulnerable and needs to be taken to the dealer. When I took to the dealer he was saying its going to incur a huge cost as it is airbag and the entire dash board needs to be removed to get this thing fixed. I have no idea what needs to be done about this and needed help in this aspect. I have all the claim numbers and also the required information in this aspect. I don't think my car is safe enough to drive as the airbag can deflate any tine. Please guide me in this aspect.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 volkswagen passat. While driving 30 MPH the driver and passenger side air bags deployed without warning. The manufacture stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 148,000.
Tl*- the contact stated that the 2001 volkswagen new passat driver's side airbag didn't deployed upon impact during a crash. While driving at about 40 MPH on a cold dry day, another vehicle ran a red light and she hit another head on. The contact stated that the passenger's side airbag deployed, but no one was sitting on the passenger's side, but the driver's side airbag didn't deploy. The contact would like to know why the airbag didn't deploy. The contact had police and insurance reports. The current and failure mileage were both 85,580 .
Questions about the 2001 Volkswagen Passat airbags
Does the 2001 Volkswagen Passat have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 26 complaints about the airbags of the 2001 Volkswagen Passat, 6% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2001 Volkswagen Passat airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 64,445 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2001 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 2001 Volkswagen Passat problems
Engine 97Electrical 73Brakes 63Fuel system 44Transmission 34Lights 32Visibility 31Suspension 25Body 23Acceleration 20Steering 13Seats 7Tires 7Locks 4Seat belts 4Driver assistance 2
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