Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the vehicle lurched forward without warning. The vehicle was inspected by an independent repair shop who determined the rainwater drainage tubes under the carpeted floorboard area leaked onto the electrical wiring which caused the automatic transmission control module to malfunction. The mechanic determined the wiring to the transmission control module needed replaced. The dealership and the manufacturer were alerted updated 10/17/2006 - the manufacturer refused to offer any assistance.
2001 Volkswagen Passat body complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 23 of 23, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Hi, I have a vw passat 2001.5 sedan. I recently have notcied that water enters into the rear passenger floor when it rains. I hear that the problem is noticed by a number of fellow passat owners on various forums. I have learnt that water can damage previous electronics and can be very expensive to fix. I feel that there is a design problem here with the vw passat that allows water into the car when it should be kept out. I strongly hope vw would recall the vehicle to fix this problem. -- aravind.
2001 vw passat v6. A defective pollen filter seal allowed water to pull on the passenger side floor. This occurred after 24 hours of rain. The water has damaged the transmission control module. Those repairs and the repair of the water damage to the carpet and resulting mold is estimated at over $2,000. The dealer reports that this is an long-standing defect. There are hundreds of reports of the same exact problem with vw and audi.
For the 2nd time in 14 months the system that drains rain water out of my car has become clogged. The result is that water collects under the floor board on the front passenger side of the vehicle, where computers are located inside an unsealed plastic box. The first time this happened, in dec 2004, I was told the failure was due to an unusually strong rain storm and the resulting water damage effected the break system. At that time the car was still under warranty. This time it's happening off warranty and I'm being told that one of the computers has to be replaced and there could be further damage which will only be detected after a new computer is installed. In both instances, the seats and carpeting had to be removed and the carpeting and wiring system had to be fan dried. This time around I spoke with a vw mechanic at the dealership where the repairs are being done and he said this is not an infrequent occurrence after a rain storm. Now, it seems to me that locating a computer system in a flat, low lying area of the car where water can collect is a huge design flaw, but that being the case, had I been made aware of the fact that regular flushing of the drainage system could have probably prevented a now costly and time consuming repair, I would have gladly taken my car in for such a service. Records will show that I followed vws scheduled maintenance program, having the service done at an authorized vw dealership on time. Surprisingly, flushing the drainage system is not part of vws routine maintenance program even though they are aware that the potential for this problem exists. It seems to me that flushing the drainage system is far more important than, say, filling the windshield wiper fluid, but then I guess vw stands to benefit far more from repairing a water damaged computer system as opposed to replacing a windshield wiper blade.
This failure is documented well by dozens of consumers: http://www.theautobahn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12789&page=1. Ak this complaint is against volkswagen for passat year gls 2001.5 (1) heavy rain (2) gallons of water collected in rear passenger footwell (3) pollen filter replaced (twice so far)
2001 passat gls v6. Water collected in the engine due to faulty drainage plugs and ruined the computer. Water also entered into cabin and soaked the rugs. The pollen filter also did not work. Computer and pollen filter were replaced. *ak also door on front passenger side has become unaligned. Also brakes needed to be totally replaced after 24,000 miles because rotors got warped. Also faulty ignition sensor needed to be replaced because engine light kept coming on. Also cv joints are rippiing and need to be replaced. Don't know why this is happening. Only have 25,000 miles on car and service it regularly.
Lower right side near the vent control of dashboard rattles and makes a clicking noise when on uneven roads. Has been doing this since I bought it, but it has gotten worse with time. Vehicle has less than 15,000 miles on it. Took it to the vw service department and was told that the noise was just the leather rubbing; however, when they applied felt tape to the area, the noise was still present. Asked if it was a problem with how the dashboard was mounted, possibly a faulty clip, and the service advisor was quite rude saying there was no problem even though he heard the noise during test drive. I read on some vw message boards that there is an updated clip kit for the passat because so many vw/passat drivers have had the same type of problems. Is this true?
Water leak due to vehicle design flaw.
Vehicle's drainage hole was installed incorrectly, causing a blockage. Also, the electrical system malfunctioned.
Rear left door has a quarter of an inch gap between the frame and the door. This allows air and sometimes water to enter into compartment.
The right rear door has become misaligned. It does not shut solid and it sticks out about an 1/8 of an inch when the door is closed.
There was a sudden loud and scraping sound caused by the plastic engine noise shield was dragging on the ground because it had lost the fasteners, the dealer installed new inner fenders and lower cover.
Transmission makes vibration noise when upshifting, the noise seems to be coming from the left rear, dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. Nlm
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