2002 Volkswagen Passat: water leaks into the cabin

Filed Jan 18, 2010 · Visibility · 75,000 miles · SC

Water leakage from sunroof to floor boards. The sunroof has drainage tubes, that can and will become clogged. Water on floorboard can lead to transmission problems. Tubes had to be unclogged, located on front door frames.

Filed Dec 28, 2009 · Body · 135,000 miles · NC

During heavy rains, water entered the vehicle through the sunroof, which was properly closed and latched. Owner did not know that water infiltration had occurred. Upon driving the car after the storm, multiple warnings appeared. Car shuttered and would not shift gears. Eventually car shifted into drive. Took car to service station, which diagnosed that water had entered vehicle and pooled in passenger floorboard. Transmission module located beneath passenger floorboard flooded and failed. Transmission module and related components had to be replaced. We contacted manufacturer of vehicle and were told this was not a known problem, but information obtained by our insurance company indicates otherwise.

Filed Jul 29, 2009 · Acceleration, Electrical · 500 miles · VA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that her vehicle was a lemon when she purchased it in 2002. Water enters the vehicle from the sun roof whenever it rains. She received a recall notice, but the vehicle was not repaired according to the recall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer more than fifteen times, but it has never been repaired. The failure mileage was 500 miles. Updated 8/24/09 *cn the consumer was told the water leak was coming from the after market speaker. The headlight tail light and fog light bulbs were replaced. The check engine light illuminated and the coolant bottle had a hairline crack. The heat in the vehicle was not working properly. The technician discovered the heater core had a blockage. The water pump was leaking. Both outer cv boots were replaced. There was a large evap leak at the purge valve which was replaced. The cruise control light was on. The right side valve cover gasket was leaking oil and the alternator was replaced. Updated 08/26/09.

Filed Dec 12, 2007 · Brakes · PA

1) both failures occurred in wet conditions --- once in pouring rain after the car had been driven for a while, and once during the first drive on a cold morning (just below freezing) after an inch or two of snow. 2) in both cases, the brake pedal moved only a little (an inch or two perhaps?) and then became very hard, not moving any further with additional pushing, and providing very little braking power (perhaps 5% of normal braking?). Fortunately both incidents occurred at relatively low speed, and the hand brake was not affected. In both cases, the brakes worked normally again by the time we had organized ourselves to take the car in for service --- both times, this was days later (though we had not driven the car); in the second incident, we left the car on the street overnight before putting it in our driveway the next morning, and the brakes were still not working at that time. 3) in the first incident (occuring in august '07?), we took the vehicle in for service at a service station, learned of a vw recall involving water leaking that could affect the brakes and leak water into the passenger compartment (which was also happening during heavy rain), and then took the car to the dealership (piazza acura/vw of ardmore, pa) for service --- they repaired the leak problem and cleaned the interior, but I am not sure whether they did anything about the brakes (we may not have mentioned this specifically to them, since it was mentioned in the recall). The car seemed fine afterward. After the second incident (on 12/6/07), we are once again having the car checked out at our regular service station (we have been impressed by their diagnostic skills in the past). So far they have not identified any brake problem, and we plan to take the car to the dealership next if our regular station mechanics cannot find a problem that would explain the brake failure.

Filed Sep 14, 2007 · Body, Transmission · 45,540 miles · TX

2002 passat began thumping and lurching while in motion and while idling. Check engine light came on. Acceleration was abnormally slow. Three inches of standing water appeared in right rear footwell. Dealer informed me acceleration problem was due to water in TCM. Tcm short circuited and then powertrain dropped. Water damage was due to leaking pollen filter seal, which was subject to p9 recall. Car was past warranty on time, but not miles. They fixed pollen filter seal and told me they couldn't do anything about the $4,000-$5000 damage from the leaking water. The car is not safe to drive. My car is parked outside. We had several rainy days in the week before the problem. The service manager suggested I must have left the window open. I contacted vw corp and they suggested I take it to a dealer for repair at my own expense.

Filed Jun 4, 2007 · Body · 52,000 miles · PA

When it rains water leaks into the car under the passenger dash over electrical components for the car.

Filed Jul 20, 2006 · Electrical · 21,000 miles · MD

When it rains heavily, the air bag fault light and the mil come on. Water gets into the vehicle and shorts out the electronics. Fortunately the oct. 2005 repair was still under warranty. I was without the car for a week that time. I took the car in july 5th, 2006 for the same thing and have not seen the car yet (7/20/06). Each time the service person calls, I am told that there is more electrical damage. Now the transmission module also must be replaced for $800+. There is obviously a design flaw in the passat. If you cannot keep the car in a garage, you should not purchase a vw passat. The dealership is inundated with these cars whenever we experience heavy rain. I have placed numerous calls to vw, and have received no assistance. The response is that the vehicle is out of warranty. Too bad. The car has only 21,000 miles on it. The master cylinder also had to be replaced last year. Vw needs to do something about this design flaw.

Filed Jul 6, 2006 · Body, Electrical · 47,000 miles · CT

Water leakage in 2002 passat 1.8t gls. After rain, water seeped in through faulty pollen filter housing. Fried engine cluster. After being returned, water continued to seep in. It corroded electrical wires and caused many problems. After 5+ dealer visits, no one was able to fix it until I personally stripped all carpeting and found the faulty wire. Dealer had told me filter housing was susceptible to water leakage, and yet he did no fix it...

Filed Jul 4, 2006 · Body · 29,700 miles · PA

1 - heavy rains - car parked outside in driveway - no flooding. Water leaked into 2002 vw passat passenger side rear foot well, via vent/air filter - 3 inches of standing water on the floor. 2 - carpeting saturated - due to insulation underneath, unable to dry without removing. Vehicle computer systems under same side carpeting all damaged - in need of replacement - dealership estimates repairs at over $2000. 3 - called vw customer care center - they said that because the car is out of warranty, they will give no consideration to helping with repair costs. Will contact insurance company and/or lawyer.

Filed Feb 5, 2006 · Body · 52,800 miles · MA

2002 vw passat: water leakage into the car accumulating in the floor wells when it rains. No immediate cause determined. Windows all closed. Drains for sunroof open and clear. Happens repeatedly when raining.

Filed Sep 28, 2005 · Body, Engine · 80,000 miles · NJ

I was driving my 2002 volkswagen passat when my engine light came on. I immediately pulled over. I was in new york at the time so I had the car towed to the nearest vw dealership, which was romano vw in fayetville, ny. I had did some research and found that the vw has a problem with the pollen housing filter. I asked the service manager omar to check the filter, which in return he stated it was fine. The problem was the oil pump, and the computer. I eventually found out that the computer failed do to a water leak on the passenger side of the car, which is where the computer is located. Romano vw said there was a water leak but it was not caused by the filter. I have been fighting with vw customer care and they keep denying my claim. I eventually had my car fixed and picked the car up and drove home. Once I got home the engine light came on again. I took the car to prestige vw in turnersville, nj and they stated that the problem is cause from the pollen housing filter. Vw customer care has still denied my claim. After doing more research it turns out the pollen housing filter is a major issue in the volkswagen, but vw themselves do not agree.

Filed Nov 23, 2004 · Acceleration, Electrical · SC · crash

Numberous problems with vehicle. After bumping noise, engine revved, car lurched forward and accelerated to a rapid speed. *bf the mlp light cam on several times. The radio did not work. The radio was repaired and broke again then was replaced. The consumer stated that she found standing water in the car on the back right side under the front seat. The air pollen filter was cracked . Filter and carpet was replaced. The back door locks refused to unlock therefore the consumer could not open either back door from inside or out. The vehicle accelerated out of control of the driver and hit a curb at 50 miles an hour. The consumer continued to pump the brakes finally getting the vehicle to stop. The vehicle had 4 flat tires as a result of hitting the curb head on with rims bent as well. The bumper came off.