Abs brake light comes on and the brake light keep flashing on and off.
2002 Volkswagen Passat brakes complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 72, newest first, as owners wrote them.
December 30, 2011, the engine emissions light came on. In addition, the brakes were slow to respond, especially in quick response situations, I.e. Traffic light. I took the car to pep boys for a diagnostic on brakes/emission. They said there were no problems. Cost $100. February 10, 2012, the engine emission light came on and the brakes were slow to respond especially in quick response situations, I.e. Traffic light. I took the car to a vw dealer/repair shop. They replaced the front brake rotors and pads and changed the brake fluid. I still experienced the brake problem during cold weather (below 15 degrees and wind chill). Vw suggested bringing the car in when the temperature was the same as the temperature that I experienced the brake problem. Unfortunately it was march and there were no further cold days. I began to think the car was a warm weather vehicle. Cost $776. December 14, 2012, the vw dealer/repair shop replaced the rear brake rotors and pads. Cost $377. December 26, 2013, the engine emission light came on and the brakes were slow to respond, especially in quick response situations, I.e. Traffic light. I took the car to a vw dealer/repair shop. They replaced hose and valve to correct a vacuum leak (valve stuck). They replaced the brake fluid. Cost $376. January 8, 2014, the brakes were slow to respond. I had to use the hand brake to stop. I called to have the car towed to vw dealer/repair shop. The tow driver stated it was a booster problem. The vw dealer/repair shop replaced brake booster and brake fluid. Cost $848. In addition to the brake problems, the belly pan (belly shield, skid plate, lower engine cover) came off twice while driving on major highways on april 21, 2012 and april 12, 2014. I had to pull over and pop the pan back up. I took the car to vw dealer/repair shops to have it reattached. No cost.
On a very cold day (below freezing) in january 2013 while driving down my long driveway with a 4% grade, the brakes failed to stop the car and the car entered the road. The road has a speed limit of 50 MPH and fortunately no car was on the highway or I could have been severely injured or killed. On subsequent warmer days the brakes worked fine. I took the car to the vw dealer in charlottesville, flow vw, where they found water in the booster pump and "removed cowl drains and vacuum water of the booster." this problem is cited in a vw service bulletin on the the federal safety agency website - p 9-66c8. The invoice did not mention installing an improved pollen filter seal as is described in the service bulletin. The dealer did not charge me for this repair when I complained that it was due a design flaw. This resolved the problem until this year when on another cold day below freezing the brakes again failed to stop the car when driving down my driveway. On subsequent warm days the brakes worked normally. I tested them again on a very cold day and they again failed. I took car back to the same vw dealer on a warm day and they told me there was water in the booster pump and I would have to replace the booster pump at a cost of about $800. When I complained that the problem was due to a design flaw as evidenced by reports of similar problems on websites including the federal safety agency?s website they eventually offered to lower the price to $500. I believe this is still too much to pay for what is clearly a very dangerous design flaw that allows water to get into the brake system and that the dealer had failed to really correct last year.
In august of 2013, while backing out of a driveway, I experienced a total loss of braking. After examining the car, I discovered that the plenum that holds the battery and brake booster was nearly filled with rain water. It was necessary for me to remove one of the duck-billed drain plugs in the plenum as all were clogged with debris, preventing water from draining out. The flooded plenum appears to have resulted in water being drawn through the vacuum lines when attempting to brake. This, in turn, caused a significant amount of water to be drawn into the crankcase. Water was also drawn into the cylinders resulting in misfiring. After removing at least one drain plug in the plenum for proper drainage, and double flushing the contaminated oil in the crankcase, I experienced no further braking problems until freezing weather in november 2013. In november, while braking near the bottom of a hill, I again experienced a hard pedal with no depression and almost no braking ability, resulting in the car going into the intersection before fully stopping. The car was towed to the volkswagen dealership for repair. Two weeks later, there was again the symptom of a hard pedal? With no depression and near loss of all braking. The car was again returned to the volkswagen dealership for repair. This time, the vacuum booster, the vacuum pipes, and their related items were replaced. As noted in the dealership invoice, evidence of water was found in the replaced vacuum booster. The dealership acknowledged that the plenum had a significant high-water pollen line, indicating flooding of the plenum. It was believed by their service department staff that the brake failures in november and december 2013 were likely the result of residual water freezing in the vacuum booster, causing the booster to be inoperative. Also, the ignition coils were replaced. Updated 01/30/14 the consumer stated the insufficient fix during the 2008 campaign did not resolve the problem. It allowed for continued flooding of the plenum compartment a
Abs control module needs to be replaced.
Cel 17887 brake booster failure. This causes a complete brake failure. Hard pedal and vehicle would not come to a stop. After doing research I found out this is a common occurrence with this make/model/year vehicle. The cause of the problem is the brake booster fills with fluid and/or debris causing loss of air pressure. The brake booster can not function without this pressure causing brake failure. I took the vehicle to a mechanic at a reputable dealer and they vacuumed out approximately 1 1/2 gallons of dirty looking water. There is still more inside the part however it is frozen due to single digit temperatures outside. After a thorough inspection of all clamps, hoses and other parts the mechanic assured me there are no cracked hoses, loose or broken clamps (no explanation as to why the booster is filling with fluid or how to prevent it from happening again). The mechanic states the fluid/debris build up inside of the booster. The cel has been reset and the problem has not recurred (yet). This is my 18 year old son's car and every day he drives the vehicle I fear this will happen again since there was no explanation for the occurrence the first time. Reports I have read from other owners state they have had the same problem on this model year. Why isn't vw being held accountable for this malfunction?
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that the brake light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnose that the ABS module needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made a ware of the failure. The failure mileage was 230,000 and the current mileage was 277,000.
This has happened 3 times now. My car beeps at me about 3-4 times & the ABS & brake lights come on for a few seconds before turning off. From everything I have read online, its a problem with the ABS module & this is a common problem in the passat.
Torque converter failed. The ABS module is bad. 02 sensors are bad.
Abs system light was activated while driving. Car sent to authorized dealer where it was confirmed that ABS unit had failed. $3000 repair bill required to bring car back to specs, including replacements of upper links (8e0407505a), and ABS unit (8e0614111aq).
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that the brake pedal was extremely stiff and would not respond when depressed. The contact applied the parking brake and the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the brake booster would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.
When the outside temperature is below freezing, the brakes on my 2002 passat wagon do not work. The brake pedal is hard, and will not depress. I have been told by a mechanic who has worked on my car for the past ten years that there is a significant amount of water in my brake lines. This water may have entered the brake lines from the brake booster in a manner described in incident report #pe07018. Attempts to fix the problem have been unsuccessful so far (water has been drained out of system, drains have been cleared of leaves and other debris, but the problem recurs when the temperature drops below freezing). Does vw have any other suggestions how to fix this problem? When the problem happens, I do not have functioning brakes (a rather dangerous situation, to say the least).
Started car 5 am during winter months-car brakes were completely depressed-brakes were un usable. Car was able to accelerate however brakes could not be used at any point. This is a serious and dangerous issue as any freezing temperature will render the brakes un usable and possibly result in a crash. Brought the car to several repair shops and was notified that a p9 service which sealed pollen filters to prevent debris from entering the area surrounding the brake booster had been done, but debris still entered.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. When the contact started the ignition and attempted to engage the brake pedal, there was no response as a result of a frozen brake line. The failure would occur during cold weather temperatures. There was an opened and closed defect investigation associated with the federal safety agency action number pe07018 (service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. In addition, on a separate occasion, the engine stalled and emitted blue smoke from the exhaust system after a rain. Also the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was previously repaired for the engine failure. The failure mileage was 113,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that when the weather was cold the brakes would fail and he was unable to stop the vehicle. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000. The VIN was unavailable.
This just started happening to me and I was searching the web and it seems like it's a problem for a lot of people. About once every 20 minutes while I'm driving my 2002 passat, the car beeps, and then the ABS light comes on and the red brake light flashes. I loose a little of my braking power for a few seconds every time it happens.
My ABS light on my 2002 volkswagen passat randomly comes on saying stop, brake default. There apparently is nothing wrong with my brakes. There could be a fix by replacing a $1600 part. After researching this, thousands of people have this same problem. Mechanics say nothing really wrong with the brakes. If it's indeed a sensor that everyone with this car has, then vw should repair it, so we actually know when something is wrong with the brakes!!
This complaint is related to the federal safety agency action number pe 07018. My 2002 vw passat experienced a complete transmission control module (TCM) failure in mid 2009. Water had gotten into the passenger compartment and disabled all its functions, including brakes, transmission and engine. It included sudden, unpredictable surging when the gas pedal was depressed. This occurred in a parking lot and there were no injuries. Vw repaired the car at their expense. Several months later, in very cold weather, there was complete loss of brakes and the car rolled down a driveway, across a busy street into a wall. Again there was no bodily injury and minor crash damage. Vw diagnosed the problem as water (ice) in the brake booster and repaired the car at my expense. Vw refused a request for an adjustment claiming that this event was unrelated to the first one. Last month, vw sent me an update notice for revised maintenance of the water drains and plenum chamber, as originally described in their service bulletin of nov. 2007. I consider this a serious and potentially life threatening safety issue and request that the federal safety agency take appropriate action.
Abs light flashes on and off. Dealer says that it would cost over $1000. I just can't believe that such a safety system can I have such defects within it. Has anyone investigated this problem because I've seen numerous complaints about this online.
Abs/brake light comes on while driving. Took it to dealer and they did a scan found no problem with brakes. I have been reading on the net that a lot of people with the same yr are having problems with this. Even if fixed the ABS light still comes on.
About 9 months ago I was caught in a heavy rainstorm with my 2002 passat 1.8t. Water flooded the battery compartment due to drainage hole located under the battery clogged with leaf debris. All power (steering, brakes, etc.) was lost and car stalled out on the highway. Now the car's brakes are malfunctioning in freezing weather. The brake pedal sticks to the floor at times; other times the pedal is very hard and must be stomped on to stop the car. I cannot use the car under these circumstances as it is too dangerous. Vw dealership confirmed diagnosis of problem as resulting from freezing water in brake booster. I reported the problem to vw customer care. They refuse to reimburse me for the dealer's $1600 fee to replace the booster, booster lines and vacuum pump. Why hasn't the federal safety agency forced vw to issue a recall as I've discovered there have been numerous other similar complaints? Vw's stance on this was that the problem would be noticed in the driveway or at low speeds and therefore doesn't pose a safety hazard. This is totally unacceptable as temperatures can change quickly during a journey. Why has the federal safety agency backed down in the face of such a lame response? I will never again buy another vw car since their vaulted safety reputation is not deserved and their customer service stinks.
Water in brake booster frozen, causing breaks to fail - near incident on the freeway at high speeds. Frozen water is due to known service issue with 2002 passat. Vw will not take responsibility for failure of brake booster even though mechanics indicate failed air plenum/filter is only way for water to enter brake booster. Vw will not take corrective action on brake booster, a $600 repair. This is a major safety issue in cold weather. See investigation #pe07-018.
Driving 2002 vw passat in normal winter driving conditions including road salt cause premature failure of rear break calipers.
Got in my car one morning and the brake felt like there was gravel in the shaft-very hard and choppy feeling when depressing the pedal. Backed out of driveway and noticed a vapor cloud behind my car but thought it was due to high humidity in air. When I tried to stop the car at the corner the brakes didn't work quite right but the car did stop. Went a little further and applied the brakes to make a turn and my care started shuttering and lots of white smoke came out the back -actually almost enveloped my car so I had a hard time making the turn due to poor visibility and the cars vibrations. Again the brakes did not respond correctly but luckily was able to pull over without hitting anything. I sat there trying to evaluate the problem by pumping the brakes and every time I did so the car shook violently and huge clouds of smoke enveloped the car. I had it towed to the dealers and they called to say that it was not under warranty and charged me over $700 to fix. I also had them do the p9 recall repair at that time. I drove the car for less than a week and then had a repeat of the same problem! This time the brakes actually failed twice before I could get back to the house. I had the same thick white smoke and the car was shaking violently whenever I pressed down on the brakes. Again had car towed to shop. They are now fixing as part of the warranty to the brake booster issue as they found new leaves clogging the brake booster lines and found total failure of that part. The vw service rep said several gallons of water came out of my engine when they removed the debris. Their solution was to drill a huge hole to allow the leaves and water to drain away from the brakes! Luckily, we borrowed my brother's van two days before to bring my daughter back from college (located in lynchburg, va which is in the mountains or we may had the brakes fail and gone off a cliff!) please do something about this-- it is totally unsafe and unethical!
When car is started the ABS light goes on and the brake light flashes. The car drives but its always flashing the brake light.
Copy (excerpt) of letter sent to vw of america: car history the car was purchased at danbury,ct vw 2002, put in service on 03-19-2002 and is still owned by the original owner (florian kahlert). The car is regularly maintained at vw recommended intervals by foreign car motors inc. And has also been serviced by riverbank vw in stamford, ct. All vw service actions have been addressed by vw dealerships (except the most recent campaign r5 26e5 which is still outstanding). The car is accident free and no after market parts are installed. The overall condition of the car is 9 out of 10 for a car its age. Riverbank vw in stamford performed the p9 service action on 10/10/2007at 40957 miles. Brake booster failure in cold weather in december 2008 (at approximately 51000 miles) owner experienced repeated brake problems in cold weather, which were eventually diagnosed as a brake booster failure. Upon inspection, extensive water and rust was found in the booster as well as the connecting vacuum lines and one-way valves requiring the replacement of the booster and other parts. Foreign car motors replaced the booster with a new original vw part 8e0612107e. During replacement foreign car motors also found that the drain below the booster was clogged with heavy debris, indicating that the drains had been clogged for a long time. Enclosed expert opinion by foreign car motors states that the only reasonable cause and explanation for the presence of water and rust in the brake booster is that the p9 service action did either not remedy the underlying problem or that the damage started before the p9 action was performed and the damage only became apparent in december 2008/january 2009. In either case, the reason for the booster failure is directly linked to the underlying cause that triggered the p9 service action. Based on this assessment I kindly request the reimbursement of incurred repair expenses:
Failure of ABS module.
Spring 2008, experienced water in cabin due to faulty seals/drainage. Winter 2008, experienced brake failure related to previous water intrusion.
First cold evening of november 2008 (below freezing) brake pedal failed to depress, and brakes appeared to be completely locked. After several minutes of warming up, brake function partially returned, but without power assist. Husband flushed dot4 brake fluid through ABS regulator, brake lines and bled brakes. No change whatsoever. Waiting for dealer to recognize problem. Dealer failed to acknowledge problem over phone, however, this may help. Believed that air/power booster sucked water in to brake booster from defective drain. Sunroof also leaks, and 3rd set of cv boots for car in 3 years.
The "brake fault" and "stop" words appear on the dash and then a very loud and annoying beep comes on for 3 beeps. I spoke to a technician at the vw dealership and he said that is a very common problem, especially in 00,01 and 02 models. The module just "craps-out" as he put it and warned me that is usually costs about $1,000 to fix, but would need $120 just to diagnose and make sure that this is indeed the problem. I asked if there was a recall on this issue and was told "no". This is obviously a very common problem based on the over 200 postings I saw in regards to this problem in a mere 20 min. Of looking online. I am sad that the car I feel in love with has been nothing but a pain (which is what I was told by many people it would be). I work for mercedes benz and they manufacture their vehicles in germany as well, with much fewer problems. I believe this must be a recall since it is obviously a manufactures defect and costing people way too much money.
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