2002 Volkswagen Passat: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jul 26, 2023 · Fuel system · GA

I was letting my car run for a couple of minutes for the AC to cool down the car and I went into my house. When I came out about 2 minutes later, there was a large puddle of gas under the car in front of the right rear wheel and gas was running down the driveway all the way to the street. I immediately turned off the car and the gas stopped pouring out from under the car. I was lucky the car, my house or I did not go up in flames.

Filed Dec 7, 2015 · Engine · 183,000 miles · CA · fire

Vehicle was in motion, driving uphill. Needle on thermostat gauge suddenly perked really fast towards hot. Engine light went on. Vehicle was driven to side of road and engine was shut off. Smoke was coming out of front of engine. Driver stepped out of car. While inspecting the front of the car, the driver saw flickering flames under right side of engine (as seen from inside). Driver took sleeping child out of car seat and stepped away from car. Car was engulfed in fire within minutes and completely burnt up.

Filed Sep 22, 2015 · Engine · 172,808 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2002 volkswagen passat. While driving approximately 25 MPH, an extremely loud noise emitted from the engine. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. The contact exited the vehicle and large flames ignited underneath the hood. The fire department extinguished the fire and stated that the fire originated from the engine compartment. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 172,808.

Filed Feb 13, 2014 · Engine · 134,000 miles · CA · fire

My car was turned off and parked when I entered a convenience store. No smoke from underneath the hood or any sign of trouble when I entered the store. I exited the store approximately 3 minutes after entering, and there was a large amount of smoke bellowing from under the hood. Something under the hood had caught fire. The fire ultimately grew large enough where a standard fire extinguisher could not put out the flame and a firefighters were required. The engine was damaged beyond repair. The firefighters on the scene and a mechanic afterwards could not determine the cause of the fire, but believed that it was likely mechanical of some sort.

Filed Jun 22, 2012 · Engine · 120,345 miles · TX · fire

My daughter pulled into our neighborhood and noticed a faint odor of smoke. She pulled into our garage, got out of the car and saw smoke coming from the hood. She opened the hood and saw flames on the passenger side of the engine block. She went to get the fire extinguisher and upon her return the flame was out and the smoke subsided. I have inspected the area and I can't identify significant damage from the fire. I just learned of a recent investigation by the federal safety agency into my2002 vw passat for engine fires caused by a faulty ignition coil (the federal safety agency action number ea11002 - reported initial as pe10-027).

Filed Sep 15, 2011 · Electrical, Engine · 62,000 miles · WA · fire

Ignition coils caught fire while driving. Mechanic states that they "catch fire all the time".

Filed Jul 6, 2011 · Electrical · 97,500 miles · PR · fire

I'm the original owner of a 2002 vw passat 1.8t/automatic transmission with 97,500 miles which had underdash electrical fire while running the car and now is a total loss. The car was in very good condition prior to the events. Electrical underdash fire started very fast with smoke coming from driver vent. After searching on the internet appears this is a very common problem, an not many people really report the car fire.

Filed Feb 15, 2011 · Engine · 94,000 miles · VA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. While driving approximately 30 MPH the contact noticed that the vehicle lost power. He smelled a burning odor, and noticed smoke releasing from the vents. Within moments the glove compartment area was on fire. The vehicle will be towed to the dealer. A fire report was filed. The failure and the current mileage as 94,000.

Filed Nov 1, 2010 · Engine · 103,000 miles · UT · fire

Tl*the contact owns 2002 volkswagen passat. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact smelled a strong burning odor of plastic and pulled over to the side of the road. The contact exited the vehicle. The front of the vehicle erupted into flames. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. There was no injury. The vehicle was completely destroyed and towed to an independent mechanic. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

Filed Sep 2, 2010 · Engine · 100,000 miles · TX

The 2002 volkswagen passat has given a lot of people problems. I called the dealership and spoke to them about the problem with the "stop motor oil pressure". Their exact words to me were" they couldn't do anything, but it was a problem with the car. It is a filter in the engine that keeps getting clogged, and there isn't anything they can do." I told them that I needed my car and there has to be something, that cars are catching on fire. They said that I could get an engine flush every couple months. Nothing can be done to repair the problem by me. The volkswagen corp. Needs to fix the problem they messed up to begin with. Thank you

Filed Aug 4, 2010 · Engine · 72,000 miles · MA · fire

2002 passat engine fire. Car began to show cel while being driven on interstate. Left interstate and drove toward home (approx 5 miles). Light smoke smell pulled over 1/2 mile from home shut car off. Smoke increased called 911. Within 3 minutes flames appeared at dashboard. Within 10 minutes car was completely in flames.

Filed Jan 26, 2010 · Engine · 98,000 miles · IA · fire

Engine compartment fire. Started 2002 vw passat 1.8t and there was no heater fan or windshield wipers functional. Drove around the block. Let car idle to warm up and engine stopped. Smelled burning and put out small fire. Car towed to dealer.