2002 Volkswagen Passat: check engine light

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 Dec 15, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 125,000 miles · CA

I was driving the car about 30 minutes prior to incident traveling at approximately 45 MPH with my child in the car and without warning of any kind my car shuts off and I almost got rear ended . I was able to coast to the side of the road put the vehicle in park tried starting the vehicle and it started right away . I drove vehicle home without incident . I took the vehicle to a mechanic and they couldn't find a problem no engine codes where present . I drove the vehicle for a week and this same scenario played out again I wasn't driving the car any further at this point because again I had my child in the car and again also got rear ended . Had it towed to a different mechanic and they to were unable to find any engine codes or problems . I had my boyfriend drive the car home and it stalled on him at a red light . Car wouldn't restart so he had to push the vehicle across a lane of traffic to the shoulder of the road . When the car cooled down for 2 hours it restarted and drove fine no check engine light or codes present .. After a month of headaches with the car we discovers it was a faulty engine speed sensor this is a very dangerous part to fail without warning leaving the car powerless if this happened on the freeway I wouldn't have been so lucky I imagine.

Filed Jan 26, 2013 · Brakes · 110,897 miles · NJ

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?

Filed Jul 23, 2012 · Fuel system · 90,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who inspected the vehicle and stated that there was a small fuel leak on the filler neck. The vehicle was included in the recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number: 02v026000 (fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly:filler pipe and cap); however at time of inspection, there was no fuel leak. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but stated that the statute of limitations for the recall had passed. The failure and current mileages were 90,000.

Filed May 31, 2012 · Engine · 102,000 miles · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. She was able to restart the vehicle after 45 minutes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer replaced the rear catalytic convertor but the failure continued. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileage was 102,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed May 26, 2011 · Fuel system · 120,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that fumes were entering the vehicle through the ventilation system and the check engine light was illuminated. The contact also mentioned that due to the failure, the vehicle was unable to pass state inspection. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure and stated that in order to find the cause of failure, they would have to drop the fuel tank. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since because the vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 08v156000 ( fuel system, gasoline: delivery). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 120,000.

Filed Feb 8, 2011 · Engine · 80,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact was driving approximately 25-30 MPH when he heard a noise coming from the engine and the vehicle immediately began to lose power. After driving an additional two miles, the vehicle stalled with the illumination of the check engine warning light. The vehicle was towed to his residence abd was neither inspected nor repaired for the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Dec 13, 2010 · Brakes · 113,000 miles · MA

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.

Filed Nov 30, 2010 · Electrical · 48,946 miles · OR

We own a 2002 vw passat wagon and are so happy with it we bought another one with lower mileage. Shortly after buying the second vw the engine warning light came on the first vehicle. Our mechanic said it was the ignition coil pack - $600 to replace. Car had over 120,000 miles so we weren't unduly alarmed, and paid it. Three weeks later engine warning came on again. Took it to a different garage - one that used to be the local vw dealer - and they said the ignition coil was bad again. We assumed the replacement part had turned out to be bad so paid another $600 to have it fixed. Took the old part back to the original garage but the mechanic did nothing about it. 'chalked it up to experience. Three months later the engine warning light came on the second vw. Took it to the second mechanic and he said - voila! - ignition coil bad again! Paid another $600 to get it replaced, and then went home to research it online. Was stunned to see all the problems listed about the ignition coil pack. Called vw and asked for reimbursement for two of the three ignition packs but was told our vws were not listed in the correction bulletins. They also denied there was a recall even though their own pr department had sent out a press release saying all 2002 v6 passats had been recalled due to this problem. I have called vw several times and found their 'customer advocates' to be very courteous and polite but absolutely stonewalling any reimbursement. When pressed was finally told I needed the old ignition packs, the repair bills (original only, no copies) and could send all to them and they would consider it but would probably not make an adjustment!

Filed Aug 23, 2010 · Electrical · 161,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact was driving 70 MPH when the vehicle began to shake abnormally and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle independently decelerated from 70 MPH to 20 MPH. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was advised that the ignition coil spring failed. The coil springs and spark plugs were replaced at the contact's expense. The contact stated this was the fifth time the ignition coil springs failed. The vehicle was not under recall and the manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 95,000 and the current mileage was 161,000.

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 Jun 24, 2010 · Engine · 57,000 miles · FL

Tl-the driver owns a 2002 volkswagen passat glx. While driving approximately 30 MPH the vehicle engine light came on. The vehicle was driven to there destination and the vehicle was checked by a local mechanic the next day. The local mechanic did a diagnostic and she was advised that the calaltytic converter failed. The vehicle has not been repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 57,000 and the current mileage was 65,000. Vwb