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.
2002 Volkswagen Passat engine complaints
Page 2 of 6: complaints 11 to 40 of 148, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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
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).
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. While the contact was driving approximately 25 MPH, the engine power began to significantly reduce during acceleration. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The upward and downward oxygen sensors were replaced. The malfunction persisted after the repair was performed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 152,000.
The vehicle has a safety issue as I cannot see when I put the heater on. The windshield becomes completely covered with steam. I have almost crashed 5 times already. Help!
Heater core let go and created a uncontrollable fog in the inside of the car.tried to get to side of the road and almost hit a truck because I couldn't see. Smoke(or steam) was pouring from the car even after I stopped plus the fact that I inhaled the coolant fumes.
Ignition coils caught fire while driving. Mechanic states that they "catch fire all the time".
Emission related issues, secondary air pump and combi valve for 2002 volkswagen passat. They are installed in a spot where they are exposed to moisture resulting in a failure.
My complaint is more general in nature. I purchased a 2002 volkswagen passat in 2001. This was the first car I purchased brand new. As I think back over the time that I've had this vehicle and reading the complaints that have been logged in on this site, I can't help but think that volkswagen should offer some type of substantial "hardship" reimbursement besides repairs and such. In the time that I've had this vehicle, I've had the following incidents occur: 1. Have a control unit replaced (horn not working, unable to roll down windows, etc..) 2. Replace ignition coil (stop motor status light coming on as I'm driving in the midst of traffic) 3. Had undershield fall forward as I was driving on the state highway, pretty much scooping up potential debris from the roadway surface. 4. Damage to engine from oil sludge and oil pump replacement no less than three times. (stop motor light again) 5. Interior of car flooded and frozen over from sunroof flaw and electronics are affected... Just on merits of being able to provide proof of ownership of the vehicle and showing that these services were indeed rendered at a volkswagen authorized repair facility, I believe that at minimum, volkswagen should agree to reimburse all expenses, no questions asked. It's become clear that the quality of these vehicles was substantially sub-par and poorly designed all things considered. The car is currently in my parents driveway, as the last time the oil pump went caused so many issues that I ended up not being able to drive the car (live and work out of state now and registration expired the same month the pump went then couldn't afford insurance after repairs). To add insult to injury, I didn't receive the claim notice about fixing the sunroof issue until a year later, as it went to my old address and now it's too late to even file the claim. All I want is have a reliable car to operate without worrying about if I'm gonna have skip lunch because I spent all my money on repairs.
In 2002, I bought my passat new. At the end of december 2010, the stop oil light came on. Two weeks later, a recall letter arrived. I drove to pasadena and back to northern california february 2011. After a little malfunction on the freeway in livermore, I pulled into a gas station and the passat started to sound like a diesel engine. Towed to dublin vw. They say the engine is fried and a new one would cost $6800. All this due to oil sludge issue.
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.
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.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost power. There were no warning lights prior to the failure. The vehicle began emitting smoke and was towed. The vehicle was destroyed. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified. The failure mileage was 140,000.
I had a 2002 vw passat with 1.8t engine. Its original engine was dead due to oil sludge 3 years ago; and its replaced engine was dead today again. I think volkswagen should pay back my money, about $6000, for replacing 2 engines; and recall this engine immediately.
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.
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
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. While the contact was driving approximately 65 MPH, a warning chime sounded inside of the vehicle with a "stop" message displayed on the instrument panel. Also, the "oil pressure" and "turn off engine" warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on two different occasions for the identical failures. The technician informed that the failures were contributed to an oil sludge buildup. The vehicle had repairs performed related to the identical failures two years ago. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was unavailable.
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
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, smoke began billowing from under the hood and through the interior air vents. The contact moved the vehicle from the roadway and found there was oil leaking from the engine. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the cam shaft chain had broken and the engine would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 94,000.
I have a 2002 vw passat. I had numerous problems with it since I bought it, the control arms go, the engine coils fail constantly and just recently my low oil pressure light came on. I had my car towed to the place where I purchased it and they said this means that my engine is shot. I have done some research and tried to look for used parts and it turns out that with the 1.8l turbo passat engine this occurs very frequently. Now I am stuck paying almost $11,000 for a car that I cant even drive because it is going to cost me nearly $5,000 to fix. I really would like this problem to be looked into and I am highly surprised that this has not been a recall issue yet.
1. Oil was leaking and we repaired it in a local garage. A day later we noticed the oil sludge problem - which told us oil something, stop engine. We called the vw dealer in hartford, ct, and they suggested to bring the car in immediately otherwise it will impact the engine. We immediately took and droped it at the vw dealer and they called us next day telling the oil is not getting into the engine. Everything is blocked. They suggested to repair it otherwise the engine will be dead. We asked them to repair and paid close to $1800. They have replaced bunch of pipes, and parts but labor cost was lot more than parts. But I learned on the internet, that this is an existing problem and vw is aware of it. I read thru few forums on the net, and they all suggested, if I do not have all the oil change receipts, they will not cover the repair charges. But I am surprised, that vw dealer never mentioned about the existing problem, I had to learn thru internet. 2. Check engine sign comes all the time on my dashboard, first time I took it, they repaired (same dealer) fixing and replacing small parts and again most of it is labor charges and less parts. We paid about $2000. All these repairs happened within couple of months of each other. Again 10 days later, the check engine sign comes and they repaired again few things and charged about $500. A week later the check engiine sign comes again. We call the dealer and he says bring it in. I am sick and tired of taking this car every week to the dealer and paying them lot of money every time I take it. My car is 2002 vw passat 1.8t. I heard there are lot of known problem with this model and dealer never mentioned to us once.
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.
During trip in 2008 the "low oil pressure" light came on while driving my 2002 passat 1.8t (w/ auto transmission) on the freeway- I pulled over and shut the engine off the car as the warning light advised. The car was towed to a dealership & I was told I needed a new oil pump due to oil sludge ($1300). The car had approx. 120k miles on it. The dealership did tell me about the extended warranty for 02 passats for oil sludge-related repairs, however, volkswagen wouldn't honor this warranty without receipts for every oil change done on the car - which I did not have. Approx. A few months later, the engine stopped running.this is all due to oil sludge issues. I had about 90% of all of my oil change receipts and vw would not honor the warranty. As and engineer in know that the 1.8t engine was not designed correctlybecause if it were, vw would not have changed the size of the original oil filter to a larger one and there would be no need to use synthetic oil.
I own a 2002 vw passat and I am the original owner. I have no heat and the dealer has told me that I need a new heater core which appears to be a known problem w/ vw's that they have yet to acknowledge. The dealer said they would not cover under warranty but suggested I call vwoa and see if I could get it covered under goodwill. I called vwoa and stated my case and requested that they cover it under goodwill and they refused. My car has been regularly maintained by the dealer and I am very upset that vw has a known problem and refuses to correct it and they expect me to pay $1000 to have this known problem fixed.
In jan. 2007 the "low oil pressure" light came on while driving my 2002 passat 1.8t (w/ auto transmission) on the freeway- I immediately stopped the car as the warning light advised. The car was towed to a dealership & I was told I needed a new oil pump due to oil sludge ($1300). The car had approx. 60k miles on it. The dealership did not tell me about the extended warranty for '02 passats for oil sludge-related repairs; I found out about it by researching online. However, volkswagen wouldn't honor this warranty without receipts for every oil change done on the car - which I did not have. Approx. A year & a half later, the same oil pressure light came on while driving & I had to immediately stop the car. This time, I had to replace the entire engine ($8000!!) due to oil sludge issues. Again, extended warranty for oil sludge repairs was useless to me because I didn't have receipts for every single oil change done over the life of the car.
2002 volkswagen passat has engine problems. *nj the consumer stated the vehicle has not been driven in a year and a half due to the oil sludge and misfiring problems. The catalytic converter failed and the spark plugs and coil packs were constantly being replaced.
I have talked to, blogged with, and communicated with various volkswagen passat owners and previous owners one complaint that has just become my biggest problem is due to oil sludge build up that occurs and effects the oil pressure censor in these vehicles I own a 2002 passat wagon and had a terrible oil leak months after I got it covered by warranty. Now months after, I start blogging and investigating on my own the cost to repair this so called oil sludge problem which is so bad in these vehicles I am told this will cost $500-$2000 to fix! Why hasn't this problem which is not covered or honored by volkswagen or extended warranty been recalled???? This is a very common problem, and the fact that I take very good care of my vehicle sound be taken into consideration when it goes in the shop for such a common default in these cars...please help shine the light on this issue I am sure if it is investigated by you that you will see the hardship of this problem hopefully you aren't a passat owner yourself.
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.
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