I was driving my 2002 passat 1.8t for a approximately 30, reaching my house the car started sputtering and acting weird. Once I parked in my driveway and open the hood the engine was on fire for no apparent reason. The car was running perfectly fine for the first 30 minutes and then was on fire.
2002 Volkswagen Passat engine complaints
Page 3 of 6: complaints 41 to 70 of 148, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Heat shield was replaced in a recall during the summer of 2008. A couple days after the repair we complained of a fire smell, returned the vehicle to the local dealer. At the time they said they replaced the heat shield again and the smell would eventually go away. A year later, the we experienced an engine compartment fire. The car was towed to the dealer that did the recall work. After inspection they admitted to us that the recall work was performed, however the heat shield was installed incorrectly, which caused it to catch fire. They explained that the instructions they were supplied by vw were unclear. They also admitted that they have no way of knowing how many heat shields were installed incorrectly at their dealership before they received the corrected or more clear installation instructions. I am concerned that there may have been many more dealerships with the same problem. If nothing else, the local dealership should be ordered to send out a letter notifying their recall customers of the potential problem.
My car had been hit on the driver side so I took it to the auto body shop to be repaired, being paid for by the person insurance co that hit me. When I went to pick the car up about 3 weeks later I drive 2 blocks and then lights started flashing (warning oil pressure) stop car immediately. I called the auto body shop so I could take the car back to them because the car was in excellent working order when I took it there no lights were on or flashing only the door was damaged. Few days later the auto body said they would have to have it towed to a dealer wynn because they don't know why the lights are on. Wynn dealer gave diagnoses of oil sludge for the lights flashing and the auto body had replaced the door with the wrong door. I was told this would cost me 2300 dollars, 2300 dollars. I was told by the deal that this is the problem and removal of the sludge will fix the problem. They had the car for a month repairs to replace the door and the oil sludge. Month later when I went to pick up the car at that time there was an engine light came on, had the manager check why. He hook up a computer and said it may be a bad cylinder he reset the light and I drove it for 2 weeks maybe and now excessive amount of smoke was coming from the car and it was losing power . I took it back to dealer stating you told me the problem was fixed I was told that now it has a turbo charger problem had been damaged which would be covered by my warranty. So I left it there for repairs. Picked it up a week later and was told everything was fine now drove it for not even a day and the car was still losing power and now shaking out of control. I had to take it back to the dealer and now was told I had a bad engine coil so the best they could do for now is replace it with a used one. In the mean time I had called volkswagen customer service and they told me I had to take it back to them for diagnose. Because when they replaced the coil it still didn't.
While driving, the windows instantly fogged up without warning. Immediately grabbing something to wipe the windows, nearly hit another vehicle before pulling to the shoulder. Also present at this time, was an odor of anti-freeze. Vehicle purchased used 2007, 37,469 miles. Driven approx 12k miles. Current mileage 51k. Corresponding with mfg, unsuccessful. Research indicates this is a prevalent issue.
Oil pump sludge on my volkswagen 2002 1.8t passat engine light came on. Engine quite working in the middle of the freeway. It only had 54,818 miles. I had to pay 10,000 out of my own pocket to replace the engine.
My volkswagen passat 2002 caught on fire. I know you are investigating this so I wanted to inform you.
I have a 2002 volkswagen passat with 79000 miles, in may of 2008 while my daughter was away at school the stop engine light came on. After she took it to a local shop and I spent over $300 in diagnostic services I was advised of vw's tsb 10 07 13, 2013233, published aug 17, 2007which acknowledged the oil sludge issue and the "magic flush". Had the car towed at my expense from md to nj. Vw agreed with the diagnostics and performed the flush. Since that time ( 6k due to the turbo filling up with oil, can and crank seals leaking, valve covers leaking, premature cracking caused by the oil in the timing belt, etc. Independent mechanics as well as the dealers mechanics agree that this can be a residual effect from the oil sludge. Vw of america would not listen to the facts and have left me holding the bag. Oil changes have been done every 3500 miles, with receipts. Vw should be stepping up to the plate, they know that there is a design issue with the 1.8t in the passat. I think that they intentionally make it difficult on the consumer so that they give up. Any advice?
Need to replace at least one bank of cam adjuster. Seems to be a problem with part. Cost to replace @$6,000. No help from vw.
Car driven to airport parking on 9/26 running fine. Car picked up at airport parking on 10/4. Engine running a bit rough. "check engine" light started to flash. Within five miles, there was an engine fire behind engine by firewall low. Before emergency/fire personnel could arrive, car fully engulfed and totally destroyed. Car regularly maintained. No oil/fluid leakage. Running fine prior to eight day idle in parking garage.
My wife was driving the vehicle and heard a pop from under the car. She pulled over right away and saw fluids and smoke coming from the engine compartment. Within five minutes the engine and passenger compartments were fully engulfed in flames. The vehicle was considered totaled. Volkswagen is blaming it on an after market stereo power cable and an investigator with 23 years of experience said oil lines ruptured and the fire initially ignited low in the engine compartment -- not on top by the stereo power lead. Photos and a description of the incident is posted at the following link: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21108730-rant-our-2002-volkswagen-passat-glx-death-trap.
Driving at 60 MPH the engine completely stalled requiring an emergency maneuver to clear highway. Vw mechanic says rod snapped and put hole through engine. Not oil-related.
2002 volkswagen passat with fuel odor. Consumer states that she noticed a strong fuel smell filling her garage. Mechanic stated that there was a crack in the fuel tank. Mechanic stated that the consumer hit the bottom of the fuel tank on something. *kb the consumer stated a few months after the fuel tank was replaced, the timing belt failed.
Engine was running rough, engine light came on (flashing), I was advised engine was missing on a cylinder and could drive 'slowly' to the mechanic. On way to dealership warning light came on (stop - no engine oil). Mechanic changed vacuum hose and reset computer, engine not loosing oil. Week later - warning light (stop - no engine oil). Mechanic confirmed engine was not loosing oil. Took to vw dealership. Dealership advised vacuum hoses were 'bad'. Original mechanic changed vacuum hoses. Week later - warning light (stop - no engine oil). Took to vw dealership - dealership advised "after market parts" (vacuum hoses) causing issue. - changed hose. Day later - warning light (stop- no engine oil) - took back to vw dealership - dealership advised hoses are 'bad' - replaced 3 other hoses. About 2 weeks later - engine running poorly, delay when pulling out from stops, took to vw dealership. Dealership took apart engine. Advised that they 'scraped carbon deposits' from the filter leading to the oil pump. (cost $500+) car ran well for approx 2 weeks. Spoke to original mechanic about 'carbon deposits'. Mechanic advised 'carbon deposits' are 'engine sludge' - vw will not replace engine under 'sludge' recall because I do not have all oil change receipts for the last 6 years.
Cylinder head failed without warning, car had less than 75k. Car was serviced on a regular basis. Vw refused to pay for cost losing a thirty year loyal customer. They offered to apply $2200 to the repair of the car or apply it toward another new vw on the dealer lot, what a insult. I will never recommend their product.
Was driving on the interstate when the car started sputtering. Then I saw smoke coming up from the hood. Pulled the car over, opened the hood and saw flames. Grabbed my kid out of the car and watched the car become engulfed in fire. Car was in excellent condition with all maintenance up to date.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle began shaking violently and shut down in the middle of an intersection. The vehicle then skidded into an intersection and almost struck a child. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the ignition coil housing burned. The dealer would not repair the vehicle or allow him to pay $785 with a credit card to repair the ignition coil. The turbo coil also failed; however, the dealer does not agree with this diagnosis. The manufacturer was unable to assist. The contact also smelled electrical wiring burning. He stated that oil breaks down prematurely, which caused the engine to seize and the vehicle to overheat. The manufacturer stated in writing that they see no reason why they should offer any assistance, and that there was a previous recall on a case by case basis related to other engine failures. The federal trade commission complaint number was 13323205. The current mileage was 101,222 and failure mileage was 86,000.
Last saturday (feb.9, 2008) around 11:00am, while I was picking up my two daughters from ballet school (boston ballet, 19 clarendon street, boston), the check engine lamp started to blink and I could feel my car (2002 passat wagon, all wheel drive) was a little bit shaking. As the car manual says, I drove in low power to the closest volkswagen dealership (boston volkswagen, 168 western avenue, allston). While I was driving to the dealership, I saw some smoke coming out from the front hood (right front side). We (my daughters, my wife, and myself) got the dealership around 11:30am. A sales consultant (michael petersante) and another person there saw my car, and said that my car possibly would catch on fire. We evacuated from the car, they moved all the cars around my car to the other place. The dealer called for a fire department. Before the fire department came in, while I was looking at my car from the inside of the dealership building, I could see the flame coming out above the right front wheel in the car (somewhere the engine is located) and smoke filling up inside of my car. The fire department (boston fire-engine 41, ladder 14, unit d11) came and put out the fire. A police officer (boston police district 14, 301 washington street, brighton) came after the fire was extinguished (arrived at 11:53am), and checked out the scene and had my car, whose front part (engine compartment) was all broken and crushed while the wire was put out, be towed. It was hard to believe that a 5-6 years old car caught on fire while I was driving and in just 30 minutes reached to such situation. Fortunately, we were close to the dealership and were able to get there before the worst thing happens. And again, very fortunately, my family was able to get away to the safe place before the worst thing happens. But if it happened 10 minutes earlier or if it took 10 minutes longer than actually it did to get there, things that I don't ever want to imagine could happen to my family.
Oil sludge -- need new engine.
Mechanical defect in the 2002 vw passat that causes sludge build up in the engine on august 8, 2006 which in turn caused the engine to breakdown on sept. 29, 2006 and other associated mechanical problems like stalling approximately june 2007 and failure of front wheel suspension on february 3, 2008 upon exiting the highway.
Engine fails due to oil sludge problem.
I pay $1500 for used 2002 passat vw two years ago now dealer wants to charge me $ 6700 for new engine. Old engine was damage due to engine sludge. I submitted regular oil change receipts and was denied warranty. My passat has 84,000 mile and only two years of riding enjoyment. My car sitting at dealership for almost two weeks. Please help car needed for work.
On september 6th of this year, a message appeared on the dashboard display low oil pressure, stop motor. I immediately called the dealership in pompton plains, nj (the closest dealership to my house) to arrange servicing, since the car was not to be driven. The volkswagen representative with whom I spoke on the phone instructed me to bring my car to the dealership. When I finally brought the car in, service manager joe informed me that what I experienced was likely engine trouble requiring of multiple part replacement and called oil sludge. I was told that it would cost $2,800 for repairs because the warranty on my five-year-old/56,000-mile car ran out. I called customer care at 1‑800‑822‑8987 and spoke with representative named frodet and her supervisor, james custer, both of whom told me that this problem is not unheard of and has even been termed oil sludge and is covered under vw's special extended warranty 8 years/unlimited miles. Frodet opened case no. 70295194 in my name and called service manager. I received a call next day. I was told that in order to fix this problem under vw?s special extended warranty, I needed to provide all eleven receipts for oil changes that took place within the entire five-year period of ownership. After scouring my files, I found that I have a total of 20 receipts pertaining to service and maintenance of the vehicle, seventeen of which were not from the crest mont dealership. I faxed these seventeen receipts to the attention of service manager joe. The very next day september 18th, joe called me again to let me know me that a field factory representative reviewed these receipts and refused to admit sixteen of them. These receipts were from my personal mechanic to whom I had entrusted the care and service of every car I had. But, because my mechanic failed to specify my car's VIN, license plate number, and oil filter part numbers in the receipts, I was out of luck.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle began to overheat and smoke. The contact pulled off the road, waited until the vehicle cooled down, and drove to the nearest dealer. The mechanic stated that the primary fan had burned out. He also stated that it was a very common failure with his model of vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 58,300. Updated 02-01-08 *bf updated 02/01/08
I'm religious about changing the oil in the car, about the maintenance and care of it. I love my volkswagen passat. I had the oil pressure light came on once or twice over the last two years, but always took it into a shop for regular maintenance. The light always went off and nothing ever happened. However, there has been a lot of sludge buildup in the engine, despite the best efforts. So much so that the oil pump was blocked and the engine seized as a result. I had the oil pressure warning come on the day my car died. It was a few miles after it went on it stopped running and I had to push my car into it's parking spot at home. Volkswagen dealers @ the burnsville location told me that they had started with a 100,000 mile warranty on the passats, but that it had become cost ineffective and so cut the warranty to 50,000. My car seized at under 87,000. I've not been able to afford to fix it, as yet. Had to take time off work and so my paycheck was greatly reduced. Haven't been able to make the car payment on it either, as a result, which has a balance of near to $10,000.00.
I was traveling from ga back to tampa when the message of "stop oil pressure, stop motor" appeared on the dash. Of course I was terrified because this has never happened before. I pulled into a gas station and had a gentleman to check my oil. I knew there was oil because I had an oil change on may 3, 2007. The gentleman stated there was oil and to allow my car to cool. I waited about 30 minutes, the gentleman checked my oil again and it read the same.I preceeded to try to reach to interstate to go home and the light came on again. This time the message was "stop, stop motor and check service manual". Now I'm really terrified. I pulled into an advance discount auto shop and called my extended warranty and had my car towed from gainesville, fl to tampa (approximately 145 miles). I cost me $227.00. My extended warranty covered $100.00. The full price was $327.00. Monday morning I called kuhn vw and was told to bring in my car. I was informed by a lady (who was taking my information) that it was a common problem. A diagnostic was ran ($94.00). I was told that suldge was in my engine and that a further diagnostic needed to be ran which would cost $282.00. To de-sludge the engine wolud cost $2,788.00 plus tax. Needless to say, I instructed them to put my car back together. I called my extended warranty and informed them about it and they would not cover it. I have my car at a mechanic who "de-sludged" my engine for $450.00. The light continued to come on and with further examination it was diagnosed that the oil pump was the problem. The mechanic is trying to fix the oil pump and then will I trade it in for another car. My car is five years old. I bought my car brand new in 2002, from the dealership. I've had all of my services completed by the dealership; except for two. I have all of my receipts. I was not aware of this defect until now and I'm very upset and concerned that a company can put people's life in danger. My car has approximately 77,360 miles.
Tl*- the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passsat wagon gls with a failure mileage of 41,926 . The contact stated that when she tried to start the vehicle it would not start. She noticed white smoke coming from the tail pipe, and some fluid squirting from the brake hose. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer, and the contact was informed that there was water in the engine. Also, the dealer determined that the brake booster had condensation build up which was getting into the intake manifold. The manufacturer stated it was an environmental issue due to the climate in which she lived. The current mileage was 42,400.
My car started making horrible noises in the engine so I stopped driving it and had it towed to the vw dealership. I was told that my turbo would need replacing at a cost of $5600. The dealership wouldn't honor my warranty because I couldn't produce every receipt from my oil changes-I had lived in 3 states since I got the car. However, I complained enough that they told me they would only charge me $3200 to fix the car and would give me a good trade in on another vw. I have decided one vw is enough of a problem and I didn't need another car with the same problems and lack of service from the company. I felt vw left me without any choice other than to pay the money so I could have a car and they definitely didn't stand by there product. Is there anything I can do?
Owner started up engine of volkswagen, ran back inside house to get wallet. Came back 2-3 minutes later and saw smoke and flames from center of dashboard area. Called 911 and ran back inside to shut windows because smoke was coming into the house. Radio had not been working for several weeks prior to the fire incident. Within one week prior to the fire incident, the digital readout in the climate control panel flashed and looked scrambled. Vehicle burned throughout passenger compartment, scorching to underside of front floor and transaxle near exhaust system.
Owner's wife drove volkswagen home, parked it in the left bay of a two-car garage. Approximately one hour later, owner was alerted by a smoke alarm/smell of smoke. Owner went out to garage and observed flames coming from the engine compartment of the volkswagen. Ran back into house and told wife to call 911. Returned to garage and observed volkswagen almost completely engulfed in flames. Fire destroyed vehicle and house. Cause undetermined.
On august 24, 2006 my 2002 vw passat with 64777 miles was taken in to replace the spark plugs. No problem so far, I picked up the car a got as far as two blocks when the temp gauge pegged out. I immediately stopped the car and checked for leakage, no leakage was noticeable I drove the car back to the dealership and was informed that the water pump failed. I had fork out nearly $1000 dollars to get the car back on the road. The service manager showed my the failed pump and was astonished that the impeller was made out of plastic. To add insult when I contacted vw and request some type of relief for the expense. I requested a written response which I never received only a terse phone call. Vw's response was sorry for your loss.
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