I have a 2003 vw passat. I've had two leaks into the front right floorboard in the past six months from either a sunroof drain line or a air conditioner. The leaks have produced so much water that it has gone to right back floorboard. The plastic on the interior is worn off. The ashtray fell apart. They can't seem to get the alignment right so I keep going through tires and the tires I do have sound uneven when I rotate them, making me think there's a problem. Hove replaced the headlights three times in 1 and 1/2 years. There's a defect investigation into fires in the engine and a recall on oil sludge. This car is an accident waiting to happen and it's very poorly engineered. One thing after another. Vw has on a bunch of recalls already on this model, to many for me to feel safe with. I'm abandoning the car today, trading it in for something else. Will never buy a vw again. No car should have this many issues. And the issues continue to roll in. Now the airbag light just came on...another thing to have to worry about!!!
2003 Volkswagen Passat body complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 29 of 29, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My 2003 vw passat wagon flooded during a rainstorm because the pollen filter seal failed. Furthermore, because the comfort control module computer is mounted on the floor, that was damaged and the bill is significant. *tr my dealer's service department rep (boston vw) told me that he recommends cleaning leaves off the car 2 to 3 times per day in order to prevent this problem. That seems like an unreasonable maintenance requirement to prevent an issue that I've never seen previously with other cars.
After rainstorm, our 2003 passat wagon began developing a musty odor with no apparent water inside the vehicle. For a couple of days, the alarm also would go off for no reason. Eventually, the odor subsided and we thought nothing of it until the next major rainstorm a few months later. After this event, water apparently leaked into the front passenger side of the car through a sunroof drain and caused the electrical system in the car to go haywire. My wife had to drive the car 20 minutes with our 4-month old baby while the alarm system went off, lights flashing on and off, and all of the electrical system generally going haywire. The locks ceased to work, the windows could not be put up, and the trunk couldn't be opened. The dealer told us that the leak was caused by clogging in the sunroof drain, which they said is very common. While my wife was at the dealer, 3 other people came in with the same problem. As a result of the water, the comfort and control module is being replaced. It is unclear yet whether we will also need to replace the carpeting for odor issues. The total cost so far is about $1,000.
I have a 2003 vw passat and am original owner. I've had three leaks into the front right floorboard in the past six months from either a sunroof drain line or a air conditioner, depending on the repair person you talk to. The leaks have occasionally produced so much water that it has gone to right back floorboard. My trunk hinges are broken. My hood lids are broken. The plastic on the interior is worn off. The ashtray in back fell apart. They can't seem to get the alignment right so I keep going through tires and the tires I do have sound uneven when I rotate them, making me think there's a problem. Now my brake lights are out. It's not a fuse but apparently a switch. But my car isn't covered by a recall that vw has on a bunch of other models. There's a defect investigation into fires in the engine and a recall on sludge. This car is an accident waiting to happen and it's very poorly engineered. One thing after another and vw national is no help. I'm abandoning the car today, trading it in for something else. Will never buy a vw again. No car should have this many issues at 4 years old. And the issues started at 3 years old.
Auto: 2003 vw passat. Problem: liftgate hinges required high effort to open or close - lid felt like 100 lbs breaks after closing.
Front headlights malfunctioned - replaced them but they couldn't make the alignment of the beam. The car runs to the right but the wheels are calibrated and the direction alignment is done. The car infiltrated water inside the car and trunk. Sunroof malfunction - opens in all positions but don't close. The car as the front glass is from 2005 and all the others are from 2002, construction of the car 2003. Diesel escaped from the pump. Cd changer - 6 cds as malfunction the radio doesn't eject the cd's. The motor gag various times a constant rotation. The trunk was hard to open and close. There are other complaints.... The complaints begin 15 days from the purchase.
While driving on the interstate to work, front underbody cover became detached. I was able to pull off the road to see what happened and I was within 5 miles of a repair shop.
1) our 2003 volkswagen passat 1.8t is leaking water into the passenger side of the cab. 2) this appears to be a common problem in the passat as well as other volkswagens and has the potential to cause electrical malfunctions. 3) repair will require modification of drain systems around the vehicle to prevent intrusion of water into sensitive spaces.
My passat had two previous instances of water leakage in the floor of the back seat, where the computer is housed. This resulted in a short-circuit in the cars computer in the fall of 2005, causing the car to slow in traffic and ultimately stop when I reached dealership. Maroone volkswagen of delray beach addressed these two instances under warranty by focusing on the pollen filter and pollen filter caging. On the third occasion, I again took it to maroone volkswagen on september 6, 2006 since this seemed to be another recurrence of the same problem. Dealer would not fix under warranty. Service advisor said cowl had a hairline fracture, which was allowing water under my hood and into the car. However, cowl was intact on previous visits for same problem. Contacted vw of america who accepted dealers diagnosis. This is especially troubling given there is a wealth of information online posted by passat owners experiencing the same leakage problem that I describe above, and it is not due to cowl. Please refer to autobahn.com.
Dt*: the contact stated rain water leaked into the vehicle. There were concerns expressed of cables under the dash becoming wet, therefore creating an electrical hazard. The rain water usually accumulated in the doors, and when the doors was opened the water traveled to the dash board.
Water leak - passat 2003.
I recently had my 40k mile service done and was preparing to go on vacation. The car made it there without incident however the second day into out vacation the asr light came on and then the prnd432 all stayed lit. It had been beautiful weather for several days however there was easily two inches of water on the passenger side. The vehicles check engine light came on and it stopped automatically shifting. The vehicle is at the shop waiting repair.
Due to a sunroof drain clog, our 2003 passat wagon passenger floorboard quickly filled with water in what I would describe as major flooding. As an immediate and direct result with no opportunity to react and respond our car began to have trouble starting. After getting it started and being unaware of the situation we were dealing with, an attempt was made to drive it to the dealer to see what was wrong. During that ride the electrical system went haywire, the car began to lurch and ultimately shut down on the side of the highway. I was forced to call vw for a tow and was responded to promptly. The dealer's service dept examined the car and found that the transmission control module and the air bag control module were both submerged as they both rest underneath the carpet in the floorboard. Both items were deemed to be nonfunctioning and had to be replaced. Along with the labor to clean carpets and replace these parts the total bill was around 2300 dollars. Here is my complaint: this was not covered under warranty according to the dealer, however; there is no literature in the owners manual or buyers guide that suggests the importance of keeping these drains unclogged. I mean if major flooding in the floorboard of a vehicle, a place where the vital computer modules are kept, is going to create catastrophic damage then it should be notated and/or made clear to the buyer at the time of purchase. I consider this to be a design flaw and worthy of warranting a recall. If you need verification of many more instances of the same problem with the same types of vehicles (vw passats, etc.) creating the same types of consequences all you need to do is visit the forum at theautobahn.com and I am sure you will be just as disturbed and frustrated as I was even if you don't own one of these vehicles. Thank you for your time. A very angry consumer.
This is a 2003 vw passat with 27,000 miles. It is kept outside in northern california. There have been rains here recently, expected this time of year. The rear footwell was found to have water in it recently. Neither the sunroof nor windows had been left open. Although the vehicle has been maintained by vw dealers according to schedule, the bottom of the sunroof drain tube was clogged, backing water up. The resulting damage included carpet, dampened transmission control unit, wiring harness and a safety relay amounting to over $3,000 to repair. The dealer is replacing the damaged parts and unclogging the drain tube. There is no guarantee that this will fix the problem permanently. The transmission control module had an internal short
Failure of electrical system due to interior water leaks into the footwell area from blocked plenum drain. As stated in the june 18,2004 vw technical service bulletin vehicle has 28,000miles . It is a lease. First electrical problems began at approx 20,000 miles when air bag light and check engine light came on and remained on. Service department kept car for 3 weeks and repaired. Second problem key lock system failed. Unable to start the vehicle needed to re-do codes and replace keys, also changed steering wheel. Third problem, dampness on floor of drivers side, front and back., trunk opened while driving, interior lights remained on unless turned off manually, door locks opened and closed randomly while driving, alarm system went off randomly, sound system went on and stayed on after car was vacant. Car needed to be jump started in order to use. Car towed to dealership and was denied warranty coverage due to normal weather conditions causing problems. Vw of america refused to cooperate stating that they do no cover defective parts if it rained on the vehicle. At this time, car has been at dealership for 3 weeks while parts are ordered to repair at my cost. So far bill is rising above $4,000. Request to terminate lease was denied. 90 days early termination was offered by vw leasing but payments must continue to be made after car is returned.
Leak into the passenger compartment with heavy rain resolution pending passenger air bag can be affected.
Noticed rust coming through the upper and lower moldings surrounding front door windows...unit still under warranty, less than 2 yrs off lot, bought brand new...a 2003 vw passat
After rainy days my 2003 passat wagon (4 motion) has 1 -2 inches of water on floor of the front passenger side. This has now been to the dealer twice (I just took it back today) - the first time they told us that it was a drain problem from the sun roof that was clogged. The carpet smells and I am afraid that the electric seats will soon short out.
I recently leased a vw passatt station wagon and things have gone wrong with it even before the car had 300 miles on it. The car has less than 5000 miles on it and it has spent some 10 days at the repair shop. Defects have included a transmission that would disengage, heated seats that would not turn off, A/C and side mirrors that would not work, a module had to be replaced, the car had to be aligned, the front spoiler fell off, a speaker had to be replaced, part of the trim on the back was falling off, the memory settings on the driver's seat were not working, and the sun roof was rattling. The sales department has responded to all my calls by saying that I need to talk to the service department or to vw corporate directly. I have done both, when I called vw corporate they responded that as long as the car was driveable they would cover it under warranty and would not replace the car. They offered me a lube job as a settlement!
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