Engine ignition coils fail, causing a hesitation in engine, which is dangerous and may lead to an accident in traffic. The coils do not fail all at once, and vw will only replace if they fail. One of the coils failed and the car caught on fire due to coil dropping onto the catalytic converter. Vw refuses to replace any further ignition coils.
2003 Volkswagen Passat electrical complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle would not start on aug. 26. Starter cranked but engine failed to turn over and start. Dealer diagnosed as fuel pump failure. Vehicle has approximately 88,000 miles. We were informed manufacturer vw has recalled fuel pumps for this make and model year (2003) but not this particular VIN. We also understand vw originally limited recall to an even smaller batch of vins. We believe the fuel pump defect is more extensive than vw is willing to acknowledge. The repair is currently not under warranty and will cost our family approximately $655 to repair, plus towing and car rental costs. We are lucky the failure occurred during a cold start and not on the road, where we could have been stranded in a desert, a storm, or the middle of an intersection with oncoming traffic. This is a major safety concern. After dealer claimed to have fixed problem on aug. 29,2007, we took the vehicle home and it again failed to start, or even crank. Dealer has towed it back and is reviewing. *tr updated 01-15-08. *kb the consumer stated the second failure was diagnosed as a failed battery. Updated
Battery going dead without time or reason; doors would lock automatically with no one around; trunk would unlock and would not shut without key intervention; light on driver's door lock would flash incessantly with no one near. Car went over four years with no incident and suddenly started acting "strange." no changes or work done on electrical system since new when the battery had to be replaced twice. Dealer has been very cooperative but unsuccessful in finding source, keeping car as long as three weeks (with a "loaner") and not charging except for a small first time inspection. Six returns to dealership with some relief; only the battery goes dead with irregularity. We have a 2000 passat that sits nearby and has never experienced the problem. Number of failures is one, but all related . . Six trips to dealership and relief on all but the battery going dead. We are 80 and fear that we will be caught out and have serious problems. All dates are approx.
My 2003 passat with 46,000 miles and regular 5,000 miles service visits recently had two major problems. The alternator went bad and was producing nearly twice the voltage. There were no service bulletins or recalls on this item and was fixed at a significant cost to me. Next was the fuel tank. I first experienced an odor which turned out to be a leak in the gas tank. I am working with an excellent volkswagen service business which is not a dealership. Vw america will only take the word of a licensed dealer. The defective tank is currently being replaced at a very significant cost to me. There are no service bulletins or recalls on my VIN. I understand that a local dealership has had to replace a few of these. This is a very nice car developing a bad reputation. I have safety concerns with this car and wonder what will happen next.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen passat. The contact has had the vehicle repaired, however, several failures continue to recur. The failures include the instrument panel lights, cruise control, heated seats, the regulator pin in the passenger side rear window, the glove compartment, and the head lights. The failures were noticed while driving 40 MPH. The current mileage is 109,000 and failure mileage was 80,000.
The vehicle was traveling at 60 MPH on the road and then it started to shake and lost power. The vehicle check engine light came on and started to blink. The incident nearly caused an accident as others vehicles were trying to avoid collision with this car. The defect was the ignition coil for cylinder number 2.
Tl*- the contact stated that while driving the 2003 volkswagen passat with 7000 failure mileage the brake lights intermittently turned off. Also, the driver's side front headlight turns off, the rear passenger side window, and the horn did not operate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer several times, but they still could not determine the cause of the problems. The current mileage was 105,944.
Dashboard service light began flashing, car bucked and ran on reduced power only. Towed the unit to patrick motors vw in auburn ma. Dx was ignition coils and plugs needed. Cost me $365.00 to repair. I argued that the payment was on them based on the feb. 2003 vw service campaign which dictated that my model was involved in defective coil installation at the factory. I even called the vw toll-free customer care and was told that my car's VIN failed to match the defective group. Obviously I cannot understand why it would be excluded from the defective group when the coil components have to be replaced at 62000 miles. I would expect such a repair at 100,000 miles. This unit is a 1.8t 2003 vw passat.
This car was purchased new in feb 2003. Two ignition coils replaced. I await the bill for the remaining 2 coils that will likely go bad. The dealership advised me that this had been recalled on the 2001-2002 models. I am perplexed by this information being I see no recalls on ignition coils, but I do see a host of complaints.
Vehicle battery goes dead if car sits for more than 3 days without being started. Alternator wiring harness has been replaced once. Battery has been replace 5 times in 6 months. Dealer can not find anything that is draining the battery and insists that "nothing is wrong with the car and that it is perfectly normal (except for a dead battery) for this to happen. "just start the car every 1-2 days" is their remedy. I have never heard of anything so lame in my life!!
Headlights fails proper function. They have been replaced. Seat belts and sun roof do not work properly. Engine replaced; steering wheels - car pulls to the right everytime an alignment was done and they calibrated the wheels. - problem continued - this problem caused the tires to be destroyed in a few kms - less 20 000; water infiltration - for now it is fixed; trunk was hard to open and close - problem fixed. Front doors vibrated - the rubber of the doors are being exhibiting signs of damage; the front glass ( windscreen ) isn't from the same year of all the others.
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.
On the 22 january I picked my car up from the vw dealership where I had it repaired. I had told the dealer to replace the timing belt, water pump, belts, spark plugs, brakes and rotors and the 95,000 maintenance on the car. This cost me well over a thousand dollars, I supplied brakes and rotors and spark plugs. The car ran okay but I began to smell oil burning and whenever I unlocked my car to get in it would lock automatic and then when I started it the alarm would go off. I called the dealership about the oil smell and they had me bring it back in to look at. At that time they said there was a small leak and they would clean it and tighten the bolts, this was on friday january 26th. On monday january 29th I was traveling and when I pulled on to the 4 lane highway and accelerated the engine light began to flash on and off, so I pulled to the side of the road and the car died. After a few minutes I was able to restart it but it ran very rough. The state highway patrol called a tow truck and it was towed to the volkswagen dealer. The next day they informed me that an ignition module had gone out and that it would cost me 30 some dollars a piece to replace them and they recommended replacing them all. When I ask them about the recall they told me that volkswagen was into the k's on these and my was before that. I had ask them about this when I received the recall letter from vwofa, and was told that they would check it. I'm not sure whether they did or not.
I am investigating and gathering incident information about the flooding problems that volkswagens, especially the passat, exhibit from model years 1998 to the present. There is a chance of a class action suit for which this information is being gathered. If interested, please respond to [email protected] for more information.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 55 MPH the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was maneuvered off the road, restarted, and was driven to the dealer where the ignition coil was replaced.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving at 65 MPH, the malfunction light illuminated, then the engine power failed, requiring the vehicle to coast to a stop. The vehicle was towed to a service dealer, where the malfunction was identified as 2 faulty ignition coils. The manufacturer was notified. Updated 11/21/2006 - the ignition coils have failed three times in four years.
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.
Started car and asrs light came on and remained on. Soon the mil lit up, followed by the air bag system light flickering and a clicking sound coming from the car. Dealership could not check car the next morning b/c fully booked so had alternate mechanic check it out. Mechanic realized it was not the battery running low (battery charge checked). The next morning alternator checked (alternator replace and tested and same problem continued). The mechanic finds a puddle of water on the floor of the passenger side that same morning which was not there day before. He states car had been parked at slight incline overnight with front of car higher than trunk. Mechanic recommended towing car to dealership. Currently at dealership to try and figure out problem.
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.
Car had trouble starting, electrical problems, lurching while driving and ultimately transmission and air bag failure.
Design defect results in failure of computer due to water flooding. Computer failure results in disabling of vehicle and expensive repairs. This condition caused by parking the car where leaves occasionally fall onto it. Reason: windshield drains into compartment containing the battery, which has a drain hole located under the battery, requiring removal of battery to properly clean. Drain gets clogged due to leaves, resulting in battery compartment filling with water. When this happens, water enters passenger compartment foot well. I took my car to vw dealer with this condition and they told me the computer could get flooded/ruined and this would not be covered under warranty due to "external influence". They agreed to clean the drain free of charge, but were unable and unwilling to provide me with a service advisory that the drain must be cleared to prevent computer damage. I contacted vw of america and they acknowledge the problem over the phone but refused to provide any written statement of the existence of the problem and refused to provide a written, permanent remedy for this problem, or to modify the car so this would not happen.
Bought a 2003 vw passat 1.8t in may 2005. Since then, I have taken the car to the dealership for repair 4 times now. The car will all of the sudden start running very rough and the check engine light came on. The first time, they replaced a "defective" spark plug. Within a few days of getting it back, it happened again. They decided to replace all the spark plugs that time. It happened a third time and they did not tell me what they had done to the car, but kept the car for a week. It is currently in the shop again (now for a week again) because it began to run rough, developed a slow oil leak, and does not always start on the first attempt. I have not yet heard from the dealership what is causing the problems. I asked them to check everything on the car. I have also lodged a complaint with vw of america.
2003 volkswagen passat consumer request for early termination of the lease.***no answer required***. *mr the consumer made the request due to the numerous mechanical problems such as a defective purge valve, right front head light, the vehicle overheated and started t o smoke due to a faulty water pump. The brake light would not shut off and the right head light went out for the second time. The brake light switch was replaced. The cruise control would not disengage. The vehicle would not start at times.
Have had nothing but problems with this lemon. * 500 miles cruise control fails, has to be replaced. * 16,000 miles ignition coil fails, replaced coil and mass air flow sensor. * 28,000 miles fan in dash diagnosed as faulty and needing to be replaced. Parts ordered, never installed. * 40,000 miles oil pump and oil hoses are replaced due to oil pressure failures. Car broke down on road. * 44,159 miles oil pressure switch replaced due to oil pressure failures. * 46,000 miles fuel pump failure, replaced under warranty. Car broke down on road. Volkswagen has a problem with these cars and "oil sludge". Vw refuses to fix my car under warranty. Last word was "we reserve the right to refuse any warrany claim, regardless of documentation of oil changes." I've talked to several dealerships and it's a #1 problem with these cars comming in for ruined engines and oil sludge. Vw is refusing to pay for fixing the problems in most cases. I've got all documentation, original paperwork when purchased, etc.
I purchase a new 2003 volkswagen passat from burlington volkswagen 2 years ago and have taken it back to the dealership at least 7 times since then for a myriad of problems, from airbag lights coming on to check enginge light to the latest of the car shutting off in the middle of the road.
1. Vehicle began to sputter, emissions light began to flash, then loss of engine power. 2. Failure of ignition coils (3) 3. 3 coils being replaced at vw dealership
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.
8/01/03 - car inspected and told had proper j ignition coils installed 8/18/03 - car again inspected and told had proper j ignition coils installed 11/18/03 - coil ignition recall was performed on the car for a 3rd time. After all three attempts of checking the ignition coils they yet failed again. This is the 12 coil I have had replaced on a volkswagen in 2 years.
Problems with engine shut down on 2003 volkswagen passat. *mr there was a problem with the odometer reading. The ecp light would constantly come on, the engine would go out intermittently, and there was rough idling. *sc
While starting the vehicle it caught on fire under the hood. Local fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. Dealer was not notified.
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