On three separate occasions, 2/29/04, 3/5/04, and 4/15/04 my 2003 vw passat (6 cyl.) had to be towed to the dealer because the check engine light (mil) and electronic power control (epc) light came on and I had significantly reduced power such that I was unable to drive my car home without endangering myself on the highway. The dealer's service group has been unable to resolve the problem thus far.
2003 Volkswagen Passat electrical complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 90 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2003 volkswagen passat w6 2.8l car will not start or fails to run properly due to ignition misfire or excessive fuel flooding engine. Volkswagen will not repair. Car has been seviced with the best synthetic lubricants and has had extremely good care. The dealership told us the reason the car would not run was because the oil needed changing due to it being loaded with gasoline. The oil had been checked 3 days prior to the incidents and was at satisfactory levels and clean. The car had 6700 miles on the synthetic oil change and was not due for a 3rd oil change. The car has 11813 miles on it. The recommended oil change interval by the dealer was 10000 miles on the synthetic oil. If the car is failing to run and has allows severe gasoline contamination of the oil there are major problems. There seems to be many complaints regarding the reliability of these cars available through other web sites. The engine failing to maintain operation or misfiring while on the highway or if it fails to operate in an unsafe environment proves this vehicle to be a failure in engineering, and reliability.
While driving on interstate highway I observed smoke billowing in my rear view mirror. I pulled off highway and found a fire in engine compartment which I extingushed using an extingusher. The fire was caused when a plug at the rear of the engine fell out causing the engine oil to empty onto the exhaust system which caused the fire. The temperature at the time was well below zero. I was told the plug in the aluminum block engine was made of steel which heats and cools at different rates and appears to have caused the plug to fall out. The car was a total loss per my insurance and volkswagen. The car is a 2003 vw passat wagon glx 4-motion.
Failure to correct misfire and stalling problem after 3 visits to vw dealer. Engine continues to misfire and vw won't try to replace any obvious parts related to the cause. Told to return the car for repair for the 4th time when problem occurs again. Car has been to 2 vw dealers in 2 weeks and problem continues.
Engine starts to stall and misfires in traffic. Dealer refused to change recalled coils on 8-15-03 . Contacted vw help line and they indicated that their records show that dealer replaced the recalled coils even though he didn't. It appears the dealer filed a false warranty service claim with vw according to the information they received. Dealer still refused to change coils on 9-25-03.
Failure to provide replacement coils after manufacturer' s recall
Very expesive unreliable car with nothing but excuses from the dealer-manufacturer filled with lies, constant trouble with car and volkswagen cannot fix properly plus refuses to replace a defective car twice over! They told me when I purchased this car that all the 2003 had fixed coil problems. They failed around 7000 miles. Also have replace the dash, reprogrammed computer,ruined a pillar upholstery,put in wrong oil, replace d a sprk plug thinking that would fix the missfire, still runs bad. Every time I have to go to the dealer its a 260 mile round trip! I got out of a 99 passat that theysold me (unkowingly)wrecked and then coldnt fix so I traded up to this 2003 with lots of trouble. Nightmare vw for sure.
Consumer states that the vehicle ignition coil is not working.dealer notified.
My 2003 passat, with 10k miles, has been in the shop for 22 days now and they don't know what's wrong with it. This is the fourth trip in for the same thing. The battery goes dead every night. According to utah lemon law I should be entitled to arbitrate, but vw will not discuss this option.
Volkswagen of america will not recall faulty coil packs in 2001/2002/2003 passat 1.8ts, even though they know the installed part is defective. My first coil pack failed, and will be replaced under warranty but vw will not replace all coil packs, as they should. This is a dangerous situation, as coil pack failure while on the road may cause accidents.
Loss of power to climate control, cruise control, headlights (low beam), some interior lights, radio display, steering wheel controls, home link transmitter. Apparent short in driver side sun visor. Visor was replaced under warranty and everything returned to normal.
The ignition packs are defective and it's very hard to start the vehicle. Ph
Faulty ingintion coils, two out of four have been replace on 2003 vw passat 1.8l t the reamining two are bound to fail, but vw will not cover the cost of replacing them. This is very concerning, given the fact that this car was bought in dec 2002 and only has 2000 miles, and when the problem occurs the car loses power and must be towed to a dealership. Note losing power on the highway, in the middle of the coldest winter in new england is not a pleasent thought!!
Whild driving at any speed vehicle will shut off. Ts
Failure of ignition coils on 2003 volkswagon passat resulting in sudden total inability to drive vehicle. Estimated repair time due to parts shortage - 2 weeks. Dealer acknowledged that this is a growing problem with 1.8t passats and expects a goverment mandated recall soon.
Possible failure of h type coil packs on 1.8 t vw engines
This vehicle contains 4 ignition coils, one of which failed. This part which is installed on many 2002 and 2003 vw's is prone to sudden failure and vw owners have been experiencing multiple and common failures of their ignition coils. Vw has redesigned the part but is only replacing failed parts at this time. When this part fails it causes the engine to stall or misfire badly and makes the car undriveable. This is certainly a safety issue if the problem occurs on a highway, causing the car to stall, or stranding a motorist in a dangerous location. I believe that vw should replace all the defective ignition coils with the redesigned replacement part. Thanks. Scc ***dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis****770857****
Defective coils on each cylinder
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!
Dealer say vw is aware of problem, but not proactively replacing all 4 coil packs. A major inconvenience and possible safety problem! I have heard of many other people with multiple failures. Some resulting in engine stalls at very dangerous moments. Dt
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