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2003 Volkswagen Passat: hesitation when accelerating

9 of the 628 complaints about the 2003 Volkswagen Passat describe hesitation when accelerating.

owner complaints
9
of this car's complaints
1%
typical mileage
49,940
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 3 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Hesitation when accelerating by model year

What owners say

Filed Jun 26, 2015 · Electrical · 60,000 miles · CT

Cylinders misfire causing acceleration hesitation. Spark plugs and coil were replaced feb.2009, dec. 2013, aug. 2014, june 2015. The conditions are repetitive and identical.

Filed Jul 28, 2008 · Body, Fuel system · 31,000 miles · AZ

This car was never inspected for recalls, or safety issues. The moment the car was handed to us the battery died. The dealership quickly change the battery. The car was hesitating on acceleration ever since. It was on july 27 2008 that finally the check engine light came on. Took the car to a garage and it has coast us 270 dollars to fix it so far. We have not had this car for more than a month. There are two recalls on this car that were never look at or fixed by precision toyota of tucson . One of these recalls can cause fire.

Filed May 21, 2008 · Fuel system, Transmission · 42,000 miles · KY

I own a 2003 passat 4-motion. I purchased it from the dealer in july of 2005 when it had 42,000 miles on it. Almost immediately I noticed two things about the car: first, it sometimes hesitates when trying to accelerate and then when it does finally take off, it "leaps" forward. Second, when shifting down sometimes, it does not do so normally but will actually jerk the car badly and make a "clunky" sound, like the transmission is failing. This seems to happen when you don't come to a complete stop and then try and accelerate again, like stop and go traffic. I have had the car back to the dealer many times and have been told that this is just a "characteristic" of the car and that there is nothing they can do about it. Overall I am very disappointed in the car.

Filed Apr 7, 2008 · Fuel system · 49,940 miles · NC

I own a volkswagen passat, 2003, 1.8 liter turbo. For the past two years we have been experiencing a hesitation on take off. Sometimes when backing out of the garage the car hesitates really bad. The is my wife'f car and I am afraid the someday it may stall out at a very busy intersection, causing a crash. I have contacted a volkswagen dearler and he advised that my VIN number does not fall under the VIN numbers of the recall, volkswagon already has in place. I would like to report that we have already had out oil pressure pump replaced and I was wondering if there has been other coplaints of the oil pressure pump failing.

Filed Oct 10, 2007 · Electrical · 145,344 miles · WV · fire

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.

Filed Aug 28, 2007 · Transmission · GA

I have an '03 vw passat . About 4 months ago I noticed it had started hesitating when trying to back uphill. I took it to the dealership and they put transmission fluid in it. It was ok for a short period of time and it started again. I took it back. They scanned it and said there were no leaks but they put in more transmission fluid. That lasted 1 1/2 weeks. They are now ordering a whole new transmission because the slipping did it when the service people drove it. They had not test driven it the previous times until after they put in fluid.

Filed Jan 19, 2007 · Engine · MA · fire

Owner was driving volkswagen when it started to hesitate and the engine caught on fire. Fire burned most severely in center rear and right side of the compartment.

Filed Sep 14, 2006 · Acceleration · 47,000 miles · VA

Dt*: the contact stated while accelerating from a stop, the vehicle hesitated intermittently when the accelerator pedal was depressed . The dealership and manufacturer determined this was how the vehicle was manufactured.

Filed May 9, 2006 · Engine · 50,000 miles · VA

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 65mph, the check engine light illuminated and the engine hesitated. The vehicle was towed to the dealership. Upon inspection, the dealer determined there was sludge build up in the oil pump. The oil pump, pipes, resonator, oil and surrounding components were replaced.

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the 2003 Volkswagen Passat hesitation

Is hesitation when accelerating a common problem on the 2003 Volkswagen Passat?

9 of 628 owner complaints about the 2003 Volkswagen Passat (1%) mention hesitation when accelerating. The model year with the most reports is 2006.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Volkswagen Passat?

There are 0 recalls and 3 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2003 Volkswagen Passat

Fuel pump 99Fire or smoke 71Stalling 60Check engine light 48Loss of power 26Engine failure 19Overheating 18ABS 17Water leak 17Fuel leak 16Won't start 15Headlights 14Misfire 12Fuel smell 10Jerking 9Adaptive cruise 8Airbag light 6Ball joint 6Battery drain 6Brake failure 6Door locks 5

All model years of the Volkswagen Passat

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