2006 Volkswagen Passat: gas smell in the cabin

Filed Jul 7, 2019 · Fuel system · 92,000 miles · CT

Takata recall. The past two weeks my vehicle has not started as it normally does. It takes two or three key pushes to get my engine to start upon starting my car, and then it fires up. It is difficult to get up to and maintain speeds on the highway. If and when I am maintaining speed on the highway its common for the engine to hiccup and then return back to its speed without any change in acceleration. Going up hills it lacks power and if there is more than one person in the car when going up a hill the car will misfire. On top of all of this it is practically drinking gas like water and I normally get great gas mileage. It is starting to give off a fuel smell while driving too and my mechanic does not know why.

Filed Oct 20, 2017 · Fuel system · 107,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 volkswagen passat. The contact noticed a strong fuel odor inside the vehicle. Also, the vehicle stalled without warning on a few occasions. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer advised the contact not to drive the vehicle and have it towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

Filed May 23, 2017 · Fuel system · 110,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that there was an abnormal fuel odor in the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the plastic fuel pump cover, which was situated under the rear passenger seat, was fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the plastic cover plate needed to be replaced. The contact was concerned for the safety of the great grandchildren who sat in the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The case number provided by the manufacturer was: 170639659. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Nov 5, 2014 · Engine, Fuel system · 73,500 miles · CA

Driving 65 on the freeway in heavy rain, car made horrible sound and lost acceleration power. Almost involved in accident , however managed to pull to shoulder when the car then filled with a gas smell. Called for assistance and was towed 100 miles back to my mechanic. Upon inspection, mechanic discovered that the catalytic converter disconnected at the turbo flange. He also stated that he had fixed the exact same problem in my exact vehicle make/model the week prior. Contacted vw to see if this was covered under the 80k miles emissions warranty, only to discover that in california the warranty only goes to 70k miles. The entire catalytic converter was replaced to the tune of $1,150. The mechanic stated that the replacement catalytic converter from vw was much more sturdy than the original installed , indicating that vw is aware of the issue. Additionally, he stated it was odd that a car dealership stocks that part as it is not too common to replace the catalytic converter under 100k miles.

Filed Sep 17, 2012 · Fuel system · 229,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 volkswagen passat. The contact stated the fuel tank was leaking on top near the vent. After parking the vehicle she noticed liquid on the ground and a fuel smell near the side of the vehicle. There was a recall the federal safety agency campaign id number: 08v156000: fuel system, gasoline: delivery related to the failure. The vehicle was repaired under the recall in 2008 where the dealer installed additional underbody heat shields to cover the damaged areas and flash the engine with a precautionary software update. Approximately two months ago there was fuel odor again. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who stated they repaired the recall previously. The manufacturer stated they will not repair the failure again and offered no additional assistance. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 229,000.

Filed Mar 1, 2006 · Fuel system · 6,000 miles · SD

I purchased a 2006 passat from graham automotive in sioux falls, sd on december 20, 2005. On friday, feb 24th when driving on I-229 in town I thought I heard some sort of noise in the trunk. Upon getting to my destination, I noticed a smell like gasoline, I looked under the vehicle to notice that there was a leak in the right front section of the gas tank. I immediately took the vehicle to the same dealership which was 2 miles away. They put it up on the rack and had already determined it was not covered by warranty. I looked at the gas tank and noticed that the part of the gas tank that was ruptured was exposed and had to have been damaged by some kind of debris. When driving on the highway I never saw anything in the road or anything fly from behind the vehicle, it was a sunny day so visibility was good. I have spoken with the service manager and the general manager of this dealership and they both claim this is not the fault of design and are not honoring the warranty on this issue. They said I could speak with the regional vw rep, john farber on march 1st when he's in town. They quoted me a price of $900 to replace the gas tank. On march 1st, I met with mr farber and doug the service manager, they had already discussed this as mr farber had a copy of the warranty info prepared with highlighted text saying that it was not covered and he would not do anything for me. I then showed him a news story I saw online about government investigations into ruptured gas tanks on nissan muranos and chrysler pacificas. He seem uninterested in this and stood his ground. The dealership only offered a 10 percent discount on the $900 estimate. I have informed them of my intentions to contact your office on this matter.