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2008 Volkswagen Passat engine complaints

Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 52 of 52, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2008 Volkswagen Passat engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Feb 5, 2014 · Engine, Fuel system · 104,000 miles · PA

The cam follower on 2006-2008 passats with the 2.0t fsi bpy engine are all susceptible to an event where the cam follower gets a hole in it and the high pressure fuel pump can drill through the intake camshaft. Volkswagen gave a warranty extension to 2006 and 2007 passats but will not take care of the 2008s! Volkswagen claims new parts were used but I had the repair done and the part number on my fuel pump was different than the new one! It is a $2000 problem and this need to have action taken! The symptoms can cause terrible accidents! They include extremely poor acceleration, jolts, hesitations, rough starts, and rough idles. Volkswagen says that this is VIN specific and 2008s do not apply but numerous people with passats, gti's, and jetta's with this engine have had this problem! It is dangerous. I have nearly gotten in many accidents and it is expensive to repair it. They have recognized it as a problem as they have released numerous technical service bulletins for this specific model year concerning these parts! There needs to be formal action taken as this is not just a few cars that this has happened to, but many!

Filed Nov 23, 2013 · Brakes, Engine · CO

2008 vw passat. Purchased brand new from mcdonald automotive littleton co transmission slipping 2009 brakes / rotors. 2010 sunroof / would not close pouring rain. Needs new motor 2011 leaking oil vacuum pump 2013. 87000 miles turbo cut off valve 2013 front rotors 2013 engine revving up 2013 headlights keep going out.

Filed Oct 27, 2013 · Engine · 74,000 miles · GA

My timing chain jumped timing at 74k miles. This caused the pistons to hit the valves and caused $6k worth of damage. The dealership informed me there was nothing preventative I could have done. They actually contacted vw to see what they would do to help with this issue. Initially, they offered to contribute $1,000 toward repairs. I contacted vw because I saw 2 separate service bulletins on this model regarding the timing jumping. My timing jumped due to a faulty tensioner. When I spoke with vw, they didn't even offer the $1,000 anymore and simply got the dealership to reduce repairs by 15%, this was completely unacceptable considering a) their tensioners are faulty and are causing consumers to spend outrageous amounts of money on repairs b) this is not a normal wear-and-tear repair for the age and mileage of the car, per the dealership. The failure of the tensioner causes a jump in timing which immobilizes the car, which is dangerous if the car is operating at the time. It is costly because it causes significant engine damage. See service bulletin no.: tb-15-12-01 service bulletin no.: tb-15-11-04 .

Filed Oct 11, 2013 · Engine · 91,500 miles · NY

Car was serviced at the dealer at 90k miles. While driving locally one month after the service, the car was difficult to start, idled rough, sputtered while traveling, and bucked while stopped at a traffic light. It turns out that the timing chain slipped and caused the engine to break. The timing chain is not suggested to be replaced until 110,000 miles. Upon further research, it appears there is a faulty engine component (timing chain tensioner) that vw is aware of, but refuses to let customers know about. Please google tsb 15 12 01, dated july 23, 2012 which is a service bulletin released by vw detailing the faulty component. This faulty component has the potential to cause a major road hazard due to an uncontrollable vehicle.

Filed Jun 5, 2012 · Engine · 40,000 miles · IL · fire

While parked in the lot, the engine area caught on fire and burned the front half of the car before the fire department put it out.

Filed Aug 2, 2010 · Engine · 18,850 miles · OK

Intermittent problem that causes engine to want to continue working instead of idle while foot on brake and gear in drive. Rpms between 8-10k. Appears to happen in hot afternoons when air is on full blast. When brake is engaged there is enormous pressure back on the foot and the car wants to go. First taken in to vw dealer and they had another car of same year and model and color which was doing same thing. They cleaned the throttle cable. As I pulled away from the dealership the problem happened again. I immediately called back and let the service guy know the fix didn't work. On 8/1 I took it back and the problem was happening while I was in their garage. The other car was back again with same issue. Vw had a tech bulletin about a loose ground wire. The service tech put a jumper cable somewhere and told me to try that out. Within a mile I experienced the problem again.

Filed Jul 28, 2010 · Engine · 42,000 miles · TX · fire

The vehicle was parked in the parking garage after being driven at lunch and within approximately 15-30 minutes of owner having turned off the vehicle the garage attendant reported smelling smoke. According to an eyewitness, there was smoldering smoke coming from under the hood and within a minute or so of discovering the smoke an explosion took place under the hood and the entire front hood compartment was engulfed in flames. The fire department was able to put out the fire but the vehicle is a total loss.

Filed Jul 5, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 39,249 miles · MD

Owned the car for 9 months, and have had documented problems for 8 months including a complete failure that required towing. The primary problems are: 1. Steering column warning light on - the comfort module and steering electronics were replaced 7 weeks after purchasing the car 2. Ongoing intermittent problems starting the car. The car died on 6/15/10, was towed, and the ignition coil was replaced. Current: car did not start on first attempt on 7/4/10, which is less than 3 weeks later! 3. Car burns excessive oil. Need to add oil between scheduled oil changes. In april 2010, oil pressure light came on. Dealer added 2 qts of oil and tank was still not full. Still had 1,000 miles to go before next scheduled oil change. Have had oil added on two other occasions between oil changes. 4. Car is sluggish, especially when going up hills. No response or resolution for this, but the car has a turbo engine note: this car has only been serviced by vw dealerships.

Filed May 11, 2010 · Engine · 54,000 miles · 00

Vw passat 2008, low oil light come on before schedule oil change frequently. The car burns oil because of the turbo engine. And the emission system has a valve failure too.

Filed Oct 26, 2009 · Engine · 10,000 miles · MN

My '08 passat with a 2.0 t engine burns through a great deal of oil. About 1/2 liter per 1,000 miles. It is a new car (now 28,000 miles) and should not burn oil! Vw states this oil consumption is normal, but I disagree. I lease the car and have had all maintenance done at the dealer. I must frequently add oil to the engine and have brought it in to be serviced for this oil consumption issue several times. From research done online, this is not a problem unique to me. Please help!

Filed Sep 10, 2009 · Engine, Steering · 56,000 miles · NJ

Exhaust pipe broke at the flex pipe. Hot exhaust gas burned through the wiring of the electronic steering rack. Lost steering and then engine shut off completely and not able to be restarted. Exhaust pipe, steering rack & steering wiring was replaced (wiring needs a heat-shield to protect the wiring).

Filed Jan 7, 2009 · Engine · 11,000 miles · OH · crash

1. Slowing to stop at red light. 15 feet behind another car that was stopped, and with my foot firmly on the brake, the engine revved to top speed and the brake did not stop the car. I bumped the stopped car, put the car in park and turned off the engine. 2. No damage to either car. Police were called and came out until tow truck arrived. Car towed to dealer where the car (9 months old and 11000 miles) was purchased. 3. One week later, the dealer said they could find nothing wrong. They paid for a rental car for the week. I refuse to drive the car so they offered to trade it in on a new one and that it had depreciated 50% in 9 months. Vw corporate offered a $1000 rebate on a new car. 4. I called vw corporate to register a complaint, but they said that the dealer was "empowered" to made decisions. They would do nothing.

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