said vehicle started making a grinding sound and all of a sudden the brake pad or shoe they'll completely off of the vehicle and the caliper for disc brake was the wrong calipers on my front end of my vehicle and now it's upside down and backwards and it's not the right calipers for my vehicle
Volkswagen Passat grinding brakes problems
79 of the 7,709 owner complaints about the Volkswagen Passat describe grinding or squealing brakes, most of them for the 1999 model year.
- owner complaints
- 79
- worst model year
- 1999
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,178
- typical mileage
- 37,000
Is there a fix? There are 6 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Ball joint 30Harsh shifting 5Steering noise 3Headlights 3Check engine light 3Sudden acceleration 2Fuel pump 2Knocking 2
What owners say
The Air Bag Inoperative Light illuminated in the dashboard display. All steering wheel electrical functions including horn, display control for items such as speed display stopped working, radio control, and phone control eased to function. There was a grinding noise coming from inside the steering wheel when I turned the wheel. I took the car to the dealer. The dealer said it is a known issue concerning the steering wheel clock spring and VW has known about this for years and has issued an extended warranty. However, VW has the parts on back order and is not supplying the parts to fix the problem in a timely fashion as it should with an emergency safety condition. I called VW of America to report this. They gave me a case number. They then sent me an email a week later saying they would get back to me in a month to let me know the status. This is negligent and unacceptable. This is not a dealership issue. VW is not supplying the part to fix the airbag system. This is a SAFETY ISSUE. Thousands of cars are affected, not just mine. THE AIRBAG SYSTEM IS INOPERATIVE AND IN THE CASE OF AN ACCIDENT THE AIRBAG WILL NOT DEPLOY. Just like the Takata airbag scenario, this should be acted on immediately before someone is seriously hurt or killed because VW will not fix a known safety issue with their air bag system. There is still no resolution from VW. This has been a known issue with VW for over 5 years.
The power steering system fails when the engine/engine compartment gets hot. The problem has appeared after the car has been shut down (such as when refueling or a quick run into a store) and then restarted. When the key is pushed in to start the car, there is a loud grinding noise, a visible shimmy of the steering wheel, followed by the red steering wheel icon indicating there is a problem and 3 chimes. The steering wheel is locked in position with very limited turning ability and ability to control the direction of the car.
The brakes have squealed since ai have leased the vehicle ew in 2017. I have had them looked at several time by a vw shop and they have said it is normal.
Squeaking if suspension when I go over bumps
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that an abnormal grinding and clicking sound came from the steering wheel. On occasion, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to steve white volkswagen (100 duvall dr, greenville, sc 29607, (864) 288-8300) where it was diagnosed that a new clockspring was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that they would not assist since the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was 121,000.
Passat brakes started squealing at around 9000 miles. When serviced at dealer they stated brakes were fine. Squealing continued to 20k miles. Again serviced at dealer and said brakes were fine. Squeeling eventually stoped but after noticing severe vibration in steering wheel during freeway driving and when applying brakes, I stopped and took to nearby mechanic to inspect. He reported rotors are warped at 26k miles. This should not happen with a new car with light use. Since 3 years just passed car just exited warranty status. This problem might be due to the adaptive cruise control feature as it tends to apply the brakes hard during normal driving if set to setting number 1. To avoid hard braking, I have to keep the adaptive cruise at setting 3 which is what I've been doing when I do use it. Still, this seems to be a recurring issue in passats as apparent on search boards online. Vw should upgrade their adaptive cruise control firmware and replace impacted owners brakes, rotors and calipers. Brakes should not start going out a 9k miles and have warped rotors at 26k miles. The dealer should have caught this problem while I was still under warranty instead of reporting no issues and passing inspection reports falsely. Make people safe, recall this safety issue immediately.
My 2017 volkswagen passat brakes have been squeaking for over a year. Everything I went to the volkswagen dealership, they would say moisture build up was the issue. I told them I didn't understand because I parked my car in a garage. Additionally, I have heard other newer volkswagen passat squeak too so it has to be an issue but they not recalling every car. Furthermore, I just learned that my right front brake caliper needs to be replaced along with my brakes and pad. Now, I asked them what the issue was and they said the caliper isn't opening which I looked up could be a cause of leaking brake fluid. I'm not sure if volkswagen actually recalled every single car from 2017 that was affected by the fluid leak. The repair man even at the place said that my issue unusual because I only had the car for 2 years. I called other volkswagen services and they were surprised as well. Most of them said only 1 caliper that's weird. This is an issue that I believe is more prominent than the appropriate 1000 cars out of 60k or more they sold in the us. I don't believe they use one supplier/manufacturer for an appropriate 1000 cars in us. People are spending thousands of dollars to repair a vehicle that volkswagen is responsible for. My brake caliper could have locked up at any moment and I could have harmed someone or myself.
The brake pads and rotors (front and rear) on my 2013 vw passat 3.6 sel are rusting, and make a grinding noise when I come to a stop. Vw service department verified that I have plenty of pads and rotors on my brakes. This is unacceptable, and further confirms a lack of build quality for pads and rotors that cost $1,100 to replace. It's quite obvious the board of directors, and executive team at volkswagen aren't interested in quality or safety. They are only interested in sacrificing quality and safety to save a dollar.
Terrible squeaking noise coming from brakes. Had the issue checked out by a dealer. Brake pads and rotors are fine. No issue with brakes other than the awful noise.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: disc: caliper
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and 2017-2018 Volkswagen Passat vehicles. The brake caliper bracket mounting bolts on these vehicles may not have been tightened sufficiently.
- Risk
- The loose brake bracket bolts can allow the caliper to move, reducing braking ability or causing a loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake caliper bracket bolt tightness, replacing and re-torque the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Additionally brake caliper fasteners, bleeder valve, and brake hose bolts will be checked and torqued to the correct specification, if necessary, free of charge. For Passat vehicles, dealers will also inspect the parking brake cable for proper connection, free of charge. The recall began September 14, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 46H6.
Recall number 18V536000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: disc: caliper
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.
- Risk
- A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298 and Audi customer service at 1‑800‑253‑2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 47N8, 47N9, and 47N6.
Recall number 18V369000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: fluid
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Passat vehicles. Brake fluid may leak slowly from the some of the brake line connections, resulting in a low brake fluid level.
- Risk
- A low brake fluid level may lengthen the distance needed to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected brake lines, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in March 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47N3.
Recall number 17V075000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015 Passat vehicles manufactured May 18, 2015, to May 21, 2015. The affected vehicles have a brake line at the left rear wheel area that may not have been properly tightened.
- Risk
- If the brake line was not properly tightened, it may leak brake fluid, causing a reduction in braking performance, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will tighten the brake line fitting, free of charge. The recall began on June 11, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑822‑8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47M3.
Recall number 15V373000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum
- What is wrong
- Certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.0l engine with 147 kw may have a vacuum line that may fracture and become disconnected at low ambient temperatures.
- Risk
- If this happens, the brake power assist can become inoperative, and the driver will experience increased effort to apply the brakes possibly increasing vehicle stopping distance. This could lead to a crash without warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install the newly designed vacuum line. The recall began on january 12, 2007. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1‑800‑893‑5298.
Recall number 06V472000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. A control valve in the vacuum hose connecting the brake booster to the intake manifold may not open or close fully at temperatures below -4 f under certain driving conditions.
- Risk
- This condition could cause insufficient vacuum to be provided to the brake booster.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a vacuum by-pass system into vehicles operated in these states which is designed to provide sufficient vacuum for full brake assist under all weather conditions.
Recall number 99V131001 · Recall details
Questions about the Volkswagen Passat grinding brakes
Which Volkswagen Passat years have grinding or squealing brakes problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1999 (20 complaints), 1998 (14 complaints) and 2013 (6 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix grinding or squealing brakes on the Volkswagen Passat?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,178 (median of 13 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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