Took my car to Heritage.Volkswagen in 2022. They said the fuel tank needed replaced. Had engine light on and epc light on. They replaced the the upper and lower fuel tanks. When I picked up my car it still had the same problem. Still have the same lights on.I get hesitation when the car gets to the 2 ohms mark. I have to add fuel injection cleaner often.
Volkswagen Passat hesitation problems
81 of the 7,709 owner complaints about the Volkswagen Passat describe hesitation when accelerating, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 81
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical mileage
- 36,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Jerking 15Check engine light 15Stalling 8Misfire 7Fire or smoke 6Fuel pump 5Loss of power 4Transmission failure 3
Trouble codes mentioned
P3073 1P03B9 1P039B 1
What owners say
Sluggish, hesitates, will not accelerate uphill. Codes: p039b, p93af, p03b9
As I drive the car "hesitates". Its almost as if it accelerates and decelerate on its own. As I look online I see there was a recall regarding this issue as its a fuel pump but as I call the dealership they state there is no recall on my specific vehicle.
Car hesitates erratically and unpredictably when accelerating most noticeably from a dead stop, and at slow speeds while turning. Attempting to accelerate from a stop to cross a street in busy traffic the car will just sit unresponsive for seconds and barely accelerate and then unpredictably accelerate. Due to the vehicle being the r-line, it drifts all over the road. I have had 4 wheel alignments on the car with only 6400 miles on it.
I have owned this car for beraly one month. 2 days after purchasing the 02 sensors went bad. 1 week later my pcv valve went bad. And 2 days after that my car stalled on me while driving down a canyon and would not start again. I lost control and ended up on the side of the road. I though I was going to kill myself. After sitting there for about an hour the car turned on but was extremely shaky and would stall the minute I slowed down or came to a stop. I managed to get the car to a repair shop only to have the engine die on me. The car cannot be turned on or moved. I was told it might be the timing chain which is a common issue in this engine. I'm being told I need to practically replace the engine which will cost more than what the car is worth. If I try to turn the car on. It hesitates a lot and once it turns over it immediately shuts off. I have beraly made 1 payment on this vehicle and it already died on me. Was excited about such a nice looking car only to have fall under the lemon car category in my opinion. I am now left with a car payment. A huge repair bill and no mode of transportation all due to volkswagens faulty design.
Loss of airbags, power brakes, power steering, transmission shifting functions, engine hesitation. Indicator lights on dash flash or stay on steady include: coil, steering wheel, air bag, ABS, image of car skidding, brakes, and tire inflation. The speedometer does not work and the fuel gauge just keeps sweeping. The rev limiter does not work either. The auto start feature is non functional and the push button to stop the motor from running must be pressed twice instead of once. Car had this discrepancy on 30 jan 2019, 06 feb 2019, and now 27 feb 2019. The dealers keep working on a grounding nut but the problem keeps persisting. Problem has always accursed immediately after starting the car, not while driving.
My father was heading home when he stopped the hill down from his house. Upon trying to accelerate he noticed the vehicle did not want to go. The engine had stalled/hesitated. He pressed the gas a few times and nothing happened, the RPM ha d was the only thing moving. Then, all of a sudden, the vehicle sped off and he lost control of the vehicle because this happened at the beginning of a curve and he couldn't regain control of the vehicle and slammed into a telephone pole which broke his neck and back. There is something wrong with these passats. My brother and his wife have told me that their 2018 passats do the same thing (hesitation/stalling).
Vehicle hesitates when turning corners
The car hesitates roughly in a jerking way. Mostly when driving from a stopped position in 1st gear the car would hesitate then get a burst & start to move properly. Sometimes on the highway I wouldn't be able to accelerate if I'm trying to pass someone. The car would hesitate for a second, so I release the gas for a second then press again to continue. I already replaced fuel pump controller (very expensive) now it's going out again & my engine light goes off & on for long periods of time. The mechanic says it's the same problem, now I'm trying to wait for this recall to be active so I can drive my car without fear of car failure in the worst moment with my kids in the car.
On 11/15/11 @33,125 miles when accelerating intermittently shift into neutral correct back to drive "could not be replicated" by vw service. Then, car started to become "hesitant" on acceleration from a stop or when on driving. 1/16/12, hesitation more frequent; vw service took a short drive,could not replicate "it's not an issue unless mil" (recommended new wiper blades). 3/6/12, @ 41,117 miles, continued to intermittently hesitate/wanted to stall/ neutral" no engine light (mil); 3/14/12 @ 41,595 miles, left headlight bulb replaced. 6/7/12, while in traffic on expressway approximate speed was 20mph, car hesitated to move with flow of traffic then immediately after hesitation, 2 things occurred @same time, I was rear-ended & engine light (mil) came on. Then car hesitated as I went to pull over. Mil went off then flickered on. I called vw service the mil was off & was told that rear-ended caused the flicker. Mil cont to intermittently go on & off. On 6/30/12 @47,098 miles, mil on steering locked up car hesitating; vw service was informed that auto body shop stated obd car misfiring; replaced l headlight again-car passed inspection. On 7/12/12 @ 48347 miles, mil vw swapped wires again; mil, hesitation while driving, & shifting issue still intermittent; 3/2/13@ 64070 miles mil on l headlight bulb replaced; 3/30/13 mil replace spark plugs; 4/15/13 @ 65,689 mil ignition coil manifold fuel injectors replaced; returned 4/16/13 hesitation rebreather corrected; safety inspection mil on forced car to passed. Mil stays on still hesitates @78,942 water pump; @79000 car hesitating stalling mil intake valve fuel injector need cleaning - l headlight again; @91,195, left headlight replaced vehicle ret to me by vw with mil & steering lock lights on refused to repair 100,191 miles mil still on 107,290 vw forced fail safety inspection mil came on &has never gone off
Related recalls
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2014 Passat vehicles, equipped with diesel engines and Direct-Shift Transmissions (DSG). The vehicle's underbody heat shield may not be long enough to protect the right half-shaft grease boot from heat, potentially resulting in a grease leak.
- Risk
- If the leaking grease contacts a heated surface, such as the exhaust system and/or the diesel particulate filter (DPF), it could increase the risk of fire.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driveshaft heat shield, free of charge. The recall began on July 7, 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑893‑5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 23W5.
Recall number 17V309000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: cooling unit and lines
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, and Passat vehicles equipped with a 1.8T engine and torque converter automatic transmission. In the affected vehicles, the O-ring seals between the oil cooler and the transmission may leak fluid.
- Risk
- The leaking transmission fluid could contact a hot surface and result in a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the O-ring seals in the transmission oil cooler, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on April 16, 2014. Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1‑800‑822‑8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 38B9/9V.
Recall number 14V182000 · Recall details
Questions about the Volkswagen Passat hesitation
Which Volkswagen Passat years have hesitation when accelerating problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (13 complaints), 2003 (9 complaints) and 2004 (9 complaints).
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used Volkswagen Passat?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history