Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 9806 | 08/07/1998 | 603351 | Subject on automatic transmission fluid ( atf ), checking 01 transmission. *yc | 02/18/1999 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) | |||||
| 34 9703 | 04/11/1997 | 53605 | Transmission pops out of gear/shifter feels like it has a double detent when shifting into gear, and will not maintain shift adjustment. *ak | 12/02/1999 | |
| 9704109702F | 04/10/1997 | 53606 | Difficulties with shift lever and transmission is hard to shift into reverse gear. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - LEVER AND LINKAGE - COLUMN SHIFT | |||||
| 34 9703 | 04/11/1997 | 53605 | Transmission pops out of gear/shifter feels like it has a double detent when shifting into gear, and will not maintain shift adjustment. *ak | 12/02/1999 | |
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||||
| 9704109702F | 04/10/1997 | 53606 | Difficulties with shift lever and transmission is hard to shift into reverse gear. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 11/05/2000 | 1 | ||
| Speedometer/tachometer and fuel gauges went crazy. with engine off speedometer reads 80 mph and tachometer reads 4000 rpm. this occurred after a cold start-up and is known to be an instrument cluster failure. it appears to be specific to 1996 model volkswagen passat glx models and is reported to be a $600. or more dealer repair with a need to special order the replacement gauge/cluster assembly from germany requiring 4-6 weeks for parts delivery. this is unacceptable ! printed circuit boards and instrument clusters are not wear items and should not fail under normal operation. i am not about to pay vw $600. or more to fix a known defect. it is certainly possible to use the vin numbers to determine if this defect is limited to a certain production time period. perhaps the vendor supplier to vw had some production problems that were discovered and corrected. owner's of these vehicles should not pay for a known defect that results from normal vehicle operation. *ak | |||
| 09/01/2000 | 1 | ||
| Fuel gauge, speedometer and tachometer needle will not set at zero even when ignition is off. *ak | |||
| 05/14/2000 | 2 | ||
| The instrument speedometer will not set at 0, and the rev counter also will not set at 0. *ak | |||
| 12/01/1998 | 1 | ||
| Odometer replaced: new milage is zero(0): used-car buyers beware of this problem... inaccurate milage readings | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 06/17/2003 | 60000 | 1 | 08/08/2000 |
| Transmission broken at 60,000 miles, ase certified mechanis unable to fix properly, they had to replace it under theri warantee within 12,000 miles. transmission lasted 8 month with shakey shifting then went again. now 4th tranmission does not work properly . *ak | |||
| 02/01/2000 | 0 | ||
| While driving between 20-40 mph the transmission will be rough on speed shifting. consumer said it felt like transmission kicked in. *ak | |||
| 02/01/1997 | 2 | ||
| Whenever foot was removed from accelerator pedaltransmission would roll backwards. would need to drive with foot on brakes & accelerator pedal. it was hard to shift into gear. transmission has been replaced. but, problem seems to reappear each time. *ak | |||
| While driving at any rate of speed vehicle loses power and shifts gears without warning. cause unknown. please give any further details. *ak | |||
| 07/01/1996 | 8 | ||
| Over time gas mileage transmission performance diminished. the transmission hesitated and shifted improperly. | |||
| 01/22/1997 | |||
| Was driving and transmission jumped into third gear and wouldn't move, put into neutral so consumer could drive . *ak | |||
| While driving experienced malfunction in transmission when at 60 mph vehicle shifts on it's own from third gear to neutral, resulting in the inability to accelerate.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY - PEDAL/LINKAGE | |||
| 04/01/2005 | 1 | ||
| 1996 clutch pedal assembly failed on the 1996 volkswagen passat.*mr the consumer believed the part was poorly designed.*jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 06/25/1996 | 100 | ||
| Manual transmission slips out of 3rd gear and into neutral, resulting in loss of control until manually put back into gear. *ak | |||