Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
AIR BAGS
EA03020VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC10/07/200304/23/2004PASSENGER AIR BAG LID FAILURE
 This investigation involves the volkswagen (vw) passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (psir) lid utilized in my 1998-2002 vw passat.the psir lid may detach from the instrument panel during air bag deployment.the office of defects investigation (odi) of the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) opened the preliminary evaluation on may 23, 2003 to determine whether alleged psir lid detachment presents an unreasonable safety risk to passengers in the vehicle.odi
AIR BAGS - FRONTAL
PE03021VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC05/23/200310/07/2003PASSENGER SIR DOOR MOUNTING STUD FAILURE
 Odi opened a preliminary evaluation (pe03-021) based on two reports of failed bolt studs that attach the passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (psir) door cover to the instrument panel (ip) on the volkswagen (vw) passat (model years 2000, 2002).vw has indicated to odi that it has no additional reports.vw implemented a process change on march 1, 2002.this process change consisted of changing the bolt application that fastens the psir door to the ip from a weld on application to a press on application.vw also changed the material of the bolt.vw stated that the changes were made to ease production by eliminating a welding process.odi has upgraded its investigation to engineering analysis (ea03-020).
EA03020VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC10/07/200304/23/2004PASSENGER AIR BAG LID FAILURE
 This investigation involves the volkswagen (vw) passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (psir) lid utilized in my 1998-2002 vw passat.the psir lid may detach from the instrument panel during air bag deployment.the office of defects investigation (odi) of the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) opened the preliminary evaluation on may 23, 2003 to determine whether alleged psir lid detachment presents an unreasonable safety risk to passengers in the vehicle.odi

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
AIR BAGS
08/30/2009873001
 We hit a deer head-on and the air bags did not go off. we were travelling about 60 mph and did not brake. the car was declared a total loss by the insurance company because of the expense to repair. this seems unusual because air bags are designed to go off at very low speeds. *tr
12/12/2008644451
 Dec 12th 2008 the interior of my passt was flooded with water, vw service removed 10 + gallons of water which entered from air plenum /pollen filter hosing(cabin area). service informed me of the p9 recall for the passats manufactured nov '00 to dec '05. but, vw of america will not help me they said my vin # is not in the recall. the computers are on the floor of car. air bag is in default damage from electrical damage from water damage.. my trans mod is wrecked from the water damage, just the part alone will cost $1,300. i have lost work and can not drive. the make of car & year is in recall so why is my vin not included?! someone please, please help me. *tr
10/18/2006111000110/01/2000
 Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the instrument cluster panel lights illuminated. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer who determined there was a short in the airbag wiring harness, and needed to be replaced. the airbag and harness were replaced, but the problem persisted. the manufacturer was alerted.
12/03/200521300105/05/2001
 2001 volkswagen passat low mileage of 21,000 miles. normally garaged and maintained according to schedule. after rain, found an inch of water in rear passenger floor. transmission non-functional, air bag warning light and other warning lights on. dealer said the pollen filter seal was no good and that water leaked in and destroyed the transmission control unit which is located in the floor behind the passenger seat. cost of repair in excess of $3,100. vw refuses to compensate in any way because warranty was only for two years. transmission and power train are covered for 5 years, but vw says the failure was due to outside influence. i have read many accounts on the internet from many angry owners of similar problems where leaks from this seal have caused catastrophic repairs. the service manager at the vw dealer told me that checking the pollen filter seal is not part of any regular maintenance and that in order to check it, you'd need to disassemble quite a few things in the engine compartment. when i asked him how an owner could possibly know if the seal needed replacement and he replied you found out how. i am clearly not alone in having experienced a failure from a part that is not in any way maintainable (the pollen filter seal) and that has caused major damage to the car. i feel this is a consumer issue and that this is a design defect in the passat that vw should compensate owners for. there is no way for an owner to be able to avoid this situation -- it is not a matter of maintenance. it got to do with the passat leaking water and the location of an extremely expensive component in the rear passenger floor, the area where any water that leaks migrates to. if this failure had occurred during driving, i might have had an accident. *jb
04/13/2004271191
 While driving at 25 mph air bag light came on and stayed on. vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the o-ring in the driver's side air bag. *ak
02/18/200355256202/11/2001
 2/18/03 - reported air bag light on to dealer. dealer could not find problem and reset light. airbag light came back on again in may '03. returned to dealer on 6/28/03 for service. told that airbag spiral spring and harness be replaced. could not change on that day (saturday) due to time constraints. returned to dealer on 8/26/03 to replace spiral spring and harness.*ak
11/18/20025000307/17/2002
 Windshield wipers do not work on rainy days making it difficult to see out the windshield. a lady hit my car on the right side collapsing that side along the doors and some of the rear and the air bag did not deploy. i put my feet on accelerator for speed and the car refuses to respond. the more i accelerate the slower the car goes. *nlm
05/09/2001
 Airbag light came on. took vehicle to dealer on 9 may, replaced clock spring assembly. light came on again on 16 may, dealer found no problem. airbag light on again on 23 may, dealer replaced 1 airbag and clock spring assembly.airbag light on again on 3 june, and dealer will replace both airbags. vehicle still at dealer at this time. *ak
03/22/2001110/01/2000
 Airbag warning light turned on starting 02/12/2001. it was check by the dealer on 03/06/2001 but no problem was found and cleared code. three days later airbag warning light turned on again with airbag fault sign was also on. took to dealer on 03/22/2001 along with the new transmission problem. the car was towed in because of the transmission pan, gasket punctured and oil leaking. the dealer service replace the airbag and upper harness under warranty of the car, while transmission repair was charge to my insurance. my safety complaint is that the transmission pan is maybe too low to the ground that it can easily be punctured, which may cause serious transmission problem. and for the airbag warning sign turned on, the airbag will not deploy if accident occurs or may accidentally deploy while driving.*ak
AIR BAGS - FRONTAL
10/03/20091400001
 Recently i was in a rear end collision (i was car in the back) and i totaled my 2001 volkswagen passat. the passenger airbag deployed with no passenger and my driver airbag failed to go off at all. this worries me as to think if i had been going faster then 20mph whether the airbag would've gone off at all. my father in law who is a mechanic says he has never in his life seen the passenger airbag but not the drivers go off. he has seen it the other way around but not this way. *tr
09/24/2008536501
 I have a vw passat 2001 model. i was driving my car to office. at around 8.10 am on 09/24/2008, a car collided from back while i was waiting at a signal. my bumper was damaged a little and my front passenger side air bag cover had popped out. immediately i called my insurance and reported the accident explaining the series of events. the other party involved in accident complained his accident to his insurance company and accepted his fault, as per which their insurance company agreed on to pay for the damages. a estimator took an estimate after viewing the damaged car. a couple of days later there was a check issued on my name and also list of repairs to be done. the popped out airbag was not considered a part of accident by the estimator. i tried to clearly explain him saying that his client has seen the pop out happened because of the accident and has agreed on to proceed through his insurance. when i explained all this estimator was adamant that it was not a part of accident and said it would take 25-30 $ to fix it and as per which i took to a few mechanics to get it done and no one was willing to touch the air bag saying it is vulnerable and needs to be taken to the dealer. when i took to the dealer he was saying its going to incur a huge cost as it is airbag and the entire dash board needs to be removed to get this thing fixed. i have no idea what needs to be done about this and needed help in this aspect. i have all the claim numbers and also the required information in this aspect. i don't think my car is safe enough to drive as the airbag can deflate any tine. please guide me in this aspect. *tr
03/08/2007855801
 Tl*- the contact stated that the 2001 volkswagen new passat driver's side airbag didn't deployed upon impact during a crash. while driving at about 40 mph on a cold dry day, another vehicle ran a red light and she hit another head on. the contact stated that the passenger's side airbag deployed, but no one was sitting on the passenger's side, but the driver's side airbag didn't deploy. the contact would like to know why the airbag didn't deploy. the contact had police and insurance reports. the current and failure mileage were both 85,580 . *ak
09/28/200220000103/01/2002
 As consumer entered the parking lot, the vehicle all of a sudden accelerated, consumer had no control over the vehicle and subsequently crashed through some large boulders and into a ditch, the side airbags deployed, however the front air bags did not, consumer suffered injuries. mr *jb
10/08/2000
 Consumer states that the airbag warning light keeps illuminating. cause is unknown. please provide any further information. *mr
09/01/2002
 At highway speed consumer rear ended another vehicle when brakes failed to stop. upon impact, airbags did not deploy. please provide any further information.*ak
08/02/2002
 Front crash at 50 mph and neither airbag deployed. damage to vehicle unknown at this time.*ak
12/16/2000112/09/2000
 Cruise control was set at 65 mph with about 400 miles on vehicle, and brakes did not turn off cruise control . vehicle did not stop. driver had to use emergency parking brake, and crashed into vehicle in front of him. upon impact, driver's and passenger's airbags did not deploy, which did not protect the occupants. *ak vw did not give consumer a loaner car and could find nothing wrong with vehicle. *slc
AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - DRIVER SIDE INFLATOR MODULE
10/31/2006103400108/07/2006
 Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the airbag light illuminated intermittently without incident. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer who determined the front driver side airbag inflater module needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was alerted. updated 10/31/06. *jb
AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE
08/21/20041
 I,m sending this complain on behalf of my brother-in-law who will not pursue this matter.however, i'm adimant as to the nature of this complaint.he has a 2001 vw passat.after hitting a bump at normal speeds, two of his air bags deployed. vw said this is a normal occurrence as the sensor decided it was the thing to do. he's lucky he didn't lose control of the car. obviously if this were a common malady in vehicles today, i dare say many accidents would occur. vw will have nothing to do with it since he's out of warranty. simply speaking, this ain't right!! don brown. *ak
AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW
08/07/2007148000103/04/2001
 Tl*the contact owns a 2001 volkswagen passat. while driving 30 mph the driver and passenger side air bags deployed without warning. the manufacture stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. the vin was unavailable. the current and failure mileages were 148,000.
07/14/200554000111/14/2000
 Dt: caller said the air bags deployed without warning. while driving caller said both curtin air bags deployed over the doors. caller said he did not have a crash or hit a bump. caller said an engine warning light came on ,and there wa sa blinking warning light. caller made appointment to have it looked at, but did not make it before the air bag deployed. vehicle was at dealer, and they said they have never seen this before. manufacturer has not been contacted yet.*ak
05/24/200325000110/26/2000
 While the vehicle was parked with the engine off, the side airbags deployed. dealer notified. *ak *ph *jb