Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 02/12/2011 | 86000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2003 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that the front end of the vehicle was impacted and none of the air bags deployed. she also mentioned that the seatbelts did not retract on impact. as a result, her head hit the steering wheel causing concussion. a police report was file. the vehicle was taken to a shop who confirmed it was a total lose. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileage was 86,000. pm | |||
| 01/01/2008 | 83500 | 1 | |
| Following routine maintenance of my vehicle, (tune-up, including replacement of spark plugs and ignition harnesses) my repair shop mechanic reported that the airbag warning light came on and stayed on. he said he was unable to turn it off. i then took the vehicle to a factory-authorized vw dealer and was told the problem was caused by low voltage to the airbag unit, that the battery tested low at 12.04 volts and they could not reset the code without replacing the battery. i approved new battery purchase, but dealer was unable to make warning light go out, despite recoding the controller . dealer claimed further testing revealed airbag unit controller had failed and would require replacement at parts cost of $798.00. i declined to pay that amount. in reply to my question, service rep said he was unable to confirm that airbag(s) would deploy in case of an accident. since they i have driven vehicle for about one month, and each time i start vehicle a warning sounds, the airbag failure notice comes up on the dashboard and the airbag warning signal stays on constantly. i telephoned vw customer service to complain and was told there was no recall on this problem and that since vehicle was nearly 6 years old and out of warranty i would need to assume cost of repair/unit replacement. i said i thought this was a safety failure with vehicle becoming out of compliance with federal safety requirements through no fault or malpractice of the owner (myself) and that vw should assume cost of repairs. customer service rep said they would look into it and reply. so far no response. vehicle continues to display airbag warning light. *tr | |||
| 08/02/2003 | 2300 | 1 | |
| Brake failure light appears even after multiple brake repairs. driver?s side rear upper brake light replaced for 29th time in less than 2 yrs. multiple coolant leaks still present even after repair and water pump replacement. radio/amplifier not functioning even after replacement (radio was only used twice in vehicle?s lifetime). diagnostics show airbag malfunction. regulator pin on rear passenger side window keeps breaking (3rd replacement since 2003). engine cover below car keeps falling off due to rusted bolts. homelink system keeps malfunctioning. fuses keep blowing out. dashboard panel lights out (odometer, fuel gauge, etc.). ccm module keeps breaking down. car needs to be jumpstarted when not in use for over 48 hrs. climate control (a/c and heater) works only sporadically. all repairs performed by vw dealership, yet same issues keep reappearing just a few weeks after repairs. repairs performed in past 2 years: ecu unit replaced, brake light switch replaced 3 times, a/c compressor unit replaced, abs module replaced, alternator replaced, brakes replaced 3 times. *tr | |||
| 11/26/2008 | 29000 | 1 | |
| I have an air bag failure which will prohibit me from passing the state safety inspection. the air bag repair is over $1000. is there a waiver or a process to dispute this? are there resources to help consumers in these type of cases? *tr | |||
| 11/11/2006 | 130000 | 1 | |
| Radio not functioning, air conditioning unit works intermittently, airbag malfunction recognized, operation unit in steering wheel malfunctions, no communications with brake control unit, brake light switch causes drivers side brake light to malfunction. horn not functioning nearly caused 2 accidents within a month. i drove over an island to avoid one collision from the other non-attentive driver and ended up scraping the transmission pan. cost of replacement: $550. after thousands of dollars in repairs and diagnostics, vw dealerships still unable to fix any of the above! *tr | |||
| 11/17/2006 | 7000 | 23 | 07/30/2002 |
| I've spent over $8000 towards vw dealership attempts at fixing the horn, radio, homelink, climate control (a/c and heat) rear passenger side window, heated seats, dashboard panel lights, and defroster flap. vw replaced abs and brake light module, but only fixed the horn. vw stated they are not responsible even after i paid for them to fix the above problems and they are still unable to determine the cause of the problems. i request reimbursement from volkswagen for the repair attempts and related expenses. current vehicle mileage: 127,000. *tr | |||
| 11/27/2007 | 42000 | 20 | 05/17/2005 |
| I have a 2003 vw passat. i've had two leaks into the front right floorboard in the past six months from either a sunroof drain line or a air conditioner. the leaks have produced so much water that it has gone to right back floorboard. the plastic on the interior is worn off. the ashtray fell apart. they can't seem to get the alignment right so i keep going through tires and the tires i do have sound uneven when i rotate them, making me think there's a problem. hove replaced the headlights three times in 1 and 1/2 years. there's a defect investigation into fires in the engine and a recall on oil sludge. this car is an accident waiting to happen and it's very poorly engineered. one thing after another. vw has on a bunch of recalls already on this model, to many for me to feel safe with. i'm abandoning the car today, trading it in for something else. will never buy a vw again. no car should have this many issues. and the issues continue to roll in. now the airbag light just came on...another thing to have to worry about!!! *tr | |||
| 01/15/2003 | 0 | ||
| Following is nhtsa complaint: make: volkswagen model: passat year : 2003 crash : no fire : no number of injuries: 1 odi id number: 10023337 date of failure: january 18, 2003 component: air bags details: the driver's side head airbag (air curtain) of a 2003 volkswagen passat w8 sedan deployed spontaneously while i was driving the car. a few minutes later, when the car was stopped, the steering wheel airbag deployed spontaneously. i suffered a permanent wrist injury and am suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. the incident, which happened during a test drive, was reported to the management of the vw dealership for which i was working and to vw of america by the management. i sent a detailed incident report to both vwoa and vwag (germany) ceo's. a vw customer service representative admonished me to not make a fuss about the incident, saying it was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence and advised me that my letter to the vwoa ceo had been received but that he had not read it. the owner of the dealership advised me in a special meeting that he had been contacted by a vwoa management representative who was unhappy with the complaints i had made to the customer service representative about the lack of follow-up by vw and the means of alerting vw owners about the incident i was considering. i left the meeting believing my job and future in the car business, at least selling vw products, would be in jeopardy if i took any affirmative action such as filing this complaint. a promise that i would be informed by vwoa of the reason for the spontaneous deployment has not been fulfilled and i have not been contacted by any vw representative in almost four months. recently, i was fired because of an incident related directly to the incident. i am filing this report because i have just learned that another person has experienced the spontaneous deployment of an airbag in a vw car and i?m confident that what i experienced was not a freak occurrence. | |||
| 07/10/2003 | 20200 | 1 | 06/14/2002 |
| Driver-side airbag did not deploy during front-end collision.*ak | |||
| 01/18/2003 | 0 | ||
| The driver's side head airbag (air curtain) of a 2003 volkswagen passat w8 sedan deployed spontaneously while i was driving the car...a few minutes later, when the car was stopped, the steering wheel airbag deployed spontaneously...i suffered a permanent wrist injury and am suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome...the incident, which happened during a test drive, was reported to the management of the vw dealership for which i was working and to vw of america by the management...i sent a detailed incident report to both vw of america and vw ag (germany) ceos... a vw customer service representative admonished me to not make a fuss about the incident, saying it was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence unlikely to happen again, and advised me that my letter to the vwoa ceo had been received but that he had not read it... the owner of the dealership advised me in a special meeting that he had been contacted by a vwoa management representative who was unhappy with the complaints i had made to the customer service representative about the lack of follow-up by vw and the means of alerting vw owners about the incident i was considering... i left the meeting believing my job and future in the car business, at least selling vw products, would be in jeopardy if i took any affirmative action such as filing this complaint. a promise that i would be informed by vwoa of the reason for the spontaneous deployment has not been fulfilled and i have not been contacted by any vw representative in almost four months... recently, i was fired because of an incident, i consider, related directly to the incident... i am filing this report because i have just learned that another person has, reportedly, experienced the spontaneous deployment of an airbag in a vw car and i am now confident that what i experienced was not a freak occurrence. *nlm | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 04/15/2009 | 42740 | 1 | |
| 1. frontal collision impacting with side of pick up truck making ill-timed left turn in front of me 2. driver's side airbag did not deploy. passenger side (where no one or nothing was seated) did deploy. *tr 3. my vehicle was declared a total loss | |||
| 09/08/2005 | 1 | 08/01/2005 | |
| I was involved in a automobile crash when another vehicle pulled out in front of me. i was the only person in my car at the time of the crash. i was traveling the posted speed limit and the other driver received a citation and was at fault. i was driving a 2003 vw passat. the car had extensive front end damage mostly to the drivers side. the car was considered a total insurance loss by the other drives insurance company. the passenger side air bag deployed but the drivers side airbag did not. since the damage to the front end of the car was extensive both air bags should have deployed. i received minor injuries because of the crash, but if i had been traveling at a higher rate of speed my injuries may have been much worse. *nm | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | |||
| 11/10/2006 | 59000 | 1 | 06/01/2003 |
| Airbag fault - bad module - airbags will not deploy in accident - 2003 vw passat. *jb | |||
| 12/05/2005 | 44500 | 1 | 09/25/2002 |
| Car had trouble starting, electrical problems, lurching while driving and ultimately transmission and air bag failure. *nm | |||
| 07/23/2005 | 47000 | 7 | 09/22/2003 |
| I purchase a new 2003 volkswagen passat from burlington volkswagen 2 years ago and have taken it back to the dealership at least 7 times since then for a myriad of problems, from airbag lights coming on to check enginge light to the latest of the car shutting off in the middle of the road. | |||
| AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW | |||
| 11/12/2005 | 32915 | 1 | 12/28/2002 |
| Driving a 2003 vw passat glx wagon on a road under construction and the passenger side curtain airbags deployed for no apparent reason. luckily, this shocking incident didn't cause us to get in an accident, but it did fill the car with smoke and we had to pull over immediately and get our 2 year old daughter out of her car seat. i brought the car to a vw dealership (king volkswagen, gaithersburg, md) and they charged me $100 to look at it and then told me that the car sustained damage to the undercarriage. they told me that the car probably hit a curb at 35 mph and came to a sudden stop. i was a passenger in the car at the time and i know that the car was not slowed down at all, and we didn't even notice hitting anything. because this road was under construction we may have brushed a man hole cover that was sticking up into the road, but not hard enough to slow the car down or to cause any serious damage. i looked at the impact point in the undercarriage and it is just a small dent to a metal cup. i took the car to my mechanic and he was shocked that this small dent would have caused the airbags to blow. the car does not require any repairs except for the replacement of the airbags. i complained to vw corporate and they had me bring the car back to the dealer to take pictures and readings from the airbag sensor. they sent that information to vw corporate and corporate called me back and said that this was considered to be an accident that was my fault. *nm | |||
| 08/09/2004 | 41000 | 1 | 09/30/2002 |
| 2003 volkswagen passat station wagon, vin no. wvwwh63b53e089719; hile driving in greensboro nc near the intersection of elm, mcgee and gorrell streets i misjudged a curve and scraped the right side wheels against a curb. both tires sustained sidewall damage. there was no contact with the body or undercarraige of the car. the two right side wheels sustained minor cosmetic damage only and the impact was insufficient to affect the alignment of the automobile. the automobile continued forward through the curve and there was no loss of control from the impact. however, upon contact with the curb the right side curtain and side impact airbags fired unnecessarily. but for the firing of the airbags this would have been a minor event with only tire damage to be repaired. fortunately, the passenger seat was unoccupied or the occupant could have been injured. i have photographs of the tires and wheels. i believe the autmobile contains a significant defect causing the side airbag system to deploy when not needed for occupant protection (ie - in the absence of any contact with the structure of the car), and in circumstances part of ordinary driving - the impact with the curb was less than that experienced with some potholes. thus far, vw has refused to take any responsibility for correction of this defect.*ak the automobile has not yet been repaied, and presumably, event data is still stored in the control module. | |||
| 01/24/2004 | 15000 | 1 | 05/23/2003 |
| I have a 2003 passat sedan. the driver side airbag and driver side curtain airbag deployed when the car slid to a stop while turning in an icy parking lot. there was a slight impact at about 5 mph when the the car hit a snow covered concrete parking block at about the jack point near the rear driver-side wheel. nobody was injured when the airbags deployed. there was no damage done to the car - except to the interior as a result of the airbags being deployed. it will cost $3600 to re-install the two airbags and a lot of other parts. that is ridiculous for a 5 mph impact that caused no damage! i am hoping this will be seen as a defective airbag depolyment and covered under the warranty. if not, vw needs to improve their airbag engineering before i'd consider buying another volkswagen. *ak | |||