Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| TB-27-09-01 | 03/06/2009 | 10030116 | Volkswagen: the positive battery cable on passat vehicles with v6 engine may corrode and in individual cases break. as a result, the power supply may be disrupted and e.g. the vehicle cannot be started. *pe | 08/04/2009 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY - CABLES | |||||
| SA-97R7 | 04/01/2010 | 10034370 | Volkswagen: inspect, and if necessary, replace positive battery cable. vehicles affected by this action may have a positive battery cable that may corrode and, in rare cases, break. if this happens, the power supply may be disrupted and | 11/08/2010 | |
| SB-97P4-Y5 | 03/01/2009 | 10030449 | Volkswagen: this is to inform you of the release of a new required vehicle update. check and, if necessary, replace positive battery cable. models passat, passat wagon, passat cc. *pe | 10/06/2009 | |
| TB-27-09-01 | 03/06/2009 | 10030116 | Volkswagen: the positive battery cable on passat vehicles with v6 engine may corrode and in individual cases break. as a result, the power supply may be disrupted and e.g. the vehicle cannot be started. *pe | 08/04/2009 | |
| TB-27+09-01 | 03/06/2009 | 10029033 | Volkswagen: the positive battery cable on vehicles may corrode and in individual cases break. as a result, the power supply may be disrupted and e.g. the vehicle cannot be started. *pe | 06/12/2009 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||||
| SAC-28F3/P1-REV | 08/01/2010 | 10036496 | Volkswagen: gasoline engine vehicles inspect, and if necessary, replace ignition coils. vehicles affected by this action may have ignition coils that could malfunction under certain conditions. models passat and wagon; golf; gti; jetta a | 03/23/2011 | |
| TSB-28-10-02 | 05/10/2010 | 10034745 | Volkswagen: mil on or flashing, misfire dtcs p0300-0312 stored in ecm. the misfire condition may be caused by a malfunctioning ignition coil. vehicles are out of production. *pe | 01/10/2011 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - SOFTWARE | |||||
| TB-01-11-30 | 12/22/2011 | 10043286 | Volkswagen: on certain model year vehicles, experiencing harsh up/down shift in gears 1-2, 2-3 or 3-2, 2-1. especially during temperatures below 60 c (140 f). programming software update is provided for ecm, tcm and valve body replacemen | 03/09/2012 | |
| TB-01-09-20 | 12/18/2009 | 10033330 | Volkswagen: update programming, tcm, harsh downshift after extended highway driving. internal transmission pressure decrease in c1 clutch due to accumulated air in the c1 oil circuit. *pe | 08/09/2010 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||||
| SA-97U3 | 01/01/2011 | 10038595 | Ready | 06/22/2011 | |
| SA-97U3 | 01/01/2011 | 10038595 | Volkswagen service campaign: see document search button for owner letter. resistance in the air bag system can cause the air bag light to turn on even though there is no problem. *rm | 06/22/2011 | |
| 010767 | 10/26/2007 | 10023941 | Epc warning light on and/or throttle body dtc p0121/p0221 stored in ecm fault memory. *nj | 02/20/2008 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ||||||
| EA11002 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 01/26/2011 | 02/17/2012 | Engine Compartment Fire | ||
| In july 2010, the agency opened pe10-027 to investigate allegations of coil on plug (cop) ignition coil fires in my2002-2003 vw passat vehicles.the investigation was upgraded in january 2011 to include all my2001-2007 4-cylinder vw passat, gasoline, turbo-charged vehicles.based on the analysis of vw's response, and including odi's consumer complaints, odi has since identified 135 unique engine fire reports attributable to the cop coils.after further review of the details as contained in each report, odi determined that 43 of the 135 fire reports were actual fire/flame incidents, 83 fire reports were thermal events (smoke, spark, heat or wire melt), and another 9 fire reports were undetermined in severity due to the lack of information.these cop coil fires were characterized as initiated from within the cop coil circuit located at the top of the engine block and below the plastic engine cover.the fires observed were contained in the engine compartment and did not reach into the passenger compartment in contrast to those caused by an overheated catalytic converter examined in odi | ||||||
| EA11002 | VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC | 01/26/2011 | Engine Compartment Fire | |||
| Odi has received 14 complaints alleging that a fire started in the engine compartment of the vehicle that may be related to ignition coil failure, and 21 complaints of ignition coil failure that did not result in a fire.reports state that the vehicle hesitated or lost power, and the check engine or dashboard lights illuminated.the vehicles were repaired by replacing the faulty ignition coil(s). some of the complaints indicated that the ignition coils were replaced more than once.the scope of pe10-027 focused on model years (my) 2002-2003 passat vehicles and volkswagen provided data regarding their analysis of the vehicle fires and faulty ignition coils for these vehicles.however, based on consumer complaints, odi also requested and received data from volkswagen regarding my2006-2007 passat vehicles.the failure report for this engineering analysis contains data for my 2002-2003 and my 2006-2007 vehicles.odi needs to further investigate this issue.to facilitate the acquisition and analysis of additional information, this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis.odi is expanding the scope to include my 2001-2007 passat vehicles. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 10/06/2010 | 50450 | ||
| In below freezing weather, i was trying to leave my child's daycare. when the key is inserted properly into the ignition, the car beeps and presents a warning steering column lock defective! it would not start for 45 minutes - just kept turning over and immediately dieing (lost spark, presumably, as part of the immobilization system). took it to the dealership and they immediately recognized the problem and joking sarcastically implying that this happens all the time - the stalling at startup is a direct result of the steering column lock problem. the entire steering column has to be replaced along with a new control module (around $200 in parts) along with 4 hours of labor (quoted around $375 for me). this problem is widely reported on passat message boards with initial costs being as high as $1,900 until vw of america recently discovered a more cost effective way to fix the issue. also, vw of ireland has acknowledged this as a software defect (see irish times article from 11/4/2009 entitled staring problems with a vw passat). there are reports that vw of canada are repairing this for free on out of warrantied vehicles as well. how many have to fail in america before it's a recall? wouldn't a computer fault keeping a car from starting be a safety issue? what happens if the module fails while driving - either the car determining the key isn't correct would stop the engine, or if the steering column does lock while driving at highway speeds? | |||
| 10/23/2009 | 37562 | 1 | |
| The 2007 vw passat wagon 2.0t has been riddled with electronic failures which continue to escalate. we have honestly lost count of the amount of days this vehicle has been in for service - at least 9 incidents, twice towed. initially the problems were benign, such as the horn going off at random intervals in the middle of the night. there were two incidents of the car not being able to start after sitting for only two or three days, which was diagnosed as a faulty battery. problem escalated to inoperable window and door mechanisms, delays upon acceleration, air conditioner malfunction, and most recently complete engine shutdown while driving 55 mph on the highway. upon having vehicle towed in to service department, we were told the car started right up and tested fine on the computer and that there really isn't anything more the mechanic could do without a better computer diagnosis. attempts to speak with managers have gone ignored and unanswered. i am currently waiting to hear from volkswagen group of america in response to an email i sent to their online customer care. *tr | |||
| 05/29/2009 | 43000 | 1 | |
| Electronic parking brake will not set or will not release. problem is intermittent, but progressive, beginning with failure to set and culminating with failure to release, in one instance triggering master brake failure warning. failure to set makes car illegal to drive and dangerous when parked as there is no back up system to set parking brake. failure to release strands driver in possibly dangerous situations. vw says in this instance only solution is to call for tow. failures may at times be cleared by restarting engine, but progressively less successful. car has been to dealer three times since problem arose. 3 days in june, 2 days in early july, and most recently 35 days and counting (since july 22). dealer has replaced multiple modules multiple times, overlaid wiring, etc. without solution. despite a senior mechanic being placed on the job, no source of fault has been identified and by all appearance logical diagnostic work has ceased and haphazard parts replacement has begun, i.e., hope is the only remaining corrective strategy. dealer is sympathetic but of no benefit. vw customer care contacted but promised follow up by them has not been made. as car can still be operated when electronic brake fails to set, this creates a possibly widespread public safety issue since car cannot be properly parked and must rely solely on transmission holding car. *tr | |||