Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - POWER ASSIST - VACUUM
06V472000VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INCfrom 05/01/2005 to 04/30/2006V (Vehicle)5880001/12/2007MFRVOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA, INC12/12/200612/12/2006
Defect SummaryCertain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.0l engine with 147 kw may have a vacuum line that may fracture and become disconnected at low ambient temperatures.
Consequence SummaryIf this happens, the brake power assist can become inoperative, and the driver will experience increased effort to apply the brakes possibly increasing vehicle stopping distance. this could lead to a crash without warning.
Corrective SummaryDealers will install the newly designed vacuum line. the recall began on january 12, 2007. owners may contact volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298.
NotesVolkswagen recall no. p7. customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration?s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC
05/29/2009430001
 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
05/30/2007220001
 My 2007 vw passat has broken down 4 times in less than 3 years with rear brake failure. the mfg. has never fixed this problem, and is unresponsive to my numerous requests, to repurchase or fix my vehicle. i believe this to be a very serious defect as it causes my rear brakes to be inoperable. this is the first production year for vw electric rear brakes, and i believe they have a serious design flaw. *tr
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
01/10/2010450001
 Leaving my home on my way to work in the am my brakes failed the pedal went all the way down panic and pumping they returned before i reached the stop sign, the 2007 passat wagon has no ebrake just a button for the parking brake, which i did not use. i drove the car for the next 2 weeks without it happening again, then at the same stop sign (the first one i reach when i leave my house in the am) it happened again, pedal to the floor, pump,panic & just before the intersection they work. the weather on both occasions was rainy, and about 38 degrees. i took the car to the dealer, they could find nothing wrong with the brakes, the mechanic said if i was desperate i could push and hold the parking brake button this would lock the cars brakes and put it into a skid. i am still driving it without any more failures but i fear another one will. the only reason i was lucky enough to not have a crash from the failures is because this is rural driving. *tr
08/20/200890001
 I own a 2007 volkswagen passat wagon with a 2.0 liter turbo engine. it was purchased in july 2008 as a certified pre owned vehicle with roughly 8,000 miles on it. almost immediately, i noticed when the brake pedal was pressed hard, the pedal would go all the way to the floor. vw inspected this and told me that it was designed to function this way. the problem with this (as i discovered later on) is that the brake pedal and gas pedal are very close together. in an emergency situation when the brake pedal is pressed hard, it goes past the gas pedal. on two occassions when braking hard in an emergency, my foot caught on the gas pedal and i was applying the accelerator when trying to brake. this is a serious design flaw that could potentially be very dangerous. volkswagen continues to tell me that this is how the car is and that nothing can be done for me. *tr