One problem related to side/rear glass has been reported for the 1997 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Driver's power window regulator mechanism has repeated failures despite replacement/repair on six occasions. This is a serious safety hazard, since the window must be closed by grasping the glass and manipulating it which can result in fingers being trapped and broken. Also, once this failure has happened, the window may drop down into the door unexpectedly at high speed causing driver distraction, or fail to open in an emergency precluding an escape path. This is compounded by faulty door latch mechanism actuators which preclude door opening from outside by rescue personnel. The failure is caused by a faulty roll pin slipping out of the door latch trigger mechanism causing failure of and binding of the linkage which causes the door lock actuating mechanism to fail, trapping passengers inside the vehicle. Please note that per the ge information services, japan issued a recall for this problem.