Nine problems related to cruise control have been reported for the 1999 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Consumer placed the vehicle in cruise control. While the vehicle was stopped at a toll booth vehicle accelerated. Then, vehicle continued to accelerate, once getting onto the highway, to 72 mph. . Consumer pulled over, turned the vehicle off for forty minutes, and proceeded home. The next day, consumer took the vehicle to the dealers for inspection, where it remained.
When stopped, car will rev up over 3000 rpm without my touching the accelerator. Feels like car is going to take off, right into an intersection. Have had to turn off ignition to avoid a potential accident. It also occasionally accelerates while driving even once my foot is off the accelerator and not in cruise control mode.
1999 vw Passat on12/15/04 and 12/16/04 suddenly increased speed on its own without driver pressing the gas pedal. On 12/15 while driving wb on I-80 in penna around the 278/279 mile marker with the vehicle in cruise control the car itself increased to nearly 90 mph without any driver intervention, I pushed brake to get cruise to release which didn't do anything, I turned off cruise control on turn signal arm with no speed increase stoppage, I reached down to be sure the floor mat wasn't stuck and causing gas pedal to be pushed and it wasn't. I finally why standing with both feet on the brakes got the vehicle to slow enough to safely pull over and I turned it off. I then turned the vehicle on twice and the rpm's pegged immediately to 5000-6000 rpm's and I tunrned the car off at once. On a third try the car turned on in it's normal mode and idled okay. I then drove the remaining approx 15 miles to work on the PA turnpike and PA rte 115. I drove the car home the evening of 12/15 without any problems but, did not engage the cruise control. On the morning of 12/16 while on way to work at approx the 114 mile mark of the PA turnpike nb the car did the same as it had done the pevious morning and started taking off on it's own again, however, this day just like the return trip home the night of 12/15 I did not have the cruise control engaged. On 12/16 I got the car on the shoulder safely and while braking and getting the car to around 35-40 mph I turned it off and came to a stop. On the first resart the car again pegged rpm's up to around 5000-6000 and I turned it off immediately. With the second restart of the car it ran normal and I completed the remaining 4-5 miles to work.
Submission of complaint re vw of America feel he has been over charged for numerous & extensive repair bills for his 1999 vw Passat. The consumer stated he is still experiencing problems with the front suspension. The front stabilizer was repaired and the lower control arm was repaired, however the problem recurred. The rear brake pads were worn. The front doors creaked when opened. The cruise control was intermittent. The consumer requested assistance of all the matters.
Intermittently the idle will drop from 750 to 400 when at a complete stop. This happens usually after the car has warmed up and I've made a few complete stops after driving intermittent distances. The car feels as if it will stall, and makes the driver want to hit the gas, which would be unsafe at a full stop. Has been in to dealer 2 times for this, dealer says they cannot duplicate, therefore cannot fix.
I had shut off my car and when I went to turn it back on I had no lights, turn signals, dome light, horn, climat control or radio. I took it to the dealer they told me it happens on beetles and golfs all the time and that it was the ignision switch. They showed me the switch when they pulled it out. It had gotten so hot it melted right through the wires. There is no safety recall on this but if it gets hot enough to melt metal it could start the car on fire.
Vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own at least 4 times, each time while decelerating/braking on highway exit ramp after cruise control system malfunctioned earlier. Also, the cruise control system fails to resume and reset. Dealer reset readiness codes, but the problem still reoccurred. Dealer will not replace any parts until problems can be confirmed. The consumer states that the cruise- set button was so stiff that brushing it would cause the driver to switch on the left turn signal.
Cruise control slowly fades out (occasionally) without warning, except the sight ofan enormous truck grill in my rear-view mirror. None of the local vw dealers could fix it, nor would they replace it. Vw zone manager told me to forget it. Car is 1999 Passat wagon, 4-cyl. Is this common?.
Cruise control worked intermittently, and it will engage without application. Problem was reported to the dealership. Vehicle has been worked on three times. Dealer was not able to locate what was causing this problem.