Two problems related to engine belts and pulleys have been reported for the 2001 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2001 Volkswagen Passat based on all problems reported for the 2001 Passat.
Took car to vw dealer to have timing belt replaced and was notified that there were several open recalls and they offered to take care of them free of charge. However, they were unable to perform recall #08v156. Manufacturer #26e5. They installed the heat shield but could not perform software upgrade. I never received any recall notices in the mail. Now vw wants to buy the car back because they can't fix it. It's a 2001 vw Passat with 25k miles in showroom shape. Was never driven in snow and garaged it's entire life. They offered me $1500 out of which I owe $1300 for the timing belt. They said it may need a ecu but they are no longer available from vw but refuse to install a used one. The car has been at the vw dealer since 12/28/2020. I was under the impression that recalls never expire.
My 2001 Volkswagen Passat had a timing belt failure due to an internal component that caused the car to just turn off. This belt did not fail, but the component did which caused it to fail. Here is the concern: just think if you are traveling in bumper to bumper traffic and this part fails, you are all done. You lose the car, nothing is available to get you over to a safe spot. Its just a matter of time when someone is traveling and this happens. Note - Volkswagen is aware of this issue and offers a upgrade kit to replace this part. Also, no where in their service guide lines will you be able to detect this part through the techs. I'm hoping by submitting this we make them accountable and to correct this issue. I do have the belt which shows that it did not fail as they pitched it.