Six problems related to other fuel system fuel gauge 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.
Consumer ran out of gas on a two lane street going over a damn, there was no place to pull to the side when vehicle ran out of gas. There was no warning of low gas from the vehicle. There was no warning light, no warning tone, or warning of any kind. Gauge did not show empty or show the correct gas level. This happened in the morning on wendsday with two kids in the vehicle.
Fuel gauge has stopped functioning properly. Fuel gauge reads full at all times even when fuel level is less than full.
The gas gauge is fluctuating the reading. Usually it states there is more gas in the tank then there really is. I have read that several others have this problem and are not included in the vw recall for this problem. I also am not in the recall because I have the 2 wheel drive model. I think vw needs to know this problem is occurring in more vehicles then just the 4 motion model.
I own a 2001 vw Passat and have been having problems with a gas gauge for a number of years. The gauge is innaccurate and never reflects the correct gas level. I've reported the problem to the dealer and have been told that there is no recall, yet a recall exists for this make, model and year (NHTSA campaign id # 01v157000).
Before taking vehicle into dealer to get recall 00-v-147-000 repairs done vehicle was running just fine. But after vehicle was taken to dealer for repairs, vehicle was acting just like defect mentioned in recall.
The sulfur in the fuel interacts with certain additives found widely. Sulpher becomes deposited on contact points of three fuel sending units mounted inside the fuel tank. This results in the fuel gauge's ability to read full while the fuel tank is empty.