general problems of the 2003 Volkswagen Passat

I purchased a used 2003 vw Passat from a private dealer drove the car five months and the timing belt came off while I was driving. I almost got into an accident but avoided it. This particular vehicle and ones like it was recalled in 3/7/2014 for engine and engine cooling engine problems that causes the timing belt to come off while driving. Recall: 14e007000 because of the timing belt failure. I contacted a vw dealership and they said the recall didn't apply to my car. I find that insulting consider ing what I just experienced.

My front driver seat warmer was turned on low. I could feel the seat getting warmer and checked to be sure the setting was not on high which it wasn't. I thought maybe I was being sensitive and stuck my mitten under my thigh. I then noticed a funny smell and suddenly things got very hot and started to burn my leg as I was driving. I looked down and actually started to see smoke. I was not able to just pull over but quickly turned the seat off. I pulled out my mitten and fleece was actually melted. I was a block or two from work and tried to keep from sitting completely down as it burned. I arrived and jumped out to see a blackened area and hole in my seat!! the car was smelling and I am still in shock over this. I have looked and can't find a recall on the seat. This is very disturbing and dangerous. This should not happen no matter how old the car is.

Abs module failure, abs light on brake light blinking and then asr light on, happens randomly, no specific reason, dry weather, humid, day or night. Still comes on randomly, no speeding, problem goes away when car is turned off.

The turn signal would continue to make a clicking noise even after the signal had been shut off. This continued to happen for several minutes and then smoke began to rise from behind my steering wheel where the turn signal enters the wheel console. I began to pull over at the next safe area and before I could I noticed small flames coming from the same area where the turn signal enters the wheel console. When I turned off the car the smoke/fire slowly subsided. I ended up removing the turn signal fuse in order to drive to a repair shop. After some research this seems to be a common issue with no recalls issued yet.

Heater stopped working and blew cold air. Brought car into vw dealer be serviced. Heating system was flushed with cleaner. A couple of days after "repair," car was driven with the passenger seat heater on and a 1 1/4" hole burnt through seat exposing burnt heating element and burnt foam. Heater stopped working a couple of weeks after above "repair. " returned to dealer to redo repair and requested the seat heater and seat upholstery leather replaced. Told that it would cost $1000. 00 and that it would be the owner's responsibility. Clearly the seat heaters on this car model are defective given all the complaints and prior recalls. Vw replaced the driver's seat heater with a recall. . . Which leads to the obvious question: "why weren't the passenger side seat recalled as well?" was this a calculation on the part of vw corporate. . . . That the cost of replacing the driver seats through a recall was less that the liability due to burns/accidents/loss of life. . . But the cost of replacing the passenger seats through a recall was calculated to be more than the liability there? this does not smell good. Class action suit seems appropriate.

Heated seat coils overheated and burnt seat on driver side. 1 year after recall was done by [xxx] vw brockton MA, they told me the heaters in the seat are no longer under warranty and told me to call vw USA with my problem, information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My 2003 volkswagan Passat wagon has roof/chassis drains that are backing up inside the vehicle causing the vehicle electronics to short out and fail. My rear door will not open. This is a safety issue.

I was driving my vw Passat 1. 8l turbo stationwagon at a speed of 40 miles per hour and the car suddenly stalled without any warning. My four month old baby was in the back in his carseat and had I been in a different setting we both could have been injured or killed. This was the first time it had occurred and once I took it to the mechanic the car started and drove fine and they could not duplicate the problem. They informed me that it was likely a parts recall issue: recall: 07v375000: fuel pump replacement. I contacted vw America, inc. And was informed that while in fact there was such a recall for 2003 Passats, my VIN number was not covered in the recall and thus there was nothing they could/would do to help me despite the fact that the problem appears to be the very one indicated in the recall notice. This is very frustrating and scary.

I purchased a 2003 Passat 6 months ago. I have had nothing but trouble from it. It is just one thing after another. I have had to take it in to be fixed about six times. I can't even remember everything I have had to have fixed. I do remember the last thing though. It was the tail lights, the tail light would not go out even when I had no lights on and even when the car was turned off. My car is in the shop again right now. It has been there since Monday December 27th. It is a four cylinder and has been running on three. I found out for the first time Monday that my car has 5 recalls on it. I was never notified of none of them. After leaving it for all the recalls to be fixed, I had to rent a car for 30. 00 to get home. Now I have no way to pick up my car because I had to return the rental car the next day because I could not afford to pay 30. 00 per day. I have nobody to take me to pick up my car, I guess I will have to take a taxi and that will probably cost me about 50. 00. I am very upset with vw I paid my hard earned money for a reliable car and now I am stuck with nothing but a lemon, something needs to be done about this. I have no way to go anywhere, what am I supposed to do?.

The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the malfunction indicator warning light illuminated intermittently, causing the vehicle to shake excessively. The dealer made six attempts to diagnose the failure but to no avail. The manufacturer was notified who contacted the local dealer but offered no additional assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was 91,252 and the failure mileage was approximately 89,000.

Vw 2003 Passat awd 2. 8 l v6 gasoline engine. . . Wife called me said car was miss firing badly and then smoke was reported coming from underneath car. She pulled over and saw flames coming from underneath the car. Turned car off and fire luckily went out. . . I changed coil and problem was fixed for about three months. Now car is miss firing again and running rough. . . . I hate that I've fixed this same coil three times now and it is acting up again. . .

On April 20, 2010 my 2003 Volkswagen Passats check engine light came on at around 4:45 pm. I immediately called the place who does all my repair work, and was told I could drop off the car that night, and they would check it out the following morning. I arrived at the location around 5:10, parked the car and went to place my key in the night drop box. When I walked back to the car I saw smoke coming out from under the hood. I raised the hood and saw flames coming from what looked like under the back of the engine compartment. Then I noticed that there were flames coming out from under the dashboard inside the car. I called 911 and ran to a nearby gas station to get a fire extinguisher. When I got back to the car there were flames visible inside the car. I used the entire fire extinguisher and it did not even phase the fire. Within 1 minute the entire car was engulfed in flames. The fire dept. Arrived within 6 minutes and the car was gone.

Recalled vw coil failure.

I have had my 2003 vw Passat for 7 months now and have already had it in the shop 3 times. Right after I bought it used from a vw dealership the turbo went out. I had to pay for that. I then drove the car about 150 miles for a tournament and when almost there a light came on saying to stop and turn off the engine. Took it to vw dealership and it was covered by vw. It had something to do with sludge from oil. Got it back and 3 days later a light came on. It was the mil light. I took it in to the vw dealership. Still waiting to hear what the problem is this time. I have now had my oil changed 3 times in 5 thousand miles due to repairs. It has been one thing after another with this car so far.

Cylinders misfire causing acceleration hesitation. Spark plugs and coil were replaced Feb. 2009, Dec. 2013, Aug. 2014, June 2015. The conditions are repetitive and identical.

In 4/08 and 5/08 had malfunction light indicator come on, then had separate repairs at bayside Volkswagen. Same light came on 7/6/08. Its seems every month or so, its an issue with the car and having different repairs.

My 2003 Volkswagen Passat is holding 6inches or more of water on the passenger side in the floor board and has shorted out the computer underneath, in servicing the car the technician advised he found 3 other Volkswagen Passats of the same year to have the same defect. I have also been advised that a serious crash could have resulted because the computer underneath regulates the transmission.

I drove about ten miles up the canyon parked the car. Then got a call about 15 min later telling me my car was on fire and the fire department had put it out. I am still waiting to find out what is going to happen with the car from the dealer and insurance. It looked like the fire started in the dash.

I have a 2003 Passat v6 in which there is a leak through the pollen filter because of faulty design. Every time it rains or snows in the northeast water gets through the faulty seal and is accumulating in the passenger rear and front seat. The water accumulation has caused the tcm to work improperly and may malfunction. With out the use of a tcm that works properly the car may shutdown or malfunction and cause an accident. This a problem vw knows about and has in fact issued a recall on the 2002 model. This is an issue on all b5 Passat models. Please help issue a recall to correct this matter. Thanks steve.

I just read that the NHTSA was investigating the failure of coils on 2002/2003 vw Passats. I had a 2003 Passat that had the number 2 cylinder coil fail at about 28,000 miles in 2007. The dealer replaced it, but I had to pay approximately $150. At about 29,000 the number 4 cylinder coil failed. I still had to pay about $100 with the dealer absorbing the cost of the part itself. The vw dealer told me that vw did not have a problem with their coils other than on a random basis, and that there were no manufacturing defects with the coils. They said that it was just coincidence that I had two coils fail. Because of the failure of two coils at relatively low mileage I decided that the car was not reliable, and traded it in for a Honda accord. Now it appears that vw did have a problem for which I was penalized both by having to pay for the cost of the two repairs, but also because those problems caused a lack of confidence in the reliability of the vw resulting in my trading it in well before one would expect to have to trade in a car. My 2007 Honda accord has over 45,000 miles, and there have been no problems of any kind.

I recently had my 40k mile service done and was preparing to go on vacation. The car made it there without incident however the second day into out vacation the asr light came on and then the prnd432 all stayed lit. It had been beautiful weather for several days however there was easily two inches of water on the passenger side. The vehicles check engine light came on and it stopped automatically shifting. The vehicle is at the shop waiting repair.

: the contact stated rain water leaked into the vehicle. There were concerns expressed of cables under the dash becoming wet, therefore creating an electrical hazard. The rain water usually accumulated in the doors, and when the doors was opened the water traveled to the dash board.

I am investigating and gathering incident information about the flooding problems that Volkswagens, especially the Passat, exhibit from model years 1998 to the present. There is a chance of a class action suit for which this information is being gathered. If interested, please respond to doctor. Vinnie@gmail. Com for more information.

Car had trouble starting, electrical problems, lurching while driving and ultimately transmission and air bag failure.

I purchase a new 2003 Volkswagen Passat from burlington Volkswagen 2 years ago and have taken it back to the dealership at least 7 times since then for a myriad of problems, from airbag lights coming on to check enginge light to the latest of the car shutting off in the middle of the road.

Headlights fails proper function. They have been replaced. Seat belts and sun roof do not work properly. Engine replaced; steering wheels - car pulls to the right everytime an alignment was done and they calibrated the wheels. - problem continued - this problem caused the tires to be destroyed in a few kms - less 20 000; water infiltration - for now it is fixed; trunk was hard to open and close - problem fixed. Front doors vibrated - the rubber of the doors are being exhibiting signs of damage; the front glass ( windscreen ) isn't from the same year of all the others.

Front headlights malfunctioned - replaced them but they couldn't make the alignment of the beam. The car runs to the right but the wheels are calibrated and the direction alignment is done. The car infiltrated water inside the car and trunk. Sunroof malfunction - opens in all positions but don't close. The car as the front glass is from 2005 and all the others are from 2002, construction of the car 2003. Diesel escaped from the pump. Cd changer - 6 cds as malfunction the radio doesn't eject the cd's. The motor gag various times a constant rotation. The trunk was hard to open and close. There are other complaints. . . . The complaints begin 15 days from the purchase.

After rainy days my 2003 Passat wagon (4 motion) has 1 -2 inches of water on floor of the front passenger side. This has now been to the dealer twice (I just took it back today) - the first time they told us that it was a drain problem from the sun roof that was clogged. The carpet smells and I am afraid that the electric seats will soon short out.

On three separate occasions, 2/29/04, 3/5/04, and 4/15/04 my 2003 vw Passat (6 cyl. ) had to be towed to the dealer because the check engine light (mil) and electronic power control (epc) light came on and I had significantly reduced power such that I was unable to drive my car home without endangering myself on the highway. The dealer's service group has been unable to resolve the problem thus far.

Defective coils on each cylinder.

Volkswagen of America will not recall faulty coil packs in 2001/2002/2003 Passat 1. 8ts, even though they know the installed part is defective. My first coil pack failed, and will be replaced under warranty but vw will not replace all coil packs, as they should. This is a dangerous situation, as coil pack failure while on the road may cause accidents.

I recently leased a vw Passatt station wagon and things have gone wrong with it even before the car had 300 miles on it. The car has less than 5000 miles on it and it has spent some 10 days at the repair shop. Defects have included a transmission that would disengage, heated seats that would not turn off, a/c and side mirrors that would not work, a module had to be replaced, the car had to be aligned, the front spoiler fell off, a speaker had to be replaced, part of the trim on the back was falling off, the memory settings on the driver's seat were not working, and the sun roof was rattling. The sales department has responded to all my calls by saying that I need to talk to the service department or to vw corporate directly. I have done both, when I called vw corporate they responded that as long as the car was driveable they would cover it under warranty and would not replace the car. They offered me a lube job as a settlement!.