One problem related to steering rack has been reported for the 2003 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Volkswagen Passat based on all problems reported for the 2003 Passat.
New '03 Passat purchased in Dec. '02. Feb. '03 I noticed difficulty with steering when the wheel was turned to the extreme left or right. After several trips to the dealership in which power steering fluid was found to be low and refilled, it was determined that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. In Mar '03, the power steering rack was replaced by Volkswagen under warranty. Nov. '04, I again noticed difficulty with the steering in extreme left or right wheel positions. Dec. '04, vw determines that the power steering rack again needs to be replaced. They claim that there is no larger problem with the car leading to repeated failure of the power steering rack. Likewise, they insist that there is no intrinsic problem with vw power steering racks. However, I find it difficult to believe that two power steering racks from vw placed in the same car in a two year period just happened to be faulty.