general problems of the 2004 Volkswagen Passat

The drain coming down from the sunroof apparently became clogged causing this vehicle to short out. . . Horn blowing, alarm system going off, etc. The waterproof black box, which is underneath the drivers seat, was full of water and the comfort control box was all burned. The drivers side floor is soaking wet and we have been trying to dry it out for 6 days now. We are very concerned that this could have caused a fire while our daughter was driving her car. Please advise. . . . .

The plastic clips holding the window in place broke and window falls down. It costs $350 to replace the $1. 50 cheap plastic part.

2005 Passat wagon - 38000 miles blocked drains around the sunroof caused rain water to leak into the floor boards of the car. The build-up of water caused the tcm (transmission control module) to malfunction. The (automatic) car was able to be driven only with hard shifts between gears and now will not move out of park. (undrivable). Replacement of the tcm will cost $3210. The car was a garaged car up until a few months ago. It was at the dealership for all scheduled maintenance. I was told by the dealership that the drain tubes can get clogged with "one leaf" and the next rain can cause this problem. I was advised to park in a covered area and never drive in the rain. This seems like a significant design flaw that one leaf followed by any rain can cause the tcm to fail and need replacing.

Have a water leak in my 2004 vw Passat. After a heavey rain I was cleaning the inside of my car and noticed a large amount of water in the rear floor behind passenger's seat. I then soaked up all of the water and air dried my mat. I have searched the internet and found that this is a common occurance for vw owners and would like to report this immediately. Thanks for your time.

I have a 2004 vw Passat wagon. We were in the lake tahoe region last week during a rain and snow storm. We got in the car one morning to find inches of water in the rear passenger floor and to discover our transmission was shorted out. Had it towed 100 miles to sacramento, where it sat for a week before they were able to diagnose the problem which was pine needles in the drain below the battery which caused water to get in through the venting system. Volkswagon claims that this issue does not fall under warranty but was a matter of maintenance - yet no one seems to know that you are suppose to regularly check and clean the this drain as it's not part of normal maintenance procedures. We know at least the transmission control box is fried and do not have any idea if/what any other damage may be. There is nothing in the owners manual to tell one to check for this issue. I anticipate that this will be a cost of thousands of dollars. . Read more...

Water intrusion in passenger side rear footwell. Anytime it rains. I have cleaned sunroof drains, battery compartment drains, cabin filter area and problem still persists.

When it rains, water leaks into and floods the foot well on the rear driver's side.

Distance between the foot rest and clutch are designed poorly. When transferring feet from one pedal to another consumer's foot will get stuck between the pedals. Dealership has been notified. There is a gap between the clutch pedal and the footrest to the left of the clutch pedal. Consumer's foot has gotten caught on sevreal occasions. Dealership removed footrest.