Front Suspension Control Arm Problems of Volkswagen Passat - part 1

Front control arms failure. Very common in this suspension design. There has been a recall issued in europe for the same problem. Likewise, the Audi a4 shares the same chassis and same front end suspension. These control arms are seriously under designed. This is dangerous! having this fail while driving will result in death or serious injury. This is a design flaw, and is being overlooked. The bushings on my control arms (all 4 for each of my front wheels, eight in total) are seriously cracked and need replacement. This is not something that should be failing at 50k and 70k miles. Volkswagen should be held responsible for replacing failed control arms.

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The contact owns a 2001 Volkswagen Passat. While driving approximately 70 mph, the contact heard a creaking noise coming from the suspension. The contact stated the rear suspension control arms were wearing out prematurely. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000. Updated 02/11/11 updated 05/02/11.

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I am writing to complain about the control arms on the vw 2002 Passat. I recently replaced an upper and lower control arm on the right and now have been told that I need to replace three of the four control arms on the left side. I fell these are a safety issue.

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Front ball joint failure at approx. 35,000 miles. Then a lower control arm failure at 95,000 miles. Old control arm is available.

I own a 1999 Volkswagen Passat in which the control arms, tie rod ends, ball joints, and bushings are failing. Based on some internet research, this is a common failure for similar makes, models, and years. The problem occurs every day, and if left unattended, results in safety problems at higher speeds. Parts will be replaced in the near future and old parts will be retained, if it is feasible.

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The control arms in my 2000 vw Passat need to be replaced. I believe that this is a design defect. Control arms should not fail after only 116,000 miles.

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I have a '01 vw Passat. I had to go to the vw dealer today since I was hearing a pinging noise when I drive. They checked and advised that the lower control arm and tie ends would need to be replaced since they were worn out. The car has 77k miles and on researching have found that other vw Passat owners from the same time frame are having the same issue. It has been attributed to design flaws. I am worried that this is going to deteriorate and lead to an accident. Additionally they identified a valve cover camshaft seal leakage. This is another issue that has been identified by other owners.

On my vehicle, the passenger front lower control arm is failing at the ball joint. There are loud screeches at low speeds when passing over bumps coming from the ball joint evidencing the inappropriate wear. This was addressed and replaced according to service bulletin "vm" with Volkswagen in early 2005, but the part is wearing improperly again. Failure of this part could cause loss of steering and could be fatal at highway speeds.

Failure of multiple front control arms in 2001 vw Passat. Was given quote of nearly $2100 to repair control arms. Was told this is a "wide spread" problem with vw Passats and nothing has been recalled as of yet.

Tie rod ends excessive wear. Required replacement prior to issuance of nys inspection @60k in 07. Tie rods previously replaced by dealer under recall in 2001@ 19k. Different recall in 05 @ 50k for inspection/replacement of control arms resulted in inspection only. Dealer did not find excessive wear of control arms or tie rod ends. I doubt dealers integrity or that the service tech was aware of previous tie rod replacement. Obviously the acceptable wear would be greater had the parts been in service longer. Defective control arms lead to excessive wear of the steering linkages and ball joints. The vehicle has very low mileage for its age and has been used less than 6k a year since purchase in 05. Cost for the replacement was $150 parts (moog tie rod ends), $90 labor, $75 for the required alignment and nys tax = ~$330. This is safety concern and excessive wear for a part that should have at least a 60k life expectancy. It would be normal for a vehicle to travel 20k between inspections. For the dealer to ok at 50k and an independent inspection facility to condemn at 60k is suspicious. The parts were visibly worn and defective by personal inspection.

Control arms making noise. . Needs replacement. . Wv manufacturing defect. . . Most such vehicle has the problem and its a safety issue. Wv need to do a recall in this.

The lower control arms on my 1998 vw Passat are defective and dangerous according to my mechanic. Vw refuses to replace them even though there was a recall for these parts. The reasoning is that: - I brought my car in for the recall at their dealer in 2005 and at the time the parts seemed ok. - at this time, their dealer has reinspected the car. The vw dealer thinks that both lower front control arms on the car need replacement. However the parts are not about to fail and the car is still drivable and thus vw will not pay for their replacement. My mechanic states that the car need to be replaced and the car is dangerous to drive in this condition. Please advise whether vw is responsible under the "revised-vm (40g3) - December 2004" recall campaign to fix these. Thanks.

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Noise from left side control arm of a 1998 vw Passat 1. 8t.

The contact owns a 1998 Volkswagen Passat. The contact heard a popping noise while driving 3 mph in reverse. The front end of the vehicle slammed to the ground without warning. The vehicle was towed and a local mechanic replaced the lower right control arm. The contact has the failed component along with pictures. The manufacturer would not perform the repair for free. The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 197,000.

Engine sludge in engine leading to failure of the oil pump and the turbo. In addition, also had to have the front control arms ,and tie-rods replaced , and even now there were still problems with the front suspension. I have researched and found these were similar problems with many Passat owners. I still recall the major issue / recall over the ignition coil failures and how vw of America denied there ever was a problem. The entire car should be declared a lemon !!!! the oil pump failure leading to failures of the turbo, and seizure of the engine should be proof enough that this car has too many major problems and should be recalled .

Front upper control arms and outer tie rods had to be replaced for the second time. First time at 55,552 miles and second time at 75,959 miles. That's only 20,407 miles difference for the $1200. 00 repair to be done again. Absurd. Called the vw customer care and they refuse to reimburse in any way stating the 2 year warranty expired. This defect would never fall within the warranty period so they have no excuse. I already absorbed the cost for the 1st repair so in all fairness they should cover the 2nd time. This is a very common problem with vw's. I'm not going to pay $1200 every 20,000 to have my car repaired. I will go legal and forward this complaint to consumer reports, the bbb, and the attorney general.

Purchased my 2000 Passat in 2003, had numerous problems since. It seemed like everything on the car had to be replaced. The control arms, O2 sensors, twice, belts, stereo didn't turn on, all new hoses right away, all 4 window regulators, and now to top it all off, the abs lights kept coming on. My husband has a 2000 Audi a4, virtually the same car, and had to replace all of the same things. The abs seemed to work fine, but the dealer said it would be $1800 to fix it. I looked at some online forums and found thousands of people with similar problems. The manufacturer, (bosch or Volkswagen, should do something about this. My car has been parked since August 2006 because I don't have money to fix it! I am college student. Help!.

9/2003: headlights aimed incorrectly; road wasn't illuminated. Within 2 wks, 1 of the bulbs burned out. Within a week of the 1st, the 2nd bulb burned out. Cost to have headlights repositioned & bulbs replaced: $267. 9/2003: rear tail light out. Cost to have bulb replaced by mechanic: $32. 50. 11/2003: both rear windows off track. Cost to tear doors apart & fix: $159. 75. 12/2003: electrical problems with front power windows. Never know if window will go up or down. 2004: had car in for (at least) 3 different dashboard warning codes. One had something to do with fuel, or the fuel tank or something. After some trial and error on my mechanic's part, discovered that unscrewing and tightly rescrewing gas cap fixed the problem. Cost to diagnose and "fix": $165. Had (at least) two other warning codes in 2004 that required me to take the car in. 6/24/2005: had been hearing crunching sound from front right portion of car that was particularly apparent when hitting a pothole, a dip in the road or attempting a tight 360 turn. Mechanic (specializing in european cars) identified a bad control arm. Cost of repair & alignment: $713. 70. Cost of rental car: $100. 88. Total: $814. 58. Note: the left side has been making the same sound since 12/2005. Have not yet repaired it. 10/24/car started going dead intermittently. The car had less than 60000 miles on it. Replaced battery for $106. 50. 1/2006: temp gauge maxed out, coolant boiled over, smoke & steam issued from hood in less than 8 minutes at idle. Cooled car for 2l hours, replaced coolant and drove to mechanic, who replaced thermostat, water pump & timing belt. Cost: $725. 2/2006: brakes are spongy and provide no resistance until nearing the floor. Mechanic says rotors and brake pads are fine. 6/2006: transmission gets stuck in 1st gear. Must stop the car, turn it off and then restart. This is an electrical problem and is governed by the computer. Cost to fix: unknown. 6/2006: front window now off track. Have not yet fixed it.

I have a 1999 vw Passat v6 GLS. I have 74, 270 miles on the car. My abs and brake light came on about 1 1/2 weeks ago, then my check engine light came on, then my abs/ brake and oil pressure light came on and were flashing. I brought it to vw dealer today, and was told my abs module needed replacement for $975. 00. I went online and found at vwvortex. Com that quite a few people had similar problems with their Passat in my year range. I don't feel that I should be charged for a defective part that is jeopardizing my safety. In addition, I received a recall in 11/04 for vehicle control arms. I brought my car to vw dealer on 12/17/04, and was told that my control arms did not need to be replaced. At that time I had 61, 923 miles on the car. Today, I am told only 12,000 miles later that my control arms need to be replaced at my own expense because the recall is closed. I don't feel that I should be charged for this part either, the defective part should have been replaced in 12/04 before it could pose a hazard to my safety.

: the contact stated while traveling up hill at 25mph the vehicle sputtered and stalled. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was determined the fuel pump needed to be replaced. Previously the contact experienced braking problems while traveling at high speeds. There was vibration and grabbing in front end of the vehicle when braking. The vehicle was seen by the service dealer four times. The front rotors, the rear rotors and both control arms were replaced. The problem was corrected by the replacement of these parts for twenty thousand miles and has now returned.

Front lower control arms needed to be replaced. Have been making a lot of noise for some time now. Was told it wasnt a safety concern yet, just annoying because of the noise. Called vw and was told they could do nothing even though they have documented many issues with the control arms and tie rods.

Creaking, groaning, clunking, squeaking out of the front end, most notably at low speeds over broken pavement, speedbumps, coming to a slow stop and pulling away slowly from a stop. Control arms issue.

The front control arms on my 2001 vw Passat need to be replaced. The car only has 54k miles on it.

Car was making noise at slow speed and would shake at faster speeds. I was told I needed 2 tie rods which were replaced. The problem continued and I was then told it was the control arms and I needed all 4 replaced. My car is not even 4 years old and has only 45,000. I understand from other sites that this is a problem on vw's and Audi's.

This is the 2nd time I have had the front control arms go bad on my vehicle. If the control arms aren't replaced, it can cause failure of the front suspension and steering mechanisms. Both the front and back control arms were replaced and I do have the old parts.

I own a 2000 Volkswagen Passat. I was driving on a city street under normal conditions and the control arm on the front passenger side cracked causing me to loose control of the car. Fortunately I was able to stop without further incident. The control arm is being replaced. However, the incident could have been much worse under different driving circumstances.

I am having the known issue with the upper and lower control arms on my vw Passat. Volkswagen so far will only cover the lower control arms if they fail or appear damaged. Many other people are having problems with the upper control arms that are not covered. The steering tie rod ends also need to be replaced. These tie rod ends appear to be failing at a very high rate in vw Passats. I am having this replaced at a very high cost. Volkswagens must be too expensive to maintain. It was my mistake was taking this issue to a vw dealership. I assumed vw would be able to work with me.

I am the second owner of a Passat that had been driven 72000 miles. At that time the following defects were noted and had to be repaired: 1. Outer tie rod and cv boot. 2. Cooling system: all cooling hoses, oil cooler, water pump, radiator, & associated items. Vw of America refused to reimburse for the cost of these untimely repairs that were due in part to faulty information in the owners manual, that states that the cooling system was sealed and did not need any maintenance. These enormous and costly repairs at a mileage when comparable cars of other manufacturers need little or no repairs up to and way past 100,000 miles, are excessive in my opinion. (the first owner gets a warranty of 100,000 miles and 10 years, something that for the second owner is reduced to 50,000 miles/5 years. I wonder if the car is suddenly not as good anymore when somebody buys it from a previous owner?) consumer reports magazine lists repair records for engines and suspension systems of that year and model as being "worse than average," and I can see why. I would welcome to join others with similar experiences for a possible class action against vw.

Normal use of '99 vw Passat with an odometer reading of 99,650 lead to the failure of ront contorl arms and tie rod ends. Replacement control arm set with tie rods retails for $1,700. Purchased a set for $495 and an additional $198. 75 in labor.

Complete failure of steering control arms. Wheel shakes like it is going to fall off, this is a common problem with the Volkswagen Passat and vw will not warrant this issue or perform a recall. This is a very dangerous situation.

Upper control arms are failing and dangerous, which is leading to the tie rods failing. I am told the car is unsafe to drive. Vw quoted me $1100 to make my car safe to drive. I am puzzled that vw is unconcerned about life and safety issue for the owner and other drivers. I have seen many websites asking for owners to contact NHTSA about this issue.

I have a 2003 vw Passat sw. About a year after I bought it I noticed when it started to get cold in the winter the right front suspension would make noises as if something was grinding or broke in the suspension. I brought the car to victory vw in harrisburg, PA in the late fall/early winter of 03'. They ended up changing the control arms that time I believe. Well, this year when it started getting cold the noises came back. I have had the car in the same dealership twice to have the problem checked out. Both times the car has been in the shop the air temp has been too warm for the noises to be reproduced. I've looked around the internet on various vw blogs and found that there are others also having problems with their right front suspension as I am. I also found that some are having problems with front suspension in general. My dilemma is that this car is getting ready to go out of warranty in about a thousand miles and I don't feel it's my responsibility to fix this problem when it has been fixed by vw in the past and will probably need to be fixed again in the future. Any help you can give on this issue is appreciated.

1998 Passat both front control arms needed to be replaced due to defective.

All 8 control arms were replaced between 70000 and 74000 mile. .

Recall campaign 00414000 dealer notice too much play in upper control arms and tie rods. Recall campaign# 99v248000. The consumer was told that the VIN was outside of the VIN range. The second issue was with the output stage control module which was replaced due to the vehicle losing power and shuddering.