Front Suspension Upper Arm Problems of Volkswagen Passat

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.

See all problems of the 2001 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

All 4 upper control arms failed at 62,500 miles. Oem control arms are unfit for purpose as designed and should be recalled by vwoa.

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.

See all problems of the 1999 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Car clunked and rattled over small bumps, and felt floaty and wandering at highway speeds. Dealer reported that upper front control arms were bad. Said this is a very common problem with vws and Audi's.

Had a creaking sound in the front end of my 1998 vw Passat 1. 8t. Took it in to the dealer and was told the left front upper control arm tie rods were bad (and dangerous) and had to be replaced at my cost. Did this and 6 weeks later the upper control arm on the right front side failed while driving and caused me to have an accident. Dealer "fixed" this problem at no charge and now 4 months later the same sound is back and now the dealer tells me that the majority of the front suspension must be replaced and expects me to pay for it.

See all problems of the 1998 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

I have owned this vehicle for a little over a year. During this time this Passat has had several suspension problems. The upper control arms have been pointed out as a problem by various service centers and vw. The control arms have been replaced twice and the Passat has again developed a loud squeaking noise from the front end of the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2000 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

I own a 2001 Volkswagen Passat station wagen and have had nothing but trouble with it since I bought it. I had to replace the engine due sludge and Volkswagen of America would not reimburse me because I was missing one oil change receipt the lights keep coming on in the car telling me I have engine problems once again, and I bring it in for regular repairs and check ups. Currently the suspension part of the car has gone and that will cost another $2000 on top of the $7000 I already put into it. That does not include new tires and other things that have gone wrong with this idiot car. Volkswagen does not stand by its customers at all and I will never ever buy from them again and will tell people I know the car is a piece of crap. The place I bring in my car to for repair already knows that. Do not bring it into a Volkswagen repair place to have it fixed> they are the biggest ripp offs and so totally dishonest!!!! I bought the car from jack daniels in fairlawn, NJ and have had it repaired at trend motors, in denville, NJ.

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.

Upper control arm bushings (4 upper control arms, 2 per side) are torn and suspension has play coupled with loose steering resulting in noise.

Upper left control arm bushing failure at 35,000 miles. Needs replacing.

Recall for lower control arms only even though in most cases the upper control arm needs replacements. . Read more...

(1) driving on expressway at normal highway speed while rounding curve car made a loud snapping noise and began swervinguncontrolably to the right. (2) car came to rest half on and half off of the highway, lane had to be closed and traffic jam resulted. (3) dealer said right front and rear upper control arms failed. Parts must be replaced.

While driving 5 mph, the upper control arm snapped. This caused the consumer to lose steering control. The consumer managed to pull over and had the vehicle towed. The dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. Please provide more information.

Front suspension control arm bushings on 2001 (b5) Passat model are defective and fail prematurely at 30,000-50,000 miles. Failure is systemic and widespread. Failure of front control arm bushings can lead to the loss of vehicle control causing an accident, injury, and possibly death. Investigation on the internet has shown this problem to be widespread both in europe and the us, yet vw has not taken any ownership of this serious product defect. Corrective action being taken is to install aftermarket components that have been strengthened to eliminate the defect and are manufactured by meyle of germany. As this model ages, the defect problem will increase.

Front upper control arm disintegrated . As a result the wheels become loose.

The upper and lower control arms on both sides of the front of the vehical are failing. The dealer said that it was very odd to see these items faling at only 67,000 miles. If they were to completely fail it woud cause the driver to lose control of the vehical. This same failure has occured on a number of other vehicals of the same model.

1998 vw Passat: heard loud clanking noises especially when turning vehicle. Reported to vw service department local dealership. Advised the the upper control arm joint is worn and need replacement. Further, both left and right tie rods are totally shot and need replacing. Checked and found that the tie rod problem was recalled by NHTSA Sep. 1999 (99v-248) but that my vehicle was not included in recall. Do not know why as the problem described is the same. Additionally, numerous complaints about the control arms have been noted on this site, yet vw of America, who advised me are aware and sensitive to the problem, refused assistance in repairing the vehicle. Also the recalled tie rods replacement was refused to be fixed by them. Please follow up and investigate vw of America for these very important safety issues since I was told that they can cause serious driver accidents. I am also wondering why the brake rotors needed replacement when new brakes were installed. Do not trust vw to be a safe vehicle at this time.

Despite light use of the vehicle, both the upper and lower control arms on our 2001 vw Passat wagon have failed and required replacement. Although the company recognized a defect with the lower control arms and replaced them at its expense, we were charged $600 by the dealer to replace the upper control arms -- even though the vehicle had fewer than 25,000 miles at the time.

As a result of a persistent rattling in the front right end of my 4 cyl. 1999 vw Passat, I took my car in for investigation. I have been advised by two independent repair shops that both upper control arms on both sides of the car as well as the tie rod ends must be replaced to the tune of $1200. If they are not replaced, I have been advised that one could break and I would have no steering. Obviously at a high rate of speed this could be dangerous or deadly. I have spoken with vw and even though they acknowledge issuing a TSB on this defect, they refuse to cover its repair. This is a safety issue that must be addressed sooner rather than later. Thank you for any help you can provide in this area.

Upper control arm problem---when turning steering wheel left or right around a curve would hear a rattling noise. My mechanic said both upper control arms needed to be replaced. Car has 53000 miles on it. Repair cost me $1000. 00. I have the bill specifying the parts that were replaced along with part numbers.

I purchased a pre-owned 1998 vw Passat sedan with 36,000 miles on it in 2002 which was a great deal!! or so I thought. Since that time I have started hearing a noise coming from the front right tire. . Or suspension . . Like a creaking, crunching, knocking noise. I took it to a vw dealership and was told that the control arms on the right and the tie rods needed to be replaced. I found out that the tie rods had been recalled and the ones on my vehicle had been replaced under that recall in 2001, but had again worn out. I find it hard to believe that tie rods would wear out over a 3 year period since the car barely has 70,000 miles on it. I have viewed this website and found over 200 complaints concerning this problem and am curious what vw plans to do. . Wait until someone dies when a control arm snaps? vw needs to recall this item now!.

The control arms in the 1999, 2000, and 2001 Volkswagen Passats are defective. According to the dealership if these are not repaired one can lose steering control. The upper control arms in my 1999 Passat had to be replaced in November 2003 and now the lower control arms need to be replaced. The dealership indicates that this problem is common in 1999, 2000, and 2001 Passats, and I have spoken with other owners who are having the same problem. This safety hazard warrants a recall on these vehicles.

Both control arms failed on 1999 Passat glx @ 60000 miles on left and right side of the car. Repair covered by vw extended warranty to the tune of $689 per side of the vehicle, but these control arms should not be failing! steering, control, and tire wear suffer serious impairment as a result of these failures.

Upper control arm on both sides worn out. I noticed this when I started to hear squeaking sounds when I would make tight turns from left to right and vice versa. Had to have them both replaced.

Upper control arms on both sides are worn out. Tie rods are worn out on both sides. Catalytic converters needed replaced. I paid for the tie rods, warranty covered converters, and I have not had the upper control arms replaced. Oil leaks on engine. Interior lights do not activate when drivers door is opened.

The vehicle made a loud noise. The dealer stated it was the control arm bushings.

Upper and lower front suspension control arm bushing failure. (left and right).

Front control arms.

When turning wheel there was noise at the front of vehicle, dealer determined that the bushings needed to be replaced. . Consumer states he replaced the tie rod end.

Upper control arm bushings ripped causing future failure of front suspension leading to possible death or injury if traveling at any speed. Brand new car with only 25000 miles should not have major problem like this. Please contact manufacturer and issue recall based on possible future deaths and/or injuries resulting from this malfunction.

Twice, with less than 50,000 miles on my 1999 Passat, both upper control arms have failed. I have spoken to numerous Audi a4 and vw Passat owners who have experienced the same failures. The cost to repair the control arms is in excess of $1200 and vw has done nothing to remedy this problem. The dealerships have been absolutely pitiful to deal with and have no reasonable explanations as to why these parts are failing. Please do something about this. In a car that costs over $25,000 this is unacceptable.

The authorized vw dealer was aware of the problem on 03/23/2001 and recommended 2 upper control arms be replaced. I contacted vw with this information during this time (vw case case# 10272316). Instead of repairing the upper control arms vw replaced the lower control arms. The car is still in need of upper control arms and vw will not cover it.

Front suspension is making crunching noises, esp. At lower speed. The right steering control arm was changed under warranty and squeeking noises dissappeared, but still very noisy when driving at low speed. Car was serviced by an authorized vw service station, but different from dealership.

Control arm's of '1998-'2000 Passats are failure prone much earlier then the norm for passaneger automobiles. (a fact they recognized by a redesign of the control arms on '2001 and up Passat's. I purchased my car in 7/99. I drive 70 miles a day, mostly freeway, which as all know is actually very easy on an automobile. Yet with-in 2 years (40k) my front suspension was showing signs of premature wear. I get many "creaks" and "clunks" that are easy to hear at low speeds. . Read more...