Wiring Problems of Volkswagen Passat - part 1

While changing the passenger-side low-beam bulb, I found wiring to all three bulb holders missing insulation, having exposed wires. Even the intact insulation is very brittle where the minimal movement of the wires, necessary to replace any of the bulbs, causes more insulation to break away from the bulb wiring. There is no wire wrap, electrical tape, nor heat shielding on any of the wires within the headlight assembly, like what I see elsewhere within the wiring loom under the hood. Whether the damage to the wires is initially from heat build-up within the housing or abrasion against any of several stamped metal pieces internal to the housing, the result is unsafe. If each light were individually fused, then the wire gauge used would be sufficient for a 55-watt (halogen) bulb. However, the wire gauge is not enough to survive any shorting of these wires, either directly against each other or through any metal within the housing, because it would have to pass enough current to blow the common fuse. Losing a light seems pale in comparison to the risk of an electrical fire under the hood. A quick google or youtube search reveals this persistent issue over many models and years of vw, Audi, and other manufacturers using similar hella or valeo lighting components. I have now experienced this on both headlights on my 08 touareg, which I completely rewired, and now on both sides of my 08 Passat. Volkswagen does not have any superceded part for the headlight assemblies, which means they have not fixed it. As opposed to buying a replacement housing (~$340 each) with the exact same specifications, I will rewire these housings with larger wire, heat-resistant shielding and loom wrap tape, just as I had to do on my touareg. Any others not so mechanically inclined are trapped with a poor design that hella, valeo, and vw have not resolved.

See all problems of the 2008 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Headlight wiring has lost all insulation, all wires are naked. High fire risk. I noticed this just now but seems to be like that for years and other have reported this problem on the web. Vw says common issue.

See all problems of the 2006 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Battery ground cable is marked red instead of black. The new battery was hooked up with the red to the positive battery terminal and blew the main fuse and ruined the amplifier to the sound system. The battery was stationary in sears roebuck shop as the battery was being replaced by a mechanic. The car is still in the shop so I have no pictures as yet. This could produce serious physical damage if the battery should blow up because of this wiring. Reported to vw on January 20, 2017.

See all problems of the 2012 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Fuel manifold under the back seat of the vehicle was cracked due to the wiring harness placement and pressure from occupants in the back seat caused the manifold to crack and spew fuel all over the electrical harness. Poor placement of the electrical harness for the fuel pump or poor engineering caused this manifold to crack. Very dangerous having fuel leaking out at a high volume onto the electrical connection to the fuel pump. Fire and or explosion danger!!!!.

See all problems of the 2010 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Passat. After the vehicle was serviced under a recall, it began to hesitate and the epc warning light illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the wiring and harness needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage and recall details were unknown.

Rodents are eating wiring in car due to soy plastics. This could result in car becoming nonoperational while driving, which could result in injury or death. The united states code for motor vehicle safety (title 49, chapter 301) defines motor vehicle safety as "the performance of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in a way that protects the public against unreasonable risk of accidents occurring because of the design, construction, or performance of a motor vehicle, and against unreasonable risk of death or injury in an accident, and includes nonoperational safety of a motor vehicle. " a defect includes "any defect in performance, construction, a component, or material of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment. " generally, a safety defect is defined as a problem that exists in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment that: poses an risk to motor vehicle safety and may exist in a group of vehicles of the same design or manufacture may exist in a group of items of equipment of the same type and manufacture. Please stop automakers from using plant based wiring immediately. Automakers are making millions of dollars replacing wiring. Get to work please, fix this problem!.

See all problems of the 2015 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

While driving on the highway in the rain the car would stall which caused us to have to pull to the side of the road. An engine code indicated a faulty part. The part was replaced, then the same issue occurred after a car wash. It was discovered that water had gotten into the wiring harness at an area at the base of the windshield and caused a short. In this area of the wiring harness there is a junction that we were told was not water proof or seal against water. This short damaged the electronic control module which made the car undriveable.

2014 Volkswagen Passat diesel. Ownership 1/1/2 yrs. Mileage 14,000. Driving to work could not go over 30mph. Dashboard light came on showing emission control monitor & pre glow. Thought it was due to colder weather. Had to be towed & at dealership now for repair. Complete breakdown. Vw mechanic stating there is major damage due to a rodent or squirell problem. Stated the wiring is chewed up even in the headlights. I am the only car owner in the parish and in the neighborhood with this problem?? have warranty but vw said this is not covered under warranty. Had to get rental car. Waiting for state farm insurance adjuster to go to dealership. Help! please send a NHTSA rep to investigate and look at vehicle.

See all problems of the 2014 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Started my car to warm it up, came out to drive it and the airbag light was on. Dealer turned it off twice before the wiring harness and airbag had to be replaced. This was a very costly repair and I feel it should've been Volkswagens bill, not mine as I did nothing to cause this and it was caused by poor craftsmanship, which I did not pay for.

See all problems of the 2007 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

I have noted when replacing front headlight bulbs that the plastic covering the headlight wiring was deteriorating on all the wires to the point that the wiring was coming in contact with other deteriorated wiring causing a short and failure of the front headlights. The problem appears to be a failure involving a type of plastic covering the internal headlight wires that attach to the bulbs that may be, or likely be failing due to heat causing premature failure of the headlight wires, the headlight bulbs and burned out headlight fuses due to the shorting out of the headlight wires.

See all problems of the 2005 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Headlamp wiring harness melts.

See all problems of the 2001 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

2002 vw Passat engine fire while driving. Shop said it looks like it started in the wiring harness. No injuries, vehicle total loss. One owner, well cared for. I purchased this vehicle new, intending to drive it a long time. Not a good investment.

See all problems of the 2002 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Electronic parking brake will not set or will not release. Problem is intermittent, but progressive, beginning with failure to set and culminating with failure to release, in one instance triggering master brake failure warning. Failure to set makes car illegal to drive and dangerous when parked as there is no back up system to set parking brake. Failure to release strands driver in possibly dangerous situations. Vw says in this instance only solution is to call for tow. Failures may at times be cleared by restarting engine, but progressively less successful. Car has been to dealer three times since problem arose. 3 days in June, 2 days in early July, and most recently 35 days and counting (since July 22). Dealer has replaced multiple modules multiple times, overlaid wiring, etc. Without solution. Despite a senior mechanic being placed on the job, no source of fault has been identified and by all appearance logical diagnostic work has ceased and haphazard parts replacement has begun, I. E. , "hope" is the only remaining corrective strategy. Dealer is sympathetic but of no benefit. Vw customer care contacted but promised follow up by them has not been made. As car can still be operated when electronic brake fails to set, this creates a possibly widespread public safety issue since car cannot be properly parked and must rely solely on transmission holding car.

Faulty wiring for tail lights, brake light, turn lights. Replaced fuse, replaced brake and tail light bulbs eight times, this correct the problem for one day. Bought new kit to replace old brake ,tail light , turning light. This worked for approx. Two months now nothing works.

I have had my 2001 vw Passat for 7 years now and have had it in the shop multiple issues including warped rotors (front and back), cracked chasse, electrical issues and various other problems. Before having this car, I had a Toyota for 8 years and in the 8 years I had the Toyota, I only had it in the shop for routine maintenance. This car is disappointing and everyone I talk to who has a similar model/year says the same thing. I think the 2001 vw Passat is a lemon.

Sun visor w/homelink causes #5 fuse to blow. Wires are shorting out inside the visor causing smoke. When fuse blows you loose climatronic ac, cruise control, auto dimming mirrors, and steering wheel controls.

See all problems of the 2004 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

2002 Volkswagen Passat, wagon, 4 cyl 2. 0 l motor. I had 2 occasions where the wiring harness shorted out on the front headlights, once on the driver's side at 75,000 miles, and once on the passenger's side at 40,000 miles. There was no fire, but in both incidents the wires had completely melted to the wiring harness where the headlights were attached. The wires were completely exposed in both incidents.

The 2004 Volkswagen Passat 1. 8 t car engine caught on fire today while driving the driver barely saved his life from the flames. The car would certainly burn completely if luckily there was no fire extinguisher available at the nearby stores. Although the incident was in istanbul, turkey I happened to learn from the internet that NHTSA was conducting an investigations on the same problem for 19 Volkswagen Passats. Volkswagen dealer in turkey told me that an engineer from Volkswagen germany will come to turkey to perform an inspection on the car. Nobody touched the car yet. Since the incident was today ant the car was still at the Volkswagen authorized dealer service. I thought this information might be usefull for your investigation, and would like to learn your suggestions that you may want to share with me. Please write to my e-mail adress in case you need detailed information or would like to get the photoes of the engine caught on fire. Thanks.

I own a volkswagon 2002 Passat wagon. I have replaced the coils at least 7 times . I replaced #4 two weeks ago, and #1 & 2 blew yesterday. I took it into livingston Volkswagen in woodland hills, CA. , and they told me I needed to have all four replaced, and,, I have complained to corporate, saying this was obviously a defect and was dangerous as the time before last. I was in the fast lane on the freeway, doing 65 mph and the car went from 65 mph to 25d mph in a 10 seconds! not dangerous?.

Failure of car to shut engine off when key switched to off. Intermittent problem. This problem could have lead to a fire in the event of a crash. Problem traced to short in wiring associated with driver's sun visor and 'vanity' lighting. The manufacturer was unable to solve problem. Technician found solution by chance.

The contact owns a 2002 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that his vehicle caught fire with flames rising approximately three feet above the hood. The fire and police departments arrived at the scene. A police report was filed. The fire was extinguished, however, the vehicle was destroyed. The contact has not spoken with the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 91,000. Updated 01-15-08. * bf the fire was due to an electrical short in the ground of an electrical harness. The wiring shorted out against the vehicle's steel cowl with temperatures high enough to weld the 12 gauge against the body panel . Updated.

2005 Passat air conditioner failure, blows cold air intermittently. Customer states that it blows cold air intermittently then will stop for no reason and blow ambient temperature air. ** the dealer replaced various parts within the ac unit, however the consumer continued to experience ac failure. The consumer believed there was a serious problem with the electrical system or the wiring harness. The consumer stated he replaced two tires due to extreme cupping.

I've spent over $8000 towards vw dealership attempts at fixing the horn, radio, homelink, climate control (a/c and heat) rear passenger side window, heated seats, dashboard panel lights, and defroster flap. Vw replaced abs and brake light module, but only fixed the horn. Vw stated they are not responsible even after I paid for them to fix the above problems and they are still unable to determine the cause of the problems. I request reimbursement from Volkswagen for the repair attempts and related expenses. Current vehicle mileage: 127,000.

See all problems of the 2003 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

I have had recurrent issues with my 2006 Passat. I just got the car back from the dealer after being at the dealer for repairs for 25 days, and I was trying to brake at the end of my street and the car did not brake. The pedal was very hard -- I could barely push it in with two feet. I activated the parking brake, and the car stopped -- thank god, I was only going 10 mph, but if I rolled into the intersection I could have been killed. When the car stopped, the check engine light came on, the engine began revving up and down and the headlights were flickering or surging and getting brighter and dimmer and brighter very rapidly. I turned on the interior lights to better view my dash, and the interior lights were surging/flickering as well. In one of my previous visits for dealer repairs, they told me they put in a brand new electrical system. How can this be happening again? this car is beyond repair. I believe I have a lemon and it is dangerous to continue driving this car. I cannot believe that after a 25-day stint in the dealer repair center it's still not working. This is the last of many trips to the dealer for repairs. Incidentally, while I bought the car new, I bought it after using it as a loaner when my 2006 jetta tdi was in the shop more than I drove it during my period of ownership. That car had some issues as well, so when I liked the Passat I decided to trade it in. I've only driven this Passat for less than 5,000 miles and it is terrible. My wife drives a 2006 jetta tdi (a different one) which runs great. How can only one of three cars purchased in less than a six month period function properly. This is seriously impacting my views of vw quality. I have trouble writing vw and the word quality in the same sentence. Thank god I didn't die tonight.

: the contact stated while driving various speeds, the instrument cluster panel lights illuminated. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who determined there was a short in the airbag wiring harness, and needed to be replaced. The airbag and harness were replaced, but the problem persisted. The manufacturer was alerted.

When it rains heavily, the air bag fault light and the mil come on. Water gets into the vehicle and shorts out the electronics. Fortunately the oct. 2005 repair was still under warranty. I was without the car for a week that time. I took the car in July 5th, 2006 for the same thing and have not seen the car yet (7/20/06). Each time the service person calls, I am told that there is more electrical damage. Now the transmission module also must be replaced for $800+. There is obviously a design flaw in the Passat. If you cannot keep the car in a garage, you should not purchase a vw Passat. The dealership is inundated with these cars whenever we experience heavy rain. I have placed numerous calls to vw, and have received no assistance. The response is that the vehicle is out of warranty. Too bad. The car has only 21,000 miles on it. The master cylinder also had to be replaced last year. Vw needs to do something about this design flaw.

This has happened to many people, and Volkswagen should own up to it. Water is getting into my car through something under the hood and soaking my carpets. It has fried my electrical system as well as many others. The comfort control module needs replacing as well as the corroded wires. The estimated cost is above $2000.

See all problems of the 1999 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Consumer has had three instrument clusters replaced in his 2001 Volkswagen Passat. According to the dealer and manufacturer this problem is rare and is likely a wiring problem. The manufacturer hasn't taken any steps to permanently fix the problem, instead they just keep replacing the instrument cluster.

Water leakage in 2002 Passat 1. 8t GLS. After rain, water seeped in through faulty pollen filter housing. Fried engine cluster. After being returned, water continued to seep in. It corroded electrical wires and caused many problems. After 5+ dealer visits, no one was able to fix it until I personally stripped all carpeting and found the faulty wire. Dealer had told me filter housing was susceptible to water leakage, and yet he did no fix it. . .

While driving at 30 mph and suddenly there was a jerking of the car as if the tire was flat. Pulled over , inspected the vehicle for a flat and none was found. Consumer got back into the vehicle and noticed the malfunction engine light was blinking. At this point consumer continued to drive down the service road of the highway of about 15 mph. There was a strong odor of something burning, no smoke was seen. This smell was like burned rubber. Consumer called Volkswagen, and they suggested that if the malfunction engine"light was blinking to shut off the engine immediately. After pulling over, consumer called tow truck. Tow truck arrived , inspected under the hood and discovered there was fire from underneath the engine itself. The tow truck driver tried to extinguish fire with water and later a fire extinguisher-this did not put the fire out. The fire department had to be called. ,in the meantime the fire grew larger. At that time, fire department came and put fire out. Fire crew noted this was most likely an electrical fire, perhaps due to the intensity of the heat from summer and a mix of electrical wiring started the fire. The car was then towed to an insurance company lot for further investigation. Currently, the consumer did not know why this h happened. The vehicle was regularly serviced and maintained. The vehicle had only 60,500 miles. The was the first problem experienced with this vehicle.

Burning of heat warming wire in driver's seat.

I have a brand new 2004 vw Passat tdi wagon that has no tail lights. Signals work, brake lights work but, license plate light and rear parking/driving lights don't work. Car has no burned out bulbs or fuses. My concern is if the car has wiring harness problems, is this something that others have happening. Also on a rainy day the anti lock brake and electronic stability program in the same car failed but, when the car was parked and restarted the computer reset and problem disappeared. Is this going to be a problem?.

Passenger original low beam light failed. Brought into dealer and problem was determined to be a melted wiring harness. I observed the harness behind the bulb and it was melted. Dealer replaced the harness. This was the original bulb and had never been serviced. Taking with the dealer he said they had replaced several in the past week in Passats and I had to wait a week until they got a new shipment in. My concern here is that a melted wire harness should not happen and could lead to a fire.

The brake light switch keeps failing. It causes the electronic stability control to be disabled and keeps the stop lights on, even when the brake pedal is not depressed. I've had the brake like switch replaced 6 times now over the past 2. 5 years.

While driving on interstate highway I observed smoke billowing in my rear view mirror. I pulled off highway and found a fire in engine compartment which I extingushed using an extingusher. The fire was caused when a plug at the rear of the engine fell out causing the engine oil to empty onto the exhaust system which caused the fire. The temperature at the time was well below zero. I was told the plug in the aluminum block engine was made of steel which heats and cools at different rates and appears to have caused the plug to fall out. The car was a total loss per my insurance and Volkswagen. The car is a 2003 vw Passat wagon glx 4-motion.