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2000 Volkswagen Passat Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 507 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000 Volkswagen Passat, most often about the brakes (38% of complaints, typically around 72,000 miles). It is 6th of 23 Passat model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2000 Volkswagen Passat problems
Brakes
193 complaints · 38%Half of these problems showed up before 72,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, antilock, foundation components, power assist.
Abs control unit and pump failure on vw Passat 2000 @ 72k miles. This is not a standard failure in my mind. The car has never been in an accident and it just occured. Should be a recall item from vw.
Abs control unit failing - usually in warm weather after 15-20 min of driving the ABS and brake light come on on the dash and a message saying stop/brake fault is displayed. The fault may go away after some time or stay. My guess is ABS is disabled when this happens. Dealer suggests replacing the ABS unit at a cost of…
Engine
101 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 63,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
The car was making a funny noise and then the engine stopped. We had it towed to minuteman vw in bedford, ma and they said that the oil pump had failed and that both the oil pump and the engine would have to be replaced at a cost of $6,320.00. The 2000 Passat has 60,586 miles on it and had been in for service at…
My check engine light comes on every 2 weeks, my transmission is jerking when gearing down. This is a new car and it should be more dependable. They reset my light and then we start over because it always comes back on.
Fuel system
46 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage, fuel injection system, delivery.
Apparently the fuel injectors in my 2000 vw Passat wagon 4motion are defective. The car has 63,000 miles. Starting and idling problems LED to the discovery of excess carbon build-up in the valves and the failure of the combination valve. This valve cost me about $400 to replace. Vw says the fuel injectors should be…
Previously repaired fuel leak has recurred, ~18 months later. Leak can be seen when vehicle has been sitting for several hours and is then backed out of garage down inclined driveway. Fuel is leaking from passenger rear wheel area.
Electrical
43 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, 12v/24v/48v battery, wiring, alternator/generator/regulator.
2000 vw Passat- when you try to lock the drivers side door it will not lock with the door control unless you open all the doors and then push the lock button. This does not concern me as much as when you push the unlock button and open the drivers door and close it beind you. The door will lock you in and the panic…
Tl contact owns a 2000 Volkswagen Passat. While driving 60 MPH the vehicle hesitated and there was a loss of power. He noticed smoke coming from the hood. Approximately five minutes later he noticed fire in the engine compartment. The dealer has not been inspected the vehicle to determine the cause of the fire. There…
Suspension
36 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: front.
Control arm failure leading to suspension breakdown. Second occurrence in 60000 miles. First owner. Not happy about vw's inability to claim fault for problem.
Steering was making a funny noise - broght car in for service was told it was unsafe to drive it home. Had to replace all control arms (4) dealer said this was common on this vehicle. Car had 60,000 miles on it. These items should not fail so soon - cost $1600 to repair.
Visibility and wipers
26 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 80,500 miles. Parts named most often: power window devices and controls, defroster/defogger/hvac system, sun/moon roof assembly, windshield.
2000 Passat - 82000 miles - front right power window - regulator failed allowing window to drop into door. Technician found plastic part which rides in track broken and pieces in door. Vw has similar problem in mulitple vehicles. Extended warranty issued to cover repair on other vehicles but not on Passat.
There were no events leading up to this incident. The heater core broke on my 2000 Volkswagen Passat. When this happened white smoke was emitting into the passenger compartment causing a film on the windshield. This caused a fog on the windows reducing my visibility severely causing me to have to pull over quickly.…
Steering
25 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 51,000 miles. Parts named most often: linkages, gear box (other than rack and pinion), rack and pinion.
(2000 vw Passat) mechanic indicated excessive tie-rod-end wear due to seal failure -- identical to failure subject to recall in 1999 model. Vw was notified on 7/7/2003 and declined to take responsibility for the repair.
The cv boot cover has failed on both cv joints. This allowed grease from the cv joints to sling onto the front brake rotors, causing the brakes to operate with much less stopping power. The cv joints are now damaged and need to be replaced. This repair is not covered under warranty.
Transmission
19 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 49,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, axle assembly, clutch assembly, driveline.
I have a vw Passat 4-motion wagon tiptronic that exhibits the problem of refusing the downshift from second into first at slow speeds when the accelerator is pushed firmly. Then, the engine races wildly for an instant and then "bangs" into gear. The dealer acknowledges the problem, but thus far there's no fix for it.…
While driving between 5 to 10 MPH and with out any warning the driver and passenger cv-joint broke. As a result the front suspension fell off. Manufacturer stated so what there is no big deal. Dealer replaced both cv-joint.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2000 Volkswagen Passat recalls
Fuel system: delivery
Risk: A heat shield that may contact the exhaust system can result in a vehicle fire. In addition, a fuel leak from a fuel line or fuel tank ventilation valve, in the presence of an ignition source, can lead to a vehicle fire.
Fix: Dealers will install additional underbody heat shields on vehicles with automatic transmissions to cover the possibly damaged areas and flash all 1.8t engines with a precautionary software update. Dealers will also inspect and adjust the fuel line routing on 1.8t vehicles and the fuel tank ventilation valve on 4motion/all wheel drive vehicles, and replace components if necessary free of charge. The recall began on june 13, 2008. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen is recalling 412,000 my 1999-2005 passat (5th generation) vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions and produced after june 14, 1999. These vehicles may have an underbody heat shield that can become damaged. In addition, affected vehicles with automatic or manual transmissions may have a fuel line (1.8t engines only) or fuel tank ventilation valve (4motion/all wheel drive only) that can leak due to fracture.
Fuel system: filler pipe and cap
Risk: Fuel leakage can occur increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will fit passat vehicles with a new wheel house liner that will better protect the car's filler neck. Jetta vehicles will be fitted with a different metal shield designed to enhance abrasion protection in the event of tire disintegration. Owner notification began june 13, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
On some passenger vehicles, the fuel tank filler neck can suffer abrasion damage if the rear tire goes flat and the vehicle is driven until the tire disintegrates.
Fuel system: tank assembly
Risk: Running out of fuel without warning while the fuel gauge indicates that there is sufficient fuel in the tank lead to safety problems.
Fix: Dealers will remove the existing fuel level sending units and replace them with fuel level sending units using a new alloy composed of gold, silver, and a small amount of nickel, which will not chemically react with sulfur. Vw/audi will also call back vehicles that were repaired under a previous recall last june in order to install the updated fuel sending units NHTSA 00v137/audi lb). Owner notification began may 1, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact audi at 1-866
Full defect summary
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Sulfur in fuel interacts with certain additives found in widely available gasoline causing sulfur to become deposited on the contact points of three fuel sending units mounted inside the fuel tank. This could cause the fuel gauge to read full while the fuel tank may not in fact be full or could be empty.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Passenger engine compartment fires
Summary
The manufacturer notified NHTSA on 04-apr-08 that a safety recall action would be initiated to remedy the issue.in june 2008, the manufacturer issued a technical service bulletin (code 26e5/r5) regarding the specific procedures to be employed in this campaign.vehicle owner notification letters were sent beginning approximately june 13, 2008.the campaign was assigned NHTSA no. 08v-156.this recall affects all my 1999-2005, 5th generation gasoline-powered passat sedans and station wagons.approximately 412,000 vehicles are affected.corrective action will consist of installing additional exhaust system heat shielding to mitigate the potential thermal effects of engine ignition problems.based on t
Passenger/engine compartment fires
Summary
Many of the fire reports allege that the vehicle fire was attributed to ignition coil failure.vw provided additional data regarding its analysis of vehicle fires and a detailed description of the three different engines and ignition systems for the subject vehicles.odifinds the need to further investigate this issue.to facilitate acquisition and analysis of additional information, this investigationhas been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea07-014).
Engine stalling
Summary
By letter received on june 24, 2005, mr. Ronald m. Strickland of raleigh, nc, submitted a petition requesting that the agency investigate the performance of the ignition coil plugs on model year (my) 2000-2003 volkswagen jetta, golf and passat sedans.the petitioner alleges that he had experienced multiple stalling events as a result of one or more ignition coil plugs malfunctioning on his 2002 vw jetta sedan.as a result of the engine stalling, the petitioner experienced a loss of power steering and increased braking efforts when he pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road to control the vehicle.after a few minutes parked on the shoulder he was able to restart the vehicle although the
Passenger air bag lid failure
Summary
This investigation involves the volkswagen (vw) passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (psir) lid utilized in my 1998-2002 vw passat.the psir lid may detach from the instrument panel during air bag deployment.the office of defects investigation (odi) of the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) opened the preliminary evaluation on may 23, 2003 to determine whether alleged psir lid detachment presents an unreasonable safety risk to passengers in the vehicle.odi?s investigation reveals that detachment of the psir lid during air bag deployment may occur for two reasons: 1) the shape of the psir lid, and the length of the attaching tether, may snag the air bag during deploy
Passenger sir door mounting stud failure
Summary
Odi opened a preliminary evaluation (pe03-021) based on two reports of failed bolt studs that attach the passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (psir) door cover to the instrument panel (ip) on the volkswagen (vw) passat (model years 2000, 2002).vw has indicated to odi that it has no additional reports.vw implemented a process change on march 1, 2002.this process change consisted of changing the bolt application that fastens the psir door to the ip from a weld on application to a press on application.vw also changed the material of the bolt.vw stated that the changes were made to ease production by eliminating a welding process.odi has upgraded its investigation to engineering analysis
Fuel tank puncture
Fuel tank puncture
Summary
The office of defects investigation opened this investigation on august 10, 2000 based on 9 reports regarding punctured fuel tanks involving the jetta, passat, and cabrio models.the reports indicate additional reports in its response to the preliminary evaluation.this investigation has been upgraded for further study.
Questions about the 2000 Volkswagen Passat
- What are the most common problems with the 2000 Volkswagen Passat?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: brakes (193 complaints, typically around 72,000 miles); engine (101 complaints, typically around 63,000 miles); fuel system (46 complaints, typically around 65,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2000 Volkswagen Passat have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 7, 2008 (fuel system). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2000 a bad year for the Volkswagen Passat?
- It is 6th of 23 Passat model years by number of complaints, with 507 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.