Problems with 1999 Volkswagen Passat SUSPENSION

Submission of complaint re vw of america feel he has been over charged for numerous & extensive repair bills for his 1999 vw passat. the consumer stated he is still experiencing problems with the front suspension. the front stabilizer was repaired and the lower control arm was repaired, however the problem recurred. the rear brake pads were worn. the front doors creaked when opened. *jb the cruise control was intermittent. the consumer requested assistance of all the matters. *sc *jb

The control arms on the front driver's side failed and the car collapsed to the ground on the driver's side. the repairs are costly. the dealership and volkswagen are not receptive to paying the repairs or a discount. *jb

Purchased my 1999 vw passat 1.8t wagon in august, 2002. it had apprx. 53,000 miles on it. by september, 2003, there was a significant squeaking, creaking, groaning noise coming from the front end. at that time, car had approximately. 75k miles. diagnosis was front end suspension parts including control arms, ball joints, bushings were dangerously worn and in need of replacement. vw dealership provided me with a copy of technical service bulletin issued by volkswagen of america dated may 31, 2001. it calls for installation of parts in repair kit no 3bo498 798a. because of existence of the tech service bulletin for this problem, my extended warranty company (wynn's warranties) refuses to pay for repairs. repairs still needed to tune of $1100. front end is now so loose for safety reasons i will have to make repairs immediately at my own expense. *jb

Electrical problems from the start, melting of plastic, lights in the car working sporadically at best. oil, drain, oil pump, camshaft,all blamed on lack of verifiable oil changes. timing belt - let go on highway at 85000 miles (warranty for 1999 passat, 100,000 miles) blamed on oil changes. 82 days in shop steering goes during this time and i'm told i need an altenator [ 3rd one ] the story goes on and on......

The vehicle experienced a constant groaning and squeaking in the front end suspension when driving at low speeds. the dealer said the lower control arm needed to be replaced. the dealer indicated that this was not a safety problem. *ak *nlm

Lower control arm failure. vehicle purchased from vw as certified like new with warranty to second owner. vehicle had approx 30000 miles at purchase. now has 67k miles. appears to fit pattern relative to defective - should be recalled issue in which these parts fail every 30k miles. as noted on other incidents, no other vehicle exhibits this type of failure making this unique to vw and audi. therefore more indicitave of factory defect and creation of hazardous driving situation. *ak

The front end is "creaky." there is considerable noise, usually when turning. i suspect that the bushings in the multi-link front suspension are worn. i received an estimate from the dealer on 7/18/2003 of $1020 to fix it. i chose not to fix it at that time. over the past year i have heard numerous stories of passat and audi a4s that have this same problem so i want to add another complaint to the file. *jb

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

Front control arms. *ak

Started to feel and hear a thumping, and creaking from my suspension. took vehicle to a vw dealer and they said that i needed to have both upper control arms replaced on the left front of my passat. i called vwoa and they said that they were not going to help pay for it b/c it is considered a wear item. a 99 passat w/ less than 50k miles! and they consider that wear?!? from what i have researched, i am far from the only person that this is happening to. now i have to dish out $500 easy to get it fixed. buy another vw? not on your life. vw has been hearing the complaints about this situation for years now and still will not help. i would hate to see something tragic to someone just for them to fess up. *nlm

While driving at 65mph suddenly vehicle start shaking/ lost power, never went over 40mph. *ak

Control arms and ball joints need to be replaced with only 43000 miles on the vehicle. volkswagen went by recommendation of dealer not to help with the cost of repair. *ak

1999 vw passat requires replacement of front suspension control arms at 64.8k miles. symptoms reported initially at 3 years/49k miles. appears to be related to service bulletin 400101. problem well known among passat/audi owners. dealer asking $1200 for repair. vwoa declines to help, stating that suspension is "2 year 24k mile component". mileage, existence of service bulletin, and widespread experience with this problem suggest that this is a defective component and should be at least partially covered by vwoa. *nlm

Front control arm failure. *jb

1999 vw passat. front suspension problems. refer to tsb 4001-01. i brought my 1999 passat to the dealer regarding a noisy front suspension problem and informed them of a tsb on the vehicle. i was informed that vw provides a repair kit for this problem that requires the replacement of the lower control arm assembly. which includes the defective ball joints (both sides). the dealer informed me that vw will not cover the repair and that the cost to me would be $875.00. spoke with vw representatives on april 2 and was given a decision on 4/9 that they would not assist with the cost in any way since "this could also be caused by normal wear and tear". this assertion, in my opinion is bogus since a. vw knows there is a problem, hence the tsb. provide a "kit" to repair the defect. the case number is 30164333. suspensions should not be falling apart on a 3 year old vehicle with 50,000 miles on it. and the cost ($875) is quite excessive. the noise started showing up in early january of 2003. *nlm

Driver's side lower control arm (front suspension) bushing/link has worn out at only 62k miles, a common problem on vw passat and audi a4 w/quadralink front suspension, unheard of on other vehicles. this is a potential safety issue. there ought to be a recall. this car has 8 control arms in total. the premature failure of these parts is by now well known, quite expensive, and potentially hazardous, not to mention inconvenient to vw customers. vw has done very little to address this potential safety issue. the only recourse is to pay exorbitant sums, repeatedly, over time to replace the defective parts with equally defective parts which also fail prematurely; there is no permanent solution to this problem. there needs to be a recall or at the very least vw should be fixing these cars for free each time, no questions asked.

I am experiencing a creaking sound coming from the lower control arm bushings on both sides of the vehicle. from the nhtsa site, i have now learned that failed lower control arms and bushings are a common problem in the passat. the vehicle was just purchased "certified" used from vw four months ago with 34,000 miles. i returned the car to the dealer, who said that the lower control arm bushings were "just dry from road salt", and proceeded to hose the bushings down with an aerosol can of lubricant. he said that if this did not eliminate the noise (it didn't) then i might wish to return in a week or so for them to investigate further. it is obvious from the other complaints i have read what the problem is. if this vehicle's lower control arms fail as frequently as other owners on this site have indicated, with the only warning being a dull creaking noise, it is conceivable that most ordinary drivers would never have the problem investigated. those that do would find that the repair is extensive and expensive. it is likely that some of these may choose to delay or neglect the situation. both scenarios pose a unique and serious safety threat to the operators and occupants of the vw passat. there are tens of thousands of these vehicles on the road, and all apparently share in what is an obvious design flaw that creeps up every 25 to 40 thousand miles in spite of very expensive replacement. failure of a lower control arm could easily cause a crash. vw should do the right thing by acknowledging this engineering failure and voluntarily recall these vehicles immediately for the safety and well being of its customers. *nlm

While merging off the highway, a loud noise came from the left front of the vehicle. the vehicle was driven to the dealership. the left lower control linkage had broke. the dealership replaced the part. the failure has recurred 3 additional time on the other control arms. *jb

Creaking noise eminating from passenger side lower control arm bushing over low speed bumps. can be reproduced by manually compressing front suspension while vehicle is parked. dealer says vw doesn't consider failure of front control arm bushings to be a safety issue.

Creaking/squeaking noise from front-right (passenger) side of front control arms. dealer indicated need of replacing control arms for wear. vehicle manufactured in 99 with 92414 miles, mostly highway miles, does not give a reason for these to fail as most cars have control arms to last a lifetime of a vehicle hence failing at the car's current condition should not be acceptable.

Control arm on left front wheel has begun creaking very loudly and i have been told it is about to fail. on most cars the control arms are built to last the life of the car, so at only 60,000 miles this is definitely a problem. upon doing some research, it appears this is very common in recent model volkswagen passats, and that a recall has already been issued in germany where they have stricter automotive regulations. also, the part was re-engineered for 2001 model passats, indicating volkswagen is well aware of the problem. if this part is failing on basically all 98-2000 model year volkswagen passats, it seems like only a matter of time until a catastrophic failure causes an accident, unless a recall is issued in the united states. please keep me informed on any possible recall information. thanks. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Front suspension begins squeaking due to failure of ball joints which are integral with the lower control arm. this defect requires replacement of the entire arm. i've learned this is a common problem for 99 passats. it is unheard of for these types of components to fail so early before 50,000 miles but they do on these passats.*ak

Sypmtoms are creaking, groaning from front suspension

While driving there's a squeaking and popping noise coming from under side of vehicle when going over bumps in road. took vehicle to mechanic, and they replaced three control arms. a short time later popping started again, and consumer needed a fourth control arm. consumer contacted dealer, and they stated vehicle was not under any recall. currently, all eight control arms have been replaced.*ak

Left and right control arms are worn and need to be replaced-common problem with 1999 vw. *ak

Front end knocking started at 35,000 worse when turning. brought to dealer front right and left lower control arms needed to be replaced not certain of saftey risk if problem left unfixed. dt

right lower control arm sheared off wheel attachment, resulting in loss of control and crash.*ak

Have contacted vw customer service and requested for coverage since this is quite a common problem on passat. however, vw refused to cover, not even half the cost! other passat owners have at least got all parts covered by vw! the total cost sum up with up to $1000. the main problem happening is basically i heard consistent clunking noise when turning under low speed, going over a bump, and occasional braking. according to what i have heard, this is called the "lower control arm failure" and there's a bulletin in vw that this is recognized as a problem and service providers are infomed to install particular components to fix the problem. i think this is quite a critical part for the car as we don't want the car to lose control expecially turning. and the most thing that pissed me off is that vwoa refused to cover some costs! i know at least an owner got it all covered by contacting vwoa! the first noticing of the noise was at around 40000 miles but sunnyvale vw referred that this is a noise coming out from the engine pump which is leaking at that time. noise of course didn't resolve and i didn't even bother to ask as they can't detect it. hopefully, i can get some help from nhtsa. thanks

Increasing "grinding" sound and increased "play" and movement in front suspension caused by failing control arm bushings-diagnosed by dealer (stated it was a known and common problem). 2nd. vw passat with same problem ('98 model and '99 model) repair partially covered by vw on '98 model outside of original warranty. concerned about safety as bushings continue to wear.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Bushing failure on all 4 front lower control arms. these bushings gradually became loose and began squeaking, accompanied by clunking over low-speed bumps. this is a common problem on these cars. vw has refused to officially acknowledge the defect and do a recall, even though they are paying for part of the costs for some people's repairs and they have redesigned the bushings in question. furthermore, the relatively inexpensive bushings can be replaced without replacing the entire control arm, but dealerships refuse to do that, instead to force most customers to pay for the much more expensive control arm assembly. these bushing failures pose a danger if they fail severely enough. the only reason they aren't causing wrecks is that the failure is gradual and most owners replace them before the bushings get too bad. but this is still a safety issue and the repair is hardly optional. dt

While driving a grinding sound would come from front wheels whenever vehicle ran over a slight bumps or potholes. dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. feel free to provide any further information concerning this matter.*ak

The controle arm bushings are bad on my car and started to go at 5500. this should not happen on a car this new, and dealer service person said so too. volkswagen will not pay for this since it is out of the warranty. i did a search on the internet and found many passat owners experiencing the same problem with the control arms. there must be a way to make vw owe up to the problem.*ak

1) coolant temp. sensor failed at @47422 miles 2) chaplins checked car because i reported noise in front wheel area. they said both front wheel bearings needed replacing and refused to cover the costs. i took it to an independant vw specialist and was told only the right front wheel bearing was bad. cost was $466.79. vw still refused to assist. 2 independant vw specialists reported vw has a "bad wheel bearing design". 3) replaced original tires with exact brand and style of tire that was originsal to car. tires felt odd, i had them checked by 2 tire retailers and did own pressure checks twice monthly. after 15,804 miles on tires left rear tread separated from sidewall while driving on freeway at 70mph.*ak

Lower front control arms have failed in less then 30,000 miles. a loss of control of the car is possible.*ak

Suspension control arms deteriorating. common issue. bushings drying out and disintegrating. symptoms include creaking and clunking at low speeds. vw is starting to pay 50% for some people with this issue, but no more.

Clunking in front end going over imperfections in road at low speed. seems like possible control arm failure.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

I have knowledge of these parts failing on at least 100 vw passats 1998-2001. i'm sure there are more. there should definitely be a recall or redesign parts made and substituted.*ak

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.

Being a member of a vw passat forum, i know many other owners with the same failure. no safety defect. *ak

Consumer went to the dealership due to steering/suspension alignment problems, the dealership performed recall service without proper authorization which cost the consumer additional money and repair work, consumer is very unsatisfied with the performance of the dealership while repairing vehicle and request assistance. *mjs

Known issue with vwoa, also happens on audi a4/a6. vw refuses to repair problem, but they have a repair kit for the caontrol arms, bushings and ball-joints

When coming down a hill or stopping hard sounds like front of car is going to collapse.*ak

Consumer has multiple problems with vehicle. received recall 00v414000 for tie rods. vehicle would shake and make noises at times. also, supension was squeaking enough to take vehicle to dealer. lower and upper control arms and tie rods had to be replaced. consumer had a foreign automobile shop to verify problem. it was unbelievable that a 2 year old vehicle would have this problem. consumer was responsible for $1400.00 to repair it. dealer has no explanation why it was like this.*ak

Vehicle was making a funny noise, and consumer took vehicle to dealer. they said that upper and lower ball joints would need replacing. consumer felt ball joints were wearing out too fast and feared that a wheel may fall off as a result of control arm.*ak

While driving at slow speed consumer heard a knocking sound from front. dealer found links that hold swaybar in place had worn out. *ak