We have classified the 30 complaints from 2001 Volkswagen Passat about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM into the following categories.
Failure of ignition coil pack. very rough idle, loss of power, stalling. car is at dealership over 2 weeks still awaiting parts to repair. no definitive time schedule given by dealer or vw of america as to when parts will become available and repair can be made.
Failed coil pack
No summary. dt
Consumer states that water got into the electrical system, as a result of the manufacturer failing to seal the fresh air filter at time off vehicle being manfacture. which cause smoke to come from the interior vent inside the vehicle. almost causing a fire. ts
Since 10/15/02, i have had 3 coil packs fail on my 2001 passat 1.8t wagon. on 10/15/02 a coil pack failed and they replaced it that day. on 12/16/02, another coil pack failed and i didn't get the car back until 12/30/02. on 1/8/03, a third coil pack failed, and i didn't get the car back until 1/20/03. in each case, the car dropped dead within 2 miles of a dealership. at this point, i don't want to take the car beyond the 5 miles it takes me to get to work. i've spoken with vw north america about replacing the fourth (and final) coil pack, but they are unwilling to do so until it, too, fails. the car is still under warranty, but that will expire in another 1000 miles.
Consumer has had four recurring ignition switch problems.
Car died while driving on 55 mph road. starter worked and engine would turn, but would not run. dealer found no codes in computer. engine and horn fuses blown and dealer replaced horn relay. i asked the dealer why there were no codes in the computer and they didn't know the answer. they would not replace the computer. car was in the shop for 7 days. incident happened over 100 miles from home and dealer finally authorized loaner after 2 days. dealer was very rude during the whole incident and construction made it difficult to communicate. phone lines were disconnected part of the time.
While driving the vehicle one night both front headlights burned out without warning. *nlm both of the head light wiring harness' failed and caused multiple head light failures. the consumer had to pay for 3 of the 4 failures out of pocket. *scc *nlm
A check of the volkswagen forum shows this is a common occurrence. *ak
Re coil packs. vw has supplied the cars with defective coil packs that can fail without warnihg at any time.i had one failed at 18000 miles. the other three can fail at any time. can't take the car on long trips without taking a chance of a coil pack failure.don't know what would happen at highway speeds if there was a failure. vw needs to recall the cars and replace these defective parts. and if you are unlucky enough to have a failure you can wait for parts for months and in turn not have anything to drive.
One of the four coilpacks on my 1.8t engine has failed. it has been brought to my attention that this is a very common problem. i was told that vw has redesigned the part. vw will only replace the part that failed. once the part fails the car is not drivable. vw should recall all of the passats with this engine and replace the faulty parts.
Dashboard lights - flicker - turn off and turn on while driving. *tr
This vehicle has broken down 4 times within 11 months with the same problem. the car lost all power and the epc light came on. each time it needed to be towed to the dealer. the dealer keeps claiming they fixed it, but after 4 times i no longer feel safe in this car. i am pursuing the lemon law currently. i commute a very windy highway for work and should the car break down with the problem again i could be killed. 4 times is too many for the dealer to say it's fixed. i have no confidence that this car is really fixed. they have fixed the electronic control unit 2x, the pedal 3x, and then the entire wiring harnes once. since they keep replacing the same parts over and over i have no way of really knowing that the problem will not occur again.*ak
Vehicle caught on fire because of electrical system in engine. no prior warnings . contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to do anything.*ak
Consumer stated the rear brake light was out, dealer replaced a bad bulb, also the headlights were shining low, dealer stated the headlights were out of range.*jb