Noticed excessive wear on all four tires. went to dealership to resolve the issue. they said the excessive cupping and feathering was not a volkswagen problem. i just needed to replace the all four tires at my own expense. i went to my own mechanic and the excessive cupping and feathering was not an alignment problem or problem inherent in the tire. the weight in the rear was too light. probably when the manufacturer used a light weight small spare, the weight of the vehicle changed and caused the excessive cupping and feathering. i added a 40lb bag of play sand in the trunk over the small spare tire and have not had any excessive cupping and feathering issues since. *tr
I bought a used 2001 vw passat for my daughter in august of 2009. it kept having problems with loosing tire pressure and i found cracks on the back side of all four rims where the bead of the tire seals. i then replaced all four wheels with the same oem vw wheel, part # 69745, about a year ago with reconditioned rims off ebay; the supplier told me they cannot recondition wheels with cracks. last week i checked a low tire on the car and again found a crack on the new rim at the same location. as far as my daughter knows, she has not impacted anything against the wheel . i have to believe there is a dangerous defect in the design and or manufacturing of this rim and vw should be held responsible for my purchase and for the replacement of these rims. *tr