Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Maintenance & Repair Maintenance & Repair - Archived Discussions Problems with 99 VW Passat GLS 
527 messages, Last post on Aug 08, 2000 at 11:56 PM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair - Archived Discussions Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
This discussion is ARCHIVED. To reactivate the discussion, post a request in the Lost? Ask the M&R Host for directions! discussion.
|
In January '99, I bought a used (9000 miles) '99 GLS 1.8T with TipTronic and roof. I bought it from a guy and got a fantastic deal. I drive over 50 miles a day for work, as well as up and down the east coast for holidays and other family events. I am extremely satisifed. I have had no major problems with my car. The only one I've encountered was partly my fault; I had to replace the tires just recently. Yes, I should have checked the pressure but had been relying on the local VW dealer/mechanic doing what he said he would do as part of my routine maintnenace and oil changes. Like an earlier post, I started noticing an increase in tire noise by the "cupping" sound. My non-VW (regular) mechanic said the tires were very unevenly worn (yes, they were) and that I should replace. Obviously I did and it was like having a new car again. I suspect the tires were never properly inflated to begin with since the tire noise is totally gone. Even when I bought it, there was a lot of noise (like someone else, I thought the upgrade from the noise of my '92 Escort - which, by the way, never suffered a mechanical problem at all in 115,000 miles - was why I was noticing the tires). Again, I should have checked on my own; just never noticed anything odd or obvious and relied on the dealer. I'm not surprised, given other things that happened with the local VW dealer, to read the posts here. From dirty, greasy finger prints on the roof pillar post and windshield (installing the state inspection sticker) to an oil leak (supposedly from the air dam) after an oil change to a scratch on the front bumper while left at the dealer, I was not pleased. So, with all these miles and only the tire situation to deal with and now back to my regular mechanic, I have nothing but praise for the car. There are little annoyances...the passenger front window won't always (1/25 times) go up with the non-stop feature, there is a slight whistle in the driver's window over 70mph, and I have had the cold stumble when starting just twice and I noticed those both when I was 1) low on gas and 2) parked at an incline. I really hate the blank tape stop function because I plug in a portable CD player and, even with a track running, if the sound level is low enough, the blank tape kicks in. It would be nice to see an in-dash CD player offered as standard or at least an option. For a car so nicely equipped and in this price range, it seems a bit odd. I haven't seen in listed for the 2000s so if I'm wrong, I apologize. Like others have said, with any car, you could end up with lots of problems. I haven't. Indeed, when I saw this one in the classifieds and the price, I was really hesitant because I figured someone was dumping a lemon. My regular mechanic checked it and said things looked fine, so i took the deep breath, and bought what I really wanted and all my reading and research had said was a Grade A+ automobile. Best... |
|
| There is an in-dash CD player now available. | |
|
Does anyone know if the p-side mirror from a '99 Passat will fit on a '98 passat? In 98 with the new design, VW for some strange reason went with a smaller mirror and I want to install the larger one. I own the 98 GLS 1.8T 5-speed, great car and high quality. Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
I bought my '99 Passat GLS V-6 Tiptronic/roof February 1999 and I LOVE it. My husband and I were looking to replace my '96 Ford Probe GT/5-Speed before the warranty ran out. I saw a red one in Chicago about 7 years ago and ever since then, I was HOOKED! We were debating between a Grand Prix GTP and a Taurus SHO/V-8. I was leaning towards the GTP due to a $4000 savings from a Passat, but the Passat kicked tail in every driving situation. The Taurus body styling just didn't do it for me. Interior quality was very unimpressive. My husband was skeptical at first of a VW (first impressions were "Chick Car.") NOT SO! I can't keep him away from it. We fight over who gets to drive. No tilting at higher speeds on curves and -super impressive- acceleration on the Interstate! I even impressed a GTP owner who happened to be riding with me. Problems? Brake squeaking. Had to learn to ride the brakes a little harder to warm them up. Also had to have the power steering pump replaced 2 months ago due to leaks and grinding noise and the windshield wiper blades went bad already. Other than that, I'm already looking to replace it when the time comes with a GLX or possibly the AAC Concept V-10 full size VW truck. I'm definately going with leather. Lint trap! Bad JuJu. |
|
|
My '99 Passat Wagon GLS 5 spd 1.8 L has a rear wiper that sporadically comes on when the car is started no matter what position the lever is in. Once the car is running the only way I can turn it off is to fiddle with the lever for 30 or more seconds or to stop and restart the car. The dealer has replaced a switch, but the problem persists. I have driven the car for just over a year and have over 20K miles. The only other problem I have had with this car is the right side rear window came off its track. This wiper problem is getting to me, otherwise I'm a happy Passat owner. Any help? |
|
|
Like to know if you upgrade the chip on the VW Passat 1.8T will that void out the warrant? |
|
|
Technically? Yes. But it's more complicated then that. I suggest you do a searc in the forums at www.vwvortex.com or www.clubb5.com for more in-depth information on the subject. |
|
|
As promised four months ago, here’s an update to my previous posts (#376 & 380) regarding my 1999 Passat wagon. Shortly after those posts, the dealership managed to follow through on the long-awaited appointment to have the recall work accomplished. The first thing the service person did when I arrived at the dealer was to stick her head in the car and announce that my Passat was over the warranty mileage limit of 24K. Not what I wanted to hear after a long VW-induced delay due to parts unavailability. Not to worry, the cold-weather brake recall would cost me nothing, and in response to my statement that the check engine light had come on once or twice, they also replaced the spark plugs without charge. Nice folks. The visit became less pleasurable when they charged me for adjusting the headlamp focus and for swapping my defective Continental tire with the spare. Dealer was unsympathetic when I pointed out that both of these maintenance items originated long before the (meager) 24K warranty limit, and that I deferred making an appointment because I thought the recall work would have been accomplished much sooner than it was. Since then, my car has run wonderfully. I have put 33.7 K miles on it since purchase 14 months ago. It is very comfortable, and has performed on several long trips of about a thousand miles each very nicely. Pleasure of ownership has returned to a good extent. Off the line there isn’t much going on for the first two seconds or so, but the passing power of this little 4-cyl engine with Tiptronic is amazing. I don’t drive fast very often, but this feature gives me a confidence on the two-laners I frequent that I never had with my Camry 4-cyl standard. I’m not sure exactly what the Tiptronic feature is all about, but on hilly twisting roads I know it enables me to match the RPM with the road profile. That’s not to say it’s a substitute for cubic inches and a five-speed, but it’s fun. I don’t use this feature very often. I took the car camping and found it had ample space for two adults and a large dog. Managed to pack all camping gear (tent, stove, food, chairs, cameras-whatever) into car without need for roof storage. We even managed to load up the odd space here and there with Finger Lakes region wine on the way back from Watkins Glen. I didn’t use the roof rack on that trip, but VW could have easily made the stock item more useful by adding a couple of removable cross members. I got a very pleasant email informing me that there may be a means to secure my canoe to the car without an expensive after-market product, though I haven’t checked it out yet. I have not experienced another gas tank overfill. The check engine light came on for a few days, and then went off by itself. I didn’t bother to make an appointment; instead I set a threshold for myself regarding the light. If it comes on and I cannot detect a problem through sight, sound, or smell, I’m going to keep on driving as normal. My tires will need replacement at 40K miles, which is not very good, Tiptronic adventures notwithstanding. It is obvious that my original problem with right rear tire was a Continental defect, though I haven’t bothered to pursue warranty issue with them. Commenting on some earlier postings, I recognized the wind-flow buffet with the moon roof open for what it was. Had experienced it with original bug thirty years earlier. My solution to this is to lower backseat windows about 3” each. I also recognized the creaky emergency brake right away, as I had another car that did this. I only experience the noise when emergency brake is applied-no biggy to me. The tape deck still sounds great, though (and this is common in most cars) the AM section of the radio picks up ignition noise in spite of the rear antenna location. Makes it hard to pick up Howie Carr sometimes, but otherwise a real good radio/tape deck. I don’t think it’s possible to get AM like we did 30-40 years ago-there is so much garbage in the overhead lines these days (including the ever-increasing internet babble). That’s the word-thanks for listening. TOMVT |
|
I'm glad things have worked out for you!  I have just under 26k miles now, trouble-free. |
|
|
TomVT, glad to hear that you are enjoying your Passat Wagon. We just purchased a 2000 Passat Wagon V6 - indigo blue/black and manual transmission. We enjoy the car very much so far with our 2-day old baby. I noticed that the rear anchor of the driver side roof rack has a gap between the roof metal and the plastic cap. The gap measures about 1/8 of an inch. The passenger side one is mounted flush to the metal. The car dealership where we bought the car looked at it and they tried to tighten it. The gap is still there. They said that the screw is already tight and they do not want to overdo it to warp the roof. I am not sure if water will leak under the roof - the dealership said no. Does anyone else has the same problem? Does it seems like a part manufacturing problem? Should I ask them to order a new roof rack to replace the one I have? Any comment will be appreciated. |
|
You are here:
Forums
Maintenance & Repair Maintenance & Repair - Archived Discussions Problems with 99 VW Passat GLS
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 Volkswagen Passat
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
