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Maintenance & Repair Maintenance & Repair - Archived Discussions Problems with 99 VW Passat GLS 
527 messages, Last post on Aug 08, 2000 at 11:56 PM
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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. |
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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 |
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I'm glad things have worked out for you!  I have just under 26k miles now, trouble-free. |
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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. |
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I have a 99 Passat with about 15,000 miles on it. I was driving in FL when my tire blew. While waiting for AAA (about 30 min later) my car caught fire from the tire area. Some seem to think it is mechanical while others blame the tire. Has anyone else had a problem like this? If I am not the only one then VW might pay for the repair under waranty. Please comment if anything is known. Thanks. |
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Sounds alot like a bad wheel bearing to me. I've seen a utility trailer once which developed a similar situation. The bearing gets red hot, the heat transfers thru the hub to the steel wheel and the tire. The tire suffers a heat failure, you pull over with a blow out, and a fire develops because of all the heat still in the wheel well area. I suppose it could also be caused by a brake that wasn't entirely released. --Mike |
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I have a 99 v6 GLS w/ about 17,000 miles. I have had several problems that I was hoping others might have advice on since the dealer doesn't. 1)When decelerating (ie: at a stop sign), the transmission makes a loud whining noise while downshifting 2)Power steering seems to be on the fritz; in colder weather when the car first starts, there is a scraping sound with any turn of the wheel. 3) when going over bigger bumps, the steering column makes what I perceive to be an unhealthy jolt (far more significant than what I have felt in any other car) Does anyone know what these problems could be? Additionally we have had other small problems like squeaky brakes, radio stopped working; rubber on the inside of door pops off. Should I trade this car in before the warranty is up? Any advice is appreciated. |
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| Bought my VW Passat GLS tiptronic because my husband didn't like the Honda Accord, which I love and have never had a single problem with. The Passat has been giving me one problem after another, perhaps it is just a lemon. From pieces falling off the side of the door that they just snap back into place (makes me feel real secure), seats that collect all the lint in the world and won't vacuum off (leather next time), to the oil leak they say isn't there (just in time since the warranty is over, now 30K miles), to now when I start my car in the morning and back out of my garage the exhaust is smoky which my dad says shouldn't happen. Any ideas as why this is happening? or has anyone had this problem? Trying to get the husband to trade it in for a dodge dakota crew cab. we'll see. | |
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I have a 98 Passat and was one of the first new body styles to hit the US market. I have had an enormous number of problems. Your steering problem is one I have had and my girlfriend has also had on her Jetta 2 times. As luck would have it my VW dealer is an Audi dealer too. The same day we brought in the car for the strange steering noise an A4 owners was reporting the same problem. We all had our Steering Racks replaced. I also had a strange noise that happened when I hit particular sized bumps. It was in the front of the car. I took it in and they could never duplicate it. Finally they looked and found that there are spacer blocks put between the frame of the car and suspension for shipment from Germany. Somehow they forgot to take them out during their "prep". That may be what you are experiencing. Overall I have never had this many problems with any other car. Here is a list of the problems I have had. Suspension spacers Dashboard computer (tach, speed, etc.) 2 times Lock system computer Steering Trunk & glovebox lights (not a fuse, wiring let loose) Harsh Idle (changed oxy sensor at 5k miles) Rattling Glovebox (3 times and loose again) Oil Leak somewhere they have not located (it is on the garage floor!) I really enjoy driving the car when it operates correctly. I get over 30mpg on every tank and happy with the performance. It has the best sound system of any car I have owned, and rides beautifully. I am getting ready to buy another car and just can't bring myself to put up with going to the 4-5 times per year for problems. I just don't feel confident in the quality of the car. I am hoping they are getting the "bugs" worked out but the Audi A4 has been out for a while and has some of the same problems. They use the same engine and many other components. My last car was a 626 and I can't recall ever taking it to a dealer for anything other than routine maintenance. Hope this helps. |
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