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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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My wife and I bought a 1998 Accord when our 1996 Passat got totaled by a delivery van. We loved our Passat to death and "settled" for the Accord because nobody had anything on the lots (GM on strike, Passat just introduced & limited supply) as we were buying in between model years. There was an abundance of Accords though. Final summary, we both wish we leased instead of buying so we could get what we really want in less time. There is a nasty rattle in the trunk that was fixed once around 10,000 miles and has come back. They haven't been able to fix it since. It has come extremely close to overheating twice (not in hot weather) and the dealer has found nothing. It is boring to drive since Honda doesn't offer a sport package. It looks good but that's about all I can say nice about it. I can't yet figure out why it is touted as being so great with the issues we have had. I had less with my 1991 S-10 Blazer (now with 197,000 mile on it)! We are now in the market for me and it has been narrowed to the Passat and a BMW 3 series. While I don't like front wheel drive, I may wind up with the Passat solely for financial reasons. Of the cars I have test driven (limited to performance oriented sedans) the Passat has come out ahead of the non-BMW bread. If it provides an experience similar to that of our 1996 Passat, I don't think I will be too disappointed. |
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jfriedl, i bought the jetta and love it , no issues so far . if i didnt already have a suburban to finish paying for, i would have liked to have bought a passat, but i would have loved to buy an AUDI s4 . these are awesome machines for the bucks37-40 k. If money is a major factor look at the A4 Audi it is a steal for around $25k. |
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| Don't forget the Audi A4 and Passat are mechanically identical, suspension and all. The Passat's longer wheelbase is about the only difference underneath. I've installed an S4 suspension in my Passat. Eibach sport springs (lowered it 1.3") bilstein shocks, Neuspeed front and rear sway bars (in same diameter as S4) and 18" wheels with 225 Euro T/A tires(a little beyond an S4) the result is amazing, it's not rough at all, just very controlled. I'm obviously missing Quattro but I don't have the heavy bi turbo V6 in front, the 1.8t seems a lot more balanced. | |
| My mom has a '00 Passat GLX and for some reason a loud moaning noise comes from the right side of the dash when you switch to recirculation on the climate control. Is this normal? She hasn't paid much attention to it but I noticed it when I drove it yesterday. It switches to recirculation like it's supposed to so it does work but that noise is awful. Any suggestions would be appreciated. | |
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I am a Passat owner for life. I was recently in an accident where someone ran a red light going about 50 mph. They totaled my car and I managed to get away with non-life threatening injuries. The EMT told me that if I had not been driving a safe car, I would not have made it. Front and side airbags are critical! There was nothing left of my car. They also hold up on their value - the insurance company gave me about what I paid for it. |
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Welcome to Town Hall. Glad to hear the Passat took such good care of you, so to speak. Have you bought another? Sounds like it must have been a terrible accident, and quite frightening. It's really good to hear that you are okay. If you are shopping for a replacement, you might like to visit our Sedans and our Smart Shoppers Conferences. Also, you may be interested in looking in on Our Turn, which is a conference devoted to women's automotive issues of all kinds. Glad to have you here in Town Hall. Pat Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference |
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Hello. I picked up my 2000 Passat GLS a few days ago. This morning when I was looking it over I noticed a wet passenger floor. I dried it out fairly well, and called my dealer. I figured the "detail" guys that cleaned the car up before delivery had left the rug wet on that side from a shampoo job? They confirmed that the car was cleaned inside and possibly shampooed. SO today I go driving for a few hours, with the AC on most of the time. I'm noticing as the day goes on that the passenger floor is getting wet again. When I arrive home it's WET. I decide to turn on the engine, put on the AC and there it is. Water is dripping into the passenger side well area from under the dash when the AC is on. Anyone else have or hear of this problem and if so, did you or they have any luck getting it resolved? I've already arranged to drop off the car on Monday but want to be well prepared for the typical dealer BS. Thanks. Fred (Fred Oldslots.COM)
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I've had this problem on another car, not my Passat. What happens is that there is a drain hole in the housing of the AC cooling element where the water that condenses off the cooling element is supposed to run out through the firewall onto the ground. The drain gets plugged by debris, the housing fills up until the water finds another route out, in this case onto the floor. Cleaning the drain hole should fix this problem. --Mike |
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Hi! Three weeks ago, I bought a new 2000 passat GLS, 4 cylinder, 5 speed manual transmission. I love the car to pieces but have had to bring it back 4 times now for alignment issues (and stereo/speaker problems, but I think those have been solved). The car doesn't seem to be able to go straight in any lane for more than a couple of seconds. It drifts to the right more than to the left. The dealer is telling me (over and over again) that it's due to the curve of the road and that the car is within alignment specs. If it's within alignment specs, why does it still not go straight that often; even in the middle lane on the highway? I've driven too many miles and types of cars to know that something feels wrong, especially for a new car. I've had a couple other people drive the car and they agree that it doesn't stay straight as much as their cars. I took two other cars on the same roads to be sure I wasn't losing my mind, and they both held a straight line better than my Passat. They've aligned the car 4 times now and to me it still drifts off to the right almost every time I let go of the wheel (I only let go of the wheel because I know there's a problem…I don't normally drive without my hands!). They even had my car sent out to an "independent alignment specialist" when they discovered their machine was out of calibration/broken (heard two different stories about that). I've never driven VW's before so I'm looking for someone who maybe can give me some insight. Is it normal for the new Passats to be so sensitive to the curve of the road as the dealer states? But, if they are, then why does the car not pull to both sides equally (comparing left and right lanes on the highway)? I've heard from some people that something larger is wrong like a bent axle, etc. The dealer rotated the Continental tires (never put on a new set, though) and checked tire pressure. The pressure was 40 in the back and 37 in front. Seemed high to me, but when I checked the oddly placed tire pressure sticker in the gas cap, they were within normal levels. They've had my car, off and on, forever, it seems. I did drive another Passat (same exact car) with the same tires and it held straight for longer than mine does (it still seemed very sensitive, though...is this a normal VW thing?). I've driven BMW's and Japanese cars and none have been this sensitive or drifty. They also tended to correct themselves because of the way the roads would be. My car automatically heads to the right and never comes back. What else could be causing the problem? Is there even a problem? I've been told there is no problem even by the general manager of the dealership. However, he drove my car in 5th gear going 30 mph, so I don't have all that much respect for his professional driving opinion of my cars' performance. Every time the car would drift to the right, he'd jump into the left lane and say "see, it depends on the road" and pointed out how the car would go off the road to the left...he was over the white line in the left lane's shoulder area, though. ANY car would go to the left over that far! I've also encountered nightmare dealer/service issues and am looking elsewhere for a more competent dealer for service. The car has never been done when they'e promised it and they haven't made this a priority, which I think it should be. They took 6 hours to rotate tires and check pressures, while I was anxiously waiting to pick my car up to head out on a business trip. The car is awesome and after driving a Toyota Coralla for 8 years, I've been much more excited each time I get into the Passat and really DRIVE! Keeping my fingers crossed that there are no other problems!! Thanks for any help! |
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| I have read all of the 'fun' some Passat owners have experienced here. My question, PARTICULARLY to those of you who have had such problems is: Do you get the impression that such problems do finally get fixed? The reason I am asking is that I would consider buying a used 98 Passat. If I got the impression that the 'first owner' has to deal with the glitches and then I would have a relatively trouble free car, then I would be more comfortable in buying. Or do you get the impression that 'they really don't know what they are doing'? Also, how can one tell in advance that a dealer's service dept is going to behave as some of these have done. It sounds like test-driving a vw dealership is more important than testdriving the car! There is a VW-Porsche dealership near here; do you think the fact that they also work on Porsches indicates that they have a clue? | |
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