Started to feel and hear a thumping, and creaking from my suspension. Took vehicle to a VW dealer and they said that I needed to have both upper control arms replaced on the left front of my Passat. I called vwoa and they said that they were not going to help pay for it B/C it is considered a wear item. A 99 Passat w/ less than 50K miles! and they consider that wear"!? from what I have researched, I am far from the only person that this is happening to. Now I have to dish out $500 easy to get it fixed. Buy another VW" not on your life. VW has been hearing the complaints about this situation for years now and still will not help. I would hate to see something tragic to someone just for them to fess up.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

Control arms and ball joints need to be replaced with only 43000 miles on the vehicle. Volkswagen went by recommendation of dealer not to help with the cost of repair.

- Beverly Hills, MI, USA

1999 VW Passat requires replacement of front suspension control arms at 64.8K miles. Symptoms reported initially at 3 years/49K miles. Appears to be related to service bulletin 400101. Problem well known among Passat/Audi owners. Dealer asking $1200 for repair. Vwoa declines to help, stating that suspension is "2 year 24K mile component". mileage, existence of service bulletin, and widespread experience with this problem suggest that this is a defective component and should be at least partially covered by vwoa.

- Bedford, MA, USA

Front control arm failure.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Creaking/squeaking noise from front-right (passenger) side of front control arms. Dealer indicated need of replacing control arms for wear. Vehicle manufactured in 99 with 92414 miles, mostly highway miles, does not give a reason for these to fail as most cars have control arms to last a lifetime of a vehicle hence failing at the car's current condition should not be acceptable.

- Medford, MA, USA

While driving there's a squeaking and popping noise coming from under side of vehicle when going over bumps in road. Took vehicle to mechanic, and they replaced three control arms. A short time later popping started again, and consumer needed a fourth control arm. Consumer contacted dealer, and they stated vehicle was not under any recall. Currently, all eight control arms have been replaced.

- South Birlington, VT, USA

Left and right control arms are worn and need to be replaced-common problem with 1999 VW.

- Jackson, MI, USA

Control arm on left front wheel has begun creaking very loudly and I have been told it is about to fail. On most cars the control arms are built to last the life of the car, so at only 60,000 miles this is definitely a problem. Upon doing some research, it appears this is very common in recent model Volkswagen Passats, and that a recall has already been issued in germany where they have stricter automotive regulations. Also, the part was re-engineered for 2001 model Passats, indicating Volkswagen is well aware of the problem. If this part is failing on basically all 98-2000 model year Volkswagen Passats, it seems like only a matter of time until a catastrophic failure causes an accident, unless a recall is issued in the United States. Please keep me informed on any possible recall information. Thanks.

- Louisville, KY, USA

The controle arm bushings are bad on my car and started to go at 5500. This should not happen on a car this new, and dealer service person said so too. Volkswagen will not pay for this since it is out of the warranty. I did a search on the internet and found many Passat owners experiencing the same problem with the control arms. There must be a way to make VW owe up to the problem.

- East Hartford, CT, USA

Front suspension begins squeaking due to failure of ball joints which are integral with the lower control arm. This defect requires replacement of the entire arm. I've learned this is a common problem for 99 Passats. It is unheard of for these types of components to fail so early before 50,000 miles but they do on these Passats.

- Edina, MN, USA

Increasing "grinding" sound and increased "play" and movement in front suspension caused by failing control arm bushings-diagnosed by dealer (stated it was a known and common problem). 2nd. VW Passat with same problem ('98 model and '99 model) repair partially covered by VW on '98 model outside of original warranty. Concerned about safety as bushings continue to wear.

- Appleton, WI, USA

Suspension control arms deteriorating. Common issue. Bushings drying out and disintegrating. Symptoms include creaking and clunking at low speeds. VW is starting to pay 50% for some people with this issue, but no more.

- West Milwaukee, WI, USA

Clunking in front end going over imperfections in road at low speed. Seems like possible control arm failure.

- Stockbridge, GA, USA

Control arm bushings are failing on the Audi A4, they share the same front suspension.

- Bloomington, IL, USA

Steering wheel has a lot of play inside of vehicle, and ball joints are making lound and poppy noises.

- Manchester, CO, USA

Vehicle was making a funny noise, and consumer took vehicle to dealer. They said that upper and lower ball joints would need replacing. Consumer felt ball joints were wearing out too fast and feared that a wheel may fall off as a result of control arm.

- E. Amherst, NY, USA

Consumer has multiple problems with vehicle. Received recall 00V414000 for tie rods. Vehicle would shake and make noises at times. Also, supension was squeaking enough to take vehicle to dealer. Lower and upper control arms and tie rods had to be replaced. Consumer had a foreign automobile shop to verify problem. It was unbelievable that a 2 year old vehicle would have this problem. Consumer was responsible for $1400 to repair it. Dealer has no explanation why it was like this.

- East Amherst, NY, USA