I have had my 2000 VW Passat for a little over two years and it has been a money pit! I have had so many problems since a month or so after I bought my car. I bought the car from a private party, test drove the car, had it checked out by a mechanic, and I have put thousands of dollars into the car. I bought the car just before my senior year in high school thinking I made a wonderful choice, and I had to replace a new right side boot just after a month of owning the car. The check engine light/ABS/airbag kept coming on and beeping at me, and I had to buy a whole new brain to the car over $1500. I had to replace the timing belt way before the mile warranty, oil leaks which ruined some wires, new shocks/shock absorbers, now the window will go part way down, but will no longer go up... and my headlights are fogged up which I have noticed on all other 2000 Passats...! many things have gone wrong with this car. I am so frustrated with the car. I do not recommend a VW to anyone! I am going into the second year of college and have spent most of my savings on this piece of junk. I think after fixing a part of the car that it should run without any problems. Since I have put so much money into this car I cannot afford to get a reliable car. There is something seriously wrong with VW and the recalls! as far as I am concerned the whole car should be recalled!!!!

- Fallbrook, CA, USA

While attempting to make an emergency stop in my 2000 VW Passat, there was a 1 to 2 second delay in braking power. The roads were wet and the brake rotors were wet due to lack of shields to prevent water from making the brake rotors wet. The 1-2 second delay (from the time I applied the brake) caused my vehicle to not stop in the typical stopping distance and caused my vehicle to impact another vehicle. VW Passats from 2003-newer seem to all have these brake rotor shields "splash shields", but not the older 1998-2002 Passats. A call to the Volkswagen customer care hotline (800-822-7661) did not address this serious safety defect to my satisfaction. The agent kept saying "there's no current open campaign for your vehicle". I know of numerous VW Passat owners who have experienced this serious issue.

- Mclean, VA, USA

Rear brakes replaced/tie rod boots/ front axle rusted/replaced.

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

While driving on the highway at 62 mph the vehicle started shaking, lost power then coasted to a stop. This occurred because the left rear rotor melted down and gummed up the brake fluid. This resulted in the braking system and transmission being inoperative. The dealership couldn't identify the cause of the rotor melt down, they only replaced the melted and damaged parts.

- Douglasville, GA, USA

I drive a 2000 volkswagon Passat glx 4motion. I have felt that I got a bad car since very early on in my lease (I now have 8 months left). On this particular occaision, I had a severe oil leak. The dealer informed me that there was a hole in my oil pan that must have been caused by a rock (I don't recall feeling anything hit the car hard enough to put a hole in anything). I was told that this was not a warranteed item, rather normal wear and tear. I have owned 5 other cars and never had this problem. I also noticed that the car was shaking when the breaks are applied. I was told by the dealer that this is due to warped rotors. I only have 20,000 miles on the vehicle and have never heard of any kind of break problems with that few miles. I was also told that is not covered by warrantee either, again, normal wear and tear. The other 5 cars that I owned easily had over 20,000 miles on them and never had a problem with brake rotors. This seems to be a trend with this vehicle. Early on in my lease, I had multiple problems with my car not starting. Each time it was due to carbon buildup on my spark plugs. The first time it happened there was only 2,000 miles on the car and the dealer had the nerve to tell me that spark plugs were standard maintenenance items and I must not be taking care of my car properly. 2 years later, there was an emission controls recall which fixed this problem, which the dealer initially called driver error, not a vehicle problem.

- Denver, CO, USA