2.3
hardly worth mentioning- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 68,000 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
While backing up out of a parking spot in July of 2004, I began to smell gas very strongly in the cabin of my 2000 V6 Passat and immediately stopped and got out to see what was causing the smell. For unknown reasons, the car was randomly and visibly leaking gasoline onto the ground just in front of the fuel filter on the passenger side. It leaked gasoline in puddles and the engine began running 'lean' almost immediately, with significant valve clatter. Due to the serious safety risk posed by the profuse gasoline leak, I immediately turned off the car and had it towed to a reputable VW dealer in a nearby town. Upon inspection at the dealer, the fuel line had clearly split on the top side just in front of the fuel filter....for no apparent reason. I submitted a complaint and a reimbursement request to Volkswagen of America re. This issue, due to the significant safety risk and repair cost created by the fuel leak. Unfortunately, VW ultimately refused to stand by their product citing the age and mileage of the car. At the time, the car was 3 years old and had just over 55K miles. I paid over $700 to have the line replaced, plus towing fees, and VW provided exactly $0 in reimbursement. This episode is on record with vwoa and with martens VW in bethesda, md. Feel free to contact me or VW directly for more details.
- Rockville, MD, USA
- Roseville, CA, USA