Took car to VW dealer to have timing belt replaced and was notified that there were several open recalls and they offered to take care of them free of charge. However, they were unable to perform recall #08V156. Manufacturer #26E5. They installed the heat shield but could not perform software upgrade. I never received any recall notices in the mail. Now VW wants to buy the car back because they can't fix it. It's a 2001 VW Passat with 25K miles in showroom shape. Was never driven in snow and garaged it's entire life. They offered me $1500 out of which I owe $1300 for the timing belt. They said it may need a ECU but they are no longer available from VW but refuse to install a used one. The car has been at the VW dealer since 12/28/2020. I was under the impression that recalls never expire.

- Warminster, PA, USA

Started smelling gas and mileage started droppi G bad around the end of November. We see that there has been recalls on the gas tank and fuel lines for 01 Volkswagen Passats but unfortunately not for this VIN # which happens to be my sons car. Now its at the shop because its gas mileage went way down and and smells like gas and he was told that he was driving a bomb basically. It could be around $1000 to fix it. None of us have that kind of $ and hes still has $800 left oweing on it. Help

- Benton City, WA, USA

My 2001 Volkswagen Passat has had an R5 recall for fuel lines, fuel tank, and a heat shield. The hard (low pressure fuel return?) line, the middle one of the mounting bracket atop the firewall, has failed catastrophically. It now sprays gasoline directly down onto the catalytic converter heat shield. This is the same failure in the same exact point that many other owners have had. This part is dangerous and could have killed me and destroyed my car. Volkswagen refused to fix it. I've been in contact with VW customer care and my local dealer, both told me that once the recall is closed on my vehicle that there is nothing they'll do. They wanted me to tow my car to the dealership and pay $135 for a diagnostic until I showed them a video of the fuel line under pressure spraying everywhere.

- Murrieta, CA, USA

Vwofa have not taken steps necessary to facilitate this fire hazard recall!

- Juneau, AK, USA

2001 Passat 1.8T manual transmission developed fuel leak on the firewall attachment area, on the middle line directly over catalytic converter; car compartment smelled heavily of gasoline. Stopping car and inspecting the fuel line showed the crack. This is a very serious issue and was very lucky in this case not to have car on fire. Please investigate this as there seems to be related recalls from VW on this issue. I'm scared to have kids on board the Passat.

- Santa Rosa , CA, USA

The contact owns a 2001 Volkswagen Passat. The contact noticed that the fuel gauge indicated that the vehicle had more fuel than what was actually in the tank. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the mechanic found the failure in the fuel tank level sending units. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 01V157000 (fuel system, gasoline: Storage: Tank assembly) but was advised by the manufacturer that the VIN was not included in the recall. The current and failure mileage was 78,370.

- Bartlett, IL, USA