10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 101,630 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.
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 received notification that her vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign id number: 08V156000 (fuel system, gasoline:delivery) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs. The dealer inspected and adjusted the fuel line routing as well as the fuel tank ventilation valve but did not replace any components. After repairs, the vehicle began spraying fuel onto the engine and was causing overpowering gasoline fumes to emit through the defogger system. The dealer was contacted who informed her that they made repairs to the vehicle under the recall and they only had to inspect the failure. The contact was advised that any further repairs would be at her expense. The manufacturer was contacted who confirmed that the dealer repaired the exact components listed under recall and nothing more. They offered no further other assistance. The failure mileage was 137,000.
- Oshkosh, WI, USA
Kept smelling gas threw the vents, strong odor of gas wherever it was parked when you approached or got down from the vehicle. The last few times before the fuel line snapped there were small puddles of gas underneath the front passenger side tire when one drove away from a parked position. When I noticed the puddles I opened the hood and realized that one of the fuel lines had snapped, went to the auto parts store and bought rubber fuel line and clamps to temporarily patch the leak. Still smelling strong gas order even though does not seem like line is still leaking but cannot get it to the mechanic again until the weekend.
- Arcadia, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2001 Volkswagen Passat. While filling the fuel tank with gasoline, the contact observed a small amount of fuel spilling on the ground from the lower portion of the fuel tank. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for a diagnostic and they stated that the fuel tank ventilation valve failed. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 08V156000 (fuel system, gasoline:delivery), although the failures were identical. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 150,000.
- Columbia, SC, USA
I was driving home and my car caught on fire from unknown defect my life was in big dangerous.
- Il, IL, USA
Fuel leaking near a rear wheel from a small hose connecting the fuel filter to the forward fuel line when starting in cold weather.
- Santa Cruz, CA, USA
The fuel sensor fails after about one year of use. It has been replaced twice. The failure mode is that it always reports twice the actual amount of fuel available.
- Chandler, AZ, USA
The hard line mounted on the fire wall that guides the three fuel lines broke or failed. Plastic fuel line which cracks or is defective located at the site where the lines are clamped by a plastic housing. Gasoline sprays onto the engine block.
- Hewitt, NJ, USA
I own a 2001 VW Passat and I noticed a very strong odor of gasoline when driving at any speed in temperatures of 17 degrees. I brought my car to the alexandria VW dealership (alexandria, va) twice and they kept it for a few days but found nothing. After reading through the other reports online, I feel that VW corporation of America should replace all associated parts that could cause this and avoid potential vehicle explosions and loss of life.
- Alexandria, VA, USA
The fuel gauge on my 2001 Volkswagen Passat has been malfunctioning for the past five weeks. The gauge displays a "full" reading for the first 100-150 miles of driving, after filling the gas tank. After 100-150 miles, the gauge displays 7/8 full, and the needle does not move until approximately 300-380 miles have been driven, at which point the needle displays 1/2 tank of fuel remains. This vehicle will generally yield 400 to 430 miles on a full tank of fuel. My wife drives this vehicle daily, and has nearly run out of fuel twice on the interstate due to a false reading on the fuel gauge. The local Volkswagen dealership, and Volkswagen of America states there is no recall campaign on my vehicle, and refuses to repair or replace the defective component at their expense.
- Pleasant Grove, UT, USA
Several times now, I ran out of gas when driving my 2001 Volkswagen new Passat V6 glx. The last time it was absolutely irritating because the fuel gauge still showed a quarter tank available and did not give any indication or warning of low fuel. Worse, the car stopped at the middle of the road with no warning what so ever. Worst, when contacting the dealer, they offered to have a look at the gas tank, but they did not notify me at that time, that there is a known problem. They did not even contact me and inform me that there is a safety related problem and a recall on that vehicle!!! please contact Volkswagen of America and make sure that all Volkswagen new Passat owners get informed of the safety related recall!!!! if I would not have found your website per pure incident, I would never have known of this actual problem known to Volkswagen.
- San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
- Champaign, IL, USA