6.5

fairly significant
Typical Repair Cost:
$440
Average Mileage:
125,150 miles
Total Complaints:
4 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. replace (4 reports)
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This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Volkswagen dealer.

problem #4

Jun 022017

Passat 1.8L Turbo

  • Manual transmission
  • 187,456 miles

I bought this car in 2014 and this is the 5th time I have to replace coils and or spark plugs. In general it's a good car, great gas saver and runs good but this problem is annoying, I hate that I'm not comfortable planning a long road trip cause I can't trust my car. It's very obvious to me that this is a factory defect and VW should fix it for good

- phipard, Henrico, US

problem #3

Jul 012009

Passat LX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 88,000 miles

Replaced spark plugs and coil pack 3 times over 6 years…and 20,000 miles.

- drdojo, Southbury, CT, US

problem #2

Aug 142014

Passat GLS 2.8L V6

  • Manual transmission
  • 147,134 miles

This is the second time that I have replaced the ignition coil and it keeps failing. Looked around and saw that there might be a recall for failing ignition coils on Volkswagens, so I called my local dealership and he said recalls were VIN specific and he said that my vehicle did not come up with a recall about the ignition coil. So here I am out of luck and I really am not happy about having to buy another one. HELP!!!

- Dillon A., Las Cruces, NM, US

problem #1

Aug 172011

Passat AWD 4Motion V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 78,000 miles

I have had it with my 03 Passat!! The sad thing is, I really want to love this car. It runs so well and is so nice looking, but the last two years I have had problems on and off with its ignition coils which are, apparently, a widespread problem....However, I have yet to see VW issue a recall in this time-frame which really kills me, considering the coils are $500 a pop. You have it go out three times in two years, along with recently having my entire water pump and timing belt replaced....We're talking close to $3000 in damages!! The ignition coil issue particularly chaps my ass (pardon my language), as it is straight up DANGEROUS. My car is sitting outside the repair shop right now, as it has been acting strange recently. It just suddenly lost power the other day on the highway going 65 mph, and smoke started to come out from underneath the hood. I get it to the shop....they decipher the check engine codes and, lo and behold, ALL THREE of the ignition coils are "malfunctioning". I put in a call to the local VW dealer, no answer so I left a message. Tomorrow, my day will be spent trying to get to the bottom of this crap yet again....I have this sick feeling that it still won't be under recall/warranty because it's apparently not "a clear safety hazard". I'm so over you VW, I didn't want to be, but you've pushed me over the edge!!

- passatwithproblems, Rochester, NY, US