3.7
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 34,202 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.
I had a steering wheel lock defective warning light come up in my car, the car also would not start. After numerous attempts, it started. I called my dealer and he said he had no knowledge of the car having this problem. Volkswagen of american too had no knowledge of this problem. I googled the problem online and found thousands of people having this problem no only here in the states but all over the whole where the car was sold. My car only had the warning and the no start problem. But many others were complaining that the car would shut down while traveling at a high rate of speed. I can't believe Volkswagen won't acknowledge the problem. My car is a 2006 Passat with only 38,000 miles. Something should be done here.
- Winter Park , FL, USA
2006 VW Passat trunk latch fails in cold weather. Will not latch properly and comes open while driving. It occurs during the entire cold weather seasons. Numerous info on web search. VW of America denies problem.
- Virginia Beach, VA, USA
'07/19/2006: Purchased a brand new 2006 Volkswagen Passat '04/13/2007: Radio will not eject cd- the stereo system had to be replaced due to faulty radio '12/06/2007: Car will not start ' called tow company, upon arrival checked battery and it was not the problem; tow company could not get the car to start; car was towed to lasher Volkswagen '12/14/2007: Car will not start again, same issue as before on 12/06/2007; called the tow company and had it towed to lasher dealership; after numerous calls back and forth, VW dealership and manufacturer cannot figure out the problem nor have they fixed the vehicle yet '01/12/08: Picked up the vehicle from lasher VW ' seemed to work okay '01/14/08: While driving home from work, door locks began to unlock and lock by themselves and while driving on the freeway; also, suddenly light indicators (blinkers) did not work, high beams did not work, windshield wipers did not work, steering wheel indicator light came on, tire pressure light came on, cruise control light came on; this was an extremely dangerous situation '01/17/08: While driving to berkeley, on the freeway, the blinkers stopped working, and could not get the windshield wipers to work; locks began to lock and unlock while driving; telephone call again, to lasher VW to express great concern and worried about being stranded; was told to bring it in on Friday 01/1/08 at 7:30 am; once we arrived in berkeley, we parked the car and turned off the ignition ' the radio was still on and the headlights did not shut off; we started up the car again and the same thing happened; when locking the car with the alarm, the doors locked but the alarm did not turn on; lights remained on for about 20 minutes, fearing that the battery would run low and we would be stranded '08/05/09: Took the car to elk grove VW and told that warranty will not cover any of the repairs '10/24/09-12/14/09: The car has not been able to start since 10/23/09 and sitting in our garage & now at neillo VW.
- Sacramento, CA, USA
I had persistent problems with the latch on the trunk of my 2006 Passat. Finally, the dealership found that pieces of the plastic coating of the latch mechanism were chipping off and fouling the latch. The latch was replaced with a bare metal piece and the problem resolved. This was not resolved, however, until after some anonymous do-gooder dented my trunk trying to shut it.
- Torrington, WY, USA
The trunk on my 06 Passat won't always stay closed. Nothing in particular precipitated the first event. I have to slam it shut every time and it's becoming harder and harder to close. I was rear-ended in March 2008 and the trunk was replaced. The interesting thing is that I had the exact same problem with the original trunk. The original trunk was not wanting to latch properly and the "replacement" trunk does the exact same thing. It must be something about 06 Passat trunks. I did notice that before the trunk had issues closing, it would not automatically open when I pressed the trunk button on the key. Once again, exact same thing happened with both the original trunk and the "replacement" trunk.
- Little Rock, AR, USA
2006 VW Passat 2.0T trunk will not latch when it's cold. Brought it to VW dealer who told me they've seen this happen before and they've replaced several locks and they could replace the lock for $305. They lubricated the lock in the hopes that it may resolve the latch issue. If this is happening with other Passats it is obviously a defect. - I purchased the car new and have had the cam shaft replaced, cam seal leak repaired 4 times, cd player replaced, heater blower resistor replaced twice and blower motor replaced once. All was under warranty except the cam seal leak and the trunk that won't catch and close. A formal complained was lodged with VW of America given all of the repairs the vehicle needed; VW offered me $750 towards a new VW! no offer to pay for a trunk that won't latch. Research on line found other complaints of trunks not latching and some opening while being driven on a highway. VW refuses to recall the vehicle to replace the trunk lock. I was told they don't make recall decisions based on line complaints. I travel alone for business and do not want to leave my suitcase, laptop, etc visible in the car but can't use the trunk because I could be stuck with a trunk that won't latch. This happened to me yesterday and I was stuck in freezing rain with a trunk full of holiday gifts and no way of closing my trunk. After 20 minutes of trying to get the trunk to latch in the freezing rain a gentleman who owns an auto shop stopped and tried working on the lock ; could not get it to latch. He ended up trying the trunk down with rope he had in his truck so I could get home. After 4 hours of warming up in my garage I was finally able to close the trunk.
- New Hartford, NY, USA
My trunk latch on my 2006 VW Passat will not latch. This causes the trunk to open unless I have it duck taped down. The problem started when I opened it to get something out and it would not shut. I taped it down and the next morning it was closed properly. After grocery shopping, I was able to open the trunk and put the stuff in it, but it would not close again. It has not been able to close since. I called the dealer who told me I was the 5th or 6th person that day with the problem. I called VW America who said there was no recall. Obviously a dangerous situation as the tape can fail and the trunk will spring open while driving.
- Bloomsbury, NJ, USA
The trunk of my vehicle will not remain closed. It appears to be closed and then the trunk opens without warning while vehicle is in motion. This has happened several times on the freeway. The vehicle is nearly three years old and I am the original owner.
- North Hollywood, CA, USA
- Folsom, CA, USA