Bough car from a guy in PA. It has been leaking oil into the engine since we got it. Then the turbo went. Cost $4300.00 at Burlington VW. After repairs car would run rough because the oil was leaking into the engine and foul the plugs. Then it would sputter when you drove it. Had to hold your breath to see if you were going to your destination. Put 2 quart of oil in it and it still ran rough. Today the car stooped completely had to buy new battery plugs, oil filter oil. Replaced all the oil. Start the car and it sounds like thr head or rocker is bad. I would like to have my money back. They told me (VW) that the 06-07 Passat all had this same problem. But they did nothing to rectify the problem. This car has been a night mare my daughter stuck late at night in the bad part of Philly. Scared and confused. Had to call Triple A multiple times. You have to pay up or you will have another law suit by selling cars with problems that you knew about is shameful. Robert Mclaughlin

On May 17th 2015, my family and I were traveling on vacation from Calgary to Victoria in our Volkswagen Passat.

As luck would have it, halfway through our trip, our well maintained Passat's 2.0L Turbo engine died with less than 70,000 kms on it. 

We were travelling just over 100km/h on a remote mountain range when the engine completely stalled on us... without warning. No smoke, no smell, no warning lights. Nothing at all let us know that our Passat's engine was about to completely shut down on us, ultimately putting our lives at great risk.

That said, we were somehow able to glide the car, without any power steering or brakes, to a very narrow shoulder only find that we had no cell coverage to call for help. To top it off, exiting the car and getting the family and dog to a somewhat safer location along the mountainous highway was probably the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life.

Not something I would've expected from a car that was very well taken care of over the years, let alone a car made by Volkswagen.

Long story short, we finally got some help and got our Passat towed back to West Kelowna where we later found from two independent mechanics that the pistons were shot and the engine was completely dead. DEAD! After less than 70,000 kms on it. And we later found out that replacing the engine through VW would cost us over $14,000.

Over $14,000!!!

Now why would we bother investing that much money into a car with an engine that had a very long history of severe engine problems? So this could happen again? And again?

This brings us back to VW's customer service, or lack there of. The agent was cold and bluntly told us that we needed to spend more money towing our Passat further to a VW dealership to assess the damage for themselves (an assessment that we would have pay out of pocket for too, of course), and that they could not guarantee that VW would cover any of the cost to repair the damage as it was no longer under warranty. (Case # 150.401.276)

Now I totally understand warranties and processes, but when a car's engine dies within less than a quarter of its life expectancy, you would assume that a brand like VW (whom I've been loyal to since my first beetle purchase in NZ back in the 90s) would take charge and say something like; "You know what, you and your family have been through a lot already. Both emotionally and financially. Let us arrange to tow your car back to a nearby dealership for you and we'll take it from there. We want to get to the bottom of this for you so this doesn't happen again". At the very worst, I would of expected that I would get the engine and installation at cost given everything my family has been through.

Not a chance.

Not satisfied with the agent's matter-of-fact responses, I pressed to speak to a supervisor immediately, to which I was told would take about 48 hours for a supervisor to call back. A supervisor did finally call...8 days after my request to speak with one. Are you kidding me? This is how VW treats its loyal customers???

In the end, the most help we got was from the dealership that originally sold us the car. They offered to ship the car back to Calgary (where they could use the car for parts, I would assume) in exchange for $1000 off our next purchase or lease from VW.

So, a car that was originally worth $48,000, (with money still owning on it) is now only worth a $1,000 incentive towards another VW? How assuming and calculated is that? And don't get me wrong, I don't blame the dealership. This is simply how VW has armed its frontline.

Warrantees or not, money or no money, VW put me and my family's lives at risk. And that's not cool!

To say the least, after putting over 200 hrs of my vacation time towards dealing with VW, car rentals, arranging alternative pet friendly accommodation, selling the defunct Passat, plus researching and buying a new car (not a VW), my loyalty of many years to the VW brand is no longer. VW not only has NO problem selling cars that have a history of being lemons, but also assumes NO responsibility when it hits the fan.

With enough people onboard, we have the potential to merge resources and start a class action suit against VW, so more people don't have to experience this kind of injustice ever again. And with any luck, VW will rethink its processes not only to deliver a better all-round customer service experience, but also reconsidering their priorities – such as the value of their customers lives over turning a profit.

Please follow and retweet my shaming on twitter: @AlythCooper on @VWcanada #VW

Suggestions welcome.