My VW Passat 2009 sustained engine failure due to failure timing chain/timing chain tensioner and now needs very expensive engine repair or replacement of engine. Car drove okay for 15 minutes in the morning then it was then parked for about 2 hours. When trying to re-start the car, the car would not start. Mechanic noted absent compression in 2 cylinders and diagnosed it to be due to timing chain slipping. This happened at 80,000miles and less than 10 years (9 years 9 months) of purchase of the vehicle. VW's extended warranty covers repair/replacement of timing chain but does not cover repair of engine damage resulted due to timing chain failure. The car was serviced at VW dealer regularly and there was no warning or indication of impending failure of the timing chain. Other owners of VW vehicles have also complained of having identical problems on online community with some people complaining of engine stalling while driving. This appears to be a defective design rather than wear and tear due ageing and I feel that VW should recall the affected vehicles to repair the problems.

- Lutherville Timonium, MD, USA

3 different occasions my car would loose power and shut down on the highway. I had it towed and all three times they stated it was different things and that they had to take steps in replacing good parts to find the bad ones. Just to find out that it was the fuel pump control module that they thought it was the whole time. Now there is a recall on it. Which I have summitted the paper work and they conveniently cannot find. This past weekend my car wouldn't turn over at all when I tried to start it in a parking lot so I had it towed for the 4th time in 2.5years. They are claiming that the engine motor is bad and it would cost $7500 to replace. The technician cannot find any oil leaks nd claim there was only about a half of court of oil in the motor. I had the oil changed less than 2 months prior and both Volkswagen and my mechanic said that there is no way it could of run for that long on half a court of oil and should hold 5.6 quarts. Which leads to the motor eating so to speak the oil. ( a bad engine) although I spent over $20'000.00 on this vehicle and have had all these issues Volkswagen is telling me that they will not help at all with repairing the engine. That I will have to eat the $9000 still owed on the vehicle. Words cannot describe how disappointed I am with the customer service by Volkswagen.

- New Market, MD, USA

There is a latent defect in the tensioner system of the timing chain that can cause the chain to 'jump a tooth' in the vehicle's camshaft, which causes serious and sometimes fatal damage to the engine. Unfortunately the defect is impossible for car owners to discover, but Audi and Volkswagen knew of the tensioner system problem since at least June 2010. Normally, the timing chain is meant to function perfectly for at least 120,000 miles. Because the system is not on the schedule for recommended maintenance from the manufacturers. However, with the defective tensioner, the timing chain frequently fails well before that mark, but often after the warranty has expired. This issue caused my engine to have catastrophic engine failure.

- Miami Springs, FL, USA

TENSION BELT, SHAKING & JUMPING THE ENGINE FEELS LIKES IT'S GOING TO FALL, THE MANIFORD VOLKSWAGEN HAS EXTENDED THE EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEMS WARRANTY FOR THE INTAKE MANIFOLD UNDER SPECIFIC CONDITIONS TO 10 YEARS OR 120,000 MILES, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST, FROM THE VEHICLE'S ORIGINAL IN-SERVICE DATE, FOR CERTAIN 2008 ' 2011 MODEL YEAR VOLKSWAGEN 2.0T ENGINE VEHICLES WITH ENGINE CODES CBFA AND CCTA., "WHICH I WENT TO THE VW SERVICE CENTER, AND THEY WASN'T TRYING TO HONOR ANY OF RECALLS OR THE EXTENDED, THIS WAS THE WORST SERVICE I EVER HAD, "I ALWAYS TAKE MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER, I HAVE ALWAYS HAD TOYOTA DUE ALL MY SERVICE, AS I WAS SAYING, "I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY AND THAT'S WHEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE, THEY STARTED TRYING TO HAVE ME FIX OTHER STUFF ON MY CAR, COSTING $2,400, THE MAN WAS FORCING ME TO DO AN ENGINE SERVICE, AND WHEN I SAID I WASN'T READY TO DO THAT, HE BECAME MAD AND STARTED SAYING NOTHING WRONG WITH THE EXTENDED MANIFOLD, EVERYTHING WAS WORKING GOOD ON MY CAR UNTIL I BROUGHT MY CAR IN, EVEN THE MECHANICS MAN WAS SAYING HOW MY CAR WAS IN GOOD CONDITION, THE CRAZY THING, I HAD AN APPOINTMENT THAT WAS MADE WITH THE VW CUSTOMER CARE FOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, & THEY HAD MY CAR FOR OVER 7 HOURS AND ALL WAS DONE WAS AND REGULAR OIL CHANGE, "WHICH I THOUGHT THEY DID AN TRANSMISSION OIL CHANGE SINCE THAT'S WAS WHAT THEY WAS TELLING ME I NEEDED, BECAUSE THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON, AND I DIDN'T NEED A REGULAR OIL CHANGE, I JUST HAD ONE TWO MONTHS PRIOR, THEY WAS LIKE SAL-VERGERS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LOT OF RECALLS AND EXTENDED SERVICES, THEY NOT TRYING TO HONOR OF FOR FILL ANY OBLIGATION OF THE LAW, IT'S LIKE THEIR SALES PEOPLES IS TOLD TO MAKE THE PEOPLE WITH EXTENDED WARRANTY, RECALLS, FOUND SOMETHING WRONG, OR MAKE SOMETHING WRONG OTHER THEN THE CUSTOMER'S EXTENDED WARRANTY, RECALL, FOR MORE INFO CALL [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA

2009 VW Passat 2.0T. Oil leaking from rear main seal. Rear main seal failed at about 70,000 miles, not covered under warranty. First indication was smell of burning. Shortly before this failed, the PCV valve failed - also out of warranty. Warranty is for 5 years/60,000 miles.

- Elverson, PA, USA

Initial failure occurred while accelerating onto main thoroughfare. Vehicle lost all engine power and stalled out. Vehicle was send to VW dealer for repair where some warranty repairs were made as well as preventative maintenance that was advised. The car was returned as "repaired" and after driving home experienced the exact same failure while the car was idling in the driveway. Car was returned again and experienced the same failure a second time while I was traveling on I275 in detroit. The car stalled out and I again lost all power. I was forced to the side of the road where the car then failed to start. I was forced to sit for three hours in 20 degree weather with a twice in 2 weeks repaired issue as my car was buried in snow on the interstate. This is a major safety hazard!

- New Hudson, MI, USA

At 43,321 miles, the check engine light was on. Vehicle was brought to a Volkswagen dealership where the intake manifold had to be replaced along with the fuel induction. The manifold was covered by warranty but, not the fuel induction. Out of pocket cost $136.90 at 54,337 miles, when accelerated there was a hesitation in the engine and the check engine light had come on. Vehicle was brought to the dealership where the ignition coil for cylinder 1 had to be replaced (cylinder misfire fault and cooling fan faults) and also the cooling fan which was faulty. All not covered by the warranty. Out of pocket cost $864.35.

- Scarsdale, NY, USA

Acceleration hesitation for 1-3 seconds when throttle engaged at low speed.

- North Potomac, MD, USA

2009 Volkswagen Passat overheated and caught fire while on a car dolly being pulled by a 2006 Nissan X-terra. According to the fire dept and tow truck operator the fire was due to the transmission overheating. The consumer stated he noticed leaking from the front of the vehicle 3 hours prior to the fire. Ohio traffic crash report #10-0747-91.

- Villa Park, IL, USA

I recently purchased a new 2009 Volkswagen Passat cc sport vehicle through boardwalk Volkswagen of richardson Texas, who had the car shipped to their location from tynan's VW in Colorado. I picked up my brand new 2009 Volkswagen Passat cc sport vehicle with 24 miles on the afternoon of Saturday February 28, 2009. On Sunday, as I was driving, the car would not accelerate and fumes started coming out the engine compartment and transmission fluid leaked out and sprayed all over the engine rendering the car a safety hazard and fire hazard. The car was towed by VW roadside assistance to boardwalk VW, which upon closer inspection, they found the transmission lines mispositioned in such a way that the cooling fan motor cut the lines open causing catastrophic transmission failure. The engine compartment has been contaminated with potentially flammable transmission fluid, and the transmission was run with extremely low levels of fluid by the roadside assistance service to get it on and off the tow vehicle, seriously reducing the market value and safety of the vehicle. I went to take pictures of the compromised vehicle with the faulty transmission line routing and another Passat cc vehicle with the correct transmission line routing. To see the problem, the car was raised, and the underside engine compartment cover was taken off. In the vehicle in question, the transmission lines were routed in front of a radiator tube, leaving them in close contact with the rotating radiator fan, which eventually cut open the lines causing the leak. The fluid leaked into the engine compartment and was blown into the entire engine by the radiator fan. In the other vehicle, the transmission lines were routed behind the radiator tube, which shields them from coming into contact with the fan. This can be used to start a recall on all Passat cc models to have them checked for incorrect routing of the transmission lines, which can cause catastrophic transmission failure and customer problems.

- Richardson, TX, USA