What I thought was a minor problem now appears to be a real and unsolvable issue with the Fender system. Since the middle of last month, the radio has begun to cut out after approximately 20 minutes of running time. thereafter, it repeatedly resets within the 15-20 minute range. It's really quite annoying. I have read the comments about this problem on the site and it appears that there is no fix coming from VW. Since I am well outside of any warranty period and the car will soon be re-purchased from the manufacturer, (thank god for little favors), I guess I'll just endure the intermittent resets.

The Passat was an accommodation for two kids in college, but that storm is clearing and I'm going back to my Audis or maybe a Lexus. After we complete our business, VW is dead to me.

Just another satisfied customer.

Two minutes after starting the navigation screen locked up. The vehicle indicator would not move, the clock in the screen stopped indicating the time the lock-up occurred, and the radio would still play. However none of the buttons would work to change the station, volume, band, etc. The on/off button would not work until held down for a period cutting the radio off. After a period, and several tries, the radio off/on button finally worked again and the system came back as normal. The navigation system came back and even though moving picked up where we were and acted normal.

Update from Jun 11, 2013: Reprogramming the radio cleared the problems.