4.3
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 26,383 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.
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired in 2016 for an unknown failure. The contact reported that on multiple occasions, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle began to overheat, with a beeping sound. The contact stated that the temperature gauge started to rise and that an abnormal odor was coming through the vents. The vehicle was veered to the side of the road after smoke was seen coming from the engine compartment. The contact allowed the vehicle cool down before restarting. Additionally, on several occasions while stopped, the vehicle overheated. The vehicle was towed to two separate dealers where several parts were replaced however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that there was an abnormal odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle had been overheating. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case number was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.
- Tampa, FL, USA
January 2014: Turbocharger failed on my 2013 Volkswagen Passat tdi. The car failed in the evening, but that morning when leaving for work, the turbo made a split second choo-choo train whistle, but continued to function, although it felt like the turbo was free-wheeling and not really in sync with the actual boost. When it failed, there was a muffled bang, followed by a locomotive type black oily smoke rolling out of the exhaust. I was only 2 miles from the dealership, so I drove it there immediately. When standing on the throttle, it sounded like a nut rattling around in a can. Dealer replaced the intercooler, egr and dpf. March 24, 2014: Turbocharger again failed at 17,000 miles. This time no audible warning that the unit was failing, just instant power loss.
- Burlington, WI, USA
- Patterson, CA, USA