Volkswagen Passat-glx 1995

• Recall 17319 [USA]: A worn and noisy fan motor shaft can seize renderingthe fan motor inoperative, eventually causing the engine to overheat and stall. a stalled vehicle in traffic can increase the potential for a vehicle accident.
  Improper material was used in manufacturing the radiator fan motor shaft causing the shaft to wear and become noisy.
  dealers will replace the complete cooling fan assembly on vehicle having the potential shaft material problem. Dealers will install a new fan blade including a new lock nut on vehicle with loose fan blade lock nuts.
  system: engine cooling system; fan.Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with vr6 engines.Note: owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987. Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

• Recall 2002239 [Canada]: Seats and restraints
  On certain vehicles equipped with seat heating units, the front seat back heaters may supply concentrated heat in a localized area of the seat back or produce excessive heat that could not be reduced by operating the seat heater controls except by switching off the controls completely. The concentrated heat could singe the fabric at the lower backrest and, in some instances, injure the seat occupant. Correction: dealers will affect repairs.

• Recall 1995221 [Canada]: Engine
  Note: includes passat, golf and jetta turbo diesel. On 1993-94 models, the radiator fan motor shaft could seize and render the fan motor inoperative. 1994-95 models could experience a condition whereby the lock nut securing the radiator fan blade hub to the motor could lose its required torque. A loose lock nut could cause the fan hub to loosen from the shaft and cause the belt pulley to run "off-center". This in turn could cause the fan belt to disconnect or break. Either of the above conditions could result in engine overheating and stalling. A vehicle stalling in traffic could cause an accident. Correction: vehicles with either have the complete cooling fan assembly replaced or a new fan blade with a new lock nut installed.

To ensure accuracy and for your safety, it is recommended to do a free VIN recall check here or here [USA] - UK - Canada.

Bulletins are notices put out by manufacturers in conjunction with the NHTSA to notify the public of manufacturing issues or changes.

• Fuel tank puncture investigation as of 20001228

  
  

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The heater core failed on our 1995 vw passat while my son was driving it. Without warning it failed and poured 190 degree antifreeze over his ankles. Fortunately he wasn't severely burned or crashed the car, but it was serious issue. We spoke to vw but they wouldn't replace the heater core. Many customers have had the core replaced under warranty, but it seems to be randomly selected. I have read on the forums of this happening often and would like to know if there is recall that vw needs to address. Thank you for your help. *tr

5sp vrg passat. Emergency/parking brake when applied under 40 degrees sticks on causing the rear wheel to drag down the road for up to a mile before they break loose again and move freely. *tr

Driver side door fails to open 75% of the time, you have to yank the handle multiple times for it to open, the rear driver side door doesn't open from the outside anymore, the other doors are starting to have the same problem, when you lock the car the rear passenger doors lock mechanism slowly rises to the unlocked position. Drivers side door and passenger side door many times fail to close. When you close the doors they fly back open either immediately after closing or while operating the vehicle. **there is a similar complaint misplaced into the air conditioner section by another individual.** *tr

Heater core "doors " melted from the r type antifreeze breaking down to an acid. This cause the heatercore to break, antifreeze entered the car through the vents and also oddly enough filled the gauge cluster with steam fogging the cluster. It's $800 for a replacement so i bought a fitting and some hose clamps and bypasses the heater core so i could still operate the vehicle when it wasn't too cold. However when operating the vehicle in cold weather all the windows had to be down due to your body heat causing all glass in the vehicle to fog. Replaced the heater core in january, flushed the radiator and installed regular type 50/50 antifreeze and not the vw r-type fluid to prevent break down into acid again. *tr

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle vibrates and is worse when in high gear. Part of the fan fractured causing the vehicle to overheat. There is an nhtsa recall, # 95v178000, regarding the engine and engine cooling: cooling system: fan. The vehicle vin was not included in the recall.

Backup lights didn't turn on, when the brakes were depressed the accent lights (lights that illuminate the gauges, window, a/c & heater controls and lock buttons etc.) would turn on. Also if the car if the keys were turned to the first notch (steering wheel unlock) and the heater vents turned to the on position but not blowing (due to no power) when you pressed the brake pedal the air would start blowing... I traced it down to an ignorant electrical engineer designing the car. The reverse lights were loomed on to the trunk arm, everytime the trunk was closed it bent the wire causing the wire to break and short out over time, i fixed the wire and rerouted it low and behold the reverse lights are apparently tied into the accent lights and the a/c & heater controls causing those to malfunction if the reverse was shorted, my guess is they must all share a common ground. *tr

95 passat heater core rupture filling the vehicle cabin with hot radiator fluid and steam. Windshield became coated with anti-freeze solution that just smeared and could not be wiped off. Vehicle left the road into the ditch. I will bypass the heater core for i can't afford to have it repaired at this time. Contacted vwoa and no specific recalls have been issued.*jb

Dt: contact stated while driving at 35 mph. The vents started steaming. The vehicle was then towed to a mechanic. They performed a diagnostics test, which indicated that the heater core malfunctioned. The vehicle was not at a local dealership, and no repairs have been made. *ak

1. Normal driving on a surburban road at about 45mph. All of a sudden, smoke/steam from the vents, a completely fogged windshield, a sweet smell, and scalding hot coolant onto my feet, almost causing me to hit a pedestrian walking alongside the road. 2. It was the heater core. A very common problem to 80's and 90's vw passenger cars. So now i have no working heater (luckily its summer) and my car wont reach its max cooling capacity. Thus, car runs hot. 3. Because i am a college student and cannot afford a $1200usd fix, i have bypassed it with a copper u-pipe. The part is avalible, and vwoa have done a massive number of 'good-will' fixes. I'm still talking with them to come of with a resolution.

Abs light failure - continue light on and possbile brake failure

Heater core exploding, no events leading up to this i was simply going from a stoplight when smoke started pouring in through the vents and engine coolant going everywhere. I have not replaced anything yet, but the heater core is destroyed.

Rack and pinion steering failed. As result steering malfunctioned. However tconsumer was able to gain control. *ak

I was starting my 1995 volkswagen passat vr6 (manual), and it started up just fine, but as i started to get going, the car died. I lost all electrical functions of the car initiated by the ignition switch, including power brakes, power steering, and headlights. I found out that my ignition switch had malfunctioned. I called vw of america (1-800-822-8987), and they told me that a recall was out for the 1996 and 1997 models. The only difference between these two model years and my model year is the switch in the on board diagnostic system from obd 1 to obd 2. I knew from experience that the ignition switch was the same for all 1995 to 1997 passats, but just to be sure, i called stevens creek volkswagen parts department (1-408-492-1200). The guy there told me that part numbers matched through all 3 years, and that the ignition switch malfuntcions an all 3 model years including 1995. So, i called vw of america again, an asked them why they didn't recall my model year. They stated that "vw could have rectified the problem" which is impossible when all 3 part numbers are the same. They then said that they would launch their own investigation into it, and told me to call nhtsa. My final say on this matter is that it definitely is life threatening, because the ignition switch is electrical, and can malfuntcion at and time, causing you to lose power steering, brakes, and lighting on the road. I was luck because i just got going, and was able to push the car back by my house. Meanwhile, volkswagen of america is cutting corners to save money by only recalling the model years that you have tested, even though the malfunctioning part is the same inall 3 model years: 1995, 1996, and 1997. As a member of a vw vortex forum, i will tell others with this same problem to write in to you. *ak

Heater core on the vr6 powered vehicles is the valeo brand, known to fail. It just blews coolant through the dash vents all over the coupe inside.*ak

1995 vw passat. Door locks have been repaired several times by authorized vw dealer and repair shop. Doors do not open in cold weather despite car being in heated garage.*ak

Rear door latch is malfunctioning. Latch releases when driving

Timing chain stretched and valves went against pistons. Engine light goes on and off all the time. Ignition switch fail and lights go off. Right window doesn't work. Ignition coil is defective.

The abs light came on my 1995 passat. The dealer diagnosis indicated i needed a new abs hydraulic unit at a cost of $1,768.00. I consider this an outrageous amount for such an important safety item. I contacted vwofa corporate and they told me there was nothing they could do because the car was out of warranty. *la

Coolant leaking out from under the dash. More than likely it is the heater core. Not supposed to happen this soon, car is only years 8 old.*ak

Dt: caller can not open door from the outside. She has to use the handle on the inside of all the doors except the rear passenger door. Dealer said they never heard of this. Manufacturer said they could not do anything to help her.*ak

The heater core ruptured. *jb

In february of 2003 on one of the cold days, the fan system didn't work and as a result car overheated and blew of the head gasket. Total cost to fix $2000. Small recall of cooling fan cost me $2000 and in spite of calls to customer service department, no cost was born by the company. *nlm

While traveling on the highway the plastic lens that cover the headlight caused the headlight to become dark so no light come through dim and dark. Please fill in additional information dealer is aware of the problem. Ts *tr

The ignition and headlight switch was defective.Ts *jb

Consumer states without warning the transmission does not work anymore. Consumer can not shift the car out of park. Ts

Four doors will not open from outside, only from inside. Doors are power operated. Contacted dealer, and dealer has tried to fix the problem.*ak

Transmission coolant is leaking out on to ground, and coolant is running into cylinder block. Dealership is aware of problem.*ak

The rear power window motors have failed to operate on several occasions. After removing the door panels and checking the wiring for good contacts, the windows will opperate for a short while. I see this as a potential safety problem due to the fact that one might be trapped in the vehicle and unable to escape by other means than the window. If you were not able to open the window, you can't escape. My kids ride back there.*ak

Electric rear window stuck in down position. Vehicle brough to auto-glass shop to repair. Interior door panel removed for repair. Cause of damage was a wire bundle that had rubbed against a sharp metal edge on interior of door. Two wires were exposed and were arching to the door when the window button was depressed. These sparks are a potential fire hazard.*ak

Ignition switch causes intermittent problems with starting the car, causing a safety hazard on the road, if the car stalls and cannot be re-started.*ak

All four door handles outside have broken off, the passenger indoor handle has broken off and the safey check was failed because of this. Vw says this is just "wear and tear" but we believe this has to be a design fault - and now it's a safey issue too.*ak

Consumer window mechanisms are not functioning properly. Front driver's side, front passengers side, and rear driver's side windows either do not move up/down or come out of alignment. Please provide any additional information.*ak

I live in arizona. In high heat (90's and above) is the car sit park for

The lower half of the ignition switch failed causing the car not to start. Nlm

Left front window off track. Nlm

No summmary listed for abov evehicle. *ak

Heater core gives a "mist" smell like antifreeze causing discomfort to driver. Dealer will not be able to get part until monday 08-nov-99. The driver side door is jammed & the rear door behind the driver is malfunctioning. *yc

No summary

Windows fog up very easily with an unusual amount of moisture with minimal driving and sub normal engine coolant temperatures (when the car is "cold"). Fogging forces driver to pull to the side of the road ot defog windows. Front passenger window regulator unit failed on highway causing window to roll down on its own and stay down. Owner forced to disconnect motor until problem could be diagnosed. Window regulator/motor replaced. Driver's window produced a clicking sound upon reaching the closed position. Window regulator replaced.

Driver's side front power window failed and 3 of 4 door handles failed on car owned by initial buyer for 4 years, 4 months. Failure of so many parts is excessive, as is quote from dealer for repairs (>$1,000). Reported via phone to vw, but no response.

Outdoor latches broke, must roll down the windows to open doors to get in.*ak

The trunk lock breaks off and comes out with the key when trying to unlock the trunk. Nlm

No summary

Right and left front door handle does not open the door or has to be pulled repeatedly before it will open, misadjusted door latch was replaced but the problem still persists. Nlm

No summary

Cam shaft sensor failed causing the check engine light to illuminate. Nlm

Abs dash warning lite first indicated in apr 2000. Owners manual calls for service at authorized vw service. Initially notified vw consumer affairs as local german car shop repair alerted me to possible recalls. Vw consumer affairs (800) 822-8987 indicated no open recalls or service bulletins regarding this particular vehicle. German car expert repair, laslo's auto repair-woodbridge, va attempted to trouble shoot via onboard computer but no defect codes were displayed. Laslo's cleaned all abs wheel sensors and did front brake job to try to address the problem. Abs lite remained on. Again contacted vw of america to report concern, they referred me to karen radley vw, woodbridge, va. Radley service advisor had technician check for on-board computer system fault codes relative to the abs but none were found. Radley tech reset computer but abs warning lite again illuminated on dash. Fast forward to december 2000. As abs lite has remained illuminated, i again requested vw of america consumer assistance. Still no word on open service bulletins or recalls affecting the abs system. Through the continued efforts of the karen radley dealership service rep, mr matt buckley, vw regional senior technical specialist (ots in vw-speak)called in for assistance. I left vehicle @ radley for one day--4jan01, however, vw regional ots was a "no show". I rescheduled thru mr buckley at radley for jan 29, 2001. Ots checked along w/ radley tech but could find no fault. Eventually, after three more days of trouble shooting all possible problems, the tech notes that one of the abs system valve in inoperative and the abs module needs to be replaced. As that module was replaced the abs dash board lite in now off. My concern is the lack of assistance from vw of america, at the national level. It should be apparent that the abs system, being a major component of the car's overall safety systems, should be a high priority matter. Vw never once initiated contact with me, all communicati.

Control module has intermitent shorts - abs system cannot be relied upon to work - manufacturer states it is not a safety issue - abs systems are proven safety devices and this situation encourages a "russian roulete" situation because of the randomness of the short and the extreme expense to fix $1,500. Dealer stated that they are seeing problems with the unit alot - can vw be asked to report the number of problems they have had with this part/system? *ak

The cooling system ended up with a slow leak occuring due to a poorly designed hose restraint behind the fan assembly. The hose got out from behind the restraint and got worn away by the fan/fan housing. The restraint should surround the hose completely instead of only covering approximately 160 degrees of the hose. Now i will get charged to replace a hose and for labor because of a poor design. Not fair to consumers.

Tail lights intermittently not working due to corrosion. Nlm

Sometimes the seat belt on the driver's seat will not come out of the mechanism. Also, the belt locks into position around the driver without applying the brakes, or if there is any slight movement by the driver. The dealer is aware of the problem, but the problem has not been corrected. *ak

Ignition switch failed.

Intermittent stalling after it is warmed up/slowed down to first gear/reverse gear, or stopped and at idle speed. *ak

The slide breaks off the sunroof for no apparent. Nlm

The cruise control disengages intermittently for no apparent reason, brake pedal switch and multifunction switch replaced yet problem stil exist.

Vehicle stalls intermittently.

Steering catches/binds followed by a popping noise upon making right hand turns, subframe bolt was tightened to correct thi problem, however problem continues.

While making tight right turns in parking lot there is a popping noise and steering wheel locks up, then releases, tightened a right friont subframe bolt.

Brakes failed due to a hole in brake line.

While driving vehicle, it would loose power; would buck, sputters & jumps; at various speeds it would slow down; took to dealer twice; 1st time no problem was found; 2nd time chief mechanic noticed problem. Being repaired now.

Front wheel bearings failed/replaced. *ak

Ignition cable and sensor failed.

Battery failed.

No summary

Difficulty scheduling cooling fan repairs due to unavailable of parts. *sd

When applying the brakes, speed control would not disengage going normal speed, lost control of vehicle, resulting in an accident.. *ak

Clutch replaced.

The radio is in "safe" mode when the vehicle is turned on and the tape player no longer accepts tapes. Nlm

Left front lower control arm failed, causing left tire to buckle under. *sd

Front left wheel detached from the lower control arm due to broken bolt.

Automatic transmission will not downshift until throttle reaches floor when traveling at 30-40 mph. *ak

Fuel pump failed, causing vehicle to stall.

The antenna thread separated from the antenna. Nlm

Volkswagen has failed to provide dealer with any recall parts on the recall for the radiator fan. Tt

The manufacturer will not send him a recall notice even though he is included by his vin. Please describe. Tt *jb

Windshield wiper fuse failed causing the wipers not to work. Nlm

Seat belt inoperative.

Vehicle pulls to right when accelerating, pulls to left when not accelerating. *dsh

Recall repairs on radiator fan motor/fan blade refused due to unavailability of parts. *dh

Abs system failure, total loss of braking while travelling at 64 mph. Tt

Automatic transmission will not gear down, until it reaches 20 to 25mph. Tt

The key gets stuck in the right door lock when trying to lock the car. Nlm

Had only had the vehicle since aug. 22, 1995 and the fuel pump had to be replaced along with a host of other problems. *ak

Interior rear view mirror attached too low, blocking view. Tt

Vehicle stalls intermittently in first or reverse gears.

Gear shift moves without pressing on the brake. Please explain. Tt

The consumer believes there are a number of electrical failures with the vehicle including, 5 batteries in five years, right and left front windows will not roll down, trunk light illuminates for no apparent reason and the door locks are inoperative. Nlm

When having to quickly apply brake pressure, brakes tend to lock up. *ak

Vehicle has trouble with crank and slow start.

Internal rear view mirror is too low, obstructs view of traffic.

All in-dash components to not work when key turned: a/c, fan, abs light comes on...

Heater core is dead care smells like antifreeze. Driver's door no longer opens from outside, and other doors are starting to do the the same. Car can't be shut off for short stop or it will not start again. A/c went out 2 years ago contacted vw of american no help.

Whle driving down a hill brakes failed due to an uncleaned sensor. There was no prior warning, and it was a failed/ safe system, regualr brakes did not kick in , total failure of all brakes. *ak

While driving at normal speed consumer felt that vehicle suddenly went from drive to neutral, then back to drive. Took vehicle to dealer ,and they replaced a part. Consumer is not aware of which part was replaced problem stopped. Currently, sunroof and rear seat belts are not working. Consumer owns a 1996 not in the dims system. Please provide any further information. Ts

Consumer states that the child safety lock is malfuntioning causing the rear passenger door not to open. Please provide any additional information. Ph

The vehicle's speedometer started to go high then low, the fuel gauge stopped registering. Took to dealer and the instrument cluster was replaced. Ph

Front end was making a rattling noise. Also, radiator overheated. Took vehicle to dealer, and they replaced the head gasket. *ak

Brakes fail to stop vehicle properly causing loss of control, replacement of pads and rotors did not rectify problems.

Part of the steering mechanism fell out near connection to speedometer.

Purchased car new, replaced the battery for the third time . Please describe . *ak

Consumer was driving and the rpm accelerated and vehicle jerked, causing a crash. Please describe . *ak

When brakes are applied , the brakes resist, resulting in extended stopping distance. The dealer has been notified. *ak

The main and secondary control modules blew out while getting a jump. Dealer has repaired vehicle. Manufacturer has been notified.