Volkswagen Passat-glx 1997

• Recall 85785 [USA]: Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
  Dope, inc. Is recalling 42,540 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. These headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." these lamps do not contain the required amber side reflectors.
  dope, inc. Will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. The safety recall began on july 28, 2009. Owners may contact dope, inc. At 1-626-272-1798.
  this recall only pertains to aftermarket replacement equipment and has no relation to any original equipment installed on vehicles produced by the vehicle manufacturer.In order to determine if your aftermarket lamp assembly is affected by this noncompliance, please review the list of model numbers provided to us by dope, inc.The list can be found under "document search" located at the bottom of your screen. Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.Safercar.Gov .

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• 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.

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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 # EA00028

  
  

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Tl* the contact owns a 1997 volkswagen passat tdi. The contact stated that a fire erupted spontaneously inside the dashboard which caused all of the wires to melt and the windshield to fracture. The fire department was contacted who determined that the fire started in the area where the ignition was located. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 200,000. Updated 6/12/12 *cn the consumer stated the fire occurred in the area of the ignition and locking components were service, replaced and removed 15 days before the fire. The fire dept determined the fire started in the ignition.

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 volkswagen passat. Whenever the contact attempted to activate the windshield wipers or headlights, they failed to turn on. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. There were no warnings prior to the failures. The current mileage was 62,000 and failure mileage was 60,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 volkswagen passat. While parking the vehicle, the contact heard an unfamiliar noise and the air conditioning began to blow hot air. He exited the vehicle and discovered water leaking from the undercarriage. He believes that the heater core may have failed. The current and failure mileages were 157,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 volkswagen passat. The contact has taken his vehicle to the garage and the dealer eight times. The engine head was replaced at 42,000 miles and the turbo charge is currently failing. The contact stated that the repairs cost more than the actual price of the vehicle. The dealer stated that the computer needed to be replaced in order to correct the turbo charge. The replacement would cost $1,000. The vin was verified, but appears to be invalid. The current mileage was 46,000 and failure mileage was 38,000. Updated 03/18/08. *lj updated 03/18/08 *tr

On sunday, august 5th, 2007, while driving the car with my 7 year old son in the back seat, dense, noxious 'steam'/smoke began to come out of all vents and around the dash area in my well-maintained volkswagen. Hot coolant also leaked into the passenger compartment of my passat on the driver's side. Note that this occurred while air conditioning (a/c) was on & continued to pour out of vents without a/c on. My 'low coolant' indicator light (red led in instrument cluster) also began flashing. Fortunately, i was able to get the car (and my son) home without overheating after stopping on the side of a busy washington dc thoroughfare (wisconsin avenue), opening the fogged-up windows, cleaning the interior of the front windshield, and refilling the coolant reservoir/'overflow' tank with antifreeze purchased nearby. Since the 'steam' smelled like coolant/antifreeze, i immediately suspected that this was due to a failure of my car's heater core. I subsequently confirmed this diagnosis after dropping off the passat at my long-time, certified, mechanic, beahm's auto service of silver spring maryland. Beahm's diagnosed, but did not replace my heater core on tuesday, august 7th, 2007 (the heater core has been temporarily bypassed so that the car could be driven without additional coolant loss or of the car's windows/interior). My passat is otherwise in excellent, well-maintained condition with only 116,000 miles, no accidents, and it passed washington dc safety and emissions inspection in august, 2007. *tr

Heater core failed- clouding the window to a degree that we nearly had an accident before we could get the car pulled over.

Vehicle volkswagen 1997 passat glx - v6 engine. Full instrument cluster - speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, digital clock... Everything on it, does not operate when outside temperature is below 50 degrees. Car must be driven for 10min., or about 8-12 miles, before instrument cluster returns to normal fuction. Car is being driven without functioning speedometer, and it is difficult to estimate my speed and does not feel safe. There were no significant events leading up to the failure, except instrument cluster would make a buzzing noise when car started and trip mileage would reset. This started a few months before complete failure began. This problem gets worse as time passes, as the instrument cluster problem occurs in warmer weather now. Problem used to occur when temperature was below 35 degrees. Now happens at 50 degrees. *tr

Various electronic components failed while driving--windshield wipers, lights, defrost motor--on a very dark, rainy morning, causing a dangerous situation and a near-accident. Manufacturer previously warned of 'ignition switch failure', but would only repair after failure and before 10 yrs or 100,000 miles. My car has 100,600 miles. Manufacturer refuses to bear the repair cost for this known defect that could have caused a serious accident. *nm

Ignition switch failure while vehicle operational. Same condition was covered under recall on 1996 vw passat models, manufacturer is not offering coverage on same body style under 1997 and 1995 designation. Impacted vehicle is a 1997 vw passat wagon. *jb