Short stories about Volkswagen Passat recalls, lawsuits, and other interesting bits. Signup to have these stories emailed to you for free from CarComplaints.com.
He has requested a voluntary dismissal of the entire lawsuit which was filed back in April of 2020. Sounds like someone got a new sunroof behind closed doors.…
keep reading article "The Sunroof Leaks Continue, But The Lawsuit Will Not"This campaign is part of an industry-wide effort involving more than a dozen automakers and 1.7 million vehicles. The chemical inside of Takata airbag inflators can become unstable over time, leading to violent and sometimes deadly airbag deployments. The recall is for both driver and passenger side inflators in the 2015-2017 CC, 2015-2016 Eos, and 2015 Passat.
keep reading article "Takata Inflator Recall for TT and R8 Vehicles"A recently approved timing chain settlement benefits thousands of owners by providing them with an extended “new vehicle limited warranty” for any future repairs, plus conditional reimbursements for any previous repairs.
The extended warranty is applied automatically if you own or lease one of the affected vehicles and didn’t opt out of the class-action.
Owners who want to be eligible for reimbursements must file a claim by January 25th, 2019. More information is available at TimingChainLitigation.com.
Some owners that had sold their affected vehicles before the news came out tried to file for compensation in court, but didn't get very far. That may be about to change due to an interesting court decision in California.
Former owners and lessees of Volkswagen "clean diesel" vehicles can proceed with their lawsuit even though the customers got rid of their diesel vehicles before anyone knew the emissions systems were illegal.
Volkswagen, as you might image, is less than impressed with this decision.
keep reading article "Judge's Decision May Open to the Door to New Diesel-Scandal Claims"Volkswagen says the case is nothing more than trial attorneys trying to suck more money out of the automaker that has already paid more than $25 billion for its emissions sins.
The agreement came with compensation contingent upon the exhaust system being modified to meet EPA standards. And sure, every owner knew that likely meant a knock to engine performance or fuel economy. But I doubt anyone expected this...
According to court documents, both Passats have been in the custody of an authorized Volkswagen mechanic for months because the emissions repairs caused both cars to not start.
The plaintiffs claim numerous attempts made by VW technicians have failed to fix the no-start problems, so the owners tried to trade in one of the Passats. The lawsuit alleges they were told a trade wasn't possible because the car was worth $0 since it couldn't be started.
Needless to say the couple is … let’s call it, “unimpressed” with VW’s “fix” and has filed a lawsuit against the automaker.
keep reading article "Lawsuit Says the VW Emissions “Fix” Has Disabled the Car Entirely "On November 19, 2018 a judge will rule on a proposed settlement that would either reimburse owners for previous repairs or fund future work on the timing chain tensioner system.
This decision has been a long time coming. Even snails are embarrassed by how slowly this case has crept along.
The proposed settlement includes all consumers who purchased or leased certain 2008-2014 Audi and Volkswagen vehicles that will be determined by the vehicle identification numbers (VINs).
According to the terms, reimbursement amounts will be determined based on the age of the vehicle, how many miles are on the odometer and if the timing chain tensioner, timing chain or engine was replaced."
Reimbursement amounts are highly favoriable to owners who get work done at an authorized VW dealership. Our advice – if something goes wrong with your timing chain or tensioner and you're covered under this settlement, skip your local mechanic and go to an authorized dealer.
keep reading article "VW Owners to Receive Reimbursements for Busted Timing Chains and Tensioners"The owners had not been covered by previous diesel settlements because they had sold or traded in the cars before dieselgate became public knowledge. From CarComplaints.com:
Volkswagen told the judge those former owners and lessees are attempting to pry money out of the automaker's pockets even though the former owners didn't lose anything. When they sold or traded their diesel vehicles, or ended the lease agreements, the transactions occurred before the emissions scandal was known.
The lawsuit boils down to economic harm. VW says the cars were sold at a value determined before anyone knew they spewed 40x the legal limit of NOx emissions, so dieselgate had no affect. The owners say they paid a premium for an eco-friendly car and should be compensated accordingly.
Now a judge will decide if this case is a money grab.
keep reading article "VW Says New Lawsuit Represents Group Unaffected by the “Clean Diesel” Scandal". The case is a combination of two other lawsuits in the state, both of which allege VW is concealing known timing chain defects that lead to premature engine failure.
You know that stack of papers they have you sign when you buy a car? Volkswagen's argument for dismissing the case was a hidden clause that says all problems must be taken into arbitration and not in front of jury. Which, let's be honest, is a shady thing to throw into a purchase contract. Luckily the judge ruled those agreements are between the consumer and the dealership, not the automaker.
While a few of the lawsuit claims were thrown own, this is overall good news for consumers who have dealt with (or are worried about) timing chain failure.
keep reading article "NJ Timing Chain Lawsuit Will Continue After VW Was Denied a Motion to Dismiss"And as luck would have it, those same cars have a heat shield that is too short to stop the leaks from hitting hot exhaust parts.
When that happens, you'll really be burning up the quarter mile.
But wait, there's more about the recall from CarComplaints.com:
"Engineers also determined diesel particulate filters overheated because they were being overloaded with soot caused by failures of the upper boost hoses. VW learned Passats made up to July 2012 had higher failure rates of the upper boost hoses and if the hoses fail, compressed air from the turbo chargers can escape before entering the combustion chambers."
This leads to more fuel being injected than needed, which results in soot and a higher likelihood of the engine overheating.
Jetta owners can expect a fix in July 2017.
keep reading article "Greased Lightnin'? 2012-14 Passat Recalled for Burning Up the Quarter Mile"Now the 2017 Passat is being recalled to replace leaking brake lines.
"Engineers traced the brake fluid leaks to end flares of the brake lines that were damaged during manufacturing, causing the seals to be faulty. A low brake fluid warning light will activate when the fluid reaches a certain level."
Details on this recall are still coming in.
keep reading article "Leaking Brake Lines in the 2017 Passat"But one group that's been left out was what VW calls "Generation 3" diesel vehicles from the 2015 model year. But after 16 months of waiting, that's about to change:
"Volkswagen finally received approval to fix certain 2-liter diesel vehicles to make their emissions systems legal, at least for about 67,000 of the 475,000 illegal 2-liter "clean diesel" vehicles."
VW will remove the "defeat device" software and replace it with something a lot less cheat-y. Then sometime next year, VW will install new software in addition to a diesel particulate filter, diesel oxidation catalyst and a nitrogen oxide catalyst.
keep reading article "Fix for 2015 2-Liter Diesels Approved"Well, good news. Canadian owners will receive between $5,100 and $8,000 in compensation along with a few options. Any eligible owner can choose to trade their vehicle and apply its fair market value at that time towards the purchase of a new or used Volkswagen or Audi vehicle.
Spread out over 105,000 vehicles, that equals about $2.1 billion CAD (Canadian dollars). The settlement needs to be approved and finalized by two courts.
keep reading article "Oh, Canada! A VW Diesel Settlement Update"Once that happens, the engine could be destroyed. Want to repair it? You'll destroy your bank account too.
The lawsuit focuses on 2008-2013 Audi and VW models equipped with 2-liter TSI or 2-liter TFSI EA888 engines. The plaintiffs say the problems happen well before 120,000 miles (the recommended time to repair them) and can cost upwards of $11,000 to fix.
"The plaintiffs claim Audi and VW not only refused to acknowledge the alleged timing chain problems, but also refused to compensate certain owners for engine repairs. The lawsuit also alleges Audi and Volkswagen didn't offer loaner or replacement vehicles even though the vehicles were useless to owners."
This isn't the first lawsuit to accuse VW of concealing timing chain defects.
keep reading article "Lawsuit Says Engines Fail After the Timing Chains 'Jump a Tooth' in the Camshaft"In addition to those payments, owners will also have the option to offload their cars as part of a buy back program.
…keep reading article "TDI Cash Compensation and Buy Back Options"The agreement involves 500,000 2-liter engines that VW called "clean diesels" but turned out to be NOx spewing polluters. The full details are available here, but here's some cliff notes:
So far there is no word on what the fix will be for these vehicles or how that'll affect MPG or performance. Owners of the following are eligible for compensation:
keep reading article "VW Close to Agreement to Buy Back Diesels and Compensate Owners"475,000 2.0-liter diesel cars including the 2013-2015 Beetle, 2010-2015 Golf, 2009-2015 Jetta, and 2012-2015 Passat, along with the Audi A3 between 2010-2013 and 2015. All in the USA.
According to the plaintiff, in VW's warranty and maintenance schedules the tensioning system is expected to last 120,000 miles without the need for maintenance.
"The VW and Audi A3 vehicles are equipped with EA888 2.0L TSI engines with engine codes CCTA or CBFA. The remaining Audi vehicles are equipped with EA888 2.0L TFSI engines designated with engine codes CAEB, CAEA, or CDNC. The plaintiff says all the engines with these five codes are versions of the EA888 engine and all use the same timing chain tensioning system."
When the tensioning system fails, the results can be catastrophic and lead to out-of-pocket expenses that will make your bank account cry.
This is a big lawsuit, covering many VW and Audi models from the 2008 model year on.
keep reading article "VW Timing Chain Tensioner Lawsuit Says Defects Cause Engine Failure"VW says faulty wire seals in an underbody sensor can be affected by water, causing corrosion of the connectors inside the sensor.
"The corrosion can cause overheating and an electrical short that can lead to an underbody fire."
Does anyone know if NOx emissions are flammable?
keep reading article "Faulty Seals Leave Wires Exposed to Elements Under Passat TDIs"Volkswagen is recalling 850,000 VW and Audi vehicles with Takata inflators.
You've probably heard about Takata by now. They're the ones that made airbag inflators which sometimes explode with too much force and send metal shrapnel flying throughout the cabin. They're also the ones that have been linked to a number of deaths and injuries. Needless to say, there aren't a lot of Takata fans out there.
But wait, there's more ... replacement parts aren't expected to be available until later this year.
keep reading article "More Takata Inflators Recalled"Horn said it could take between 5 to 10 hours of labor for each of the 500,000 vehicles affected in the USA. And if that wasn’t enough, the cost of the repairs might end up being higher than the vehicle’s worth.
To sum up: repairs could take years, cost lots of money, and reduce the horsepower and gas mileage of the repaired car.
“Mr. Horn told committee members Volkswagen would consider a buy-back program for all affected vehicles. It's estimated that based on current values, the cost for such a program could reach $7 billion just for the Volkswagen vehicles on U.S. roads.”
VW is just hemorrhaging money at this point.
keep reading article "Fixing Each of the Cheating Volkswagen Diesels Could Take Years"However, Volkswagen says that might not be enough due to the massive number of vehicles potentially involved.
What started as 500,000 vehicles in the USA has quickly ballooned to 11 million vehicles worldwide. The total cost of the fines, repairs, and lawsuit settlements are going to be astronomical. To the point where only setting aside $7 billion seems rather optimistic.
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said that he is "endlessly sorry" shortly before resigning. He just rammed his ship headlong into an iceberg and took off with the only lifeboat.
keep reading article "Volkswagen Sets Aside $7.3 Billion for Emissions Mess"A VW diesel emissions lawsuit has been filed in California. Girard Gibbs LLP has filed a class-action lawsuit against VW in California, for deceiving customers into buying vehicles marketed as “clean diesel.”
"Volkswagen promised consumers a car with power, high fuel economy, and low emissions—if they paid a few thousand dollars more for a Volkswagen “clean” diesel vehicle." - Attorney Andre M. Mura, Girard Gibbs LLP
The vehicles named in the lawsuit are the 2009-2015 Volkswagen Jetta (including the Jetta Sportswagen); 2010-2015 Volkswagen Golf (including the Golf Sportswagen); 2010-2015 Audi A3; 2012-2015 Volkswagen Beetle (including the Beetle Convertible) and the 2012-2015 Volkswagen Passat.
keep reading article "The First Class-Action Filed Against VW for It’s Not-So-Clean-Diesels"The EPA says the "defeat device" is sophisticated software on VW cars that detects when the car is going through official emissions testing. When the software recognizes an official test is underway, it turns on full emissions controls to make it appear the emission standards are within the rules. Once the official tests are completed, the emission controls are decreased during normal driving.
The EPA estimates 482,000 diesel passenger cars are violating the Clean Air Act, an offense that can carry a penalty of $37,500 per vehicle. Holy $$$.
The offending cars were sold in the USA starting in 2008 and include:
The government has temporarily blocked VW from selling any 2016 diesel inventory, and the automaker should expect a wave of fines and consumer blowback. This is going to get interesting.
keep reading article "VW Busted by the EPA for Using 'Defeat Devices' to Manipulate Emissions Output"**Re
ember the good ole days? Baseball on the radio, lemonade at Grandma's house and cars that could make it to their first oil change before getting recalled? These days it feels like every new car that rolls off the lot needs to roll right back in to the service station.
The 2015 VW Passat, for example, has just been recalled for a faulty brake line connection that can allow fluid to leak. That fluid is critical to your stopping power, so as it leaks out the car will need longer and longer distances to stop.
VW says workers used a busted torque wrench during assembly.
keep reading article "Leaking Brake Lines in the 2015 Passat"That type of problem turns das aüto into a dangerwägon very quickly.
At the heart of the investigation is the steering column control module which is connected to all the electronics in your steering wheel -- airbags, radio controls and horn. There's really no way for you to test your airbag short of running into a cement pole (which I very strongly recommend against). However, if you've noticed problems changing stations from your steering wheel or your horn sounds more and more like a sick duck, it could be a sign of a bigger problem.
The investigation is focusing on 30,000 of the 2012 VW Passat and 2012 VW CC cars.
keep reading article "Potential Airbag Failure Under Investigation"But whenever there's reports of fuel leaking out of cars they start to move like someone lit a fire under their butt. That's because, well ... there might actually be real fires soon.
Last week Volkswagen -- parent company of Audi -- recalled 26,000 cars for fuel injectors that leak. Just a couple days later they expanded that recall to include an additional 45,000 cars.
Owners had been complaining about the smell of gas inside the cabin. VW traced the issue to a bad soldering job where the sealing cap meets the fuel rail and blames the problem on their supplier. Looks like someone's getting grounded.
For more information about the problem and the range of manufacturing dates this affects, visit CarComplaints.com. VW owners with specific questions can contact customer service at 800-822-8987 and give them recall number 24BL. Audi owners can call 800-822-2834 and reference recall 24AP.
keep reading article "Gas Leaks Prompt Recall"The manufacturer recognized a potential safety defect, stopped selling cars, found the problem and issued a recall, all within a month -- see how that's done, GM?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), O-ring seals in some VWs can leak between the oil cooler and the transmission. Once flammable transmission fluid hits a hot surface only bad things can happen.
The recall affects the 2014 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, and Passat equipped with the 1.8T engine and an automatic transmission. Owners should see a notice in the mail soon at which point they can bring their cars in to have the O-ring seals replaced.
keep reading article "Transmission Leaks and Fire Risk"VW says the problem could be avoided by dropping the hood gently and not from any noticeable height, but who does that? Should we give it a pillow too?
The problem is a lose electrical connection in the 2012 and 2013 model years. If you do manage to knock the lights out, you'd see a warning light on your dashboard (and feel like you just won the strongman or strong-woman competition).
VW says no crashes or injuries have been reported but dealers will still need to fix the problem. They'll install a different fitting for the headlight bulb and possibly add a new hood bumper to protect the hood from hitting the headlights. I was just kidding about that pillow, but it looks like VW is serious.
Affected VW Passat owners can contact the Volkswagen at 800-822-8987.
keep reading article "Why Dropping the Hood Could Mean Lights Out"The best way to find out what's wrong with a vehicle is from the people who drive them. Not only do owner complaints help us rank vehicles by reliability, but they're often used to spark class-action lawsuits and warranty extensions. Plus, they're a great way to vent.