1999 Volkswagen Passat problems

“I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND STEPPED ON MY BRAKES. I NOTICED MY CAR WAS NOT STOPPING AND THE BRAKE WAS VERY LOW TO THE FLOOR. I GOT SO SCARED. THANK GOD I WAS GOING AT A VERY VERY SLOW SPEED. MY BRAKE LIGHT CAME FLASHING ON AND BEEPING LIKE CRAZY. THIS CAR SEEMS TO BE A LEMON LATELY. I ALREADY HAVE ISSUES WHEN I START MY CAR. AT TIMES IT JUST DOESN'T START SO I HAVE TO KEEP THE KEY IN THE IGNITION AND WAIT ABOUT 35 SECONDS AND FINALLY THE CAR TURNS OVER. ALSO I HAVE GRAY SMOKE THAT COMES OUT OF MY TAIL PIPE UPON DRIVING AT TIMES. ALSO MY SUN ROOF, THE MATERIAL GOT CAUGHT AND ITS ALL RIPPED. AND. MY OIL DISAPPEARS ON ME. I CAN PUT TWO NEW QUARTS OF OIL IN MY CAR WITH IN TWO WEEKS ITS GONE BONE DRY WITH NO OIL LEAKS. VERY VERY WEIRD. CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT. ARE THERE ANY RECALLS FOR ANY OF THIS. I ALREADY BOUGHT ROTORS, BRAKE PADS FOR THE BACK BRAKES AND BUYING CALIPERS THIS WEEK. NOW THIS HAPPENS WHERE I HAVE NO BRAKES. I AM SO DEPRESSED ABOUT THIS. PLEASE HELP ME! I COULD OF GOTTEN INTO A BAD ACCIDENT BECAUSE MY ENTIRE BRAKE SYSTEM FAILED ON ME TODAY. GO VOLKSWAGEN. UNREAL. :( *KB”

“I OWN A 1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT IN WHICH THE CONTROL ARMS, TIE ROD ENDS, BALL JOINTS, AND BUSHINGS ARE FAILING. BASED ON SOME INTERNET RESEARCH, THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE FOR SIMILAR MAKES, MODELS, AND YEARS. THE PROBLEM OCCURS EVERY DAY, AND IF LEFT UNATTENDED, RESULTS IN SAFETY PROBLEMS AT HIGHER SPEEDS. PARTS WILL BE REPLACED IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND OLD PARTS WILL BE RETAINED, IF IT IS FEASIBLE. *TR”

“WAS DRIVING VEHICLE ON THE HIGHWAY , THE VEHICLE'S CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN , I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY I SEEN SMOKE I OPENED THE HOOD AND IT WAS ON FIRE. I CALLED POLICE AND FIRE. THE FIRE WAS PUT OUT THE FANS ARE MELTED AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT ELSE IS BURNED , I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT COULD HAVE STARTED THE FIRE THE VEHICLE IS TAKEN CARE OF AND THERE'S NO WARNING LIGHTS ON , ON THE DASH. *TR”

“ON MY VEHICLE, THE PASSENGER FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM IS FAILING AT THE BALL JOINT. THERE ARE LOUD SCREECHES AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN PASSING OVER BUMPS COMING FROM THE BALL JOINT EVIDENCING THE INAPPROPRIATE WEAR. THIS WAS ADDRESSED AND REPLACED ACCORDING TO SERVICE BULLETIN "VM" WITH VOLKSWAGEN IN EARLY 2005, BUT THE PART IS WEARING IMPROPERLY AGAIN. FAILURE OF THIS PART COULD CAUSE LOSS OF STEERING AND COULD BE FATAL AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *TR”

“CAR WAS HAVING A FOUL ODOR. DEALER DID NOT HAVE INFORMATION FOR OTHER COMPLAINTS. AFTER WORK, CAR WOULD NOT START, ALARM WOULD NOT STOP. ALARM KILLED BATTERY. DEALER SAID LEAK IN SUNROOF CAUSED MODULE TO CORRODE AND LEAK INTO INTERIOR. $1,440.00 TO REPAIR. PROBLEM IS IDENTIFIED IN CLASS ACTION BUT OUR CAR IS NOT INCLUDED. I AM LEASING A CAR FOR MY SON TO DRIVE BUT NOW HIS DAUGHTER HAS ECZEMA AND ASTHMA FROM THE MOLD. HOW CAN I GET VW TO FIX MY CAR TOO? *TR”

“IN MY 1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT THERE IS A CONTROL MODULE KNOWN AS THE ABS CONTROL MODULE. I BELONG TO A NATIONWIDE PASSAT GROUP KNOWN AS WWW.PASSATWORLD.COM/FORUMS AND THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE. IT SEEMS IN EARLY MODEL PASSATS (1998-2001) THE ABS CONTROL MODULE GETS EXTREMELY HOT OVER TIME SINCE IT IS PLACED DIRECTLY NEXT TO THE ENGINE BLOCK. THIS CAUSES THE UNIT TO MALFUNCTION. WHEN THIS UNIT MALFUNCTIONS IT CAUSES THE ABS BREAKING SYSTEM TO FAIL. ALSO, IT FLASHES MULTIPLE CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD THAT ARE EXTREMELY DISTRACTING. VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE THIS UNDER WARRANTY, OR RECALL. DEALERSHIPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE CHARGING 1,200$ TO REPLACE THIS UNIT THAT TAKES 20 MINUTES TO CHANGE OUT. THE HARD PART IS TRYING TO RE-BUILD THE MODULE. I BELIEVE THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY FACTOR THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. ON OUR WEBSITE WE HAVE A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO'S ABS CONTROL MODULE HAS FAILED, ALONG WITH THE DATE AND MILEAGE ON THEIR VEHICLE WHEN IT HAPPENED. IF YOU WOULD LIKE THIS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT ME.*AK”