1999 Volkswagen Passat service brakes, air problems

“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”

“ABS COMPUTER UNIT FAILED. WENT OUT INTERMITTENTLY AT FIRST, THEN STOPPED FUNCTIONING ALTOGETHER. ABS NO LONGER WORKS. ODB-II COMMUNICATION FAILURE, PROHIBITS SMOG CHECK HAS NOT BEEN FIXED YET.”

“ABS LIGHT APPEARED INTERMITTENTLY, AUTHORZIED VW DEALERSHIP CHARGED ME $100 DIAGNOSIS FEE AND SAID THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE MY CONCERN ON 10/11/04, 12/03/04,AND 03/05/05. ON 12/03/04 THEY WANT ME TO PAY $1365.83 + TAX TO REPLACE ABS HYDRAULIC PUMP AND CONTROL MODULE ASSY, I DECLINED REPAIR”

“THE ABS CONTROLLER IS EXPERIENCING AN INTERMITTENT FAILURE. THE SYMPTOM IS WHEN I HAVE DRIVEN SEVERAL MILES OR WHEN IT IS HOT, THE BRAKE/ABS WARNING LIGHT WILL COME ON. A MECHANIC SAYS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME PERMANENT FAILURE OF THE ABS CONTROLLER. REFER TO NHTSA OID COMPLAINT # 10106162 AND 10120717 FOR FAILURE OF SAME ABS CONTROLLER ON 1999 AUDI A4. THE PART NUMBER OF THE ABS CONTROLLER IN MY 1999 PASSAT IS 8E0-614-111-B. I AM INVESTIGATING OPTIONS FOR REPAIR, EITHER NEW PART FROM DEALER ($1500) OR REBUILD ($600). THIS IS APPARENTLY A VERY COMMON PROBLEM (MANY COMPLAINTS ON CONSUMER WEB SITES). THE FAILURE IS REPORTED TO BE FAILING SOLDER JOINTS ON A CIRCUIT BOARD IN THE CONTROLLER THOUGH I CANNOT VERIFY THIS PERSONALLY. VW AMERICA WILL NOT ADMIT ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THIS ISSUE (THEY ONLY DISCUSS RECALL OR WARRANTY ISSUES).”

“ABS MODULE FAILED AT 80,000 MILES AND WAS REPLACED. FRONT AND REAR UPPER CONTROL ARMS HAD TO BE REPLACED AT SAME TIME. CURRENTLY, REAR WINDOW IS FALLING INTO DOOR (83,000 MILES). THIS IS A PRE-OWNED AUTOMOBILE.”

“I OWN A 1999 VW PASSAT (1.8). AT APPROX 75K MILES, THE ABS CONTROL MODULE HAS FAILED. I HAVE REVIEWED THE VW FORUM ON EDMUNDS.COM AND FIND THAT THERE ARE MANY, MANY OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS IS A RECALL ISSUE - WE DESERVE TO HAVE THE PART FIXED NO MATTER WHAT MILEAGE WE HAVE ON THE CAR.”