2000 Volkswagen Passat service brakes, air problems

“MY 2000 VOLKSWAGON PASSAT HAS STARTED REPORTING ERRORS, INCLUDING BRAKE FAULTS, ABS ERRORS, CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS. I'VE TAKEN IT TO MECHANICS AND THEY ARE UNABLE TO FIND ANY PROBLEMS. THEY SIMPLY RESET THE CODES AND SEND ME ON MY WAY. A FEW HOURS OF DRIVING AND THE ERRORS COME BACK. ALL THE ERRORS ARE INTERMITENT. IT'S INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED A SIMILAR PROBLEM AND VW ONLY SAYS THAT OUR MODEL YEAR DOES NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT ISSUES TO WARRANT A RECALL. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF POSTS WITH THESE SYMPTOMS ALL OVER THE INTERNET. PLEASE HELP.”

“VW PASSAT (2000 SEDAN): ABS BRAKE FAILURE INDICATOR COMES ON, TYPICALLY IN WARM WEATHER OR WHEN ENGINE IS WARM, ALONG WITH INDICATOR BELL. "STOP" INDICATOR ALSO COMES ON AT THIS TIME. FAILURE OCCURS ALMOST EVERY TIME THE CAR IS OPERATED UNDER THESE CONDITIONS AND CONTINUES UNTIL IGNITION IS SHUT OFF. DEALER HAS CONFIRMED NO FAILURE OF ABS AND NOTES THAT THIS IS COMPUTER MODULE/ECM PROBLEM THAT WILL COST BETWEEN $1,500 AND $2,000 TO REPAIR. OTHER COMPLAINTS AT THIS SITE AND ON OTHER SITES DOCUMENT A VERY SIMILAR PROBLEM AT SIMILAR MILEAGE (~75,000).”

“ABS CONTROL MODULE FAILURE. 2000 VW PASSAT WITH 60,000 MILES EXPERIENCED AN ABS CONTROL MODULE FAILURE - SYMPTOMS ARE ABS WARNING LIGHT TURNS ON, AND "STOP" SHOWN ON DISPLAY SCREEN. TOOK IT TO A VW DEALER WHO QUOTED ME $1185 USD TO REPLACE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH PASSAT'S AT ABOUT 50,000 MILES. THIS PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT. *SC”

“2 MAIN PROBLEMS CONTINUAL BUILDUP OF OIL SLUDGE EVEN THOUGH I HAVE REGULAR OIL CHANGES. THE OIL SLUDGE BUILDUP EVENTUAL CLOGS A SCREEN THAT CAUSES THE CAR TO BE INOPERABLE AND THE DEALER THEN CHARGES $700 - $1000 TO REMEDY. THE SECOND PROBLEM IS THE ABS CONTROL MODULE FAILURE. THE MODULE IS FALING AND WILL COST $700 - $900 TO BE REPLACED. I HAVE 75,000 MILES ON MY 2000 PASSAT”

“DETAILS: (1) NO DISERNABLE EVENTS PRIOR (2) ABS MODULE FAILURE (3) NONE MANY AUDI AND VW MODELS MANUFACTURED STARTING IN THE LATER '90S AND CONTINUING TO PRESENT, USE THE BOSCH 5.3 ABS CONTROLLER, WHICH IS PRONE TO CATASTROPHIC FAILURE, OSTENSIBLY DUE TO DEFECTIVE DESIGN. THIS MODULE CONTROLS MULTIPLE BRAKE-RELATED FUNCTIONS INCLUDING THE ABS WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR WINTER DRIVING, BUT THE MOST CRITICAL FUNCTION OF THIS MODULE IS PROBABLY THE ELECTRONIC BRAKE FORCE DISTRIBUTION, OR EBD. THESE VEHICLES ARE DESIGNED SUCH THAT IF THE EBD IS INOPERATIVE, THE PROPORTION OF HYDRAULIC FORCE APPLIED TO THE REAR BRAKES DURING EMERGENCY BRAKING IS AS GREAT AS IT IS DURING MODERATE BRAKING EFFORT WHEN THERE IS MINIMAL TRANSFER OF VEHICLE WEIGHT TO THE FRONT WHEELS. THE EBD IS SUPPOSED TO ADJUST THE FRONT/REAR BRAKING DISTRIBUTION DYNAMICALLY ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF THE DECELERATION, SO THAT THE REAR WHEELS WILL NOT LOCK UP DURING EMERGENCY BRAKING. IF THIS MODULE SHOULD FAIL DURING EMERGENCY BRAKING ON DRY PAVEMENT, THE REAR WHEELS COULD LOCK UP AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT WHICH COULD EASILY INCLUDE FATALITIES. THIS IS AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR FOR OWNERS, COSTING ROUGHLY $2000,…”

“ABS COMPUTER FAILURE. NO EVENTS LEADING TO ITS FAILURE IT JUST SHUT DOWN ONE DAY AND THE ABS LIGHT HAS BEEN ON SINCE. FAILURE = NO ABS, DEALER WANTS OVER $1000 TO REPLACE ENTIRE SETUP HOWEVER THE PUMP IS OK THE COMPUTER IS GONE. CURRENTLY WAITING FOR A CHEAPER FIX OR POSSIBLE RECALL.”