2013 Volkswagen Passat engine problems

“The vehicle was brought to Bill Jacobs Volkswagen in Naperville, IL to have three open, mandatory federal campaigns and emissions modifications completed. The dealership is actively practicing illegal 'recall steering' by holding the vehicle hostage. The service department refuses to perform the free federal campaigns unless the owner first authorizes between $2,500 and $3,000 in unrelated diagnostic and repair fees out of pocket. The dealership falsely claims that the vehicle must be 'brough to specification' at the owners expense before a federal safety or emissions campaign can be completed, which directly violates federal regulations prohibiting dealerships from conditioning or delaying mandatory factory campaign work based on customer-paid services. Furthermore, dealership staff ignored explicit, repeated verbal warnings regarding an active Adblue countdown, shut the vehicle off, bricked the car via a 'No-Start' lockout inside their active service lane, and are now refusing to release the vehicle or keys without unapproved fees. The active check engine lights on the vehicle are directly tied to the faulty emissions and NOx sensor components that the open…”

“The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while at a red light ,the vehicle intermittently stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.”

“The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the vehicle was purchased in 2024 from a Used Car Dealer. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated after the vehicle was driven off the dealer lot. The contact drove to the destination and restarted the vehicle and the message "Distressed Vehicle Start" was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle back to the dealer and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was advised that there was an issue with the engine. The dealer advised the contact that parts had been ordered and she would be contacted to bring the vehicle in for the repair. The contact was not contacted, and calls were not returned. The contact contacted the warranty company for assistance with the repair. The contact stated that the timing belt was replaced, the vehicle was repaired; however, the vehicle had developed other failures. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and was shaking abnormally while shifting gear. The contact stated that the failure recurred with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The warranty company was contacted, and the contact was…”

“I was on top of Beech Mountain NC working at a customer's house when it started to snow. I was at the bottom of their driveway and when I attempted to drive out, the traction control light would turn on, indicating I was losing traction. When this happened, I was unable to accelerate any more and the car started sliding backwards. So sitting in the car in the snow, I pulled up YouTube to figure out the "procedure" to disable traction control so I could get more speed. Turn the car off, ignition on, activate the flashers, push the brake pedal multiple times, then start the car. Traction control disabled, so "simple"! The only problem is once the car starts moving traction control gets enabled again and I'm sliding backwards again! Extremely dangerous on a mountain! Eventually I was able to clear the snow enough and just hold down the accelerator to power out. So now my GPS is telling me I have to drive up a hill to get off the mountain. Same problem: I start up the hill, traction control kicks on and I lose ALL power and begin to slide backwards! Luckily I am a good driver because I was able to control the slide and do a 180 in the middle of the road. So my GPS…”

“Def system failed- cel came on w def light stating xxx miles to no start, codes p204f & 18097, now unable to start or drive car safely, 18097 code may cause abs & steering to shut off while driving & p204f renders the car unusable. EPA mod was never performed on my car per dieselgate settlement rules- & now the manufacturer(vw) is refusing to fix their mistake car has been in shop repeatedly for 30+ days at a time since 2022 for the def system and not once was the epa mod mentioned to me VW refuses to fix the def system or do the epa required mod- meaning I was sold a stop sale car. Also claiming I’m not entitled to warranty even though per their own warranty I am the first owner that I can see other then a dealership Am now told by other TDI owners that are still under warranty that vw is refusing to fix anything to do with the p204f code”

“The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, there was an abnormal metallic sound coming from the vehicle. Additionally, there was an odor of smoke and burnt rubber. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact stated that there was a hole in the engine. The contact stated that the transmission had exploded. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V182000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.”