Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1998 Volkswagen Passat submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 90 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 90, in the owner's own words
ABS MODULE APPEARS TO BE FAULTY. ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT REMAIN ON/FLASHING. LOSS OF ABS COULD CAUSE COLLISION, DEALER WANTS $1000+ FOR THE PART AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE IT WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR
THE ABS LIGHT COMES ON,FOLLOWED BY THE BRAKE LIGHT BLINKING THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT COMES ON AND THE TACHOMETER GOES TO 0 AND STOPS WORKING EVEN THOUGH I AM ACCELERATING. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS WITH THIS SAME ISSUE IT CAN BE RESEARCHED ON HTTP://TECH.BENTLEYPUBLISHERS.COM/THREAD.JSPA?THREADID=2447&TSTART=0. *TR
THE ABS LIGHT STAYS ON, THE BRAKE LIGHT FLASHES, THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT COMES ON AND THE TACHOMETER GOES TO 0 AND STOPS WORKING EVEN THOUGH I AM ACCELERATING. THE CONTROL MODULE WAS THE CULPRIT AND IT WOULD COST $1450.00 AND THERE WAS NO USED PART AVAILABLE AND IT IS A DEALER ONLY PART. *TR
ABS MODULE FAILURE. WAS DRIVING SHORTLY AFTER HAVING FRONT END WORK DONE AND LIGHT WHEN ON. THIS HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING. BRAKING IS AFFECTED. *TR
ABS MODULE IN OPERATIVE ABS SYSTEM. *TR
THE ABS MODULE IN MY 1998 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 1.8T HAS GONE BAD. THIS FAULT CAME WITHOUT NOTICE OF ANY SYMPTOMS AND COMPLETELY UNPROVOKED. THE WARNING LAMP AND TONE APPEAR EVERY TIME I START THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH MANY INDEPENDENT VOLKSWAGEN MECHANICS AND MANY PASSAT OWNERS. *TR
AS AN OEM SAFETY FEATURE, NOW I BELIEVE REQUIRED, THE ABS CONTROL MODULE ON MY 1998 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, HAS FAILED, LEAVING THIS FEATURE INOPERATIVE. LUCKILY FOR MY SELF THIS HAS NOT BECOME A BURDEN OR CAUSED INJURY, BUT I'M SURE THAT OTHERS ARE NOT AS LUCKY AS I HAVE BEEN. *TR
MY ABS COMPUTER FAILED ON MY 1998 V6 PASSAT. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON OCCURRENCE AND THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON THIS DEFECTIVE PART. IT IS DANGEROUS AND CAUSES IRREGULAR BRAKING AND FLASHING DASHBOARD LIGHTS. *TR
ABS/ BRAKE LIGHT ARE ON, CHIMES SOUND WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED ON AND WON'T TURN OFF. *TR
ABS COMPUTER FAILURE 98 VW PASSAT... COMPLETE ABSFAILURE ALL THE TIME. *TR
ABS BRAKES CEASED TO FUNCTION AFTER APPROX 60K MILES. BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE TO FIX (DEALER QUOTED $2400, INDIE MECHS ABOUT $1400), THEY REMAIN NON-FUNCTIONAL (MY CAR IS NOW 95K MILES). *TR
ABS/ BRAKE LIGHT ARE ON AND 3 CHIMES SOUND WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED ON. *TR
MY ABS LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY COMES ON FOLLOWED BY THE BRAKE LIGHT FLASHING> UPON RESEARCHING THIS ON SEVERAL VARIOUS FORUMS ON THE NET. THIS APPEARS TO BE A COMMONLY DEFECTIVE PART ON SEVERAL MODEL YEARS FROM 98-01. THE OLDEST POSTING I FOUND WAS DONE IN 2000 AND THE VEHICLE WAS A 99. FROM RESEARCHING THIS IT APPEARS EVEN VW DEALERS ARE UNABLE TO GET CORRECT PROBLEM CODES ON THIS ISSUE. I SAW POSTINGS FROM MANY OWNERS STATING THEY WERE TOLD EVERYTHING FROM ABS MODULES NEEDING REPLACED TO INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS TO WIRING ISSUES. IT APPEARS NO ONE IS ABSOLUTELY SURE WHAT THE ISSUE IS AS SOME OWNERS AFTER THE DEALER RECOMMEND REPLACEMENTS DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE. IN THE SHORT TIME I LOOKED INTO THIS I FEEL THAT VW SHOULD BE WELL AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND HAVE TAKEN STEPS TO RESOLVE IT. I SAW LITERALLY YEARS WORTH OF POSTINGS A ON THIS ISSUE ON BENTLEY PUBLISHERS WEBSITE. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR THINGS THAT DID NOT DO ANY RESEARCH ON IT. *TR
ABS CONTROLLER FAILED. MODULE SCAN SHOWED: 01203 - ELECTRICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN ABS AND INSTRUMENT CLUSTER 03-10 - NO SIGNAL - INTERMITTENT. *JB
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 1998 DASHBOARD INDICATED THAT THE ABS BRAKES FAILED. REPLACEMENT OR REPAIR WAS ESTIMATED AT APPROX $1,000. *AK
ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE FOR ANTI-LOCK BRAKES FAILED. ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ARE NON-FUNCTIONING. *JB
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE FAILURE. ABS WARNING LIGHT .*JB
MANY AUDI AND VW MODELS MANUFACTURED STARTING IN THE LATER '90S AND EALRY '00S, 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, AND MANY OWNERS HAVE PROBABLY PUT OFF THE REPAIR INDEFINITELY. EVIDENCE WHICH CAN BE FOUND THROUGH A SIMPLE WEB SEARCH, SUGGESTS THAT THE PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD, AND THAT IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY LED TO SERIOUS ACCIDENTS, IT IS ONLY A QUESTION OF TIME. THIS PROBLEM IS GENUINE, AND VW/AUDI SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION. *JB
ABS LIGHT CAME ON WITH LESS THAN 30,000 MILES ON IT. FOR 4 YEARS, THE VW DEALER SAID IT WOULD BE OVER $1,800 TO REPLACE THE ABS PUMP. LAST YEAR THEY SAID IT WOULD BE $2750. AFTER SEEING ON INTERNET THREADS THAT THE COMMON CAUSE IS ONLY THE ABS MODULE, I CONFRONTED THE DEALER, AND THEY SAI IT WOULD $650, AND IT HAS WORKED FINE SINCE. I FEEL VW DEALERS ARE NOT FORTHRIGHT IN TELLING CUSTOMERS ABOUT THE LESS EXPENSIVE SOLUTION, AND THEY SHOULD PAY FOR IT, SINCE IT IS A KNOWN COMMON DEFECT, AND A SAFETY HAZARD. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE PULLING THE BULB OUT, AND BUYERS MAY NOT BE AWARE THE ABS DOESN'T WORK. UNTIL ITS TOO LATE. *NM
FAILED ABS UNIT. *JB
(1) ABS WARNING/BRAKE LIGHT STARTED BLINKING INTERMITTENTLY. SINCE THEN, BRAKING BECAME UNRELIABLE (LONG BRAKING DISTANCE. THE CAR WOBBLES ON A HARD BRAKING). (2) THE ABS CONTROLLER MODULE (PART #: 8E0 614 111 P) FOUND TO BE FAULTY, RESULTING IN NO ABS. (3) THE ABS CONTROLLER IS TO BE SENT FOR A REBUILD SERVICE.*JB
1998 VW PASSAT ABS CONTROL MODULE FAILURE. THIS $1000 PART SEEMS TO BE A VERY CONSISTENT FAILURE AT VOLKSWAGEN. *JB
ANTI-LOCK BRAKES FAIL. WARNING LIGHT AND BUZZER COME ON. DEALER SAID IT WOULD COST $2800 TO FIX. AFTER TELLING DEALER THAT 99% OF ABS FAILURES IS THE ABS ELECTRONICS MODULE, AND NOT THE ABS PUMP, DEALER OFFERED TO REPLACE MODULE FOR $600. I FEEL THIS IS A WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM, AS THIS PROBLEM IS NOTED BY MANY PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET. IN ADDITION, IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTING THEIR WARNING LIGHT TO BE ABLE TO SELL THEIR CAR. THIS COULD BE A BIG PROBLEM FOR THE NEXT BUYER WHO DOESN'T KNOW THEIR ABS ISN'T WORKING. *JB
ABS CONTROLLER FAILURE. *NM
ABS FAILED, FLASHING LIGHTS CONTINUALLY. SPOKE WITH DEALER IN SEASIDE, CA SAID COMMON EVENT AND NOT WORTH REPLACING. *JB
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .