Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2000 Volkswagen Passat submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 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.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
THE HAZARD LIGHT AND TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS STOP WORKING. THE DEFECT IS DUE TO MALFUNCTIONING HAZARD SWITCH WHICH CONTROLS TURN SIGNALS. THIS WILL RESULT IN ACCIDENTS SINCE DRIVER UNABLE TO SHOW TURN SIGNALS. *TR
MY ABS SENSOR FAILED AT 130K MILES. THIS CAUSES A ANNOYING FLASH ACROSS THE DASH AND SOUNDS THAT BEEP LOUDLY. *TR
I HAVE HAD MY 2000 VW PASSAT FOR A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS AND IT HAS BEEN A MONEY PIT! I HAVE HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS SINCE A MONTH OR SO AFTER I BOUGHT MY CAR. I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM A PRIVATE PARTY, TEST DROVE THE CAR, HAD IT CHECKED OUT BY A MECHANIC, AND I HAVE PUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS INTO THE CAR. I BOUGHT THE CAR JUST BEFORE MY SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL THINKING I MADE A WONDERFUL CHOICE, AND I HAD TO REPLACE A NEW RIGHT SIDE BOOT JUST AFTER A MONTH OF OWNING THE CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT/ABS/AIRBAG KEPT COMING ON AND BEEPING AT ME, AND I HAD TO BUY A WHOLE NEW BRAIN TO THE CAR OVER $1500. I HAD TO REPLACE THE TIMING BELT WAY BEFORE THE MILE WARRANTY, OIL LEAKS WHICH RUINED SOME WIRES, NEW SHOCKS/SHOCK ABSORBERS, NOW THE WINDOW WILL GO PART WAY DOWN, BUT WILL NO LONGER GO UP... AND MY HEADLIGHTS ARE FOGGED UP WHICH I HAVE NOTICED ON ALL OTHER 2000 PASSATS...! MANY THINGS HAVE GONE WRONG WITH THIS CAR. I AM SO FRUSTRATED WITH THE CAR. I DO NOT RECOMMEND A VW TO ANYONE! I AM GOING INTO THE SECOND YEAR OF COLLEGE AND HAVE SPENT MOST OF MY SAVINGS ON THIS PIECE OF JUNK. I THINK AFTER FIXING A PART OF THE CAR THAT IT SHOULD RUN WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. SINCE I HAVE PUT SO MUCH MONEY INTO THIS CAR I CANNOT AFFORD TO GET A RELIABLE CAR. THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH VW AND THE RECALLS! AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED THE WHOLE CAR SHOULD BE RECALLED!!!! *TR
DUE TO THE CLOUDINESS OF MY FRONT HEADLIGHTS I ALMOST RAN OVER TWO JOGGERS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I WAS NOT SPEEDING AND I HAD JUST REPLACED THE LIGHT BULBS IN BOTH HEADLIGHTS, YET, BECAUSE OF THE DECREASED LIGHT OUTPUT OF MY HEADLIGHTS WHICH I ESTIMATE TO BE AT LEAST A 40% REDUCTION, I SIMPLY COULDN'T SEE THE JOGGERS UNTIL I WAS ALMOST ON TOP OF THEM. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO REPLACE/REPAIR NON-CONSUMABLE SAFETY ITEMS SUCH AS HEADLIGHTS ASSEMBLIES. *JB
9/2003: HEADLIGHTS AIMED INCORRECTLY; ROAD WASN'T ILLUMINATED. WITHIN 2 WKS, 1 OF THE BULBS BURNED OUT. WITHIN A WEEK OF THE 1ST, THE 2ND BULB BURNED OUT. COST TO HAVE HEADLIGHTS REPOSITIONED & BULBS REPLACED: $267. 9/2003: REAR TAIL LIGHT OUT. COST TO HAVE BULB REPLACED BY MECHANIC: $32.50. 11/2003: BOTH REAR WINDOWS OFF TRACK. COST TO TEAR DOORS APART & FIX: $159.75. 12/2003: ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS WITH FRONT POWER WINDOWS. NEVER KNOW IF WINDOW WILL GO UP OR DOWN. 2004: HAD CAR IN FOR (AT LEAST) 3 DIFFERENT DASHBOARD WARNING CODES. ONE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH FUEL, OR THE FUEL TANK OR SOMETHING. AFTER SOME TRIAL AND ERROR ON MY MECHANIC'S PART, DISCOVERED THAT UNSCREWING AND TIGHTLY RESCREWING GAS CAP FIXED THE PROBLEM. COST TO DIAGNOSE AND "FIX": $165. HAD (AT LEAST) TWO OTHER WARNING CODES IN 2004 THAT REQUIRED ME TO TAKE THE CAR IN. 6/24/2005: HAD BEEN HEARING CRUNCHING SOUND FROM FRONT RIGHT PORTION OF CAR THAT WAS PARTICULARLY APPARENT WHEN HITTING A POTHOLE, A DIP IN THE ROAD OR ATTEMPTING A TIGHT 360 TURN. MECHANIC (SPECIALIZING IN EUROPEAN CARS) IDENTIFIED A BAD CONTROL ARM. COST OF REPAIR & ALIGNMENT: $713.70. COST OF RENTAL CAR: $100.88. TOTAL: $814.58. NOTE: THE LEFT SIDE HAS BEEN MAKING THE SAME SOUND SINCE 12/2005. HAVE NOT YET REPAIRED IT. 10/24/05: CAR STARTED GOING DEAD INTERMITTENTLY. THE CAR HAD LESS THAN 60000 MILES ON IT. REPLACED BATTERY FOR $106.50. 1/2006: TEMP GAUGE MAXED OUT, COOLANT BOILED OVER, SMOKE & STEAM ISSUED FROM HOOD IN LESS THAN 8 MINUTES AT IDLE. COOLED CAR FOR 2L HOURS, REPLACED COOLANT AND DROVE TO MECHANIC, WHO REPLACED THERMOSTAT, WATER PUMP & TIMING BELT. COST: $725. 2/2006: BRAKES ARE SPONGY AND PROVIDE NO RESISTANCE UNTIL NEARING THE FLOOR. MECHANIC SAYS ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS ARE FINE. 6/2006: TRANSMISSION GETS STUCK IN 1ST GEAR. MUST STOP THE CAR, TURN IT OFF AND THEN RESTART. THIS IS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM AND IS GOVERNED BY THE COMPUTER. COST TO FIX: UNKNOWN. 6/2006: FRONT WINDOW NOW OFF TRACK. HAVE NOT YET FIXED IT. *NM
A PLASTIC GEAR ON THE HEADLIGHT ADJUSTMENT BREAKS, PREVENTING THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE HEADLIGHT, AND CAUSES THE AIMING OF THE HEADLIGHT TO "DROP". THE ONLY METHOD OF REPAIR IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. I KNOW OF 3 OTHER PEOPLE WITH 2000 PASSATS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.*AK
WHILE DRIVING THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS FAILED INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ON FOUR OCCASIONS BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST. *NM
CONSUMER STATED THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLAMP DID NOT ILLUMINATE THE ROAD PROPERLY, CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THE HEADLAMP WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED.*JB
LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS CANNOT BE ADJUSTED, VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED BY DEALER 3 TIMES INDICATING THAT THE LIGHTS DO NOT EXTEND OUT FAR ENOUGH. NLM
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
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
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