2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT — Complaint #632335
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER ARM filed July 30, 2007
NHTSA complaint #632335 (ODI reference 10197784) concerns a 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT and was filed on July 30, 2007. The owner reports the failure occurred on July 10, 2005. The report was geocoded to New Jersey based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as suspension:front:control arm:upper arm, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT cohort independently describe similar suspension:front:control arm:upper arm failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
I OWN A 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT STATION WAGEN AND HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT TROUBLE WITH IT SINCE I BOUGHT IT. I HAD TO REPLACE THE ENGINE DUE SLUDGE AND VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA WOULD NOT REIMBURSE ME BECAUSE I WAS MISSING ONE OIL CHANGE RECEIPT THE LIGHTS KEEP COMING ON IN THE CAR TELLING ME I HAVE ENGINE PROBLEMS ONCE AGAIN, AND I BRING IT IN FOR REGULAR REPAIRS AND CHECK UPS. CURRENTLY THE SUSPENSION PART OF THE CAR HAS GONE AND THAT WILL COST ANOTHER $2000 ON TOP OF THE $7000 I ALREADY PUT INTO IT. THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE NEW TIRES AND OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE GONE WRONG WITH THIS IDIOT CAR. VOLKSWAGEN DOES NOT STAND BY ITS CUSTOMERS AT ALL AND I WILL NEVER EVER BUY FROM THEM AGAIN AND WILL TELL PEOPLE I KNOW THE CAR IS A PIECE OF CRAP. THE PLACE I BRING IN MY CAR TO FOR REPAIR ALREADY KNOWS THAT. DO NOT BRING IT INTO A VOLKSWAGEN REPAIR PLACE TO HAVE IT FIXED> THEY ARE THE BIGGEST RIPP OFFS AND SO TOTALLY DISHONEST!!!! I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM JACK DANIELS IN FAIRLAWN, NJ AND HAVE HAD IT REPAIR
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 632335 |
| ODI Number | 10197784 |
| Date Filed | July 30, 2007 |
| Failure Date | July 10, 2005 |
| VIN | WVWHC63B91E |
Similar SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER ARM Complaints for 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
FAILURE OF MULTIPLE FRONT CONTROL ARMS IN 2001 VW PASSAT. WAS GIVEN QUOTE OF NEARLY $2100 TO REPAIR CONTROL ARMS. WAS TOLD THIS IS A "WIDE SPREAD" PROBLEM WITH VW PASSATS AND NOTHING HAS BEEN RECALL
ALL 4 UPPER CONTROL ARMS FAILED AT 62,500 MILES. OEM CONTROL ARMS ARE UNFIT FOR PURPOSE AS DESIGNED AND SHOULD BE RECALLED BY VWOA. *TR
UPPER LEFT CONTROL ARM BUSHING FAILURE AT 35,000 MILES. NEEDS REPLACING.*AK
WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, THE UPPER CONTROL ARM SNAPPED. THIS CAUSED THE CONSUMER TO LOSE STEERING CONTROL. THE CONSUMER MANAGED TO PULL OVER AND HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED. THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID
DESPITE LIGHT USE OF THE VEHICLE, BOTH THE UPPER AND LOWER CONTROL ARMS ON OUR 2001 VW PASSAT WAGON HAVE FAILED AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY RECOGNIZED A DEFECT WITH THE LOWER CONTRO
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.