Volkswagen / Passat / 1998
1998 Volkswagen Passat problems
Owners have filed 476 complaints about the 1998 Volkswagen Passat with NHTSA. Suspension accounts for 20.8% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of service brakes, hydraulic at 16.6%.
Complaints476
Crashes7
Fires6
Injuries12
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Suspension 20.8% · 99
Service brakes, hydraulic 16.6% · 79
Steering 12.4% · 59
Engine and engine cooling 9.5% · 45
Visibility 6.7% · 32
Electrical system 6.1% · 29
Power train 4.2% · 20
Fuel system, gasoline 4.0% · 19
Severity
Of those complaints, 7 describe a crash, 6 describe a fire, 12 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 22 model years of the Volkswagen Passat in this data, 1998 sits 10th by complaint volume. 2013 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 6 in the last three years against 18 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 80,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Lower control arms need to be replaced due to corrosion/rust even though the car is only 2 and 1/2 years old! Makes horrible creaking/grinding sound. Dealer/service dept. Said it wouldn't affect my driving and was safe but after reading information on this website and others I'm not so sure. Read that this is a faulty/defective part and I should think that vw would replace it without me having to pay $300 per arm! Suspension
I have had two failures of the control arms. The first one was covered under warranty. The second one was never recreated and accepted by the dealer until a year or so after it was reported in september of 1999. The manufacturer will only pay for the replacement of the parts. The issue with the control arms failure is it affects the ability to maintain an alighnment and causes the car to wander on the road. Suspension
While driving, there is a looseness in the front end, consumer could hear knocking noise like metal banging against something, took to a mechanic and they replaced struts on the left side bottom of front end. Then 2 weeks later mechanic changed right side bottom, 3 weeks later the top struts were loose. Consumer feels very unsafe.*Ak consumer had to replace the entire front suspension system. Suspension
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…