2001 Volkswagen Passat GLS from North America - Comments

I'm driving my Dad'S 2001 Passat and at the end of my trip the climate control shut down, not good for foggy nights, If anyone has any info I'd appreciate it. I checked the fuse and that's not it.

I don't know what all the fuss is about I bought a used certified 2001 V6 with 48k on it. I bought the extended warranty which will run out pretty soon since I'm at 84K already. I have kept up with all standard recommended maintenance and I have not had any serious issues with my car, even after being hit three times by other people one of them being a drunk driver who fled and who I chased down and got apprehended eventually, in fact his car sustained more damage then mine. I think I am fortunate to have such a reliable car that has never let me down. Things that I have replaced though are two rear speakers, self dimming rear view mirror and they were done under warranty. And there are the standard things such as timing belt, water pump, rear brakes and rotors, battery, new set of tires, filters, and front headlights that I changed myself very easily. I recommend that the oil changes be done at the dealership and never at places such as Jiffy Lube and that you keep all your receipts for maintenance in case you need warranty repair. So far I have never had to use my extended warranty. One last thing I drive my car at least 400 miles a week and I love it.

At 90,000 miles my Passat blew a water pump and warped the engine within 1 block getting off the road. Engine replaced

at costs of $5000. At 96000 the STOP ENGINE light came on and it quit immediately. Costs to replace it now $8000. Now after spending $23000 3 years ago to buy this treasure for my wife's birthday, I have a 2001 Passat with no engine in my yard with electrical problems totalling $1200 to fix as well. To fix it adds $9,200 to the $23,000 for a total loss of almost $30,000. God, I'm sick. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER buy a VW.

Sad to say this, but I am glad I've found a list of others who are disappointed with their Passat! I was starting to think I was crazy because I have only heard good things about VWs thus far. I absolutely love the appearance and handling of the car, but have been to the service department so many times, the guys already know my name : (From the trunk latch to speakers to instrument cluster... this car has been a nightmare. Not to mention that replacing a simple headlight turns into a costly ordeal when you realize that it has to be taken into the dealer for replacement. I can say I will never buy another VW - and wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a tight budget.

I just recently purchased an 01 Passat 2 weeks ago with 55,000 miles on it. Already it is back at the dealer because the turn signals stopped working the other day, lights for the heater controls went out and the fuse for the power adapter keeps blowing. I am very weary and am already considering exploring my options of getting a new car. I wish I had seen this site before I made the purchase.

We have a 2001 GLX 4Motion Passat and it is a major lemon. I can't tell you how many times I have had to replace brakelights (>4), headlights (>4), etc. In fact, the headlights both went out last week at night no less. Try driving with no headlights sometime and needing to high beam everyone.

The dash indicators are all jacked up, the turn signal indicator had to be replaced, the water pump blew out and almost killed the car. The serpentine belt had to be replaced twice now (@ > $800 a pop). The alignment has chewed threw 4 sets of very expensive tires. This list goes on and on.

We bought the car for something like 28K, and I shudder to think of the costs we have incurred trying to keep this dangerous beast running.

All this and we are only at 70K miles.

This is the last VW I will ever buy. NEVER buy a VW.

I have a 2001.5 Passat with 4motion, triptronic, etc. It's loaded. I love the way the car drives, but it has been an electrical nightmare from the beginning. It has only 48,000 miles. Initially the stereo stopped working. Replaced at a cost of nearly $1000. I have replaced the passenger side tail light every 3 months for the last 6 years. The rear drivers side door window and lock do not work and no one can figure out why. Now the AC has stopped working (most of the time... it occasionally works for no apparent reason). When it isn't working, there are two dashes (--) where the outside temperature readout should appear. The dashboard lights (especially the AC) don't come on and off with the headlights, but seem to come on and off whenever they want. Now the battery drains if I don't drive the car every day. I recently had the car at the dealer for over a week and they replaced the CCM and the control head for the AC with no change. I made them take the new parts off as I refused to pay for parts that didn't fix the problem. Then I took the car to an independent foreign car repair shop and they kept it for 29 days before they admitted that they had no idea what the problem is. VW would only offer to sell me another car at a discount. I will NEVER buy another VW for any reason. If anyone has any thoughts on what's going on with this car, I'd appreciate any help you could give. But hurry, I'm going to try to trade the car this weekend.

I'm glad I saw this site cause I'm on a tight budget and I was going to purchase a 2001 Passat GLS used, and now I'm glad I'm not going to do it. Thanks Guys!

My 2001 Passat GLX has been nothing but a money pit. The latest thing to fail, which I have not priced yet, is the self dimming mirror that is now all foggy and not working. I love the way the car drives and the creature comforts, but it is EXPENSIVE to keep. I would never buy another German car - that famous German "engineering" really means lots of bucks to keep it running - true for ALL German cars, way overrated!

Wow, I was just about 4 hours away from driving up to another town and buying an '01 Passat V6 that I found on craigslist. After reading all the comments (not one of them positive) I am definitely canceling my appointment. Thanks guys for posting, and I'm sorry your German car turned out to be so horrible...

I too have a 2001.5 Passat purchased new. It's costly to maintain, but fun to drive when working properly.