2003 Volkswagen Passat GLX from North America - Comments

Car in garage on May 15, 2006 - battery dead. Less than three years ownership on NEW car. Dealer put in new battery and 40,000 mile tuneup for $979.00.

Left car in airport on June 13 returned June 16 to a car with a dead BATTERY. Had battery jumped and

brought car to dealership again. They said if any car sits for 3-4 days the battery will die!!!

They found no problem with car after charging battery.

June 25th left car in garage went on business trip came back on June 27th - NEW battery dead again.

Charged on 6/28 and driven. Dead again on 6/29.

Charged again and driven. Also remote key would open only drivers door.

Took it back to be checked out - today June 30th.

Said they could find nothing wrong. When I went to get into the car. I found they did not fix the locks. Car is stilling in garage waiting to be repaired. I find it hard to believe letting a car sit for 4 days will find you with a dead battery.

Car had electrical problems - unfortunately I did

not read the blogs about this problem.

It is under 3 years old.

Electrically seats didn't work from the start.

Did you ever get this resolved?

A friend of mine has a 03 passat wagon with the exact same problem, and only 54000 miles. Is having to replace the alternator to resolve the problem. How about $700??? And found out a CV boot has to be replaced. This car sits in a garage when being driven, I have never seen boots be destroyed in normal use in such a short amount of time. And should an alternator on a car that was bought new need to be replaced in only 4 years (maybe less)? I thought that was GM's claim to fame.

2003 Passat GLX the worst experience in car buying we ever had. The worst customer service one can possibly imagine. DO NOT BUY THIS VEHILCE, IF SOMEONE GIVES YOU THIS VEHICLE Don't TAKE IT.

Car batteries do not die in 4 days. This is a lie, that garage is running you in circles...$1000 for a battery and tune up? The parts for that are like... Cap and rotor, plugs, oil, filter, air filter..$100. If that, seriously I shot high. The post after says alternator for $700...you can get like super hvy duty jeep alternators that start in a million below zero temps for like $300.

Dealership garages steal your money.

The problem is simple, your batter goes dead after 4 days, therefore you have something drawing current in your vehicle that is draining the battery in 4 days. If your car battery dies without driving the vehicle as you were saying then its not your alternator. It's an electrical issue, you have a minor draw somewhere.

For instance, your lights being left on would drain your battery in like 5 hours or so. This draw does it in 4 days, so its something small. Although I wouldn't expect the shops you've been going to, to tell you that straight up. They'll tell you its your battery, then your alternator... then they can't find it and their piling labor charges on you... blah blah. Thieves.

I have a 2003 Volkswagen Passat Wagon and it is the bain of my existence. AND, I am leasing it, which makes matters even more aggravating. Here's the rundown of all I have had to do in the last year (from 50,000 miles to 72,500 miles) :

2000 miles after the 50,000 mile warranty expired, I had a problem with the fuel pump. I was driving one day to work, and the "STOP DRIVING" light came on. That was fun. The dealer replaced the pump, since it was recalled, but I had to pay about $900 to deal with the sludge the faulty fuel pump produced. Somehow that doesn't seem fair.

I have since replaced the CV boots, shocks, struts, brake pads, rotors, and of course tires. There is about $3000.

I have had to replace a bazillion light bulbs. I will go in to have them replaced and literally drive off the lot as another burns out. That's about $17 - 40 a pop.

My brake light switch had to be replaced. That is under recall on every model, but mine! That was about $80.

There was gunk in the air conditioning condensation hose, so I had a pool of water in my passenger seat floor. Had to fix that! That was cheap- only $49. (for once)

I had to replace a wheel bearing. ($400)

The other day my check engine light came on. I took it in. They cleaned the fuel injection system. ($330) 60 miles later, it broke down late at night on the freeway. Then, they replaced all 4 coils and also fixed a bad vacuum hose. Why they didn't see that the day before is beyond me. The dealer covered some of that - but the total was about $400 on top of the $330 I spent 2 days before.

Oh, yeah, speaking of hoses, I also had a leak a few months ago in a "check valve." They also replaced the spark plugs. That cost $1300!!!

To be quite honest, my car now sounds funny when idling. They did an oil change the other day (the same day I had the fuel injection system cleaned), but I am going to double check in the morning light tomorrow that they actually did the change. They certainly didn't top off my washer fluid which makes me think they "forgot" to do the oil change, but they certainly remembered to charge me for it.

I can't believe this. What a money pit. The customer service has been very, let's say, indifferent. It seems to never surprise them that I amin EVERY MONTH for major repairs. I am calling a car broker on Monday and getting out of this mess. I am driving a time bomb.

Thank you all. I've been having trouble with my Infiniti and was thinking of trading it in for an 03 Passat at the dealer. Afer reading your reviews I'll be happy to fork over some bucks to fix my G20 and save for a G35. My G20 is fantastic compared to the Passat apparently. No wonder they only want 16K for a Passat with 50K miles. The previous owner must have fled to Infiniti because of the superb customer service.