2000 Volkswagen Passat problems
NHTSA has received 625 complaints about the 2000 Volkswagen Passat, and 35% of them involve brakes. After that come engine (16%) and fuel system (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 625 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 35% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 13 and 34
- Injuries and deaths
- 21 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 419 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 22 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 34 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 99 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 93 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 82 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 31 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 32 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 15 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 419 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 70,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 72,000 miles (172 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 13 complaints mention a crash; 34 complaints mention a fire; 21 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2000 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Volkswagen Passat with enough data (353 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 volkswagen passat. While driving at high speeds, the driver lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle veered off the road and dropped down approximately one foot. The vehicle flipped over three times. The air bags deployed, but the driver's side seat belt failed. The contact was pinned halfway out of the vehicle with the other half underneath the vehicle. He suffered severe head trauma and passed away at the scene.
A rainy night, 10:30 pm., on the freeway returning home from a symphony concert, the engine simply quit. I, husband/driver, tried three time to restart it before yelling to my wife to turn on emergency flashers which she did. As we slowed, I remember seeing all icons on dash blinking. Both of us were knocked unconscious and do not remember being hit by the car behind. Air bags did not deploy. Injuries sustained: a contusion and minor whiplash by husband; fractured c-7 and t-1 vertebrates and concussion by my wife.
Purchased my 2000 passat in 2003, had numerous problems since. It seemed like everything on the car had to be replaced. The control arms, o2 sensors, twice, belts, stereo didn't turn on, all new hoses right away, all 4 window regulators, and now to top it all off, the ABS lights kept coming on. My husband has a 2000 audi a4, virtually the same car, and had to replace all of the same things. The ABS seemed to work fine, but the dealer said it would be $1800 to fix it.
2000 VW passat developed failure of ABS control modulator. Car has had a single owner and all recommended factory maintenance at authorized dealers. To correct the failure the whole part needed to be replaced at a cost of $1000.