2003 Volkswagen Passat engine problems
Owners reported engine problems in 147 complaints for the 2003 Volkswagen Passat, 18% of the complaints on file. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 147 18% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 124 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 27
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When engine problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 21 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 20 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 14 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 28 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 12 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 11 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 124 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 78,000 miles, and 40% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 1 crash, 27 fires, 4 injuries.
What owners wrote
Driver was on daily commute to work, stopped at an intersection. A loud bang was heard by the driver and when the driver exited the car to see what had happened, a bystander immediately yelled toward the driver to warn them that the car was on fire. Driver was able to make it out of car safely, with minor injuries incurred as a result of trying to put out the fire.
I have a VW passat 1.8 liter turbo engine that has sludge in it causing my oil pressure to be low which threw my timing off. Luckily stopped driving the car before it lock up.
Other problems reported for the 2003 Volkswagen Passat
- Fuel system 180 complaints
- Seats 98 complaints
- Electrical system 95 complaints
- Air conditioning & heating 83 complaints
- Brakes 46 complaints
- Lighting 45 complaints
- Body & structure 30 complaints
- Air bags 23 complaints