2000 Volkswagen Passat Electrical system Problems

“Was driving down the road today 8/9/10 in my 2000 v w Passat and my car started smoking through the vents. No warning prior to the smoke. Flames began shooting out from under the dashboard totally engulfing the entire car within minutes resulting in a total loss of the vehicle. There had been no prior problems with the vehicle until this event.”

“I have had my 2000 vw Passat since 2006 and have had only regular wear and tear unitl about 3 weeks ago. I was driving on 95 in fort lauderdale, fl moving at about 65-70 MPH when the engine shut off, power steering was gone and pushing brakes took all I had to try and safely steer and come to a complete stop crossing over 5 lanes of traffic to the break-down lane. Once I was completely stopped I was able to turn the key to the off position and restart the vehicle. …”

“Events leading to failure. First the fuel tank door switch became inoperable forcing me to remove the opening mechanism which allowed me to open it manually. Two days later the alarm began to sound on it's own, and did so for at least 8 hours or more. By the end of the night the car would not turn over and all the functions in the drivers side door as well as the alarm, ceased to operate apart from the locks. …”

“My husband pickup would not start, so I lift my hood of my Passat to give him a jump and the whole section all the way across that holds the battery have at least 6 inches of water just standing in there. We have had some down pours of rain,but rain water should never be standing on the inside of my hood. This could have potentially killed me if I never had to lift my hood and try to drive this with water standing around all of my electrical wires and battery. I have taken two pictures for visibility, but I do not know how I am going to get that water out without electrocuting myself. …”

“My car has been recalled 3 times, to which I adhered. Two months after my extended warranty expired, with 45,000, the ABS sensor module failed. I don't believe it's failed as the dash board lights infrequently return to normal state; with no indication of problem, only to return to ABS, brake failure, stop, service manual, lights flashing. Vw of america offered $300 towards a $1024.00 repair only to retract offer when I voiced I could not buy another vw nor recommend to anyone.”