2002 Volkswagen Passat Exterior lighting Problems

“I have a 2002 vw Passat. In october 2006, with approximately 50000 miles on the car, the rear brake lights suddenly stopped lighting up at all. My mechanic replaced the brake light switch, and now my lights operate normally. Vw has a recall on this exact issue for other models, but not on the Passat. In my case, it seems obvious that my 2002 Passat should have been included as part of this recall as well. …”

“I was driving at night and pulled over because my car had no operating tail lights (the headlights and other front lights were working properly). Turning the lights off and then back on solved the problem temporarily, but further testing when I returned home revealed that the tail lights were not always turning on with the rest of the lights. An internet search revealed this is a relatively common problem for these cars and that a failed headlight switch is the culprit. Replacing the switch solved the problem.”

“Brake switch light failure. My first indication of failure was the brake lights remained on after shutting down the car. I pumped the pedal and this extinguished the light. The car continued to operate normally for another 500 miles until I noticed the cruise control was out. I then noticed the brake lights were not operating at all. After researching the problem I found that this is a common problem with vw's. To my surprise though the Passat which uses the same switch other vws have been recalled on has no recall yet. …”

“Passenger original low beam light failed. Brought into dealer and problem was determined to be a melted wiring harness. I observed the harness behind the bulb and it was melted. Dealer replaced the harness. This was the original bulb and had never been serviced. Taking with the dealer he said they had replaced several in the past week in passats and I had to wait a week until they got a new shipment in. My concern here is that a melted wire harness should not happen and could lead to a fire.”

“Headlight pigtails have melted ,fuel pump has gone ,and the plastic reservoir peice from my coolant pump has melted off driver side wiper arm bar has malfunctioned”