2003 Volkswagen Passat Electrical system Problems

“I purchased a used 2003 vw Passat from a private dealer drove the car five months and the timing belt came off while I was driving. I almost got into an accident but avoided it. This particular vehicle and ones like it was recalled in 3/7/2014 for engine and engine cooling engine problems that causes the timing belt to come off while driving. Recall: 14e007000 because of the timing belt failure. I contacted a vw dealership and they said the recall didn't apply to my car. I find that insulting consider ing what I just experienced.”

“Every 5,000-7,000 miles an ignition coil fails on my car. This results in my car instantly starting to shutter and I have to pull over immediately. Last time this happened, driving only a mile resulted in a severe vehicle fire putting myself and other in danger. This time, I was able to pull over before serious incident occurred.”

“This car was purchased new in feb 2003. Two ignition coils replaced. I await the bill for the remaining 2 coils that will likely go bad. The dealership advised me that this had been recalled on the 2001-2002 models. I am perplexed by this information being I see no recalls on ignition coils, but I do see a host of complaints.”

“My 2003 Volkswagen Passat is holding 6inches or more of water on the passenger side in the floor board and has shorted out the computer underneath, in servicing the car the technician advised he found 3 other Volkswagen passats of the same year to have the same defect. I have also been advised that a serious crash could have resulted because the computer underneath regulates the transmission.”

“Vw 2003 Passat awd 2.8 l v6 gasoline engine...wife called me said car was miss firing badly and then smoke was reported coming from underneath car. She pulled over and saw flames coming from underneath the car. Turned car off and fire luckily went out...I changed coil and problem was fixed for about three months. Now car is miss firing again and running rough....I hate that I've fixed this same coil three times now and it is acting up again...”