NHTSA Complaint #10033454 — 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

AT ABOUT 61000 MILES MY 2001 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT DISPLAYED A "CHECK ENGINE" SYMBOL AND A DASHBOARD MESSAGE INDICATING A PROBLEM WITH THE EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEM. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY LOCAL DEALER. I WAS TOLD THAT THE LIGHT AND MESSAGE WERE RELATED TO A SERVICE CAMPAIGN RELATING TO A VACUUM LINE AND THAT THE ISSUE WAS ADDRESSED. AT ABOUT 74K MILES, THE SAME LIGHT AND EMISSIONS CONTROL MESSAGE REAPPEARED. I RETURNED TO THE SAME DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE, THAT IT WAS TESTED AND EVERYTHING WORKED FINE. THE CODES WERE RESET AND THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO ME. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HOWEVER, THE LIGHT AND EMISSIONS CONTROL MESSAGE REAPPEARED. THIS TIME, THE SHOP FOREMAN AT THE DEALERSHIP SUGGESTED THAT I ARRANGE TO LEAVE THE VEHICLE FOR EXTENDED TESTING. I AGREED TO DO SO. AFTER A DAY OR TWO OF TESTS, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS ON THE VEHICLE WERE MALFUNCTIONING. I WAS TOLD, HOWEVER, THAT DESPITE THE 7 YEAR/70,000 MILE FEDERALLY MANDATED EMISSIONS SYSTEM WARRANTY, VOLKSWAGEN WOULD NOT PAY FOR THE REPAIR, BECAUSE THE VEHICLE NOW HAD ABOUT 79K MILES ON IT. FROM SPEAKING WITH SEVERAL SOURCES, INCLUDING THE DEALERSHIP'S FOREMAN AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF VOLKSWAGEN, I LEARNED THAT THE VACUUM LINE REPAIR PERFORMED AT 61K MILES WAS NOT RELATED TO THE EMISSIONS MESSAGE THAT FIRST APPEARED AT THAT TIME. IT APPEARS THAT, ALTHOUGH THE VECHILE HAS CLEARLY INDICATED A PROBLEM WITH THE EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEM SINCE THE INCIDENT AT 61K MILES, NO ONE TOOK THE TIME TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM UNTIL, UNFORTUNATELY, AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD HAD RUN.*AK