No recollection
This is a copy of my letter to VOSA: “I wanted to speak to someone about the following but there is no appropriate option on your automated telephone service. Shame on you for not having an option where all the other options are inappropriate. Anyway. I would like to report a car safety issue. Yesterday with no warning the servo assistance on my 2002 VW Passat TDI 130 failed. Luckily I was able to safely bring the vehicle to a halt by stamping very hard on the brakes and with judicious use of the handbrake. VW has confirmed that in the event of servo failure (potentially caused by failing vacuum pump or blocked pipes) there is no warning. It seems wrong to me that a car can suffer such a catastrophic failure and yet not warn the driver. This appears not to be an isolated occurrence. See here for a lot of forum posts regarding the Audi A4 - a car virtually mechanically identical to the VW Passat www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=701 What is VOSA able to do in respect to this serious safety issue?”
Asked on 22 May 2010 by G.C., Hadlow Down
Answered by
Honest John
This is yet another safety issue on which, in my experience, VOSA has failed to act, despite prompting.
Others are:
Failed TEVES Mk 60 ABS/ESP units on 3 - 6 year old Golfs, A3s, Leons, Alteas, Toledos, Octavias, BMW 1-Series, BMW 3 Series, Volvo S40/V50s, Mazda 3 and Mazda 5s.
Failed electric power steering on Vauxhall Merivas.
Steering racks tearing away from the bulkheads of SAAB 9-3s, SAAB 900s, Vauxhall Cavaliers and Daewoo Esperos.
Collapsing front suspension spring mounts on Mercedes W210 E Class.
The reason for the fault on your car is that the drains to the ventilation
well in the bulkhead get blocked so the well fills up with rainwater and that water gets into the servo. When it overflows into the car it can also damage the ECU. The issue is the drains, which are difficult to get at and clear because one is under the battery. But this problem was designed out of the cars 5 years ago.
Others are:
Failed TEVES Mk 60 ABS/ESP units on 3 - 6 year old Golfs, A3s, Leons, Alteas, Toledos, Octavias, BMW 1-Series, BMW 3 Series, Volvo S40/V50s, Mazda 3 and Mazda 5s.
Failed electric power steering on Vauxhall Merivas.
Steering racks tearing away from the bulkheads of SAAB 9-3s, SAAB 900s, Vauxhall Cavaliers and Daewoo Esperos.
Collapsing front suspension spring mounts on Mercedes W210 E Class.
The reason for the fault on your car is that the drains to the ventilation
well in the bulkhead get blocked so the well fills up with rainwater and that water gets into the servo. When it overflows into the car it can also damage the ECU. The issue is the drains, which are difficult to get at and clear because one is under the battery. But this problem was designed out of the cars 5 years ago.
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A better drive and better equipped than the previous Passat. Comfortable and has more status than, say, a Ford Mondeo.
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