2007 Passat Computer Problems

[szteve]

I own a 2007 3.6 4Motion Passat wagon which I purchased last August under the VW Certified Pre-owned program. Last Friday night as I was driving during a rainstorm, warning lights indicating malfunctioning of the braking system, the ABS system, the ESP system and the electronic parking brake came on and stayed on a few miles from destination. The next day when I started the car, they once again appeared, so I drove the car as little as possible - - especially as I noticed that the brakes didn't feel as I remembered them - - suggesting that the indicated brake malfunction was real. Because something like this had happened several weeks earlier during a rainstorm, I suspected that some seal meant to protect part of the car's computer system was allowing water or water vapor into the electronics. On Monday, when I started the car there were no warning lights and the brakes felt fine. Nevertheless I brought the car to an authorized VW service center. They first told me that the car's computer kept a log of all events involving it and would guide them to what the problem was. Later that day, they said they could find nothing wrong and that the log only recorded "hard faults," not "transient faults" and told me to bring the car back if the warning lights appeared again. The next morning they came on again. Additionally the transmission froze in 3rd gear and refused to shift either automatically or manually.I drove back to the VW service center and they said they would call me later in the day. When I didn't hear from them I called them - - and they said that a technician was out "testing the car." This sounded a little strange because it was obvious that there was something wrong with the computer system and that it would be logical to assume that their diagnostic computer - - rather than a test drive - - would give them at least some of the information they needed. They also said it would take "a long time to diagnose and fix" the car and that parts might have to be ordered "from Germany." This sounded a bit like a story meant to disguise that making warranty repairs on my car was a low priority for this service center. (Presumably whatever VW pays is significantly less than what a retail customer would pay.) In passing they told me that I would "soon need to replace the rear rotors which also sounded strange since the car has only 15,000 miles on it. (My last Passat never had its rear rotors changed during the 150,000 miles that I had it.) In any case, I called VW customer care and a regional manager has taken on my case.

Does anyone know if anything I've been told by the service manager could be true - - things like 1. the car's computer only keeping a log of hard faults, not transient faults." That Passat's "need new rear brake rotors every 20,000 miles".