10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1997 Volkswagen Passat transmission problems

transmission problem

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1997 Volkswagen Passat Owner Comments

problem #2

Jun 171999

Passat

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle in question has a manual transmission with a lock-out for selecting reverse gear. On occasion and unexpectingly when the transmission is shifted into reverse the the transmission remains in forward first gear. This happens even though the shift lever is distinctly in reverse position and the back-up lights are on. It is extreemly dangerous. The dealer has replaced and adjusted the shift mechinism many times. The vehicle now has 69,000 miles on it, and the problem is still occuring.

- Woodstock, CT, USA

problem #1

Nov 171996

Passat

  • miles
When the gear lever is put in the reverse gear gate the gearbox may be in either reverse or first gear. The driver does not know which gear the car is actually in until the clutch is released. Obviously, this makes parking a needlessly dangerous exercise.

- Nwebury Park, CA, USA

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