2012 Volkswagen Passat Wipers & Visibility Problems

THE HEATER CORE IS CLOGGED AND THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDOWS OF THE CAR, BOTH WINDSHIELD AND DOOR, DO NOT DEFOG/DEFROST FOR UP TO 20 MINUTES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WEATHER. IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE ONLINE WITH MANY OWNERS OF VW'S IN THE 2012+ RANGE AFFECTED. I ALMOST HIT SOMEONE IN THE CROSSWALK TWICE RECENTLY DUE TO THE DECREASED VISIBILITY.

WINDSHIELD VISIBILITY DEFROST/DEFOG FAILURE: DEFROST FAILED ON PASSENGER SIDE OF VEHICLE. NO HEAT ON PASSENGER SIDE OF VEHICLE. CAUSES ICE ACCUMULATION ON WINDSHIELD AND FOGS UP DUE TO INSUFFICIENT HEAT. CAUSES SAFETY AND DRIVE-ABILITY ISSUES IN COLD AND EXTREME COLD WEATHER. HEATER CORE FAILURE MATCHES SIMILAR FAILURE REPORTED NHTSA ID #10079822. REPAIR IS THE EXACT SAME AS NHTSA ID #10079822 AS WELL AS SAME REPAIR REPLACEMENT PART. SHOP ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE SAME PART MANUFACTURE FAILURE EXISTS BUT DOES NOT INCLUDE THIS VIN. VW NEEDS TO EXPAND PART FAILURE TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL VEHICLES WITH SAME FAILING PART. FAILED PART NUMBER 561.819.031.A AND REPLACED WITH 561.819.031.B. DIAGNOSIS IS IDENTICAL TO THE 2013 GASOLINE PASSAT. I HAVE ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THIS REPAIR IS ONLY BEING OFFERED FOR GASOLINE CARS AND NOT THE DIESEL CARS. I CANNOT CONFIRM BUT I BELIEVE THAT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE DIESEL RECALL. THIS IS ROTTEN I AM NOT OFFERED A FIX FOR THE EMISSIONS AND THEY WILL BUY MY CAR BACK BUT I WOULD TAKE A LOSS OF $3000. IN THE MEAN TIME THEY ARE NOT OFFERING EXTENDED WARRANTY REPAIRS OR ARE ONLY OFFERING THEM ON GASOLINE FUELED CARS. *TR

ONE OF THE ACTUATORS IN THE HVAC SYSTEM PREMATURELY FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. I BELIEVE IT WAS THE RECIRCULATION ACTUATOR. I COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO PROPERLY DEFROST, CAUSING DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS AS VISIBILITY THROUGH THE FOGGED WINDSCREEN WAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE ACTUATOR (AT MY EXPENSE) AND THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED. AN ACTUATOR SHOULD NOT BE FAILING THIS EARLY IN THE VEHICLE'S LIFETIME. I, THE USER, DID NOT DO SOMETHING SPECIAL TO CAUSE THIS TO OCCUR. *TR

THIS VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A FAILURE OF THE HEATER CORE DUE TO CLOGGING. VISIBILITY THROUGH WINDSHIELD WAS RESTRICTED DUE TO HEAVY FOGGING AND POOR DEFROSTER PERFORMANCE OVER SEVERAL MONTHS. CLEANING OF THE WINDSHIELD WAS NO HELP. THE FOGGING WOULD COME AND GO DURING VEHICLE OPERATION AND WAS HEAVY AT TIMES. DIAGNOSIS TOOK SOME TIME DUE TO THE VEHICLE BEING ONLY A FEW YEARS OLD. GENERALLY A 3 YEAR OLD, WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLE WILL NOT HAVE A CLOGGED HEATER CORE. THE GRADUAL DIMINUTION OF HEAT DUE TO THE PROGRESSIVE CLOGGING CAUSED THE LACK OF FULL HEAT NOT TO BE APPARENT IN THE SPRING AND FALL MONTHS HOWEVER HEAVY FOGGING OCCURED DURING THESE SEASONS. IT WAS NOT UNTIL WINTER THAT THE LACK OF HEAT AND DEFROST WAS APPARENT. AFTER REPLACEMENT OF THE HEATER CORE ASSEMBLY THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED.

SUNROOF EXPLODED WHILE DRIVING DOWN FREEWAY AT NIGHT. NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME TO KICK UP A ROCK, NO OVERPASSES FOR SOMETHING TO BE THROWN FROM. COMPLETELY RANDOM EXPLOSION. I HEARD A LOUD GUNSHOT SOUND, THEN SMALL GLASS PIECES RAINED DOWN ON MY HEAD AND FACE AND ALL OVER MY THREE CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT. LOOKED UP AND HEARD THE SOUND OF WIND AND SAW THE HOLE IN MY SUNROOF. SO FAR THE DEALERSHIP HAS SAID THEY WON'T REPLACE IT UNDER WARRANTY AND I HAVE REACHED OUT TO VW DIRECTLY AND THEY ARE DENYING THE CLAIM AS WELL. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND THEY ARE NOT STANDING BY THEIR PRODUCT. THEY ARE LUCKY NOBODY WAS INJURED OR KILLED IN AN ACCIDENT. HOPEFULLY THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN FOR THEM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. *TR

MY 2012 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT S HAS POWER WINDOWS. OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST TWO OR THREE DAYS OF COLD TEMPERATURES (NIGHTS DOWN TO 5 DEGREES F., AND DAYTIME HIGHS IN RANGE OF 25 DEGREES ON 12/3/11; 20 DEGREES ON 12/4, AND 15 DEGREES ON 12/5), MY POWER WINDOWS HAVE NOW "FROZEN UP", AT ALL FOUR DOOR POSITIONS. THE MOTORS OPERATE--WINDOWS MAKE ABOUT A 1/16TH INCH UP OR DOWN MOVEMENT WHEN YOU TRY THE WINDOW SWITCHES, BUT THE WINDOWS ARE "STUCK" IN THE UP POSITION. I HAVE CALLED THE VW DEALER, AND THEY HAVE SAID "THERE MAY BE SOME MOISTURE IN THERE." NO ICE OR SNOW IS VISIBLE NEAR THE WINDOWS OR THE JOINT WHERE THEY ENTER THEIR RESPECTIVE DOORS. COLORADO WEATHER CONDITIONS OF INTERMITTENT COLD, DRY SNOWS HAVE CALLED FOR BRUSHING OFF SNOW ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, AND THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN AT SEVERAL INTERMITTENT TIMES OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. THE NEIGHBORS ON MY BLOCK IN A RESIDENTIAL SECTION OF DENVER HAVE NUMEROUS CARS WHICH ARE AND HAVE BEEN SIMILARLY PARKED ON THE SAME CURB IN THE SAME WEATHER AND CONDITIONS-- BMW. NISSAN(S), TOYOTA(S), INFINITY, HONDA, OLDER VW, AND NONE OF THEIR CARS HAVE HAD ANY ISSUE. LIKEWISE, MY PREVIOUS CAR, A 2001 VW PASSAT WAS REGULARLY PARKED IN THE SAME SPOT OVER THE YEARS IN MANY SIMILAR WEATHER CIRCUMSTANCES, WITHOUT SUCH A FAILURE. I BELIEVE THIS 2012 VW PASSAT, WHICH IS ALL NEW, AND BUILT IN A NEW US PLANT MAY HAVE UTILIZED SOME TYPE OF INADEQUATE MOTOR SIZE (TOO WEAK TO OVERCOME A SMALL AMOUNT OF FROZEN MOISTURE?) OR POORLY DESIGNED WINDOW RUB STRIPS IN THE DOOR CHANNEL THAT EITHER ADMIT TOO MUCH MOISTURE DOWN INTO THE WINDOW CHANNEL, OR OVERREACT TO ANY FREEZING. IN ANY CASE, HAVING A BRAND NEW CAR THAT CAN'T OR WON'T ALLOW WINDOWS TO OPEN IS VERY FRUSTRATING, AND ALONG MOUNTAIN AND OTHER COLORADO ROADS, A CRASH COULD END UP WITH THE CAR IN RIVER OR LAKE WATER, IN WHICH CASE, LOWERING A WINDOW MAY SAVE A LIFE. *TR