2009 Volkswagen Passat Sedan User Reviews

Pros

nice interior layout and dash; good looking exterior; large trunk; very good in snow with snow tires

Cons

electrical nightmare; problems with engine, fueses; gets expensive; so -so on fuel

Purchased As New

This is my first VW as I have owned Hondas and Toyotas all my life thus far. I leased a 2006 Honda Accord but honestly was looking for something a bit more exciting. A friend from the university told me about his new Jetta which was two weeks old and how much he loved it. So I test drove a Passat because it is bigger than the Accord and liked it very much. The dealer had hundreds in stock because no one is buying cars at this time during the bad economy so I knocked off $6200 off MSRP plus he threw in many options for free so I took it.

Overall it drives very nice. I like the interior better than the Camry and certainly looks better than both. The trunk is very large for this size car and about the same size as the Accord. I find that the winer traction is very good. I ordered winter tires/rim package and they came within 3 days from Tirerack. Cost me $470 with shipping. Excellent value because it really makes a difference in the snow.

However that is where my problems began. Not one month later while driving home from work the door ajar warning came on but the doors were not opened. I drove straight to the dealer and they found a broken door switch. Since there was a line of other cars waiting to be repaired, I had to wait 2 hours.
Along the now nearly 5 months, a relay fuse blew the radio. So I had no radio for a few days until I had to time to take it back. The power seat controls went haywire. One of the remote keys, does not operate but I have a spare. The rear drivers side tail light is burned out. And finally, the car is at the dealer right now having the turbos replaced. I heard a strange whistling noise that was very loud when you accelerate. The dealer siad the turbos may need replacement and that this problem is common.

I don't know how a car that is not 5 months old need so many repairs nor would it have passed inspection! Perhaps I got a lemon but it seems that many other people are having similar problems with their VWs. Caution is needed....read morehide

Purchased As New

VW Passat car is excellent - beautiful, safe, economical. I love this car. ESTABLISHMENT in curves, easy to manage, GERMANY ...

Pros

Good german car for the price

I've owned Audi, BMW and other VW in the past and I would say This B6 Passat's are good cars. It's smooth on the road and you can feel its sporty when you drive in S gear.good breaking power and good accerate compare to other VW cars. Much better than most VW and Audi's in this price range....read morehide

Pros

excellent snow driving and handling, excellent fuel economy, satellite radio receiver included

Cons

the beep to remind you that the headlights are still on is not loud enough

I love this car. I can't wait to get an excuse to drive somewhere, even work!

I got this in late summer but wanted to wait until the snow hit to really test it. It drives so solid, it cuts right through snow, I feel so safe driving this.

The interior just exudes luxury German engineering, I have the tan interior/black exterior. My boss owns a BMW and when she saw this, she was astounded, "wow!"

Back to the safety, a couple of times when it was raining, the ESP safety feature kicked in as I was driving - it was the coolest thing, like God took over or something, preventing me from a possible accident.

The interior nighttime lights are awesome, indigo and red just a way cool factor.

This car feels like a much more expensive luxury car, it's so solid feeling, not like the junk American cars. I won't even get in my hubby's Trailblazer anymore, the driving experience just can't compare. Volkswagen was right with their motto from a couple of years ago, Fahrvergnugen, a driving pleasure that just has no real translation into English.

Plus the Passat accelerates like nobody's business. It's the perfect young, up-and-coming professional's vehicle. I love showing up for meetings driving up in this car!...read morehide

Pros

Excellent (German) driving experience with a quality feel.

Cons

Like pulling teeth, to get any help from Volkswagen.

When I purchased this car I was told that it had hands free phone capability, when, in fact VW did not even sell a module with which to enable the phone button on the steering wheel. After three months of runaround from VW, we finally recieved the Bluetooth kit. WHAT A JOKE! It IS NOT a handsfree kit. It is simply a glorified speaker phone. You must dial the number on the phone itself (while driving, of course) because it does not use voice commands, like your phone itself, or even the cheapest Bluetooth headset. Also, it gives no caller ID (either in display or verbal form.) In short, it DOES NOT have hands free capability! You can purchase a handsfree solution, which has the features VW leftout, for a much lower price. Volkswagon has an excellent product, in terms of sport driving; however, someone needs to drag them into the present century, in terms of amenities. Conclusion: Until VW offers a module that allows voice commands, tell them to KEEP THIS CAR ON THE LOT, and quit trying to pull the wool over our eyes!...read morehide

Pros

Great to drive, Nice looking car

Cons

Computer problems, Broken Breather valve

Seems like every month I'm back in the shop with this car! From a broken breather valve which turned into being towed to the shop, to all types of computer glitches from the burnt out headlight light going on for no reason, to the airbag fault light coming on for no reason (which by the way causes the horn not to work as well).
The car rides beautifully and is great when it's working right, but it's not worth the frustration with the problems and is not reliable....read morehide

Pros

It looks really nice.......

Cons

RELIABILITY

I had a 2008 Passat and with only 18k miles, the ELECTRICAL sysem completeley mal- [****]ioned. It took 3 weeks for them to fix it! It had sooooooooooooo many problems with the engine we had made over 25 service visits to the VW dealership. This car was are family car and we used it on the weekends only. We have never abused this car but it seems it had abused us! DO NOT BUY A VOLKSWAGEN!!!!!!...read morehide