2008 Volkswagen Rabbit owner complaints

Airbag faulty light and message on dashboard started while vehicle was in motion

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 Volkswagen rabbit. The contact struck another vehicle head-on, which severely damaged the front end of her vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy and the contact and occupants were injured. A police report was filed. The repair would cost more than $12,000. The speed was unknown. The failure mileage was 14,000.

Airbag fault light came on around end of may 2013 and I took the car to be seen by a vw technician at dirito brothers in walnut creek, ca ([xxx]- technician and [xxx]- service manager). After I was charged a $75 service fee for assessing the issue and nothing was fixed, I was told to contact vw of america at 1-800-822-8987 directly to see how they can assist with the repair costs associated with this airbag fault, as I was quoted more than $500 in repairs for something I did not damage. I discussed my case# [xxx] with [xxx] on 06.06.2013. Their resolution was to help pay half of the cost, because I am a loyal customer (I am at my 3rd vw and my father has a jetta= total of 4 wv cars). I am surprised to see that they did not consider this as a major safety problem, I am basically driving wit

Was in a tight spot at a parking lot, when I was backing up I hit a barrier behind me, after stopping and shifting to go forward, the car sped up uncontrollably until it crashed into a wall in front. The space and time was very small/short, but the force was so rapid that the airbags were deployed.

Pulled car up to propane display outside of heb grocery store. Once tanks were exchanged, noticed smoke billowing from engine. Turned care off, got out and noticed fire underneath engine. Store employee got hood open, doused fire. Called wrecker to tow car home. On december 25, 2020 neighbor noticed smoke and burning wire smell coming from hood of car. Opened hood disabled battery.

The air bag light is on and the horn is not working. Dealer diagnosed problem as a broken clock spring. Other vws have been recalled for the same problem, but mine is not included in the recall. I was told the airbag will not work in the event of a crash and I think the horn is needed in order to alert drivers around me in the case of an emergency. Both safety problems are caused by the same broken clock spring and should be included in the recall.

I bought Volkswagen rabbit 2008 model two months ago, and less than 4,500 miles the oxygen sensor wire ripped yesterday while driving. I took the car straight to the dealership. This morning I received a phone call telling me that the cut was due to an animal!! (so it wouldn't be covered by the warranty). I look at this wire just before dropping the car at vw, and concluded either a manufacturer defect (assembly plan, manufacturing...). I was furious at their conclusion, because this could be due to a lot of factors (definitely not an animal!), but vw america must have instructed their dealership to conclude in this way. Because the same thing happened to my daughter 2008 vw jetta (same engine but 2 weeks older than mine), and her vw dealer (different than mine) concluded it was an anim

In motion: the transmission is not properly shifting up. There is delay, therefore the car is 'jumping' before the higher level of gear automatically shift. This problem last for about 4 months in motion: the use of fuel is much higher than used to be, even all injectors are properly working. This problem is now about 5 months old. The rear door - its latch broke in november 2014. The door felt on my head. Contacting vw usa - I was told that the repair has to be done by vw dealer.. Vw dealer made me a quote of $ 3.5 k which I rejected. Since that time I am carrying in car board of wood and using it for support of open door.

I tried to enter the highway across oncoming traffic and had very slow acceleration. I switched to manual shift mode and the transmission was stuck in 5th gear and would not downshift. Once I started I couldn't stop and was barely able to make it across the lanes. I have had similar occurrences before. I took the car to my local shop and they changed the fluid which they said was very dirty and burned looking. Note, the transmission is (was) supposed to be service free for the life of the car. Apparently it is a know defect in these transmissions that the valve body fails prematurely and eventually causes catastrophic failure of the whole transmission. Vw has admitted the valve body issue and extended warranty coverage to 7 years or 100,000 miles after entry to service for the valve body o

While driving in second gear, the vehicle abruptly stopped leaving dual skid marks on pavement. The engine was restarted but vehicle would not move forward or reverse. When towed, a pool of transmission fluid was found under car, mechanic reports new transmission is needed but exact cause currently unknown. Vehicle is 5 months and 14,300 miles over warranty and Volkswagen dealer will not cover any costs since out of warranty and is 5 speed. More importantly, if this occured at higher speed, injury or death could occur. *tr

Steering stopped working and caught fire, there is a hole in the side of it like a laser shot out of the electromechanical steering gear box. I had parked in my driveway, and within 15 min after it was parked, smoke came billowing out from under the hood, it ended up being the electronic steering on fire.

The airbag light came on, because the clock spring is bad. This has also caused the horn button to not work. Sometimes the horn honks when I make sharp turns. It is unclear whether or not the driver airbag would deploy in the event of an impact, but from what I can tell it is quite unlikely. This also effects the functionality of the buttons on the sticks on either side of the steering wheel for the cruise control, the multi function display, and the windshield wipers. Sometimes those buttons work, sometimes they don't and sometimes they do things they aren't designed to do. From the research I have done this is a problem which occurs very frequently with this car. *tr

The steering started making a popping and cracking sound while turning. The dealership said that the electromechanical steering unit was going bad and they had to fix it. They said that if it failed totally I would not be able to control vehicle properly. You could turn right and the vehicle would go straight or left. Then on june 4rth 2012 with 79715 miles on the vehicle the steering started popping and cracking again. The dealership said that the electromechanical steering unit was going bad and needed to be replaced again. This is a repair that Volkswagen is willing to pay half of cost, but I feel I should not have to pay a thing because if it was fixed the first time it shouldn't have gone wrong again. Not only that but look at the mileage almost the exact mileage difference.

I purchased a new 2008 vw rabbit with sunroof sept '08. Sunroof repaired 10/'09. Jan '10 roof damaged by tree branch. Entire roof replaced 'but' body shop advised not to install sunroof. The shop emailed photo's of existing roof showing structural alterations I.e. The OEM roof beams attaching body to roof were cut and removed. A bracket replaced the beam and 3 sheet metal screws fastened the bracket to the body. The vw engineered structural integrity of the roof is compromised and dangerous in a rollover likely to collapse into the seating area. In addition the side impact strength of the car has been weakened and airbag deployment maybe affected, per body shop owner mike chilton. I did not have a new sunroof installed. I contacted vw of america, my vehicle was shipped as a hardtop wit

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Volkswagen rabbit. The contact stated while operating the windshield wipers and applying the brakes, the windshield wipers would suddenly disengage. When he would depress the accelerator, the windshield wipers would resume operation. The dealer could not diagnosis a failure within the vehicle and could not offer a remedy. The contact stated the failure has occurred since the date of purchase. The current and failure mileages were 20,000.

I had the heated seats on at the lowest setting of 1. I was driving on the main road by my house and the side of the driver's seat started getting really hot and I smelled smoke. I had to pull over as I was worried the seat was on fire. I turned off the seat heater, got out and checked the seat. There was a hole burned into the seat and into the jacket I was wearing. *tr

My 2008 Volkswagen rabbit, with only 4130 miles, had been parked for four hours (in a shaded area) when the rear driver's side tire blew out. The impact was such that the bumper separated from the car. After inspection by our mechanic it was suggested the remaining four continental tires be replaced, since they showed visible defects. The tires showed excessive creases. *tr

I purchased a 2008 vw rabbit, w/manual transmission, new during april of 2008. Since the first miles driven to today, there has been an intermittent fuel shutoff problem that results in a stall or a lurch that results in a near-stop. This occurs in low-speed, heavy traffic situations with trailing throttle (typically no brake application). Eventually this is going to cause me to be rear ended. I have complained to the dealership (paul clark vw - one of their technicians experienced it during a test drive) and they told me that other customers had complained about this but that vw of america said that there was no fix. I complained to vw of america and they told me that this was a part of the brake-assist program and despite my telling them that this was nonsense (because the brakes have no

Standard automatic rabbit 2.5 coupe... Stalls often during take off after warm up. Not completely, but powering down from 1500 normal idling RPM to about 5-700 as if it is going to quit. If I back off on acceleration, it recovers slowly. Very dangerous when turning in front of oncoming traffic. Drivers behind me can't tell I am stopping because my foot is not on the brake. But when it will not go forward I jam on the brake to keep from getting t-boned by oncoming traffic! Happens primarily on left turns, but occasionally on straight acceleration. 60 or so times since taking the car in the early spring. Dealership says there is no problem with the car. Finally the report you show confirms a similar situation exists. I want this fixed! *tr ... Updated 10/17/11 *bf

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Volkswagen rabbit. The contact stated that the brakes failed while attempting to brake from 5 MPH. The contact stated that the brake failed twice prior to the most recent failure and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer test drove the vehicle but could not find any problems with the brakes. The manufacturer was contacted who stated that they would contact the dealer to have the brakes inspected. The dealer later advised the contact that they were unable to diagnose or duplicate a failure within the braking system. A complaint was filed with the manufacturer but no assistance was offered. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 27,000.