I have a 2001 passat GSL V6 with only 34,000 miles on it. I've noticed a strange musty smell in the car lately which I originally thought was from a fruit juice spill that occurred a few months ago. I've had the Check Coolant light come on a few times lately and when I checked the coolant level, it would be gone even though I added new coolant each time. I took it to the dealer yesterday and was told that my coolant had leaked into the heater core and it will be about $1,100 to fix. I now think that the musty smell was coolant. I'm really upset about this because I thought that this type of problem didn't occur normally until a car had significant mileage on it. I've tried to contact VW america but haven't heard back from them. I know squat about cars and want to educate myself as much as possible in case I can argue with VW that they should pay for this. I've researched my warranty, but the only thing that would still be covered is the powertrain (120/100,000) and I'm not entirely sure what parts are considered the powertrain and if the heater core would be included. Does anyone have any words of wisdom?

Yes it's a premature failure, but not an uncommon one. VW has had trouble with heater cores since the mid '80's. If you are the original owner you may have some bargaining power & need to emphasize this & how it will affact your next car purchase. Have you talked to the warranty manager at the dealership? The next step is to get in touch with the dealer's factory representative & VWOA as you have done. Realize that this is not an uncommon problem & the reason they are hesitant to help you is because that opens the door on alot of other claims. They rely on most people giving up & paying for it. If all fails you can have an independent shop familiar with VW's do it for alot less (most have done the job before).

I had the same problem with my 2001 GLS 1.8 Turbo Passat several months ago (65,000 miles). The dealer refused to do anything when I complained so I emailed VWOA via their website. They offered to pay 80% of the total bill (parts and labor) which I thought was reasonable. I'm not happy overall with the reliability of the vehicle but am satisfied with VWOA's response to my complaints.

I was having this problem and asked my mechanic- he showed me the plastic reservior that was cracked and leaking and replaced it. I'm glad it was detected before major damage. It's in a bad spot, taking a lot of heat, for a plastic item.