10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 2 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 47,350 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
Any time it rains and the car goes through a deeper than surface level puddle/wet area where the nose of the car has to dip down (think by railroad tracks, high water retention areas with lack of drainage, etc) as soon as the car dips down into the water, the steering wheel will lock up and I am unable to turn. It's severely dangerous as there is no give at all to the wheel as it is solidly locked and if you happen to be taking a curve or changing lanes etc, you will not be able to turn the car. My husband and myself have narrowly escaped severe car accidents as this is random and there is nothing you can do except try to force the wheel to turn. When I say the wheel is locked, it's a good 15-20 seconds of desperation trying to turn the wheel before it finally unlocks and I am able to correct the direction of the car. Living in FL with high rainfall chances, including sporadic downpours that unfortunately leave situations like this to occur often, it is a severe safety risk for myself and for other drivers. I have been lucky so far that when this has occurred I have been able to eventually correct the steering, however there have been several severe near misses that are completely out of my control. Please help find a solution, as there doesn't seem to be a fix for this anywhere that I've looked. I do not want to spend money I don't have taking it from dealership to dealership for them to be just as stumped as we are. I have two young kids and not only do I not feel safe letting them in the car, I seriously dread any time it rains because of this issue. I'm not talking about driving through deep bodies of water, but normal rainy weather situations on everyday roads that are otherwise uneventful. Unfortunately I am in an area where water seems to gather quite a bit on the everyday roads I need for work and this situation is truly unavoidable. I put one date below as when it occurred, but it has happened several times in the last week alone due to heavy rains
- Haines City, FL, USA
The electrical system failed. It has been to numerous mechanics many refusing to do the work. The car cuts off while driving randomly. When ignition is turned off and then turned back on car starts again. No light on dash alternator ecu fuel pump fuses all replaced in effort to try to find the issue with no avail. Car cuts off in mid traffic and then stalls.This is life threatening and should be addressed. No mechanic wants to work on this particular year and model car. Car has been inspected by Volkswagen dealer. No warning lights sounds or dashboard notifications.
- Los Angeles , CA, USA
Clock spring fail airbag light is on horn is not working dangerous to drive car likethis
- Delano, CA, USA
I heard a loud crack while turning my steering wheel and now I have an "Airbag Error" message and the controls on my steering wheel do not work. Is this related to the Airbag recall" Is it the Steering Wheel Clock Spring"
- Peachtree City, GA, USA
Although this site has my car listed with ZERO unfixed recalls, that is not true. I received a recall notice for the clockspring on this vehicle, called my local dealership and was told it was no big deal, just to have it fixed when I brought my car in for 80k mile servicing. At that time, the clockspring had not yet broken and my car only had 50k miles on it. Late last October, my clockspring broke and I took it to the dealership. They ordered the part but said it was on backorder and it is STILL on indefinite backorder. I have now been driving more than 6 months with NO airbags, NO horn and NO hands free steering wheel controls. The dealership will not give me a loaner until my vehicle is made safe to drive. I have reached out to VW headquarters, the consumer product safety commission and the NTSB. I am on an online chat site where it is apparent there are thousands of us who cant pass state safety inspections and have had to park our vehicles or are driving them out of necessity, like myself. I am a widow who works full time and cant just buy another vehicle so easily. I believe VW should either buy our vehicles from us or give us loaners until they can be made safe to drive. People will have accidents and VW will wish they had done something. It should not get to that point! My local dealership told me the VW clockspring is made in Ukraine - so obviously this is not getting resolved by VW anytime soon. Please help! Thank you for your time. The failure of these parts leaves the vehicle with no airbags, horn or hands free controls on the steering wheel. Consumer stated there are thousands of us out here with unsafe and disabled vehicles and we can get no response at all from VW. Dealership stated the part is on indefinite backorder and consumer has already been without airbags, horn, etc for more than 6 months now. Consumer believes VW should authorize loaner vehicles until ours can be made safe to drive or purchase the vehicles to get them off the road. Right now, consumer can-??t sell them, c
- Tulsa, OK, USA
Lost power reconnect batter n steering locked
- Southern Pines , NC, USA
I was driving this particular day through a busyfour way stoplight intersection around time school was dismissing so 3:30ish PM. And I lost all power to my vehicle with just the battery light flashing once. I barely made it out of the i intersection and to the shoulder of the road as there was no power steering and i had to pump my breaks to stop. I called the local police and let them know it would be towed tomorrow morning. The tow bill was 100 dollars and i had replaced the battery thinking it was the problem. The brand new battery drained in two minutes tops after install alternator was tested and fuses were in working order all except for one that went to my12 volt charging port which was replaced as well as serpentine belt was replaced with alternator test. The battery still drains instantly and when speaking with volkswagon suntrup in sunset hills st. Louis which is the nearest Volkswagen dealership about 30 minute drive my car still is under a dealership warranty for the national emissions recall that was just fixed after i purchased the vehicle. The dealership refuses to come get/ fix/ diagnose or rectify vehicle although admitting to knowing this year has parasitic draws instally killing a brand new battery even while driving was/is a very dangerous situation for me and my family. This car has been sitting in my drive way now for 6 months while nothing is being by vw and i am without safe or working transportation for my family. Ive also been told by vw. That they cant find some parasitic draws and are confused as me!
- Bloomsdale, MO, USA
On the 29th of January, upon turning on my car and turning my steering wheel, I heard a "clicking" noise, and immediately on the dash my airbag light displayed along with a message saying, "Error: Airbag". After driving, I realized that my horn no longer worked and the controls on my steering wheel were inoperable. When I arrived at my destination, I began looking up the issue and things that could cause the airbag light to display, along with causing the other issues I was experiencing. The first thing that popped up described a recall that was initiated in 2015 for the clockspring piece failing, which causes the airbag light to display, the horn to not work, as well as the controls on the steering wheel to not work. I looked up the CarFax on my specific vehicle and found that this clockspring piece was replaced on my car back in 2016 (before I owned it), so on the following Monday, I called my local Volkswagen dealership where the guy confirmed that this had been a recall that was previously fixed on my car and offered me an appointment for the 24th of February to confirm that this was the issue going on with my car. As I was unsatisfied with waiting this long, I called other local Volkswagen dealerships to see if they could get me in sooner. The York Volkswagen dealership got me in on the 4th of February, ran diagnostics, and confirmed that this was the issue with the car, the clockspring needed to be replaced, again. However, it was relayed to me that this piece is part of a nationwide backorder and that they could not give me a time frame of when they would be able to replace this piece for me, all they could do was tell me that the part had been ordered for me and they would call me when the part arrived. Upon asking what I was supposed to do in the meantime, as far as driving with this extreme safety issue or do as my inspection is coming up and will not pass inspection with the airbag light on or the horn not working, no one was able to give me any guidance.
- Mount Joy, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving 76 mph, the check engine warning light and exhaust fluid warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted for over a year. An error code stated vehicle shut-off at 200 miles was on the instrument panel however, the vehicle did not shut-off. The contact took the vehicle to overturf Volkswagen Kia (1016 West columbia drive, kennewick, wa 99336, (509-586-3185) however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The dealer replaced the knock sensor and catalytic converter however, the failure persisted. The manufacture was notified of the failure but provided no additional assistance. The failure mileage was 76,000.
- Hermiston, OR, USA
Failed steering wheel clock spring as described in 2015 recall 69L2. Airbag light is illuminated and all steering wheel buttons, including horn, do not function. All symptoms began while making a turn while driving vehicle. Dealer reports that this vehicle is not eligible for recall repair.
- Saint Louis, MO, USA
Door lock actuator breaks without the operator realizing it, resulting in a threat to the safety of the operator and security of the vehicle. The only way to diagnose the issue is using VW code scanners, otherwise, there are no obvious traits to an unsuspecting owner that the door locks are inoperative. VW dealer near by estimates the repair at $400 and regularly keeps the part in stock due to this issue.
- Belleville, IL, USA
Steering wheel had a slight tug and a noise. Lost all functions on steering wheel. Was on a country rd. Took it to a VW mechanic in quincy pa on Sept 4 2020. They said the clock spring broke and there was a recall on it. I looked it up and recall number 15V483000 came up. It was already fixed evidently. I guess I should not have it done now it is costing 800 dollars.
- Waynesboro, PA, USA
When I was driving on the fwy my airbag light came on and my door lock are keep going off as if im hiting the lock button
- Highland, CA, USA
I went out to start my car on Sunday afternoon to run errands but when I put my key in the ignition, I could not get the engine to start and didn't hear a clicking sound. The car had not been moved from the driveway for about a day. All of the lights, radio and dashboards work fine and are fully operational but I get nothing from the engine..I had to take it to the dealership and they said it was a faulty electronic control module. The total cost of the repair is $1,200 and they are not even certain if it can be repaired.
- Nashville, TN, USA
The ABS/ESC and/or brake system warning lights came on. At various times the lights would illuminate and then would turn off after an ignition key cycle. (these are the exact problems that VW had with ABS modules in earlier models. I am not positive if this is true but while doing research on those models, I read that these ABS module issues typically came up after 105,000 to 110,0000 miles on the vehicle. My vehicle is just now with in that range) after taking it to a shop, the mechanic needed to replace the ABS module, totaling around $1200. Note: Date listed is an approximate date
- Tallahassee, FL, USA
My 2012 VW Passat will randomly turn off while parked & while waiting at stop lights without any warning.usually this happens while the vehicle is stationary, but once it has happened when I started to move when the stop light turned to green.
- Valparaiso, IN, USA
My vehicle will not turn off once started. The steering wheel lock and the ignition become stuck and I can no longer turn my car off. Since my car can't turn off, it will be on for hours on end until the gas runs out or until I get someone to cut the battery to make the car stop running. I had to leave my car in a parking lot because I was affraid to take it anywhere and not be able to turn my car off for hours on end. I feel I am not able to use my vehicle. The vehicle has less than 100,000 miles and is not even 10 years old. I feel the vehicle is unsafe to use.
- La Center, WA, USA
Clock spring malfunction. We had the clock spring cover installed due to recall, but the clock spring is now inoperative which causes loss of drivers airbag functionality and steering wheel electronic controls. The vehicle was being driven when the airbag light came on and the electronic controls failed to work.
- Pass Christian, MS, USA
My starter has been not working ive replaced it multiple times with original parts. I took it to another mechanic & he told me this car has electrical problems which is why my streering wheel gets locked up that it doesnt read the key. Also recently all the warning lights have been going on & off telling me error check brakes, error check tires & my radio keeps turning on & off, also my lights from inside the car dont work. Yesterday my car didnt want to put the windows up & after my car didnt want to turn on & my key wouldnt come out of the key hole. It turned off on me in the middle of driving on a street going up a hill I had to break so fast because it started rolling backwards. So I towed it home & now it doesnt turn on at all or work.
- Panorama City, CA, USA
- Weatherford, TX, USA