10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,658 miles

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problem #75

Feb 042023

Passat

  • miles
The central locking system is malfunctioned as the car does not automatically or manually lock. This is a safety risk as anyone inside or outside the vehicle can open the doors. This issue has been ongoing for about a year & has been ignored from different auto shops during different service times. I addressed this issue again when bringing the vehicle to the auto shop on 5/4/24 for a separate concern & the diagnostic code has been confirmed but was told -??we will clear the code & it should reboot itself-??. This did not work as the locking system is still malfunctioned & still have to manually lock the vehicle through the driver door when leaving the car. When inside the car & attempting to lock the car inside, you can hear it trying to lock but does not fully click over to lock because when driving, anytime speed is accelerated from 0mph to 10mph, it continuously attempts to auto lock. The locking indicator light does not illuminate when inside the vehicle.

- Glendale , AZ, USA

problem #74

Apr 012024

Passat

  • miles
I am trying to trade in my car online and submitted to get an instant offer. The instant offer says my vehicle is reported to have 30,000 more miles on it than my odometer is showing. My title also states its a 2 Dr sedan.

- Nampa, ID, USA

problem #73

Jul 222020

Passat

  • miles
The clock spring has broken and disables all steering wheel buttons, horn, and the driver airbag. I've replaced it and it broke again in less than a year.

- Front Royal, VA, USA

problem #72

Jan 312024

Passat

  • miles
While driving, the side right view mirror fell out due to failure of the adhesive. Just the mirror (not the backing or mirror assembly). I first checked at a junkyard, I could not use the mirrors I found there, because as soon as I started pulling the backing assembly off, the mirrors would pop off the adhesive backing. On looking for a replacement mirror online, I found that this problem was very common for VW side view mirrors. So much so that there are a TON of replacement mirrors being sold with comments in reviews about VW-??s -??weak-?? adhesive.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

problem #71

Jan 272023

Passat

  • miles
VW has replaced the heater core twice on this car. Yet less than 1 year later the heat will not work on just the passenger side which then foggs the windows and eliminates visablility rendering the car useless.

- Abington , MA, USA

problem #70

Apr 122023

Passat

  • miles
On 4/12/2023 - I was traveling on highway 4 in the afternoon headed back home from work. While driving around 70mph all in sudden without any warning front driver side wheel locked up and causing the car to pull hard on driver side. I hit the retaining divider while trying my best to not to hit any other cars. This should be a recall a major one as no car should lock up like this

- Antioch, CA, USA

problem #69

Jan 112023

Passat

  • miles
Clock Spring Malfunction: Air Bag Indicator Light, Loss of Function of Horn, Loss of Function of Steering Wheel Controls

- Howell, NJ, USA

problem #68

Mar 222022

Passat

  • miles
* Driver air bag, horn, all controls in steering wheel. * Not having a horn or working air bag * Yes, defective clock switch has been confirmed-this was a recall, was replaced and failed again * No- dealer/recall repair center only * No, air bag light came on and that was it. At that moment nothing worked This occurred in March 2022. I was told it would take 1-2 months to get the part. The part is still unavailable. Called VM Customer Care-they instructed me to call the dealer. The dealer has no control over parts coming from VW. Now driving 8 months without an airbag or horn. All controls in the steering wheel are inoperable. Most are convenience items. Air bag and horn are safety issues.

- Morganville, NJ, USA

problem #67

Jun 302022

Passat

  • miles
Noticed the carpeting getting wet on the drivers side floor. After doing some research online tracked it down to the drivers side drain for the moonroof. The hose shrunk over time and disconnected from the rubber piece that goes through the firewall and allows the water to drain outside of the vehicle. Had to splice a piece of hose to the original so it would be long enough to connect again. Worried that the condensation from the water leaking inside the car may affect electrical components over time.

- Rochester, NH, USA

problem #66

Feb 152022

Passat

  • miles
my 2013 vw passat with only 61576 miles showed problems with heat on driver side and no heat for passenger side.brought car to dealer on 2/15/2022 and was told heater core was defective and should be changed because it could cause car to over heat and cause damage to engine if not taken care of. i had the car repaired at $1000 out of my pocket because they wouldnt cover it in their warrenty. Multiple vw forum members have the same experiance. i contacted vw customer care and they would not help.i believe this is a major recall that could cause someone to blowup their engine for a poor quality heatercore

- Paterson, NJ, USA

problem #65

Dec 072020

Passat

  • miles
VW is has a recall and warranty extention on 2013 - 2014 VW Passat tdi with engine code ckra, which mine is, for the heater core, . sysmptom are no heat on passnager side, same sysmptom I am experiencing. Yet VW says mine is not covered yet falls in the apramiteres. They claim there are a range of vins but will not provide me with that info to see if mine is covered. They will not explain why some are and some are notcovered as they are all the same car, with the same aprt same issues, yet VW will only cover replacement on ceratin models. Yet they wont explain which.

- Harwinton, CT, USA

problem #64

Oct 252020

Passat

  • 60,925 miles
Check engine light and epc light suddenly came on during acceleration around 40mph. Acceleration dropped and idle is rough. Check engine and epc light and rough idle with no acceleration occurs every time vehicle is started. Obdii codes show misfire. Online forums show similar cases with no consistent reason or fix between 30K and 70K miles.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #63

May 302020

Passat

  • 90,000 miles
A. the engine. 1. my Volkswagen Passat 2013 tdi can not pass Massachusetts state inspection, after several times of repair the problem was tracked to emission that the repair shop was not able to fix it (alphacars & motorcycles, alphacars, 649 Massachusetts ave, boxborough, MA 01719, phone: (978) 263-9000). (dates of repairs: ~05/30/2020, ~06/29/2020) 2. dealer did three recalls and repairing for emission, charged $590 (07/31/2020). But emission issue persisted (08/27/20), and needed to be returned to dealer (08/28/20). 3. dealer intended to charge another $650 for 'diagnosis' of the emission issue (09/09/2020). 4. the diesel emission issue of this vehicle is not fixed after many repairs, when this issue can be fixed is unknown, whether it is possible to have this issue fixed is unknown. Given that this diesel emission issue comes from Volkswagen's well known software scandal on diesel emissions, and likely due to defective modification conducted later, this vehicle imposes a major risk to driver's safety. B. airbag. Every time I start the vehicle, I got warning message about the airbag, even though the vehicle is regularly maintained by Volkswagen dealer. The airbag may be defective, and imposes a major risk to driver's safety. C. the vehicle had major coolant leaking. At regular maintenance with dealer, after my complaint, the dealer found a hole and fixed it. Around middle of June, 2020, the leaking became very severe, I got warning light when driving on highway, and the engine temperature was very high and had a danger of complete shutdown.

- Stow, MA, USA

problem #62

Jun 132019

Passat 4-cyl

  • 53,000 miles
The car has coolant issues, had power steering system replaced, now there's a gas leak, replaced gas cap loss of power suspension is horrible now everytime I refuel the car struggles to turn on.

- Hawthorne, CA, USA

problem #61

Feb 122020

Passat

  • 70,000 miles
My fiance was taking a left turn crossing a busy road during hours of dusk. Headlights were on. He was not able to see the opening of the road when turning and drove over the side walk and crashed. Front air bags deployed and windshield cracked. 3 tired popped along with other font end body damage. I had just purchased car from a dealership a few months earlier. Later I researched any recalls on my vehicle and a recall dealing with headlight issues and the headlights on my vehicle not being able to be adjusted properly, came up. If this issue was fixed before I bought the car, my fiance would have not crashed.

- Brandon, FL, USA

problem #60

Oct 312018

Passat

  • 32,000 miles
Driver's side door frozen shut in winter and upon opening handle/lock became inoperable resulting in failure of door to remain closed/locked during operation - door would swing open on turns presenting a safety hazard. Research suggests that this is a known problem.

- Clarence, NY, USA

problem #59

Oct 242019

Passat

  • miles
Vehicle has 49000 miles and is a gasoline engine. Passenger side heat only blows cold air, which prevents the windshield from defrosting/deicing in wintertime, affecting visibility and safety. Driver's side is not affected. Research suggests that the problem is the result of a defective heater core similar to that found with diesel versions of the vehicle. This issue should not be occurring with a vehicle only having 49000 miles.

- Clarence, NY, USA

problem #58

Oct 012019

Passat

  • 59,000 miles
Check engine light and epc light turned on. Sometimes my car will not start, but then other time it with start with one turn. Also while I am driving, it looses power sometimes. One time the car shut off completely while I was in drive. I took it to the mechanic and he did a diagnostic computer code check. The code was reading camshaft position sensor malfunction. The mechanic replaced the sensor but noticed that the metal on the sensor is shearing significantly.

- Flushing, NY, USA

problem #57

Jul 292019

Passat

  • miles
Volkswagen replaced my vehicle steering wheel "clockspring" under a previous safety recall. My car has now recently suffered from a failed steering wheel "clockspring". my drivers side front airbag is now incapacitated, my horn no longer works and my steering wheel controls do not work. This occurred upon my making a full left hand turn, upon making the turn, I heard cracking sounds come from my steering wheel and all of the sudden, I got an airbag error warning light (I still do), my horn did not work (still does not) and my steering wheel controls did not work (still don't). This should be a second recall to cover this issue because the "clockspring" was formally recalled for the exact reasons that I (and apparently a lot of other auto owners) now suffer from and the supposed replaced clockspring is causing the same safety issues. Volkswagen is currently not taking responsibility for installing faulty "clocksprings" or negligent auto design for this issue. A new safety recall for this should be issued

- Cherry Hill, NJ, USA

problem #56

Jul 232019

Passat

  • 50,000 miles
About a year ago we noticed a strange odor devoloping in the car and researched that it could be a wax VW puts on the plastics. In the heat this max puts off an odor. After a while my son started devoloping sinus issues to the point he was at the doctor getting medicine to treat. This summer he did not drive the car much and we noticed he was not sick. I contacted VW on 7/23/19 with the concern of mold or the plastic issue. I dropped off the car to a dealer on 7/27/19 to have a mold test done, the results were told to me that levels of mold we acceptable levels but I was not told according to who's level. When I or my son drive this car we develop headaches and sinus issues caused from the odor the car is putting off in the passenger cabin. As of today 8/13/19 VW has turned it over to the dealer to charge me $245 to look for a leak. They are not looking at the wax on the plastic which they have agreed they do. After looking at issues on the internet with VW odors there are many out there causing issues. This issue gets worse when using the ac.

- Butler, KY, USA

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