10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
20,309 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #8

Sep 022023

Passat

  • miles
The three issues above seems to be related or affect the other and does not allow cruise control to operate. The air bag light remains on and associated component light up the dash. Surprisingly, my VIN does not show up for air bag repair. I wish I did not have to wait for possible recall announcement for my vehicle before I can get it repaired and instead to fix it now. Frustrating.

- Crestview, FL, USA

problem #7

Dec 062021

Passat

  • miles
CATASTROPHIC SAFETY ISSUE MANY of the warning lights on the instrument cluster are illuminated. These include: * ABS is steadily illuminated. * Airbag is steadily illuminated. * The speedometer is not functioning showing "0" so I can't tell how fast I'm going. * The steering system indicator light is steadily illuminated. * Check Engine/Engine Malfunction is intermittent. * The Electric Power Control indicator is intermittent. * ESP/ASR is steadily illuminated. * The Alternator indicator light is intermittent * Tire Pressure Monitoring is steadily illuminated. * The fuel gauge is moving ranging from empty to full therefore the low fuel indictor flashed frequently. * Several times when depressing the accelerator instead of gaining power, acceleration dropped off. In traffic, at highway speeds, this is an additional serious safety issue. I HAVE MADE NO MODIFICATION TO THE VEHICLE OTHER THAN REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND NEW TIRES. I took the car to the local dealership where the on-site technical advisor speculated that the wheel speed sensor was at fault. This did not build confidence.

- Miami Beach, FL, USA

problem #6

Dec 132019

Passat

  • 40,000 miles
I was driving on flat paved road at speed of 25-30 mph when suddenly the RPM surged from 1 to 4, engine revved, made loud high pitch whine for several mins. I was not accelerating, only following another vehicle ahead. I was going to pull off the road and turn off the ignition, when this stopped & continued driving normally and noted the RPM was back to near 1. no panel or engine lights came on.

- Youngstown, OH, USA

problem #5

Jan 302019

Passat

  • 36,500 miles
Loss of airbags, power brakes, power steering, transmission shifting functions, engine hesitation. Indicator lights on dash flash or stay on steady include: Coil, steering wheel, air bag, ABS, image of car skidding, brakes, and tire inflation. The speedometer does not work and the fuel gauge just keeps sweeping. The rev limiter does not work either. The auto start feature is non functional and the push button to stop the motor from running must be pressed twice instead of once. Car had this discrepancy on 30 Jan 2019, 06 Feb 2019, and now 27 Feb 2019. The dealers keep working on a grounding nut but the problem keeps persisting. Problem has always accursed immediately after starting the car, not while driving.

- Coraopolis, PA, USA

problem #4

Sep 012018

Passat

  • 55,000 miles
Clock spring failure, airbags off-line, horn inoperative, steering wheel controls inoperative

- Wildwood, MO, USA

problem #3

Oct 142016

Passat 4-cyl

  • 6,175 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. While the vehicle was stationary with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle accelerated rapidly without warning. As a result, the contact's vehicle rear-ended another vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred a second time, but there was no crash. The air bags did not deploy in the first crash. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was driven away from the scene. The paul clark Volkswagen dealer was made aware of the failure, but could not diagnose the cause of the failure. The dealer test drove the vehicle in stop and go traffic and determined that the vehicle was in good working condition and was performing as designed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. The vehicle was tested a second time after the failure recurred, but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was 6,175.

- Brockton, MA, USA

problem #2

Jan 192016

Passat

  • 5,000 miles
On 1/19/16 I experienced a serious issue while driving my 2015 VW Passat. As I was pulling into a parking space after my 12-mile commute to work I applied the brakes. No stopping occurred, in fact I experienced a sudden unintended acceleration. While my foot remained on and continued to press the brake pedal, the engine revved and the car lurched forward. I attempted to put the car in neutral and tried to apply the emergency brake but was unsuccessful in stopping the vehicle. My care came to rest only after hitting the curb and a masonry wall/hand rail. Once the vehicle came to a stop, I put the car in reverse to assess the damage. I assessed the damage to the front end and tried tor reposition the car in the parking space only to have the same event occur again. The following day I called the dealership to report the incident and was instructed to have the vehicle towed in for inspection. A loaner was provided. Twenty-one days later, on 2/8/16 I received a call stating that no manufacturing faults were found and that VW will not agree to repair the damage or discuss any concerns related to lack of confidence in the vehicle. Furthermore, when asked about arbitration, I was informed that my only recourse was calling VW corporate. When my husband called as instructed, we were informed that VW's position was decided based on their lack of manufacturer defects found. Vehicle remains at dealership. No inspection reports were offered, no damage reports or estimates provided.

- Montville, OH, USA

problem #1

Jan 062016

Passat

  • 19,797 miles
I was driving on my way to take my children to school when the vehicle started to shake and sputter and it stalled out just before I was going to drive through a busy intersection. I put the car in park and turned it on and it started to sputter as I put it in drive and depressed the gas pedal the car would not move. I turned off the car twice until it started up again and I was able to drive just down the street to a safe place. The car started to shake it started to smell funny. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership where diagnostics were run and test drove however the VW dealership said there was nothing wrong with the car. I do have to add that the batter light came on but everything else on the vehicle dashboard was functioning. This is the 2nd time this has happened and I've only had the vehicle for a year.

- Houston, TX, USA