10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
19,310 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.

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problem #15

Jan 092023

Passat

  • miles
Dashboard tire light repeatedly displaying and tires infated correctly. ABS and air bag light on.. note all charging ports do not work. Stop driving light on. These warning start immediately when engine started. Last time around 2021 ABS or similar words light required front end work regarding suspension I believe.

- Coconut Creek, FL, USA

problem #14

Sep 012022

Passat

  • miles
The clock spring broke inside my steering and my airbags, horn and other controls on the steering wheel do not work.

- Lewistown, PA, USA

problem #13

Apr 192021

Passat

  • 15,000 miles
The Passat autonomous braking system engaged while driving on a divided four-lane street with no traffic or obstructions. Lane assist has repeatedly disabled itself. Park assist sensors have repeatedly detected objects extremely close when nothing is present. There have been numerous other system failures. In 2019, I first reported the issues to a Volkswagen service center for repair. Since that time, the vehicle has spent weeks in service with Volkswagen involvement, with a report of no errors found. The faults have continued, seemingly at random, since 2019. I have supplied Volkswagen with notes, photos, and videos of the failures Volkswagen not state they cannot accept photo or video documentation, not will they pay for any repair even though the vehicle was under warranty until August 2020 and not repaired. I have a lot of photos and videos, as well as notes that I would be pleased to forward to you.

- Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

problem #12

Mar 012021

Passat

  • 22,000 miles
Rattle noises while driving on asphalt roads from rear of vehicle underneath car and/or front. Loose bolts or missing welds maybe. Dealer replace front sway bar and problem did not go away so wallas Volkswagen put the original oem part back on last month and did not charge us for the service. They told us it's unknown why the rattling continued.

- Palm City, FL, USA

problem #11

Nov 062020

Passat

  • 70,500 miles
While driving on a rural road at about 50 mph a loud pop was heard and then the sunroof shattered with glass falling into the front seat of the car. The sunroof cover was opened at the time.

- Tiskilwa, IL, USA

problem #10

Nov 142019

Passat 4-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
Park distance control with no vehicles close will automatically operate, this then leads to the automatic braking system wanting to stop the car. This bothers me at 70mph with no cars within 500 feet.

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #9

Feb 272020

Passat

  • 35,000 miles
Multiple dashboard lights indicating errors in the vehicle

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #8

Oct 082019

Passat

  • 24,400 miles
I was driving on the freeway on 10/8/2019 and at approximately 3:05pm I heard a loud glass explosion above me. Once I arrived at my destination, I observed that my sunroof had shattered. There was no evidence of anything hitting the sun roof.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #7

Feb 122019

Passat

  • 12,400 miles
Rear backup camera is useless when it's raining, can't see anything due to the water that collects on the rear camera. Car is not in motion, in a parking lot

- Murrieta, CA, USA

problem #6

Jan 062019

Passat

  • 20,120 miles
Blindspot monitoring system on left side of car intermittent, captured incident on video. Went to dealer three times for repair, problem still persists. Dealer falsified repair documentation on all visits and admitted the car was not test driven as stated on the invoice of the first two visits. Sent demand letter requesting permanent repair to Volkswagen, it was received on 2jan, received no reply. Volkswagen corporate will not return phone calls or emails. Car is unsafe to drive and after this system almost caused a high speed accident on 6jan I refuse to drive it. I have all of my documentation and communication with Volkswagen corporate, it is way too much to attach to this complaint. The dealer, gulf coast auto group, falsified documents and made no effort to fix a safety related system and Volkswagen corporate has sent me paperwork offering to buy the car back but will not respond after sending me the buyback paperwork. This 'buyback' of the car is an attempt by Volkswagen corporate to hide the fact that their dealer continually jeopardized my safety. And after sending the buyback paperwork they will not respond to emails and phone calls. I have been without my car since 6jan, and it will not be driven by me ever again. I would appreciate it if someone would contact me regarding this matter so I can send all of my detailed documentation for your review.

- Mobile, AL, USA

problem #5

Oct 282018

Passat

  • 20,129 miles
Access start module failed. Car refused to detect key fob and dashboard was off when entering vehicle. Could not press on brake to push start ignition. Car battery was at full 12-12 vdc. Checked fuses and nothing was blown. Had vehicle towed to dealer to check up. Technician was able to reset access start module by disconnecting battery for 15 minutes. Dealer replaced fuel relay fuse and access start module. Vehicle was down for 4 days. New module had to be re-programmed for at least a day and needed all key fobs to be re-programmed.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #4

Jul 252018

Passat

  • 1 miles
Ac takes 5-20 minutes to blow cold air. Multiple complaints to dealer and service do not result in any attempt to fix problem because by the time we arrive at the dealer, the problem has corrected itself. This occurs first thing in the day. After it starts blowing cold air, it works fine the rest of the day. This is the 3rd VW Passat we've driven that has this problem. VW will not acknowledge problem.

- Las Cruces, NM, USA

problem #3

Nov 212017

Passat

  • miles
I own a 2017 Volkswagen Passat sel premium. One of my primary concerns is that the autonomous emergency braking system does not function according to page 271 of the owner's manual, or as promoted by their dealers, and in tv commercials. I took my Passat to two dealers, both supposedly checked it and said it tested 100% a week later, the car did not slow at all when I was close to a vehicle in front of me going 65 miles and hour and it slammed on its brakes. If I had not been paying attention, a serious accident would have occurred. I wrote a letter regarding my concerns to Mr. Hinrich woebcken, CEO of VW of America. The response from VW was that my system works fine according to their dealers, and they will do nothing further for me! after that, I did some research and discovered the results of front collision prevention testing that was done by the insurance institute for highway safety. Their tests on 2017 cars included those of over 20 manufacturers. There are 3 different parts to the test: Forward collision warning (on the Passat this is a two car symbol in the instrument cluster) low speed auto brake (this is for speed under 12 mph) high-speed auto brake (this is for speeds over 25 mph) the results of these tests shows that all comparable manufacturer's sedans either scored 2 or 3 points on the high-speed auto brake test. However the VW Passat scored "0" points, and was unable brake the car or reduce the car speed at all! the 2017 VW touareg also failed the high- speed auto brake portion of the test. I feel that VW needs to inform owners, and stop advertising that their cars have a functioning high-speed auto braking, as they do not! they should quickly come up with a fix, and recall all 2016 to 2018 Passats, and other models that have this faulty system! drivers have a false sense of security for a system that does not work!

- Camarillo, CA, USA

problem #2

Jan 152018

Passat

  • 20,000 miles
Failed steering wheel clock spring on a 2017 vehicle that has been driven 20,000 miles over 14 months. After being parked for approx 40 mins, pulling out of a parking spot my steering wheel make popping/clicking sounds and immediately the airbag error sensors went off along with my service vehicle warning. Upon turning out of the parking lot the steering wheel made a few additional pops/clicks. Immediately drove to the dealership where they diagnosed the steering wheel clock spring issue. The dealership did not have a part on hand and had to order it, so I drove the vehicle home. Now that I'm home and researching the failed steering wheel clock spring issue, I am questioning whether I should have been advised to not drive the vehicle, especially with my child in the back seat.

- Greenacres, WA, USA

problem #1

Jun 122017

Passat

  • 5,100 miles
I preface this by saying this is my first keyless car and I don't like it. It is sometimes confusing as to whether the car is running or off and the ignition button looks identical in both scenarios. On June 12, I parked my car (it was stationary) and took my dog into her day care center. While I was in there, my car apparently rolled out of the lot and came to rest on a sidewalk. Thankfully, no one was injured and only the bumper and rear light were impacted. While I thought I put the car in park, I may have accidentally have left the car in drive when I turned the car off and this is my concern. With keyed systems, the safety mechanism is that one cannot remove the key until the car is properly in park (I assume others have done this). With the keyless, I parked, pulled the emergency brake, took my keys, locked the door and left the car. I don;T have photos but I do have the security camera footage of the car moving.

- Alexandria, VA, USA