Volkswagen Passat Complaints (2013)

749 consumer complaints on file.

#11656938April 26, 2025
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
In April 2025, my 2013 Volkswagen Passat developed serious issues: the steering wheel cover is lifted, horn and steering wheel controls stopped working, lights malfunctioned, and now the vehicle will not start. It also has an open Takata airbag recall with no parts available until “after june” I contacted the dealership by phone and Spoke to Lykoto at Molle dealership in Kansas City. they have refused to provide a tow or a loaner vehicle. Due to this I have not had an in-person inspection. I no longer feel safe driving the car. The Manufacturer has been notified of this via email due to their services being closed on the weekends but will contact over the phone Monday morning. Symptoms worsened over months and the no-start issue appeared recently. Will be taking to a private mechanic asap to have the no-start issue confirmed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655227April 17, 2025
AIR BAGS
Drivers side front airball open recall due to potential for metal fragments to hit the driver. VW dealers and corporate have been unable to source the parts for the recall in a timely manner. The VW dealers have started that they have no ETA on replacement parts and are unable to order them currently. VW corporate has stated that there is no stop drive initiative and to still drive the vehicle. They are refusing to take responsibility for the potential consequences this recall could have on the driver of the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655261April 17, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled; however, the contact was informed that parts would not be available until the second quarter of 2025. The contact contacted another dealer, Ourisman Volkswagen of Laurel (3371 Laurel Fort Meade Rd Suite B, Laurel, MD 20724) and was informed that parts could not be ordered until June 2025. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11653474April 8, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11653515April 8, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11652726April 4, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer and several unknown dealers were contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11651732March 31, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11651424March 28, 2025
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
Failed clock spring. Airbag light was present and a rattling noise, when turning, was noticed. Less than 72 hours later, the buttons on the steering wheel, including horn, stopped working, and a louder crack/pop was heard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650576March 25, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that he received notice of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags) in January of 2025. The dealer was contacted on February 11, 2025, to schedule the recall repair appointment and was informed that the parts would be ordered. The contact called back on March 20, 2025, and was informed that the parts order was cancelled due to the tariffs on Canada, and to call back in May of 2025. The manufacturer was contacted through the website's Live chat, where the contact informed them of the information provided by the dealer. The contact was provided with no assistance and was redirected back to the dealer for parts information. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11649537March 20, 2025
SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40-60 MPH and driving over the roadway, the rear coil spring fractured. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The approximate failure mileage was 177,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11649208March 19, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11648878March 17, 2025
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was on top of Beech Mountain NC working at a customer's house when it started to snow. I was at the bottom of their driveway and when I attempted to drive out, the traction control light would turn on, indicating I was losing traction. When this happened, I was unable to accelerate any more and the car started sliding backwards. So sitting in the car in the snow, I pulled up YouTube to figure out the "procedure" to disable traction control so I could get more speed. Turn the car off, ignition on, activate the flashers, push the brake pedal multiple times, then start the car. Traction control disabled, so "simple"! The only problem is once the car starts moving traction control gets enabled again and I'm sliding backwards again! Extremely dangerous on a mountain! Eventually I was able to clear the snow enough and just hold down the accelerator to power out. So now my GPS is telling me I have to drive up a hill to get off the mountain. Same problem: I start up the hill, traction control kicks on and I lose ALL power and begin to slide backwards! Luckily I am a good driver because I was able to control the slide and do a 180 in the middle of the road. So my GPS tries to reroute me and sends me up a different hill! Same exact result! I eventually had to just ignore my GPS entirely and just manually look for a road that was heading down hill. I thought for sure I was either going to wreck because of the traction control or be stuck up there in a snow storm! Not having the option to disable traction control and leave it off so that I could get uphill us very unsafe! The worst part is I didn't even realize my car didn't have the option to disable traction control until I was already stuck! If I'd known that, I would have taken my truck.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646736March 6, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646432March 5, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11643869February 20, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The component is the wiring harness leading to trunk light. The safety issue is low as it is just a trunk light although this is definately a defect because opening and closing the lid you can see the light works until the lid is opened past half way, then the light goes off. Where the harness is angled as the trunk arm swings, has caused this and is a common complaint on internet forums. I did not have vehicle inspected, no warnings and this problem did happen within a year of purchasing it used in 2019
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11641726February 10, 2025
AIR BAGS, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the front driver's side low beam light and the driver's side taillights were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone, where the contact was informed that the light bulbs did not need to be replaced. The contact was informed that the failure was related to the wiring. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11641411February 7, 2025
AIR BAGS
I received a safety recall leather from Volkswagen on December 2024. NHTSA: 24V834 Subject: Safety recall 69E6 - Driver frontal airbag inflator Since November 2024 my airbag light on my dashboard came on, I checked for recalls and there was none at that time. It said airbag error on the dashboard. A month later I received the above mentioned recalled letter and took immediate action. ( Please keep in mind the light was on at all times, it didn't make any sounds, it wouldn't turn off at all) I schedule the recall service repair online on the Volkswagen website and came to my appointment on [XXX]. At the dealer I had to wait for 4 hours for the repair to be done and once they gave me my car back the air bag error and icon on my dashboard kept turning on and off every few minutes. Keep in mind the light was on before but it was solid on at all times but now it has a beeping sound that goes on and off while driving it multiple times a day and makes me think the repair was made with another faulty airbag inflator or there is another manufacturer problem with the air bag system of the car. I am [XXX] is my only car, I have to drive 45 minutes every week for my doctors appointments. The sound of the air bag going on and off is very annoying but my biggest concern is that being [XXX] with a faulty air bag system is a very scary situation to be in. I would like for the dealer to inspect all my airbags and make sure they are all working fine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11639689January 30, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Def system failed- cel came on w def light stating xxx miles to no start, codes p204f & 18097, now unable to start or drive car safely, 18097 code may cause abs & steering to shut off while driving & p204f renders the car unusable. EPA mod was never performed on my car per dieselgate settlement rules- & now the manufacturer(vw) is refusing to fix their mistake car has been in shop repeatedly for 30+ days at a time since 2022 for the def system and not once was the epa mod mentioned to me VW refuses to fix the def system or do the epa required mod- meaning I was sold a stop sale car. Also claiming I’m not entitled to warranty even though per their own warranty I am the first owner that I can see other then a dealership Am now told by other TDI owners that are still under warranty that vw is refusing to fix anything to do with the p204f code
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11639322January 29, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V834000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the “Service Now” warning light was illuminated. Several local dealers were contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637476January 21, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the low-beam headlights failed to illuminate as needed. The contact stated that the driver’s side low-beam headlight had stopped functioning as designed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the bulb; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Volkswagen Passat