Volkswagen Passat Complaints

7,897 consumer complaints on file.

#11608870August 16, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, AIR BAGS
The vehicle was totaled but I continue to receive recall notices to the point of harassment. I have called the hotline number and notified them dozens of times. I signed the vehicle over to the insurance. It is scrapped. I don't know how else to make that more clear.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608764August 15, 2024
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The 2012-2013 VW Passat’s have a safety recall 94G8 for a defective headlight caused by a faulty electrical connect at the bulb clip. It is caused by hood closing vibrating the loosens the bulb clip causing a loss of electrical contact. This has been happening to my 2013 Passat for years and I have been able to fix it myself not knowing there was a safety recall. Anytime my hood is closed the bulb stopped working, I would bend up the electrical connections on the bulb holder, wiggle it around and it would work after several attempts. Now my fix no longer works. I went to purchase a new light housing unit and discovered the safety recall which fits exactly the circumstances with my cars light problem. I called VW and they said my 2013 Passat was out of the vin range for this safety recall and that they would not fix my car under the safety program. I downloaded the Campaign Data Sheet from your website and the affected vehicles are the 2012-2013 VW Passat with no vin range mentioned. What recourse besides paying for this replacement myself do I have? Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607875August 11, 2024
ENGINE
Speed was suddenly dropped and blinking glow plug light on when driving on highway. Had to carefully pull the car to the shoulder. Tow the car to the auto shop and confirmed that the turbocharger was failed. This TDI car was just over 120,000 miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607043August 7, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Looks like the plastic the fuel pump housing is made out of is low quality or prone to degradation by fuel. Hairline cracks have formed on the fuel pump housing causing fuel to leak when the pump is pressurized and running. In my case a pin hole also appeared causing the leak to be quite significant. When reviewing the attached image. Most the major looking hairline cracks seep fuel. The pin hole can’t really be seen in that image but is located in the middle of the raised lettering that starts with a “C” (in between M and E) (I have a video of it)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11606810August 6, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
High pressure fuel pump failed, causing the car to completely shut down on the Highway. Because of the systems design, it sends fragments into the fuel lines and fuel injectors clogging them. The Passat TDI uses the CP4 HPFP that has already been recalled by FCA and BMW. I was unaware how common it is for this fuel pump fail and the complete destruction it causes to the fuel system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11605443July 30, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Manager Fabio at the pompano Volkswagen service indicated over the phone and in email that the vehicle is safe to drive however on the Volkswagen webpage it indicated it’s not safe to drive. I have not had the recall repair performed cause the same local vw refuses to provide a loaner for the time being repaired. This dealership poses a serious risk for drivers and consumers cause they are misinforming the public. I contacted Volkswagen care and spoke to Lisa which she was pretty incompetent to resolve the issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11605210July 29, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have been trying to fix my car from the recalls two of them that they have currently for my car for which I need a temporary card while the repairs are being completed and Volkswagen in Pompano with the manager, Fabio have refused to assist me with this issue The recall is none of my issues is there company issues? They should be responsible for it and provide a temporary car while the car is being in service for those recalls. In this way, Volkswagen has refused to repair those service calls
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604563July 25, 2024
AIR BAGS, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Clock spring on vehicle has failed. This is a known issue with many VW vehicles, but I have been told my vehicle is not on the extended warranty program. 2017 VW Passat - approximately 150,000 miles. This eliminates all steering wheel controls, horn, cruise control, and air bags.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604412July 25, 2024
AIR BAGS, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The forward collision was not working on my car when someone pulled down in front of me and I hit the wall so I wouldn’t hit them.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11603379July 19, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The vehicle cuts off while driving we’ve done numerous expensive replacements to water pump, control arm bushings, new battery, variable valve timing, celinoid, camshaft adjustment magnet, spark plugs and coils, ignition switch, fuel pump, gas cap. Oil filters And there is still a problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11603265July 18, 2024
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I own a 2016 VW Passat that I'm thinking of painting yellow and I don't like yellow. I was driving going about 75 mph on freeway in Idaho and a truck from the slow lane started merging over into my lane I went to hit horn and it didn't work. I hit my brakes and I mean hard because he obviously didn't see me and he merged over into my lane but had I not braked as hard and when I did it would of been a collision. That's how I discovered my horn didn't work. I'm not a person who pulls up to someones house and taps the horn nor do I use it if someone is sitting at an intersection after the light turns green as if to say, "Come on, pay attention, the light's green, now go" I don't like to do that because it makes everyone look and can cause confusion. I use it to prevent an accident! My clock spring went out on me a year ago. I'm told that's why horn doesn't work. Its also why my airbag light is on and my cruise doesn't work (which may not be a safety issue but I have found myself driving much over speed limit without trying to) and none of my driver assist features work. All controls connected to steering wheel don't work. I'm assuming since the light is on neither does the airbag and I know the horn doesn't. I see there have been recalls on this but looks like they drew the line at 2014. Checking into it further a lot of their cars, newer than 2014, like mine a 2016 have had same issue. I also see that the ones that were taken in for recall and replaced, broke again. I read that that led to an investigation. I don't see any more info. I learned that clock springs are supposed to last the lifetime of the car, so shouldn't there be a recall on the newer cars too, like mine 2016? I'm not impressed with VW, this is my 2nd one and will be my last. I now have to get a new water pump at 70K. I really would like to see a recall on clock springs and would like to know what the conclusion to the investigation was. Thanks, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOI
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11602398July 15, 2024
POWER TRAIN
While driving car began to jerk and had odd smell. Stopped at a Midas to have car looked at and all of the transmission fluid leaked out. Techs at Midas state the gasket that hold the fluid in came out and caused all the fluid to leak out. Had no issues while driving previous to this, this just happened randomly in the middle of our drive. We did jot hit or run over anything and the road we were traveling on was in good paved condition.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11599573July 6, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
On [XXX] at 6 a.m. I was commuting NB on [XXX] , when engine lost power on 5 lane highway after driving over rough patch of road (~1 mile S of [XXX]). I barely got car onto right shoulder from middle lane when car shut off. Glow plug pigtails warning light came on right as I experienced significant decrease in engine power. AAA towed car to VW Dealer. Diagnostic performed on 7/5. I was informed of catastrophic failure of fuel pump, metal had gotten into fuel lines and tore up. My entire fuel system needs to be replaced. Dealer quoted $7K to repair. Car had never displayed signs of fuel issues. Car is well maintained and gets regular service at dealer. Upon investigation, I see VW had several years with high pressure fuel pumps failing. This needs to investigated/addressed as these failures are still occurring in cars that are 2013 and newer. I have requested dealer to send me pdf of repair estimate. 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
#11593208June 8, 2024
AIR BAGS
The airbag light came on and shortly thereafter the steering wheel buttons stop working, the steering was stiff and harder to turn and ultimately the horn stop working. I feel driving a vehicle with a broken clock spring is extremely dangerous and is a safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11592682June 5, 2024
SUSPENSION
Rear control arm rusted through, ejecting the spring and collapsing the suspension.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11589895May 21, 2024
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On 6 separate occasions while operating my vehicle it randomly stops running. The first two were at 40 mph and I was told it was a battery issue. It happened twice less than 4 days after the battery was replaced, once at 25 mph and once at 15 mph. I then had the fuel pump replaced. Less than 4 days later it happened twice again. Once at 10 mph and another time at 45 mph.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11589608May 20, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2016 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. In addition, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was unofficially diagnosed; however, the mechanic noticed that the engine was misfiring. The mechanic performed a tune-up on the vehicle, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by the independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact researched the failure and identified five unknown recall repairs with the same description of the failure; however, the contact was informed that the recall repairs had been previously completed on the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was purchased new, and the contact had been the sole owner of the vehicle. The contact stated that no recall repairs had ever been completed on the vehicle. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11589402May 18, 2024
AIR BAGS
While making a U turn the clock spring broke, the air bag light came on and the steering wheel controls no longer function. This is the third time it has broken in this vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11588936May 15, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ENGINE
Currently my reverse lights do not come on i have changed the bulbs and checked fuses. it started with one reverse light, however the warning light would come on and off on my dashboard. Next, the other reverse light so i attempted to change both bulbs and change fuses. still not working. Now it is also my low beam headlights again changed the bulbs and fuses with no fix. My vehicle flickers a light in my rear lights when vehicle is off. my engine is having cooling problems and now the fan is completely off. i have electrical problems. i bought this car a year ago and have had issues with the power of the vehicle and suspension is very unstable. i have not had a check engine light come on for any of these problems so mechanics don't have a solution. my headlights are now not in the right position when i do turn them on so it makes it extremely hard to see at all at night. my vehicle seems to overheat or just on and off drive with very little power. i have had the battery replaced recently. i have always felt extremely unsafe driving this vehicle since i bought it from a dealer. i believe these issues are related to recall 94L9, 94G8/7v, 23w5
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11587766May 8, 2024
STEERING
On 5/4/24 I was reverse parking & heard a clunk as I was turning my steering wheel then immediately noticed the airbag light come on. Attempted to check any error messages using the only menu control for the vehicle on the steering wheel that did not work. That led me to attempt to test all other controls on the steering wheel which also did not work. During these attempts, I identified that my horn was also not working. Due to the large safety concern this caused, I quickly searched on Google what the cause may be then immediately made an appointment at an auto shop (Greulich's Automotive Repair) with the first available I could find. I did not know this issue was previously recalled as I was too concerned with my safety on the road, specifically not trusting other drivers, not having enough time to research, & the auto shop did not mention the recall either. Spent $1,000 on labor, diagnostic, & the clock steering part. When researching the history of my vehicle, I do not find that this recall was performed. I will be calling VW customer service for reimbursement. After the part has been replaced, the next day, I come to find out that the menu setting control on the steering wheel continues to not work which I have brought attention to the auto shop. Waiting for a call back about why all other controls on the steering wheel works now except the vehicle menu which might be the most important control on the wheel. In addition, the cruise control option does not work either because of this replacement which I come to find out it’s a separate part that needs to be replaced, hence, additional out of pocket costs. Not okay.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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