Volkswagen Passat Complaints

7,897 consumer complaints on file.

#11476815July 31, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
headlight adjustment recall
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476700July 30, 2022
AIR BAGS
-I was parking my car in 95 degrees a hot day and an error air bag light came on on my 2012 Passat my car has never involved in a car accident I bring my car to the mechanic and it said passenger occupant detection system control module. -This is very risky to others because if the air bags fail I could have an accident I have 2 small child I don’t want my air bags deploy. This is the first time it happen to me before. 2 year ago the dealer replace a harness but the car under warranty am very scare that the air bags can deploy and have an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476440July 28, 2022
TIRES, TIRES:SIDEWALL, WHEELS
These tires were on 2017 VW passat on 19” aftermarket wheels driven by my son. Previous tires of different brand had flats on passenger side one month earlier. On July 26, 2022 the new tire had blowout on driver rear location causing vehicle to lose traction spin and crash into wooded area on side if I 75 south of Tampa. My concern is these aftermarket wheels had three flats in three week period. Two different brands of tires on same 19” aftermarket rims.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11476170July 27, 2022
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
A faulty clockspring in the steering wheel failed so the driver air bag and the horn do not work. The car can’t pass a safety inspection. This is a faulty part that the NHTSA issued a recall for some years back (I believe in 2015). The replacement part has been back order for upwards of 9 months for 1000s of VWs in the US. If the cars cannot pass a state safety inspection there should be a safety recall issued immediately.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11475005July 20, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE
The timing belt is terrible on this vehicle. This is the same model and engine as the last recall but mine didn’t qualify because it is a 2007 not a 2008. The belt is and chain are completely unstable and prone to catastrophic failure that can happen anytime while driving especially on the highway. This could cause a huge accident. There is also a major issue with the fuel pumps and the hoses. My fuel tank is leaking gas above 3/4 of a tank and can cause a severe fire even if someone dropped a lit cigarette under the car while I am driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474741July 19, 2022
AIR BAGS
Stalled out as I started to accelerate from a stop light. It's like not getting and fuel. Possibly some type of issue pertaining to that Then my airbag light keeps flashing. Floor board lights cut on an off for no reason. Electrical equipment Possibly incorrect?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11473570July 12, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel pump under the rear passenger side is leaking large amounts of fuel allowing the fumes to build up in the cabin of the vehicle. No damage or accidents have occurred that would cause this and has made me sick while driving as well as paranoid as I am driving around a car with leaking gas in the interior cabin. 2017 Volkswagen Passet SE
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11473302July 11, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
The abs sensors are not functioning although they have been replaced. The dashboard has multiple failure lights. The vehicle is a VW CC not covered by the ABS recall although it exhibits identical issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11473087July 9, 2022
AIR BAGS
Car needs new clock spring. When parking vehicle and turning, hear a crack sound and airbag light came on, horn wouldn't work and none of the buttons on steering wheel work. Part is backordered and has been for a very long time. Don't know what to do as this is my son's car (age 19) and it's unsafe to drive. Also, don't want to pay a dealer $165 to run diagnostics when we are certain of the problem and know the part is not available ( was told there are over 8000 people ahead of me waiting for the part). It is unlikely we could sell the car with this problem. VW needs to do something (buy back the cars?).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11472349July 5, 2022
AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The airbag on the driver's side, along with the horn and buttons on the steering wheel do not work. The VW dealership has looked at the car and said it needs a new clock spring, and that it is on back order with no estimation of arrival. The car is unsafe to drive and both the VW dealership and VW head office have not offered a loaner vehicle for me to drive my family in safely while we wait for the parts. Without an airbag, I could be seriously injured in an accident. I was also very nearly in a car accident that would have been prevented had the horn worked to alert the other driver sooner that nearly backed into me. The other continuing issue with this car is that there are still ongoing issues with the Diesel Exhaust Fluid system. This system has had problems for years. The VW dealership has replaced parts on it numerous times but it continues to have problems. This car should never have gone back on the market after the initial recall, as the DEF system was never repaired correctly, and the airbag should be on recall already.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11472439July 5, 2022
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The clocksping in the steering wheel is broken, but the part has been backordered for over a year. The broken clockspring makes the horn and buttons on the steering wheel unusable and the airbag will not deploy.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11471848June 30, 2022
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE
Reporting a safety issue which impacts the ability to make use of the vehicle. The vehicle's horn and front driver-side airbag no longer works. The Airbag light is now on. The steering wheel was turned while maneuvering in a parking lot. The steering wheel makes a clicking sound when it's turned. The steering wheel audio/cruise/function controls also no longer work. The clock spring has broken. The vehicle is under a 10yr/120k extended manufacturer's warranty for the clock spring problem. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2018/INOA-EA18003-2066.PDF https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2015/RCRIT-15V483-0471.pdf https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10149942-9999.pdf
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11471455June 28, 2022
SEAT BELTS
Just as I parked, the explosive seatbelt retractor for the rear passenger seat activated. There was a loud pop from the charge and the plastic seatbelt alignment clip flew off, and smoke came out from around the seatbelt. Had the vehicle been in motion there would have been a very serious safety hazard from the distraction, and if someone was in the back, there was the clip that flew off that could have struck them. No one was in the seat at the time of the incident. The seatbelt is now stuck in the retracted position. The component has not been inspected. There were no warning lamps before or after the failure. The climate control system does have an error and is not cooling. The error is for the A/C pressure sensor, so it does not seem related. I do have an appointment for the climate control system, so I can have the component inspected by the service center. Ambient temperature was approx 85F at the time of the incident. The sunroof was set to vent position while driving, and the climate control system fan was operating so interior temp should have been around 85F as well.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11471167June 27, 2022
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE
For the second time in the life of this 2104 VW Passat auto, the airbag clockspring, housed in the steering wheel has failed. The first date of service for this issue was 3/7/2019 and most recently was attempted on 2/22/2022. In both instances, the same symptoms occurred prior to the failure of this component. For a few days prior, there was a plastic crackling sound when turning the steering wheel. Then while backing out and turning the steering wheel, an audible snap/crack was heard, causing an inability to use the hands-free phone device, all steering wheel controls (including cruise control, volume, dashboard items), and an immediate lack of the car horn. Simultaneously, the air bag indicator light illuminated and the vehicle status stated "Error: Airbag". This error message appears each time the car is started. The inability to have a working car horn, steering wheel controls and driver airbag is a tremendous safety risk, in my opinion, so I ceased driving the car immediately and brought the vehicle to a local VW dealership for confirmation of the issue. The issue was reported, evaluated and confirmed to be needing part# 5K0953569AL (Air Bag Clockspring) on 2/22/2022. We were informed by (3) different VW dealerships and (2) private mechanics that there were over 1500 of these parts on backorder in February. Currently, as of 6/27/2022, there are twice as many backordered and the dealership service department that this car was purchased from says this has been the case for over (6) months. My vehicle is undrivable and will not pass upcoming inspection. It is UNACCEPTABLE for VW CORPORATION TO NOT HAVE A VIABLE SOLUTION TO THIS GROSS SAFETY ISSUE, while still putting new automobiles on the market, possibly with faulty parts AND NO FORESEEABLE PLAN FOR THOSE CONSUMERS, LIKE ME, THAT ARE IN NEED OF TIMELY REPAIRS. This vehicle is available for "inspection upon request" as it sits in the driveway, unusable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470630June 23, 2022
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
The contact owns a 2017 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormally loud popping sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and discovered that the sunroof had shattered; however, the sunroof glass remained intact. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The contact found a replacement sunroof at a junkyard and had the sunroof replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470372June 22, 2022
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE
My clock spring broke in December, I am 50 on the list at our dealer. We called another dealer and was told it is a National back order and there are thousands on back order.. I called VW customer care and there does not seem to be any sense of urgency to rectify this. They are blaming Covid and the war in Ukraine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469780June 17, 2022
AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The clockspring has failed. It was identified by Safford VW in Fredericksburg in March 3 2022 because of the airbag light illuminating. I was told the clockspring part is on national backorder and given my car back. The Horn does not work, the airbag light is on, the airbags would not function in the steering wheel if needed and none of the steering controls work. The vehicle will not pass state inspection. The dealer will not provide a rental for this issue and VW cannot provide any information on this backordered part. VW requires the dealer to provide a rental for 10 days before they will consider a buyback of the vehicle for a warranty repair and the dealer refuses to provide a rental for clockspring issues. I have repeatedly called Safford VW for updates who told me they have multiple vehicles waiting for the same part and cannot help me. I called VW and they also cannot provide any updates for this part and have no resolve on how to make my vehicle safe to drive on a factory warranted part. I requested a vehicle buy back with VW and the request was denied because the vehicle has to have been at the dealer for more than 10 days OR multiple repairs for the same problem. I am stuck in a loop with VW and a faulty factored warranted part that cannot be produced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469260June 14, 2022
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE
Clockspring. Failed 1st time under recall and was replaced by dealer. Failed 2nd time and replaced outside of recall by indepenent. Failed 3rd time and has not been replaced. This has affected the adaptive cruise control, the electronic stability control, and now it engages the brake system when not called for.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468771June 11, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
To start off, this car has common failures of the High Pressure Fuel Pump Cam Follower. This poses serious risk of damage to the engine when the follower is blown throw and the car goes into limp mode and if this happens on road it could be catastrophic. There were no warnings that this was the issue besides researching videos on YouTube while getting a fuel pressure code to find out the cam follower was completely blown throw which means my engine has MANY METAL pieces inside of my engine. If I did not catch this soon the next failure would’ve been the CAMSHAFT. The camshaft going bad at and given moment could also be catastrophic on the road and possibly even spark a fire. Another issue is with the timing chain on specific FSI engines. If this chain snaps mid drive then your engine could potentially blow in the middle of the road causing an accident. This problem is known by Volkswagen and they have yet to take serious action in regards to this safety hazard. Another potential for catastrophic events is the wiring harness specifically the one that runs under the Vacuum pump. These wires are covered in oil from the vacuum pump being prone to leaking and any fluid that goes on top of it. I also discovered that near my ECU to that wiring harness there was a spot of gasoline in which I was able to determine when I smelt the fluid with a glove on of course. This year make and model of Volkswagen can cause serious harm to those driving ESPECIALLY on the high way. The wiring harness and all components around it soak with oil and when you take off the manifold fuel also gets all over it even when you try to prevent it as much as you can. This has caused increased idle in my vehicle while driving with and EPC light that makes the car stall out of no where. If it happened when I was turning my wheel it could’ve caused an accident on the road or even a driver to have road rage behind me. Please help myself and fellow Passat owners of this year stay safe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468504June 9, 2022
AIR BAGS
Back in August of 2015, there has been a repair/recall for the clock spring for Volkswagen Passats. I have had it fixed and it has a warranty on it until 2027. The part has failed 4 times with the most recent failure occurring at the beginning of April. The Volkswagen dealership has had the car since 4/7/2022 and I have been driving a rental that the dealership has been paying for. I received a call earlier today from the dealership telling me that they were having to release the car back to me by EOD 6/10 because the ETA for them receiving the part is unknown. This is incredibly unsafe that Volkswagen is having the dealerships release the cars back when the issue still has not been fixed. I understand that it’s not cost effective for them to keep covering the cost of rentals, but they should not be releasing unsafe vehicles back to their owners. I spoke to the general manager of the Volkswagen location my vehicle is currently at and the only really solution I was given is to have them evaluate the condition of the car to give me a trade-in value to buy a new vehicle, which I can’t afford right now. I understand that the manufacturer has issues but this seems like a huge liability and that Volkswagen does not seem to care about the safety of those who drive their vehicles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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