Volkswagen Passat Complaints

7,897 consumer complaints on file.

#11448758January 25, 2022
AIR BAGS
The clock spring that's located within the steering wheel with the airbag is defective. I just got it fixed in Nov 2021 and its broken again, and it now Jan 2022. Only 2 months it survived. Each time the dealership fixes the problem, its like they put a band aid on the issue and give it back. Its not fair that VM has these known issues with the airbag/ clock spring and the consumer has to PAY to fix the mechanical problem that was not caused by the owner.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448373January 21, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The clock spring has failed in my car unexpectedly and rapidly, exposing me as a teenage driver in college to complete unsafely while driving my car, as the airbags and brake assist that my parents wanted in my car to keep me safe do not function. There have been recalls on volkswagens for the clock spring before, and there should be one now. The car is 7 years old and has a little less than 73,000 miles on it - the clock spring should not be failing.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448014January 19, 2022
AIR BAGS
PART OF TAKATA AIR BAG. AIR BAG LIGHTS ON IN DASH. VEHICLE LISTED FOR AIRBAG RECALL. BUT NOT WHEN ITYPE IN VIN. RECEIVED AIR BAG SETTLEMENT LETTER BUT WHEN I GO TO REGISTER, RECALL ONLY GOES TO 2010 VW PASSAT. AS STATED 2015 PASSAT IS LISTED FOR AIR BAG RECALL
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447495January 14, 2022
AIR BAGS
There was a prior recall for airbags, which was supposedly fixed, however it is doing the same thing as it did before it was fixed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447527January 14, 2022
AIR BAGS, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the vehicle had been parked in the driveway all night and as she was approaching the vehicle, she noticed that the driver’s side air bag had deployed. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V148000 (Air Bags). The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447340January 13, 2022
AIR BAGS
Clockspring has failed causing my airbag light to come on. This is a common safety problem for these cars.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446838January 10, 2022
AIR BAGS
I adjusted my steering wheel with the lever used to do so and reverse my car out of my parking spot and I heard this like crunchy and crumbling crackling sound and it sounded like there was something wrapped around my steering wheel and i was like what the heck... So I turn the wheel clockwise and then back counterclockwise and then back again and kept hearing the noise but decided there was nothing I could do about it so I drove to my destination which was about 5 minutes away. I put my car in park and left it running went inside and made a payment and came back out and I put my car in reverse to reverse out of the parking space and all of a sudden there was this thing and an air light on my dash saying airbag air and all I could hear was this crunching crackling sound again like something was going to pop out. So I pulled my car back into the parking spot and I called my local Volkswagen dealer on Saturday around 4 only to find out that all technicians were gone for the day and wouldn't be back until Monday. So I called the 1-800 Volkswagen number for customer support and it was closed as well. So I drove my vehicle home and it's been parked because I'm scared to drive it because the airbag sounds like and feels like it's going to explode
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446562January 7, 2022
AIR BAGS
Steering wheel controls, such as volume control, song control, Bord computer control stopped working, Airbag light came on. As turning steering wheel a clicking sound is heard and the horn doesn’t work. Basically any electronic control and connection from steering wheel to steering shaft including safety Airbag and acoustical warning device (horn) are not working. Has been reported to VW Service via phone, been inspected and confirmed by VW dealer. No further action or reaction so far from VW.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446608January 7, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
The door lock : latches fails in freezing weather. All the door latches are frozen. Doors will sometimes open, but then the door will not shut.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446627January 7, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446499January 6, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When outside temperature freezes, so does driver door. Will not open from outside or inside. After a few hours driving, it eventually worked. But next day, same thing.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446404January 5, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I have a 2017 Passat When it's raining hard on the road and my speed is greater than 55 mph the passenger side windshield stops right in front of my vision vision (right in the middle of the driver's side) creates a white blocking effect so I don't have a clear road visibility. In a service I discussed this detail with the service advisor at the VW agency and he did not want to understand or was misunderstood, I told him that the design of these windshields had this defect. On another occasion when I was driving in an area where there was snow the front collision alarm started to alarm for no reason, there was no obstruction, apparently one of the front sensors fails when it gets wet, I took the car to the dealer and reported this to the service advisor, they did a review of the car they said that it had nothing damaged that everything is fine. But when it rains really hard, it does this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446138January 4, 2022
AIR BAGS
Clock spring failure after recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445877January 2, 2022
AIR BAGS
The Air bag fault message came on the dash. My VW Passat car was not involved in any accident. I took the car to VW dealer for the diagnosis for which I was charged. The air bag fault message is no longer there but I am sure my air bags have not been replaced. I have been advised that I may have to change the airbags in future.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445882January 2, 2022
WHEELS
Within 55,000 miles I needed to replace both of my front wheel bearings, for an approximate cost of $1,000. I have done some research and talked to many people and found out that wheel bearings should not go bad on a car with 60K miles. It would be understandable if one went bad due to a defect but both going bad has me quite confused and angry at the cost of these repairs. I wrote VW about this problem and was told that since the vehicle was no longer under warranty there was nothing they could do. That would be an acceptable answer if wheel bearing failure was to be expected as a normal wear and tear item at 60K miles. But the fact that this is quite early for them to fail, I feel that VW might have issues with the wheel bearings and that others have experienced the same thing with the Passat. I thought I would reach out in case others have reached out as well in order to get VW to address this problem. Thank you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445759December 31, 2021
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle engine abruptly stopped running on roadway. No prior symptoms. Would not restart although starter properly engaged. MIL light did not illuminate prior to stoppage. BlueDriver device showed no stored codes. Tow required. VW dealer service department was backed up and stated they could not even begin diagnosis for 2 to 3 weeks. Independent service technician diagnosed problem as failure of fuel pump control module and replaced the module.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445457December 29, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving down the road and the wheel locked up and I lost control of the car. I thought it was just a flat tire. I noticed the tire was flat and brake caliber was lying on the inside of the rim. There was extensive damage to the vehicle, tire, rim, suspension components and brake components. There was no warning and it just happened suddenly. My family and other drivers safety were at risk. The dealership said it was due to impact but their estimate didn't mention or included any of the brake components. The brake caliber bracket is broken and the holes were the caliber bolts attached are elongated. The brake caliber and bracket are protected inside the rim and brakes just don't fall off. It is a VW certified car. I put 4,000 miles since I purchased and the accident happened on November 17, 2021. I have all the components and pictures.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445257December 28, 2021
AIR BAGS
I started my vehicle and the airbag light was on. Also the adaptive cruise control warning light was on and none of my steering wheel controls work. Not even the horn works. This is a huge safety issue that Volkswagen is aware of based on a past recall. There are no open recalls for my vehicle for this problem but there should be! I cannot even drive my car now because It’s not safe with no working horn or airbag! I researched online what the problem could be and several Volkswagen owners have the EXACT SAME issue. Apparently it’s the clock spring? I am not aware of Volkswagen offering to fix this major issue for their customers.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11444664December 22, 2021
AIR BAGS
My 2012 Passat was supposedly repaired under a recall action for the clock spring. However, same symptoms began to occur later in time and now it is apparent that the issue has not been solved and needs to be re-accomplished.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11444459December 20, 2021
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Both left and right low beam headlights became inoperable leave vehicle with only high beams. There has been a recall submitted by VW for the exact year/make/model/and production date. I have contacted closest dealership and have been given several reasons from the vehicle isn’t included in the recall but no explanation as to why it isn’t even though it meets every single criteria listed which vehicles it included and I was also told the recall was completed by another dealership but can not give the date or location of when the recall was supposedly done. If it was done, hypothetically speaking, then it obviously wasn’t done correctly because the same issue is still occurring, placing me and any passengers in extreme danger.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Volkswagen Passat