Volkswagen Passat Complaints

7,897 consumer complaints on file.

#11437106October 18, 2021
STEERING, POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The steering tightens up at times when decelerating between 30 - 42 mph. This has occurred three times now since purchase of the vehicle new. My vehicle database feedback notes no repairs needed; just check of vehicle at 20,000 miles and oil change at 10,000 miles. I am subscribed to the vehicle's car-net data monitoring system since purchase of the vehicle new from the dealership. The monitoring system notes GPS location, speed travelling, etc. When this steering condition occurs it is as if power to the steering is lost for about 0.7 - 1.2 seconds. It is as if driving in a vehicle that has an electrical system controlling the power functioning of the steering and there is a loss of electrical feedback to the steering. I have driven over 100 vehicles and this vehicle does have a problem with the steering system. There is a noticeable pull back on the vehicle when the automatic shifts down and this steering issue may or may not be related to the automatic transmission downshifting mechanisms.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436865October 14, 2021
ENGINE
My car's engine performance weakened and it would not go past 40MPH. Two loops appeared on the dashboard flashing, pulled over turned off car then started it again. Two loop icon on dash went away. Started driving again and car would not drive past 20MPH and started making a weird loud noise. I was driving through Patterson Pass Road (very dangerous and super narrow road to even consider pulling over in) Pulled over again and parked my car and walked away from my car since that is too narrow to even consider waiting in the car. I called a towing company to have my car towed to VW dealership. I bought this car not even 2 years ago from VW with only 16k miles. Have done all maintenances on it and this is the second engine problem Ive had in less than 2 years. The first problem was replacing the EGR valve and now this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435975October 7, 2021
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The car went 8 blocks 35mph the engine started shaking, I was stopping at the red light the car surging forward with my foot on brake engine still shaking. This all happened in 3 minutes. No lights on dashboard, the rpm dropped from 2,000 to 1,000 and then everything was ok.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435641October 5, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE
On October 3rd, 2021 the minder to change oil service came on and a wrench in the display. As the mechanic had set the incorrect timing interval between services, I went into the menu to attempt to reset the service minder but never got that far as the airbag light came on and all buttons on the steering wheel stopped responding. My husband in the passenger seat instructed me to restart the car and this did not reset any warnings but also showed the ACC: Error, in the display alternating with the Airbag: Error. The dealership wants $ 165 just to plug in the diagnostic reader and won't apply it to a repair and says this car has no open recalls which I am aware of. However, there was an airbag recall including the 2015 year build Passat, but the dealership wants payment to diagnose. When the car is stirred to make a 90 degree left hand turn I can hear a coil in the steering wheel cracking at times. Frequently, the airbag light for the passenger scale stays on but may go out if someone goes to sit in the passenger seat. All seat belts are unlocked at the top, and the receivers for the buckles look fine and nothing is stuck in them. I have not yet lifted the seats to inspect the harnesses but I doubt I will be able to fix anything as I cannot reset the codes anyhow. Not being able to change the information on the instrument panel from useless Error Messages is distracting. Tell VW to read an airbag fault light for free! This is a safety concern for every passenger and should not be taken advantage of to make a service department money. How can I find out if this model was added to the air bag recalls or is in the process of being added? Honda has a lifetime warranty service for free on all safety restraints. I am surprised that VW does not make safety their highest priority. I'm not certain the Forward Collision Warning is affected but the lanes blink Orange showing me the ACC is not responsive and it's close enough in function to mention just in case it may not work.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435204October 2, 2021
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, SUSPENSION, ENGINE
Engine time chain skipped. Fuel rail leak from regulator(dangerous to drive as it can catch on fire). Suspension problem car shakes over 40mph(alignment and balance did not help), problem due to coils or other components. Mechanic shop checked car and they denied to work on it due to fuel recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434870September 29, 2021
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the passenger’s side frontal air bag failed to function as designed. The passenger’s side frontal air bag light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434632September 28, 2021
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
After having parked the car long enough to eat dinner out, I pulled out onto the main street and the car engine showed clear signs of distress, sputtering, missing and ultimately going into what seemed to be limp mode. I was able to pull off the main lanes before the car died and would not re-engage after three attempts to restart. On the third attempt, the car stopped attempting to crank and the dash lights all began to blink until the only extra light that was left was the coil (glow plug indicator). We were left stranded in the street for a while until we could safely exit to push it out of the road and to a safe place. I later had the car towed to my mechanic where the issues were accessed and diagnosed. The causation of the failure is a combination of the first fuel pump failing and disintegrating then dispersing medal shards throughout the fuel system and ruining it entirety. I have never had any indicators or issues with this vehicle. There were no prior warnings or problems with the car. I was very blind sided and stranded in the road then felt forced to put myself in harms way to get it pushed out of danger and prevent an accident with another vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434736September 28, 2021
AIR BAGS
ABS light, airbag light, front end assist light, steering light all on
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434542September 27, 2021
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The oil light/message comes on, the engine burns oil excessively about 1 quart every 1,000 miles or so. Our biggest fear is that this will continue to get worse and the engine may seize up at some point due to this issue and cause a loss of power and/or a severe accident for us or anyone operating one of these VW vehicles with the same issue. VW indicated that this is "normal" but it does not seem "normal". We have never owned a vehicle (even older vehicles back in the 80s/90s) that had an issue like this, and this is a newer (2015) vehicle that we bought brand new. We had the shop look at the vehicle and they said it is burning oil and there might be a class-action against VW for it burning oil. It did not have this issue until some time after 30,000 miles which tells us that something changed in the engine at some point. With all of the burning oil, this cannot be good for air quality and the environment - not sure how many of these engines are on the road currently, but multiplied out it has to be contrary to any clean air acts that may exist in various states or at the federal level. Additionally, the oil is special "european" and is relatively expensive - the manufacturer indicates up to 10,000 miles between oil changes, so that could be up to 10 quarts of oil burning into the atmosphere (and costing money) for a single VW vehicle every few months, not to mention the safety concern if someones engine seizes up as a result causing a loss of power, loss of power steering, loss of power brakes, etc. The date shown for 'incident' is the most recent date that we had to add oil due to this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434295September 24, 2021
AIR BAGS
Initially heard clicking sound while turning the vehicle followed by airbag warning light. Then noticed driver assistant system not available warning, loss of horn, cruise control, automatic braking, and lane departure warning. Service center has inspected and informed me that the clock spring has failed(common problem with VW).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434070September 23, 2021
AIR BAGS, STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
When parallel parking, the steering wheel began making a clicking noise when turning. The volume and duration of the clicking increased after pulling out from parking spot into the street and the instrument panel airbag light/chime came on within a mile of driving. Clicking in wheel while turning persisted intermittently throughout driving. All electrical controls on steering wheel are no-response. Horn does not work, airbag deactivated, and all steering wheel electronic controls are no-response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433936September 22, 2021
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I put fuel in the car and about to start the car and it won’t start. Lights flickering.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433782September 21, 2021
STEERING
MY AIRBAG CLOCKSPRING HAS WENT OUT AND NOW MY HORN AND CRUISE CONTROL DOES NOT WORK . NOTHING ON MY STEERING WHEEL WORK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433646September 20, 2021
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2003 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph the vehicle's speed suddenly begin to reduce and smoke was present coming from the engine compartment. After stopping and exiting the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames and the vehicle was towed away. During the incident, the vehicle was destroyed. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the incident but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 150,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433670September 20, 2021
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2004 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that there was gasoline leaking in his driveway where the vehicle was parked, after he had refueled the vehicle the day before. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic informed the contact that it was a known failure related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V156000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The dealer and manufacturer were made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the failure was addressed in 2012 and the recall was closed on the VIN. The failure mileage was 97,361.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433435September 18, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES
ABS Wheel Speed Sensors have failed on 3 different wheels in the 28.200 miles the car has been operated since new. The left front at 19,241 mile. The left rear at 23,195 miles. Finally the right rear at 28, 200 miles. The cost at the dealer for replacement of an ABS wheel speed sensor is around $350. I have had to pay for 2. The first was under warranty. When a speed sensor fails the ABS warning light activates, the Air Bag warning light activates, the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) warning light activates and the steering is lacking in stability, the steering warning light activates, and finally the low tire pressure warning light activates. Upon replacement of the failed ABS wheel speed sensors it was noted that the new sensors had an updated part number to a -B from a -A. I believe an unsafe condition exists with all of these systems inoperative after an ABS wheel speed sensor failure and that VW should supply an updated, reliable sensor to all VW Passat owners.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433226September 16, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The key gets stuck in the ignition (about 1 out of 4 times) when put into park. This is dangerous as it does not allow the driver to safely exit the vehicle without the risk of damage, theft, a perpetrator could hide in the vehicle to prey on the driver as it is unlocked. After researching, I see this is a common problem with ALL volkswagons of this year. In fact, an extended warranty has already been issued by volkswagon for most models EXCEPT the Passat!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433041September 15, 2021
AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
THE AIRBAG LIGHT STAYED ON AND THE HORN STOPPED WORKING.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432606September 11, 2021
AIR BAGS
A few years ago I had my clock spring replaced as part of a recall. It just gave out again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11431605September 3, 2021
EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:INFOTAINMENT
I drive 90 miles total daily, to and from work (45 mi each way). I currently have 87,050 miles on my vehicle. Shortly after my 36,000 mile warranty expired, I started experience issues with my infotainment system. Searching online I discovered many other owners with identical problems. The radio would freeze, where I could not change the preset tuning stations. I would have to hold the power button, (while driving on highway) for the infotainment system to reset. As time went on, I started experiencing "dead spots" on the touch screen. No matter what I do, areas where the "dead spots" are, is unusable. You cannot activate the function you need, where the "dead spots" are at. I contacted my local dealership, but they were no help. This has to be a known problem, and VW should repair or replace the infotainment system at their cost.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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