Model year record

2016 Volkswagen Passat

5 recall campaigns on file for this model year. 198 owner complaints on file.

Recalls

Recall campaignNHTSA 21V321000

Unknown or other

Component
Unknown or other
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
46
Reported to NHTSA
2021-05-05
Owners notified
2021-05-20

Defect description

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Touareg GP, Tiguan, Golf A6, E-Golf GP, CCF, 2016-2017 Passat GP, 2018-2019 Golf R GP, and 2018 Atlas vehicles. These internal-use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of various Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Safety risk

Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of injury, crash, or fire.

Manufacturer remedy

Volkswagen will repurchase the vehicles. Owner notification letters were mailed May 20, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01F1.

Recall campaignNHTSA 20V561000

Unknown or other

Component
Unknown or other
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
23
Reported to NHTSA
2020-09-16
Owners notified
2020-10-06

Defect description

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R and Atlas, 2017 Golf Alltrack and E-Golf and 2016-2018 Passat vehicles. These internal use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of various Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Safety risk

Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of a crash or injury to vehicle occupants.

Manufacturer remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners and will repurchase the vehicles. The recall began October 6, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01E9.

Recall campaignNHTSA 19V389000

Exterior lighting: headlights

Component
Exterior lighting: headlights
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
662,185
Reported to NHTSA
2019-05-22
Owners notified
2019-07-16

Defect description

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2020 Volkswagen Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. The blocking cap disabling the adjustment of the headlight's horizontal aim may not have been installed. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Safety risk

Without the blocking cap, the headlight aim can be adjusted out of specification, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, block the headlight horizontal adjustment, free of charge. The recall began July 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94L9.

Recall campaignNHTSA 16V403000

Fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system: fuel rail

Component
Fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system: fuel rail
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
55
Reported to NHTSA
2016-06-06
Owners notified
2016-09-16

Defect description

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 Jetta vehicles manufactured October 31, 2015, to January 21, 2016, 2016 Passat vehicles, equipped with 1.8T engines manufactured November 13, 2015, to December 9, 2015, and 2016 Golf vehicles manufactured November 5, 2015, to November 11, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the fuel rail may detach from the cylinder head and result in a fuel leak.

Safety risk

A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire.

Manufacturer remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the cylinder heads, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 15F7.

Recall campaignNHTSA 15V705000

Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum

Component
Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
91,867
Reported to NHTSA
2015-10-26
Owners notified
2016-03-09

Defect description

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Passat, Golf and Golf SportWagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear off, resulting in a loss of brake assist.

Safety risk

If the camshaft lobe shears off there would be a loss of brake assist, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

Volkswagen dealer will update the engine control module (ECM) software. The recall began March 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 23R1.

Owner complaints

A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.

ComponentComplaintsMedian mileage
Electrical system256,100 mi
Air bags2346,000 mi
Steering2037,000 mi
Fuel/propulsion system1923,000 mi
Engine1886,334 mi
Service brakes1723,000 mi
Unknown or other1419,552 mi
Vehicle speed control1145,000 mi
Forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking6
Fuel system, gasoline689,000 mi
Electronic stability control (ESC)552,000 mi
Power train546,000 mi
Air bags: frontal: driver clockspring/spiral cassette427,000 mi
Exterior lighting45 mi
Structure: body418,500 mi
Forward collision avoidance: adaptive cruise control345,000 mi
Seat belts2
Visibility/wiper250 mi
Wheels2400 mi
Engine and engine cooling145,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: emission control: catalytic convertor198,000 mi
Exterior lighting: brake lights1800 mi
Lane departure: assist1
Service brakes, air: antilock: wheel speed sensor1
Service brakes, hydraulic145,000 mi
Suspension1
Visibility: windshield1

The 2015 model has about half as many complaints as this one. The 2017 model has roughly the same number of complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.

Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.