2015 Volkswagen Passat Electrical Problems

The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that cool air was being blown inside the vehicle. The contact stated that the heater failed to heat the passenger’s side of the vehicle. Additionally, the defroster failed to properly defrost the windshield while activated. The contact linked the failure to VWP:16‑05; (Heater Core Limited Warranty Extension). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

NHTSA ID

11702531

Incident

Nov 17, 2025

Mileage

103,000 mi

The airbag system/clockspring assembly in the steering column appears to have failed. The airbag warning light turned on and all steering-wheel controls stopped working at the same time, which indicates that the driver airbag may not function in a crash. The vehicle can be inspected upon request. This is a major safety risk because the primary airbag might not deploy during a collision, putting the driver at high risk of injury. The issue has remained constant since it first appeared. I had the vehicle inspected by a highly reputable independent repair shop, and their assessment was that the clockspring/airbag component has failed. They advised that the necessary replacement part is unavailable to order, leaving the vehicle without a functional airbag system. I have also seen many other owners of similar 2015 Passat models reporting the same failure online, which suggests this may be a widespread defect. The airbag light is the only warning I received. It turned on a few months ago and has stayed on continuously since. UNKNOWN if there are other related electrical faults.

NHTSA ID

11699627

Incident

Aug 20, 2025

2015 Passat TDI sudden complete power loss while driving, including highway incidents. Vehicle stalls with no warning, creating immediate safety hazard. Symptoms match documented crankshaft position sensor failures in identical vehicles that VW has repaired under warranty for other owners. VW Customer Care closed case requiring 'duplication' of safety defect before repair. Request immediate safety investigation. I am reporting today's incident however this issue has been occuring since May 1st and occurred on numerous occasions with today being the most unsafe.

NHTSA ID

11671727

Incident

Jul 7, 2025

The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that upon turning off the vehicle, the infotainment system failed to turn off as intended, and the message "download" was displayed on the screen, causing the battery to become drained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the infotainment system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA ID

11663236

Incident

May 27, 2024

Mileage

45,000 mi

Clock spring failure. 2015 passat steering wheel started clicking then it snapped my airbag light came on and steering wheel functions didn't work. The sa

NHTSA ID

11631786

Incident

Jun 14, 2023

Gas and Oil comsumption is way too high … Almost every 600-1000 the low oil lights turns on! Check engine on almost all the time due to an error with the oxígen sensor. EPC light gets on very frequently and the car loses speed. Also vehicle has a constant rattlesnake sound when speed is low. Issue was reported some years ago to a local VW dealership in Georgia but they never took care of the issue. Ongoing for a couple of years!. No additional details

NHTSA ID

11610716

Incident

Aug 25, 2024

I take my car to the dealership for maintenance when it is scheduled. The ignition would not allow me to put the key inside. I did a little internet research and it seems to be a common problem with this car. I could not put the key in the ignition. I then used some wd40 and got it to go in eventually but thought I should report it as this could pose a safety hazard.

NHTSA ID

11544526

Incident

Sep 7, 2023

Failed part: Clock spring. Yes, the work was appropriately installed. This is my fourth replacement within less than 100k miles. No additional inspections as of yet. No warning lights, just a faint click coming from the steering wheels while making turns two days prior to hearing a snapping noise. My air bag light illuminated and my dash notified me of an air bag error. Lost all connection to steering wheel controls and horn. This is the same thing that has happened every time prior. The car is inoperable, once again, due to clock spring failure. I cannot drive my vehicle as I am concerned about not having safety features of an air bag and a horn. This has been an ongoing issue with VW. I have been the only owner of this vehicle for almost nine years.

NHTSA ID

11535105

Incident

Jul 28, 2023

Rear back left light keeps going out. Could be an electrical issue. I have had to change light 5 times. The rear left back light blinker keeps going out.

NHTSA ID

11517003

Incident

Apr 1, 2023

Mice and rodents just love eating various electrical wires, vacuum lines, diesel fuel lines (both from tank to engine & return lines), etc. Never once had any animals issues with my other vehicles. Discovered that VWoA thought it would be a brilliant idea to use Soy in the manufacturing of electrical insulation, fuel hoses, vacuum lines, etc. ANIMALS LIKE EATING SOY. Very frustrating. My vehicle has been disabled before and one time I sprang a nice leak, leaving a trail of diesel behind me. Since all repairs and parts were ordered and conducted at local VW dealership. All records are both on carfax & stored in VWoA servers.

NHTSA ID

11502406

Incident

Jan 1, 2022

I purchased this car from what I believed was a private individual for my 15 year old daughter as her first car. This individual knew the purpose of this sale and was accutely aware that a new driver would be the primary driver. Before allowing her to drive this car, I had a detailed safety and condition inspection completed by a local import repair specialist. They found that there had been a deployment of the air bags resulting in the clock spring and front seat belt retractors being unusable. In addition, the air bag warning light had been removed from the instrument cluster and the bulb was removed, disguising the fact that there was an issue with the air bags. Further inspection showed overspray on one headlight lens from the repairs, the ac condenser was bent upwards, none of the splash shields under the front were intact or completely missing, body panels do not line up, and there is an issue with the front brakes. It is the opinion of the inspector and the business owner that this car had been reconditioned for a quick sale, intentionally hiding the fact the air bags had been deployed and the air bag system was rendered unusable. The CarFax shows minor damage to the rear and left rear, nothing about front end. The title reflects this car was at Adesa in Jacksonville FL (a car reconditioner) and sold to NES Enterprises of Jacksonville, then sold to Performance Motor Group, who sold it to me, all between 9/22/2022 and 10/31/2023. The individual I was dealing with was not involved in this sale.

NHTSA ID

11494168

Incident

Nov 9, 2022

The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated his wife was unable to insert the key into the ignition to start the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed the key was faulty. The vehicle was repaired. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

NHTSA ID

11491738

Incident

Oct 29, 2022

Mileage

64,000 mi

The clock spring has broken again. The clock spring had been replaced on this vehicle in spring 2020, it is currently summer 2022. The vehicle currently has approximately 162,000 miles. I am concerned because the VW dealers state that there is a nationwide back order on this part, with people waiting since early 2022 for the part at this time.

NHTSA ID

11483905

Incident

Aug 20, 2022

The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. Additionally, the horn was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clockspring needed to be replaced; however, the clockspring part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer informed the contact that an ETA for parts was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 167,000.

NHTSA ID

11465466

Incident

Mar 1, 2022

Mileage

167,000 mi

Clockspring broke when making a turn in the drive-thru pharmacy. Loud pop, then lost all power to steering wheel. Horn does not work, none of the controls work and the airbag is not guaranteed to work. Car has been at dealership for 5 months waiting for a repair. No ETA for 5 months now....

NHTSA ID

11464326

Incident

Dec 22, 2021

During a left hand turn a loud "pop" occurred in the steering wheel while illuminated the Air Bag error light and disabled the horn and all steering wheel controls. I called Volkswagen about the errors and was transferred around on phone system, hung up on while transferring, message left with no contact back. While searching online have found numerous air bag recalls with clock spring issues but this model is not showing it although it is obvious it has failed. The car is not currently safe to drive and is parked, I currently own 4 of these VW TDI Passat's and need this addressed. Thank You

NHTSA ID

11456657

Incident

Mar 5, 2022

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.

NHTSA ID

11446627

Incident

Dec 6, 2021

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.

NHTSA ID

11435975

Incident

Sep 29, 2021

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!

NHTSA ID

11433226

Incident

Aug 1, 2021

I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM EMPIRE AUTO USED. I HAD AN ISSUE WITH THE HORN AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS A RECALL ON THE CLOCKSPRING. I DECIDED TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER ITSELF FOR THE SERVICE. THE PART HAS BEEN REPLACE LIKE 3 TIMES ALREADY. I CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE. THEY CAN'T FIGURE OUT IT KEEPS HAPPENING. PLEASE ADVICE, THE LAST SERVICE DATE WAS ON 01/25/2021. AT THE PRESENT TIME I GOT NO HORN AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

11395451

Incident

Jan 25, 2021

Mileage

67,000 mi

STEERING WHEEL STARTED MAKING TICKING NOISES AROUND 35K MILES. ROUGHLY 36K MILES THE AIR BAG ERROR LIGHT CAME ON. ROUGHLY 38K MILES HORN AND ALL STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS LOST POWER. CLOCK SPRING PROBLEM OBVIOUSLY. IM TOLD THIS VEHICLE WAS RECALLED FROM 2010 TO 2014 MODELS. WELL OBVIOUSLY THE ISSUE WAS NOT FIXED.

NHTSA ID

11388796

Incident

Jan 19, 2021

Mileage

38,000 mi

WHILE TURNING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AT A SLOW SPEED I FELT A STIFFNESS IN THE TURNING WHEEL FOLLOWED BY A CRUNCH AND THE AIRBAG ERROR LIGHT ILLUMINATING. HORN IS NOT OPERATIONAL EITHER IN ADDITION TO OTHER STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS.

NHTSA ID

11376492

Incident

Nov 25, 2020

Mileage

57,000 mi

HAVE AN AIR BAG ERROR COMING UP ON DASH. AT THE SAME TIME THIS HAPPENED ALL OF THE CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL HAVE STOPPED WORKING. VEHICLES HORN DOES NOT WORK NOW AS WELL ON THE STEERING WHEEL.

NHTSA ID

11297343

Incident

Jan 4, 2020

Mileage

44,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT'S DAUGHTER OWNS A 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY WOULD NOT INSERT INTO THE IGNITION. CAMELBACK VOLKSWAGEN (1499 E CAMELBACK RD, PHOENIX, AZ 85014, (602) 648-9181) WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE IGNITION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE WARRANTY EXPIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

NHTSA ID

11270727

Incident

Oct 24, 2019

Mileage

45,000 mi

MY DPF SENSORS MELTED WHILE DRIVING, ALMOST CAUSING ME TO CRASH AS THE CAR LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING SPEED LIMIT (70MPH) AND SUDDENLY WENT DOWN TO 45MPH. DEALER REPLACED SENSORS, BUT PROBLEM WAS NOT FIXED.

NHTSA ID

11255511

Incident

Mar 20, 2019

Mileage

70,000 mi