Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2016 Volkswagen Passat submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 21 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The vehicle has been alerting error codes 16352 for failing to communicate with ABS module causing warning lights for ABS, brake and the ESC systems to illuminate. The brake system related vehicle stabilizing functions (ABS/ESC) is not be available, increasing the risk of a loss of vehicle control and could lead to a crash causing injury and/or property damage. Please reference Safety Recall Code: 45F2
While driving on a residential street the VW Front Assist suddenly engaged the brakes. There was no car in front or any cars driving in the area. The car came to a complete stop. The only explanation may be that it had been recently raining in Seattle and it was also late in the day so the sun was low in the sky. There was also a metal plate on the street that appeared to be reflective with the rain. We have had incidents like this in the past while driving over the University Bridge as well which is a metal grated draw bridge in Seattle. We are extremely concerned that the brakes will engage and we will be rear ended. I had the dealership inspect the Front Assist feature on Thursday April 17th, 2025 and they have no indication of any fault with the system. The radar sensor that the feature relies upon was properly aligned and in working order. This system makes our car less safe to drive than if it was permanently disabled. Rain followed by sunshine is common in Seattle creating situations where the Front Assist will be triggered incorrectly putting us and other motorists at risk.
Air bag error light is on and steering wheel controls/horn are inoperable. Cause is most likely a clock spring failure as has been reported in numerous VW vehicle models including the 2016 VW Passat but the current recall 69L2 doesn’t appear to cover our vehicle. With recall problems on numerous other vehicles, it is hard to believe this isn’t caused by the same issue. Repair cost is estimated at $900 for an item that should be covered by VW.
My sensors cause the car to break in the middle of traffic. Almost causing accidents for the people behind me. This has happened 3x in the last month.
VW repaired clock spring (a recall) after airbag warning, steering wheel controls stopped working. VW returned the vehicle to me, the customer, with the clock spring supposedly repaired yet steering wheel buttons, including cruise control and others, remained broken and unusable. VW wanted several hundred dollars to fix this, despite the issue obviously being directly related to the clock spring as all buttons were in working order prior to the clock spring issue. (dates below May not be entirely accurate as this happened several years ago and still has not been repaired, however I was unaware I could file a report here)
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.
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.
The automatic emergency braking has applied three times while driving this vehicle. Once on a freeway onramp curve in traffic with following car, twice driving on different paved city streets. All three times were daylight and no other vehicle or obstruction in front of my car. This to me is asking for a trailing vehicle to rear end collide, or maybe even worse yet what would happen if this were to happen on rain slick or snow covered road? I did take it to an authorized VW dealer after the second brake application and of course they could not replicate the brake issue. I did not have it checked the first time since I falsely assumed I had done something I had not thought about. Now, after the third time, I am sure that it is the car and not something I have done. I have not been back to VW shop yet after this third time. My wife is scared to drive the car now and I am concerned about myself. I do not think the VW dealer went any further than a test drive and maybe a computer check after the second braking I encountered. There have been no warning lights or messages on my car dash before or after all three times. The dash light warning to "BRAKE!" did light up as the brakes were applying on their own. As a small aside comment, I was a professional highway truck driver with over a million miles driving and achieved a 28 year safe driving record. That has let me make this statement with a lot of "boots on the ground" certainty.
I started my car and it showed up with “airbag error” I then turned off my car and started it again and something along the lines of “front lane assist error” showed up, there was also a clicking noise from my steering wheel anytime I would turn the wheel, the car also was “breakchecking” me (aggressively breaking when barely any pressure applied) when I was trying to drive home and the digital speedometer is no longer showing up on my dash board. I was only able to get a picture of the “airbag error” message
THE CAR SUDDELY TURNED ON AIRBAG LIGHTS, ABS WHEEL SPEED SENSOR AND, CRUISE CONTROL
WHILE DRIVING AND TRYING TO STOP IT APPEARS THAT BRAKES/ABS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. ABS, TPMS, TRACTION CONTROL, SRS WARNING LIGHTS HAVE COME ON FOR THE SECOND TIME IN JUST A FEW MONTHS SPAN. DEALER SAID IT WAS FAULTY ABS WHEEL SPEED SENSORS BOTH TIMES (BOTH REAR). IT APPEARS THAT IT IS THE SAME ISSUE AS NHTSA ID NUMBER: 11265312. *TR
WHILE DRIVING THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON (CONSTANT SPEED, HIGHWAY, DRY CONDITIONS), DISABLING CRUISE CONTROL. THE AIRBAG LIGHT THEN CAME ON. THEN THE TIRE SENSOR LIGHT AND FINALLY THE STEERING WHEEL LIGHT AND EXCLAMATION POINT ICON NEXT TO THE STEERING WHEEL LIGHT. *TR
STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO CLICK WHEN TURNING ANY DIRECTION MID-TRIP. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AND HAD BEEN IN MOTION FOR APPROX 30 MINUTES WHEN ISSUE BEGAN. ALL STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS, INCLUDING CRUISE CONTROL, NO LONGER WORKED. AIR BAG MALFUNCTION LIGHT ILLUMINATED. DEALER STATED CLOCK SPRING HAD MALFUNCTIONED, ISSUE WAS REPAIRED. NOTED THAT CRUISE CONTROL BUTTONS CONTINUED TO MALFUNCTION POST-REPAIR DEALER CLAIMS 'COINCIDENCE' WITH MALFUNCTION, PUTTING COST ON CUSTOMER TO REPAIR. .
UPON ENTERING THE FREEWAY MY CAR STALLED OUT AND LOSS POWER. TOOK TO THE NEARBY DEALERSHIP. WAS TOLD IT WAS THE ECM CONTROL MODULE WHICH WILL COST ME $1697.00 TO FIX . IT'S A FIVE DAY FIX AND MY CAR WONT RETURN UNTIL WEDNESDAY. 2016 VW PASSAT ELECTRICAL ENGINE MISFIRE. DEALERSHIP IS VW OF ONTARIO THE CAR IS THERE NOW. SINCE THERE IS A RECALL I'M WONDERING ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT. THE COMPUTER MODULE OF A CAR DOWN NOT USUALLY GO OUT AT 100K MILES. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. CONTACT ME AT [XXX]. MY NAME IS [XXX]. THANKS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
THE HEADLIGHTS GO VERY DIM 2 SECONDS AFTER THEY ARE TURNED ON. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE YOU CANT SEE ANYTHING MORE THAN 3 INCHES IN FRONT OF YOU.
AT SPEED OF 40-60 MPH, WITH THE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED, THE CAR WILL BRING THE CAR TO 5-10 MPH RAPIDLY, BY SLAMMING ON THE BRAKES WITH NO OTHER VEHICLE IN FRONT OF IT. THIS HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES, AND HAS BEEN REPORTED, BUT NOT DUPLICATED AT THE DEALER. THE CAR HAS ALSO SLOWED ITSELF, UNDER THE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, IN OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE THERE WAS NO VEHICLE IN FRONT OF IT.
I WAS BRAKING MY CAR AS I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT WHICH WAS PERPENDICULAR TO A DIVIDER STRIP (AN APPROXIMATELY 5-6 FOOT WIDE STRIP OF GRASS WITH 9-10 INCH CURBS ON EACH SIDE). SUDDENLY THE CAR SELF-ACCELERATED TO A FAST SPEED. THIS CAUSED THE CAR TO GO UP AND OVER THE DIVIDER STRIP, CROSS A TWO LANE ROAD AND HIT THE CURB ON THE FAR SIDE OF THIS ROAD. THIS WAS QUITE FRIGHTENING! FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC AT THIS TIME ON THE ROAD ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DIVIDER STRIP BUT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE FRONT BUMPER AND UNDERSIDE OF THE CAR. WHILE THE CAR WAS IN THE SHOP FOR REPAIRS A BROKEN GAS PEDAL WAS DISCOVERED. THIS WAS THE CAUSE OF THE SELF-ACCELERATION.
2016 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, DRIVING IN THE RAIN AND THE CAR SLOWED TO A NEAR STOP AND COULD NOT ASCEND A SMALL INCLINE ON INTERSTATE 95 SOUTHBOUND AT OR ABOUT STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL VW DEALERSHIP IN STRATFORD CT. WHEN PUT INTO GEAR THE ENGINE SHOOK VIOLENTLY AND THERE WAS NO POWER. WHEN IN PARK AND NEUTRAL THE ENGINE WAS FINE AND COULD BE "REVVED" WITHOUT ISSUE. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT THE WIRE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE "TCM AND ICM' HAS "WATER DAMAGE" AND THAT WHEN THEY DISCONNECTED THOSE WIRES THERE "IS SIGNS OF CORROSION ON THE SEAL" ?
THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE CLOCK SPRING. I BROUGHT IT IN FOR SERVICE AND IT GOT REPLACED 10/7/15. IT SNAPPED AGAIN 5 MONTHS LATER WAS REPLACED 3/8/16. IT SNAPPED AGAIN 6 MONTHS LATER. NOW VOLKWAGON OFFERS A 12,000 MILE 12 YEAR WARRANTY ON PARTS. I BRIGHT THE VEHICLE IN 10/18/16 AND THEY TOLD ME IT WASN'T COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE SEEING THAT IT CONTROLS MY HORN AND WILL NOT LET MY AIRBAG DEPLOY. I HAVE CONTACTED VW HEADQUARTERS SEVERAL TIMES CONCERNING THIS ON GOING ISSUE. THEY REPLACED THE PART UNDER A 'GOODWILL' WHICH IT SHOULD'VE BEEN REPLACED UNDER THE RECALL & THE WARRANTY.
I WAS DRIVING INTO THE BEACH PARKING LOT WITH MY DOG I WAS TURNING INTO A PARKING SPOT WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATED QUICKLY AND FAST BY ITS SELF WITH FAST SPEED. BRAKED VERY HARD MY DOG WENT FLYING INTO THE BACK OF MY SEAT PUT IT INTO PARK AND TURNED THE CAR OFF. I GOT SCARED!
DRIVING IN FREEZING RAIN. CRUISE CONTROL ON. FRONT SENSOR ICED UP, CAR BRAKED TO SIGNAL IT TURNED OFF ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL DUE TO FRONT SENSOR ICING UP. I BRIEFLY LOST CONTROL OF CAR ON ICY ROADWAY AS IT LOST TRACTION WHEN IT BRAKED.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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