Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. 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. 22 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 clock spring system failed, rendering all of the cars' steering wheel functions non-functional. The airbag light is on and the steering wheels airbag does not operate as well as the cars horn and auto cruise controls. The instrument cluster is malfunctioning as well. The safety risks associated with the malfunctions could result in great harm to the driver and passengers in the vehicle.
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
Unknown my water pump failed and all out of nowhere
I own a 2016 VW Passat that I'm thinking of painting yellow and I don't like yellow. I was driving going about 75 mph on freeway in Idaho and a truck from the slow lane started merging over into my lane I went to hit horn and it didn't work. I hit my brakes and I mean hard because he obviously didn't see me and he merged over into my lane but had I not braked as hard and when I did it would of been a collision. That's how I discovered my horn didn't work. I'm not a person who pulls up to someones house and taps the horn nor do I use it if someone is sitting at an intersection after the light turns green as if to say, "Come on, pay attention, the light's green, now go" I don't like to do that because it makes everyone look and can cause confusion. I use it to prevent an accident! My clock spring went out on me a year ago. I'm told that's why horn doesn't work. Its also why my airbag light is on and my cruise doesn't work (which may not be a safety issue but I have found myself driving much over speed limit without trying to) and none of my driver assist features work. All controls connected to steering wheel don't work. I'm assuming since the light is on neither does the airbag and I know the horn doesn't. I see there have been recalls on this but looks like they drew the line at 2014. Checking into it further a lot of their cars, newer than 2014, like mine a 2016 have had same issue. I also see that the ones that were taken in for recall and replaced, broke again. I read that that led to an investigation. I don't see any more info. I learned that clock springs are supposed to last the lifetime of the car, so shouldn't there be a recall on the newer cars too, like mine 2016? I'm not impressed with VW, this is my 2nd one and will be my last. I now have to get a new water pump at 70K. I really would like to see a recall on clock springs and would like to know what the conclusion to the investigation was. Thanks, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOI
I believe my clockspring has malfuncioned and though it has had multiple recalls my car is not listed for recall. My horn is no longer working, as well as all the buttons in my steering wheel including cruise control and my airbag light is on. This is all directly correlated to a clockspring malfunction and I believe my vehicle should be recalled for saftey reasons.
EPC light came on within a week of buying car from dealer,took it to have it looked at and plugs and coil packs were shot,got that fixed and drove home and EPC came back on and was running bad,shaking and everything,made me lose speed drastically in heavy traffic and almost caused accident,now car has been sitting in driveway for the last few months because I’m afraid to drive it and I can’t really get rid of it because I owe way to much on it!
Defroster not working causing very low visibility and very unsafe to drive the car.
Steering column makes noises when turning. Airbag Light is on and the none of the steering wheel controls for the radio, phone etc are functioning properly. This is my college age daughter’s car and I fear the airbag won’t deploy in the event she was in a collision.
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.
On turning my car on my airbag light came on and non of the buttons worked on my steering wheel. Later that afternoon as someone all most backed up into my car I tried to hit my horn but it did not work. After finally returning home I ran the code stating the Airbag resistance was too high. This puts a huge safety to myself and anyone who can be in my car because I have no horn and my airbag is malfunctioning.
steering wheel clock spring failure which faults steering wheel controls, air bag and horn. Key safety features failed!
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.
After several attempts to identify the cause of my vehicle's excessive oil consumption, white smoke out of tail pipe and illumination of my low oil and EPC lights, the VW dealership has diagnosed my vehicle with a failed air oil seperator/PCV stuck in the open position. During the times the EPC light illuminated, I had a loss of engine power which potentially could have led to engine shut off and caused an accident. I often drive on the highway with construction with my children so sudden engine shut off is a safety risk. On 12/18/20, I took my vehicle to the VW dealership for excessive oil consumption, low oil and EPC lights and white smoke out of tailpipe. The technician diagnosed and repaired a blown upper timing gasket. The problems persisted and I dropped off the vehicle at the dealership on 01/19/21. Dealership advised computer update was needed and was performed. Problems persisted and vehicle was dropped off on 01/30/21 and 03/15/21 for oil consumption tests and advised results were in 'acceptable' range for VW. After researching work history on my vehicle, I remembered I took it in while under warranty (under 36k miles) for fuel smell in cabin when using the heater. VW technicians checked fuel lines, injectors and fuel tank but found nothing wrong. After researching this topic on various VW blogs, I found the fuel smell in cabin was caused by failed PCV system in numerous cases. I believe my air oil seperator/PCV was faulty and began to fail while my vehicle was still under warranty. Further internet research revealed websites and blogs with numerous mentions of failed VW/ Audi PCV systems. I believe my vehicle may have been affected by a faulty part installed and has been overlooked by VW.
THE ELECTRICAL HOUSING FOR HEADLIGHT MELTDOWN CREATING POSSIBLY RISK OF FIRES. WAS DRIVING WHEN FEEL SOME BURNING SMELLING INSIDE THE CAR , NOTHING EL HAPPENED UNTIL STOP THE CAR , WHILE STOP THE CAR AND COMPLETED THE PURCHASES OF SOME GROSERAS WHEN RE START THE VEHICLE THE DASH BOARD LIGHT INDICATING LIGHT BULBS NEED TO BE HECK IS ON AFTER INSPECTION ALL LIGHT SEEMS LIKE IS WORKING OK BUT THE WARNING LIGHT STILL ON . AFTER MORE CLOSE INSPECTION AND GUIDE BY THE SMOKING/ BURNING SMELL DISCOVER SOME OF THE LECTRICAL CONNECTOR MELTED WITH THE ORIGINAL FACTORY LIGHT BULBS . MY CONCERN IS THE VEHICLE FACTOR SETUP CAN PRODUCE COMBUSTION AND MAKE THE VEHICLE CATCH FIRE.
THE ABS SENSOR SYSTEM HAS FAILED ON OUR CAR FOR THE 2ND TIME . THE FIRST TIME IT OCCURRED ON THE LEFT REAR WHEEL IN 2019. WHEN THE SYSTEM FAILS IT TRIGGERS A MULTITUDE OF DASHBOARD ALERTS WHICH ARE EXTREMELY DISTRACTING. OBVIOUSLY THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING WILL NOT FUNCTION. THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS AT 43, 705 MILES. I WAS TOLD BY A VW DEALER MECHANIC THAT THIS WAS LIKELY TO OCCUR ON THE OTHER WHEELS. UNFORTUNATELY HE WAS RIGHT. THE ABS SENSOR FAILED ON THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL YESTERDAY AT APPROXIMATELY 61,000. SAFETY FEATURES THAT INCLUDE BLIND SIDE MONITORING ARE ADVERSELY IMPACTED. THE SENSOR ALERT OCCURS WHEN STARTING THE CAR AND STAYS ON WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE. THE COST FOR THE REPAIR IS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $300.00
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.
AS I HAVE SEEN IN YOUR DATABASE MY PASSAT HAS MANY OF THE SAME PROBLEMS. MY SIDE MIRRORS SOMETIMES DO NOT UNFOLD OR FUNCTION AS EXPECTED. ( VW SAYS THERE IS NO FIX ) MY BACKUP CAMERA SOMETIMES DOESN'T WORK ( VW SAYS THERE IS NO FIX ) MY CAR STOPS FOR NO REASON THINKING THERE IS AN OBJECT IN FRONT OF IT. NOT ONLY ARE THESE PROBLEMS REAL THE CAR DID NOT REGISTER ANY FAULTS. THESE PROBLEMS HAPPENED ALL THE TIME YET INTERMITTENTLY. PLEASE NOTE THAT MY CAR WAS MADE IN THE USA. AND EXPORTED TO CANADA. I AM IN CANADA. DUE TO MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY SEVERAL VW OWNERS MANY IN THE USA THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS AND VW IS NOT DOING ANYTHING FOR US. I KNOW OF SOME THAT HAVE HAD THEIR CARS RETURNED VIA THE LEMON LAW. THESE PROBLEMS SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED ANY LONGER. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=PGMJC2QPNOO HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=X5TLKDNA0XS HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=MOMG3DENETG HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=Z90TVWWSP9Y HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=9YLKAM6GOZU HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=R9J7H5AORJY HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=I27A1WCGXNG HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=BUHHB0G11_U ***THIS IS NOT A VIDEO I MADE BUT IT SHOWS A VW STOPPING FOR NO REASON WHICH IS HOW IT HAPPENED TO ME: VOLKSWAGEN FRONT ASSIST STOPS FOR NO REASON HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=UK8GVO0LNMS
2016 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ISSUES WITH THE VOICE RECOGNITION FEATURE IN VEHICLE. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VOICE RECOGNITION SYSTEM WAS NOT OPERATING PROPERLY. THE SYSTEM WAS UPDATED, BUT STILL WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE CERTAIN WORDS OR NUMBERS. ALSO, INTERRUPTED THE SPEAKER AT INCONVENIENT TIMES. *JS
THERE IS ISSUE WITH HMI (RADIO) AND INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER. THE SCREEN GOES FREEZE. THIS ISSUE IS SPORADIC, AND I AM CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY OF MYSELF AND FAMILY. I AM AFRAID WHILE DRIVING SUDDENLY INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER IPC SCREEN GOES FREEZE NOT ABLE TO SEE WHAT MY VEHICLE SPEED IS CURRENTLY. SUDDENLY IF I AM NOT AWARE WHAT SPEED I AM DRIVING, THE CONTROL ABILITY OF CAR IS LESS LEAVING MYSELF AND FAMILY IN VULNERABLE SITUATION. ANOTHER ISSUE, HMI OR RADIO DOES NOT BACKUP CAMERA VIEW. IT REMAINS IN ITS CURRENT SCREEN AND NOT ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHO IS BEHIND THE CAR, LEAVING MYSELF AND ANYONE BEHIND THE CAR IN VULNERABLE SITUATION. I HAVE CAPTURED THE PHOTO OF THE SCREEN FREEZE IN IPC AND HAVE THE VIDEO OF THE RADIO WHERE IN IT IS NOT DISPLAYING THE BACKSIDE WHILE I AM R REVERSE GEAR. I AM SEEKING HELP FROM THE DEPARTMENT AS VOLKSWAGEN HAS LEFT MY ISSUE TO BE REPRODUCED MYSELF AND THEN REPORT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHO IS NOT TRAINED IN SOFTWARE ISSUES. MOREOVER IF NEXT TIME THE ISSUE OCCURS, I AM AFRAID IF I WOULD BE IN A SITUATION TO COME AND REPORT TO THEM AND DO NOT GO INTO SOME SERIOUS CONCERNS. THIS ISSUES ARE HAPPENING MOSTLY WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION, BACKUP CAMERA CAN BE OBSERVED SPORADICALLY WHILE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY. NOTE: THERE IS NO WAY TO UPLOAD THE VIDEO, SO JUST UPLOADING THE PICTURE OF ONE OF THE SCREEN FREEZE INSTANCE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN, ANOTHER VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE PASSENGER IN THE REAR PASSENGER SEAT SUSTAINED WHIPLASH AND INJURIES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A COLLISION CENTER AND WAS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED FOR THE BODY DAMAGE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE VIEW MIRROR INDICATOR FAILED TO DETECT THE ONCOMING VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,000.
TODAY, I HAVE A BIG PROBLEM WITH MY PASSAT, I ARRIVED TO MY OFFICE THIS MORNING , AND I WAS CALLING BY PHONE WITH OTHER, BEFORE CLOSE THE DOOR OF MY CAR, AND I FORGOT TO PUSH THE BOTTOM TO SWITCH OFF THE ENGINE, ALL DAY I WAS WORKING IN MY OFFICE, AND AFTER I LEFT FROM MY COMPANY, AND BACK AT HOME, THE CAR WAS WITHOUT GAS, BECAUSE ALL THIS TIME WAS ON ALL THIS TIME, I CAN BELIEVE THAT THE CAR ALARM SYSTEM NEVER SWITCH OFF THE ENGINE. I HAVE A BIG COMPLAIN OF THIS ONE, AND I WOULD LIKE TO RETURN MY CAR TO VW, THEY NEVER TOLD ME IN VW DEALER THAT TAKE CARE WITH THIS SITUATION. I LOST MY TIME THIS FRIDAY BECAUSE I HAD TO CALL EMERGENCY HELP TO FILL FUEL AND LOST MY FLIGHT FOR VACATION. I DON'T WANT TO KEEP MY PASSAT AND I PREFER TO CHANGE FOR OTHER BRAND.
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
Data on this page last refreshed .