2018 Volkswagen Passat Brakes Problems

ABS sensor warning lights are coming on showing there is an issue.

NHTSA ID

11682521

Incident

Aug 4, 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH or at various speeds, there was a delay while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle was also pulling to the left and the right while depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, the contact stated that the suspension was loose while driving over bumps in the roadway causing the vehicle to bounce. The contact stated no warning lights were illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the front wheel bearings needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

NHTSA ID

11506122

Incident

Aug 14, 2022

Mileage

25,000 mi

I was driving down the road and the wheel locked up and I lost control of the car. I thought it was just a flat tire. I noticed the tire was flat and brake caliber was lying on the inside of the rim. There was extensive damage to the vehicle, tire, rim, suspension components and brake components. There was no warning and it just happened suddenly. My family and other drivers safety were at risk. The dealership said it was due to impact but their estimate didn't mention or included any of the brake components. The brake caliber bracket is broken and the holes were the caliber bolts attached are elongated. The brake caliber and bracket are protected inside the rim and brakes just don't fall off. It is a VW certified car. I put 4,000 miles since I purchased and the accident happened on November 17, 2021. I have all the components and pictures.

NHTSA ID

11445457

Incident

Nov 17, 2021

I PURCHASED MY CAR AS A CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED VEHICLE. WITHIN FOUR DAYS, I NOTICED THAT THE FRONT BRAKES GET EXCESSIVELY HOT DURING NORMAL STOPPING. I HAVE REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS & ROTORS, AND THE CONDITION STILL EXISTS.

NHTSA ID

11404415

Incident

Mar 9, 2021

Mileage

34,853 mi

I AM AT THE BURGER KING DRIVE THRU JAN 23, 2021, THERE ARE A FEW CARS AHEAD OF ME. I SIT AT DRIVER THRU WITH FOOT ON THE BRAKE ABOUT 3 TO 5 MINUTES, WHEN THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME MOVES CLOSER TO PICK UP HIS FOOD, I LET OFF OF THE BRAKE AND DRIFT FORWARD AS I GET CLOSER TO CAR IN FRONT OF ME , I PRESS THE BRAKE AND THE PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. I PRESS HARDER AND MY CAR BANGS DIRECTLY INTO THE BACK OF A 2015 CAMARA THAT HAS BEEN GARAGED KEPT AND HAS ONLY 3,000 MILES ON IT. I GIVE THE DRIVER MY PHONE NUMBER. VERY MINOR DAMAGE TO HIS CAR AND ONLY DAMAGE MY LICENSE PLATE AREA. I PULLED MY CAR INTO THE PARKING LOT , TURNED OFF IGNITION, I THEN STARTED PUMPING MY BRAKES AND EVENTUALLY THE BRAKES FELT MUCH STIFFER AFTER ABOUT 15 PUMPS OF THE BRAKE PEDAL . ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THIS , I TOOK MY CAR TO THE VW DEALERSHIP FOR OIL CHANGE AND SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR THEM TO CHECK MY BRAKES AND TIRES. I WAS TOLD WHEN I PICKED UP MY CAR THAT TIRES SHOULD BE REPLACE IN ABOUT 5,000 MORE MILES,BUT MY BRAKES WERE FINE. MY CAR JUST PASSED 40,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER 2 DAYS AFTER THE OIL CHANGE. YESTERDAY JAN 25 ,2021 , I TOOK THE CAR TO VW DEALERSHIP EXPLAINING WHAT HAD HAPPENED, TODAY IS JAN 26 THEY KEPT THE CAR OVER NIGHT WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM SPECIALIST FROM VW. MEANWHILE I SEARCHED INTERNET FOR INFO. THAT IS WHEN I REACHED THIS SITE. ALSO MY FORWARD COLLISION SHOULD HAVE COME BEFORE I MADE CONTACT WITH THE CAR I HIT AT BURGER KING. I SERIOUSLY DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS VEHICLE ANYMORE. I DON'T TRUST IT. I ALSO INJURED MY LEG PRESSING SO HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL.

NHTSA ID

11389957

Incident

Jan 23, 2021

Mileage

40,235 mi

WHILE GOING THROUGH A CURVE, IF ATTEMPT TO SLOW DOWN, MY BRAKES SEEM TO MAKE SOME TYPE OF SCRAPING SOUND AND I CAN FEEL THE SCRAPE OR VIBRATION OF THE PROBLEM THROUGH THE PEDAL.

NHTSA ID

11352058

Incident

Aug 21, 2020

Mileage

46,000 mi

ABS INTERMITTENTLY COMES ON WHEN BRAKES ARE BEING USED UNDER REGULAR PRESSURE. SOMETIMES WHEN TRYING TO STOP AT A LIGHT OR SLOWING DOWN WHEN A CAR IS TURNING IN FRONT OF ME, THE ABS COMES ON AND THE CAR DOES NOT STOP AS IT SHOULD. I HAVE ALMOST HIT THE BACK OF A CAR IN FRONT OF ME BECAUSE THE ABS CAME ON WHEN THE CAR NORMALLY WOULD HAVE JUST STOPPED AS USUAL. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN INTERMITTENT FOR ROUGHLY 6 MONTHS. *TR

NHTSA ID

11327705

Incident

Jan 1, 2020

Mileage

4,000 mi

UPON INSPECTING THE BRAKES FOR WEAR I FOUND THEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, I CHOSE TO GO TO PEP BOYS FOR THE BRAKE PADS. THESE PADS CAME WITH A WEAR SENSOR INSTALLED, SO I CALLED VOLKSWAGEN TO VERIFY WITH THE PARTS DEPARTMENT MY VEHICLE INDEED NEEDED THE WEAR SENSOR THEY CONFIRMED UTILIZING MY VIN HOWEVER, MY VEHICLE IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH THE WEAR SENSOR. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS INFORMED THAT I SHOULD JUST CUT THE WEAR SENSOR CABLE AND INSTALL THE BRAKE PADS AS THIS WOULD BE WHAT THE TECHNICIANS WOULD DO AS WELL. I CALLED OTHER DEALERSHIPS TO CONFIRM THESE ACTIONS, WITH POSITIVE CONFIRMATION OTHER DEALERS WOULD FOLLOW THE SAME PROCESS. THIS DOES NOT SEEM SAFE TO CUT A SENSOR THAT IS MEANT TO NOTIFY THE DRIVER OF BRAKE PAD WEAR.

NHTSA ID

11300512

Incident

Jan 13, 2020

Mileage

57,000 mi

FRONT BRAKES MAKES WHISTLING NOISE WHEN ACTIVATED. SLIPPAGE OCCURS IN RAINY CONDITIONS. THE FRONT BRAKE DISCS ARE NOT VISUALLY SMOOTH.

NHTSA ID

11243483

Incident

Jul 22, 2019

2018 VW PASSAT SE TSI. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO THE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL AND AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING AS SAFETY HAZARDS. *AS *TR *JS THE CONSUMER STATED SAFETY FEATURES SUCH AS ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKES, AND FORWARD COLLISION WARNING SHOULD BE STANDARD ON ALL VEHICLES. *JS *JS

NHTSA ID

11186452

Incident

Feb 23, 2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP. THE CONTACT HAD TO APPLY EXCESSIVE FORCE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL TO STOP THE VEHICLE. AFTER THE FAILURE, THE BRAKE FLUID WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO VYLETEL VOLKSWAGEN BUICK GMC (LOCATED AT 40555 VAN DYKE AVE, STERLING HEIGHTS, MI 48313, (586) 977-2800), BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED, BUT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 800. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

11155638

Incident

Nov 30, 2018

Mileage

800 mi

MY VEHICLE ATTEMPTS TO STRAIGHTEN ITSELF OUT AS I'M GOING THROUGH A CURVE AND I ACTUALLY HAVE TO PUT MORE EFFORT THAN NECESSARY TO KEEP STEERING WHEEL APPROPRIATELY TURNED TO GO THROUGH THE CURVE ENTIRELY. ALSO WHILE GOING THROUGH A CURVE, IF ATTEMPT TO SLOW DOWN, MY BRAKES SEEM TO MAKE SOME TYPE OF SCRAPING SOUND AND I CAN FEEL THE SCRAPE OR VIBRATION OF THE PROBLEM THROUGH THE PEDAL. BOTH THESE ISSUES CAN AND HAVE OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING AT A LOW SPEED SUCH AS 30 MPH OR AT HIGHER SPEED, SUCH AS 50-60 MPH. I HAVE HAD A FEW CLOSE CALLS WITH OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD DIE TO THESE ISSUES. I WILL SPECIFY A DATE BECAUSE IT ASKS FOR A DATE BUT IT'S BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I FIRST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11114454

Incident

Jul 30, 2018

I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE ON JUNE 8, 2018, FROM HERITAGE VW. THE CAR ALREADY HAD A SAFETY RECALL FOR BRAKES WHICH WAS ISSUED ON MAY 25, 2018. THE DEALER FAILED TO INFORM ME ABOUT IT BEFORE PURCHASE. LATER AFTER MY PURCHASE ON JUNE 22 A DO NOT DRIVE WAS ISSUED ON THIS VEHICLE, THEY ASKED ME TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THEIR DEALERSHIP STATING THAT IT IS FINE TO DRIVE IT.

NHTSA ID

11103971

Incident

Jun 8, 2018