Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Our database contains 13 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2022 Volkswagen Passat, most frequently naming the engine, brakes and electrical categories. 268 manufacturer communications are on file.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
When owners filed reports about this model year
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2021 | 1 | 1 |
| Apr 2022 | 1 | 2 |
| Apr 2023 | 1 | 3 |
| Sep 2023 | 1 | 4 |
| Jan 2024 | 1 | 5 |
| Jul 2024 | 1 | 6 |
| Nov 2024 | 1 | 7 |
| Aug 2025 | 1 | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | 1 | 9 |
| Jun 2026 | 2 | 11 |
| Aug 2026 | 1 | 12 |
| Sep 2026 | 1 | 13 |
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
No recalls in our database for this model year
That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
Door sensor is faulty, and is repeatedly giving notifications while driving that the door is open, causing the cabin lights to come on, which causes safety issues when driving at night. Car is only four years old, and a similar issue was reported for the VW ID.4 vehicles, which have a similar wiring harness and circuit board to the VW 2022 Passat
Fuel smell in cabin lingering, strong fuel odor around passenger rear side, fuel cap area as well
I believe the cars FRONT END BRAKE ASSIST FAILED, resulting in a preventable accident. VW will not release data, and I have never had an accident in 32 years. There have been multiple class action lawsuits but VW refuses to announce a recall. Now, my car that is a 2022, with 50k miles on it, has major front end damage, and deployed airbags for an accident that could have been avoided. They have already been sued in 2024.
My car consumes an over abundant amount of oil about 1 quart every 1000 to 1500 miles. There is a civil lawsuit right now about the piston rings having low tension and my car has every symptom of this. This could lead to turbo issues, and several thousands of dollars in repair costs. I’ve already had to replace my oil pan, timing cover, and pcv and the car only has 80,000 miles on it.
I am reporting what appears to be a serious, chronic safety issue with this vehicle (not just this particular car, but all M/Y 2020~2022 (and possibly 2012~2019 as well if they use the same brake components). Since new, my car has had chronic brake problems and these ongoing issues keep arising, pointing to defective brake caliper design. They have not caused an accident (for me anyway), but should be investigated because they have the potential to do so. I'll list dates, mileage and details here because they are numerous: 05/22/2023 - 40,805 - Heard brake (dragging) noise. Found one pad in rear driver side completely worn with no perceptible wear on other rear pads or on front pads. Dealer diagnosed seized caliper on driver side and repaired under warranty. 02/05/2024 - 59,631 - During dealer inspection, dealer noticed passenger side rear caliper seized. Replaced caliper under warranty but I had to pay $220 labor. 11/23/2024 - 83,100 (approx.) - During another recent brake issue, dealer diagnosed a bad ABS module. Part was ordered and replaced on this day. 03/07/2026 - 115,275 - Heard early signs of brake wear so checked pads. Front pads still have zero wear on them (115,000+ miles and still has factory original pads -- no front brake actuation?). Rears are completely worn down. While checking, found guide pins on both front calipers seized as well as one guide pin on rear passenger side caliper. This vehicle has been stopping on only the rear brakes since new, and has chronic problems with seized calipers. I'm sure that it's not something limited to just my particular vehicle. I believe this brake caliper design is defective and all models using these calipers should be investigated for a potential recall situation.
Manufacturers defect. Known excessive oil consumption of the 2.0 Turbo 4 cylinder engine.
In May of 2023, I reported that the driver side rear brake caliper appeared to be sticking as one pad at that corner was completely worn down and making contact with the rotor, while the other pad at that same corner had no visible wear. Dealer replaced the rear left rotor under warranty (40,805 miles). Warranty also covered both rear rotors and rear pads due to rotor damage. In February of 2024, dealer inspection noticed the exact same issue on rear right brake caliper and replaced it under the extended warranty (59,631 miles). Although rear right rotor was damaged again, the extended warranty did NOT cover rear rotors or pads and I had to cover the cost out of pocket. In November of 2024 with approximately 80,000 miles, I performed a full brake inspection and noticed that even at this mileage, there was NO visible wear to the factory installed front brake pads (which at this mileage was odd and concerning), and while inspecting the rear pads I noticed that there was no visible wear to the rear left pads, but the rear right pads were worn down almost to the rotor. This uneven wear was shown to the dealer and after a day of "diagnosis", the dealer tech found no issues. They claimed fluid was flowing freely and the brake pistons were not sticking (pointing to the ABS module applying significantly more braking force to the rear right corner, in my opinion). I pressed the issue and after another day of diagnosis, they claimed the ABS module was defective and submitted the claim to the extended warranty. Claim was approved and part is no order, but I do not trust the braking system on this car with brake pads wearing unevenly down to the rotors every 20,000 miles and no perceivable braking force taking place on the front brakes. I, again will have to cover the costs to replace the rear pads and rotors due to continued related and warrantied part failures. I also raised the issue to VW Customer CARE, who created a case and is investigating with the dealer.
While driving car began to jerk and had odd smell. Stopped at a Midas to have car looked at and all of the transmission fluid leaked out. Techs at Midas state the gasket that hold the fluid in came out and caused all the fluid to leak out. Had no issues while driving previous to this, this just happened randomly in the middle of our drive. We did jot hit or run over anything and the road we were traveling on was in good paved condition.
A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.
SERVICE BRAKES
Repair or Replace Information
ENGINE
This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed and only order the successor parts going forward.
POWER TRAIN
Replacement instruction
Permission to change Daily Order upgraded to RED Order
Differences between a leak and seepage
STEERING
Clean and install an additional plastic "ring" to prevent ingress of dirt,hair. Foreign bodies into the clock spring.
Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Investigations | Issue Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022Viewing | 13 | 0 | 0 | 44.3 |
| 2021 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 48.7 |
| 2020 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 55.1 |
| 2019 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 30.5 |
| 2018 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 59.7 |
| 2017 | 110 | 7 | 0 | 56.8 |
| 2016 | 106 | 5 | 0 | 51.5 |
| 2015 | 243 | 7 | 0 | 52.6 |
| 2014 | 594 | 10 | 3 | 59.1 |
| 2013 | 748 | 9 | 3 | 58.5 |
| 2012 | 483 | 11 | 3 | 59.4 |
| 2011 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 53.8 |
| 2010 | 163 | 4 | 3 | 54.9 |
| 2009 | 146 | 4 | 1 | 57.8 |
| 2008 | 168 | 4 | 0 | 47.4 |
| 2007 | 262 | 7 | 1 | 52.9 |
| 2006 | 576 | 7 | 1 | 53.3 |
| 2005 | 148 | 4 | 3 | 61.4 |
| 2004 | 279 | 4 | 3 | 62.2 |
| 2003 | 634 | 7 | 6 | 67.2 |
| 2002 | 636 | 4 | 9 | 63.1 |
| 2001 | 430 | 4 | 7 | 60.2 |
| 2000 | 507 | 5 | 7 | 62.0 |
| 1999 | 664 | 6 | 8 | 58.6 |
| 1998 | 331 | 5 | 6 | 58.1 |
| 1997 | 70 | 1 | 2 | 45.7 |
| 1996 | 142 | 1 | 4 | 48.2 |
| 1995 | 93 | 1 | 2 | 46.2 |
| 1994 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 43.2 |
| 1993 | 68 | 3 | 3 | 64.3 |
| 1992 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 42.3 |
| 1991 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 37.0 |
| 1990 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 50.1 |
| 1989 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
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. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.