2005 Volkswagen Phaeton Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2005 Volkswagen Phaeton, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Airbags1100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
DURING A ROLLOVER CRASH ON 14 SEP 2017 NONE OF THE AIRBAGS IN THE AUTO DEPLOYED. THERE WERE TWO PEOPLE IN THE CAR'S FRONT SEATS - DRIVER AND PASSENGER. THE AUTO WAS TOTALED IN THE CRASH. THE CRASH OCCURRED DURING DRY WEATHER DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS AT ABOUT 50 MPH ON THE GERMAN AUTOBAHN. THIS IS A US SPEC MODEL VW PHAETON. MY WIFE IN THE PASSENGER SEAT SUSTAINED INJURIES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HER BODY TO INCLUDE A BROKEN SHOULDER BLADE AND 4 BROKEN (C1-C4) LOWER SPINAL PROCESSES ON THE RIGHT SIDE. I BELIEVE THESE INJURIES MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SO SEVERE HAD THE SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE DRIVER'S INJURIES CONSISTED PRIMARILY OF WHIPLASH AND CUTS TO HIS HEAD, RIGHT HAND AND LEFT ARM FROM BROKEN GLASS. FORTUNATELY NEITHER WERE INJURED IN A PERMANENT WAY. MY CONCERN IS THAT I BELIEVE THE AIRBAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED DURING THE ROLLOVER AND HAD THEY DONE SO OUR INJURIES WOULD HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY LESS - PERHAPS BRUISING INSTEAD OF BROKEN BONES FOR THE PASSENGER AND A LOT FEWER GLASS CUTS TO THE HEAD, HAND AND ARM FOR THE DRIVER.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .