Major Problems with 2012 Volkswagen Passat Derived from Complaints & Recalls

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Worst 3 complaints of 2012 Volkswagen Passat

2012 Volkswagen Passat AIR BAGS Victims: 2 Mileage: 45000 miles

2012 Volkswagen Passat AIR BAGS Victims: 2

2012 Volkswagen Passat BODY Victims: 1

Browse 2012 Volkswagen Passat complaints by category

Problems with AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and STEERING are the most frequent issues recorded by the NHTSA from Volkswagen Passat owners.

Problem Category	Number of Problems
AIR BAGS pulling into a parking space i felt a click vibration on the steering column and then a message flashed on...	243 ~ 22454 miles
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM vehicle doe not show the true speed of the car. speedometer is off by 7-8 kmh. @ 100 kms. vw	75 ~ 48785 miles
STEERING car has constant pull to the right. driving requires constant pressure to the left on steering wheel. car has been...	35 ~ 54870 miles
ENGINE in the morning i went downstairs to my 2012 vw passat s. i noticed a pool of fluid that smelled...	35 ~ 99692 miles
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM in the morning i went downstairs to my 2012 vw passat s. i noticed a pool of fluid that smelled...	27 ~ 64099 miles
UNKNOWN OR OTHER the car was on cruise control then engine light came on and glow plug light started flashing. also a winding...	22 ~ 109893 miles
EXTERIOR LIGHTING the drivers side headlight low beam stopped working. there was a malfunction with the connection between the housing and the...	15 ~ 34890 miles
BODY > STRUCTURE tl* the contact rented a 2012 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that there was a sharp object located near a...	12 ~ 43208 miles
POWER TRAIN i recently purchased a 2012 passat tdi. i really liked the car. however i have a safety suggestion that may...	11 ~ 133786 miles
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that when the accelerator pedal was depressed the vehicle...	11 ~ 24141 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL vehicle stalled on busy surface street lost all power. refused to restart. towed to local dealer who diagnosed the issue	10 ~ 32754 miles
SERVICE BRAKES tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that when the vehicle was in reverse and the...	8 ~ 20043 miles
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL the vehicle experiences excessive "wheel hop" upon starting from a stopped position especially on a wet roadway and a hill....	5 ~ 47100 miles
VISIBILITY/WIPER this vehicle experienced a failure of the heater core due to clogging. visibility through windshield was restricted due to heavy...	4 ~ 44750 miles
WHEELS the vehicle experiences excessive "wheel hop" upon starting from a stopped position especially on a wet roadway and a hill....	3 ~ 42923 miles
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING our new passat has problem controlling the car while using reverse on a hill. it appears that vw has tied...	3 ~ 37344 miles
SEATS recently i drove several new cars (the latest being the 2012 passat) and found one common complaint: the headrest on...	3 ~ 14199 miles
DOOR > BODY > STRUCTURE tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that the driver's side door failed to open from...	2 ~ 60000 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE scenario: 1. car stationary in garage 2. went to turn on the car in the morning and the car would...	2 ~ 6155 miles
DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE > FRONTAL > AIR BAGS tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. the contact took the vehicle to lakeland volkswagen (located at 209 s...	1 ~ 150000 miles
HORN > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. while driving 30 mph there was an abnormal scraping noise. also the...	1 ~ 47789 miles
SEAT BELTS takata recall: i phoned vw customer care on 08/10/2016 requesting a recall letter but never received it. i reported this...	1 ~ 38400 miles
INFLATOR MODULE > PASSENGER SIDE > FRONTAL takata recall. purchased a 2012 vw passat on 08/07/2015. was not aware of the recall until the salesman made a...	1 ~ 38415 miles
DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM > VISIBILITY windshield visibility defrost/defog failure: defrost failed on passenger side of vehicle. no heat on passenger side of vehicle. causes ice...	1 ~ 34000 miles
CONCEALMENT DEVICES > HEADLIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2012 volkswagen passat. consumer writes in regards to head lamp connector housing safety recall. *ld the consumer stated the vehicle...	1
COLUMN > STEERING tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. while driving 55 mph a loud clicking noise was heard under the...	1 ~ 42500 miles
FRONTAL > AIR BAGS all steering wheel functions have stopped working including the horn. the airbag icon shows an "error" message. the steering wheel...	1
INFLATOR MODULE > DRIVER SIDE > FRONTAL all steering wheel functions have stopped working including the horn. the airbag icon shows an "error" message. the steering wheel...	1
LATCH > DOORS > LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that the driver's side door failed to open from...	1 ~ 63000 miles
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. while driving approximately 40 mph there was an abnormal sound the gears...	1
TIRES we are the original owners of a 2012 vw passat with hankook optimo h426 tires. the optimo h426 tires that...	1 ~ 26570 miles
HEADLIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING the right low beam lamp remains off even though the bulb is good rendering the vehicle unsafe to drive at...	1 ~ 46667 miles
SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY > VISIBILITY sunroof exploded while driving down freeway at night. no cars in front of me to kick up a rock no...	1 ~ 35500 miles
SUSPENSION the vehicle experiences excessive "wheel hop" upon starting from a stopped position especially on a wet roadway and a hill....	1 ~ 2000 miles
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC our new passat has problem controlling the car while using reverse on a hill. it appears that vw has tied...	1 ~ 32 miles
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM the speedometer does not register actual speeds. it is pessimistic by 4 mph at highway speeds. vw's own climatic control...	1 ~ 10 miles
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN tl* the contact owns a 2012 volkswagen passat. the contact stated that when the accelerator pedal was depressed the vehicle...	1 ~ 10 miles
POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS > VISIBILITY my 2012 volkswagen passat s has power windows. over the course of the last two or three days of cold...	1 ~ 1280 miles

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