2016 Volkswagen Passat problems and recalls

Owners have filed 106 complaints on the 2016 Volkswagen Passat, and NHTSA has issued 5 recalls. The most cited component is the Air Bags (25 complaints).

106
Complaints
5
Recalls
4
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
3
Injuries
49.0
Severity index

Severity index 49.0 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 49.0p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 103 of 141 by severity index among 2016 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 27% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2016 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

Air BagsAir Bags: 25 complaints (23.6%)25 24%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 22 complaints (20.8%)22 21%SteeringSteering: 19 complaints (17.9%)19 18%Service BrakesService Brakes: 17 complaints (16.0%)17 16%EngineEngine: 17 complaints (16.0%)17 16%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 15 complaints (14.2%)15 14%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 13 complaints (12.3%)13 12%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 11 complaints (10.4%)11 10%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
AIR BAGS2523.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2220.8%
STEERING1917.9%
SERVICE BRAKES1716.0%
ENGINE1716.0%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM1514.2%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1312.3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL1110.4%

Complaints filed per year

08162016: 62017: 72018: 162019: 132020: 102021: 112022: 82023: 112024: 112025: 92026: 4 (partial year)161718161920212223242526
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20166
20177
201816
201913
202010
202111
20228
202311
202411
20259
2026 (year to date)4
Filings in 2023 to 2025 were close to 2020 to 2022 (31 against 29).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
19V38900022/05/2019EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTSVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2020 Volkswagen Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. The blocking cap disabling the adjustment of the headlight's horizontal aim may not have been installed. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Fede
16V40300006/06/2016FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:FUEL RAILVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 Jetta vehicles manufactured October 31, 2015, to January 21, 2016, 2016 Passat vehicles, equipped with 1.8T engines manufactured November 13, 2015, to December 9, 2015, and 2016 Golf vehicles manu
15V70500026/10/2015ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINEVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Passat, Golf and Golf SportWagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear off, resulting in a loss
20V56100016/09/2020UNKNOWN OR OTHERVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R and Atlas, 2017 Golf Alltrack and E-Golf and 2016-2018 Passat vehicles. These internal use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory require
21V32100005/05/2021UNKNOWN OR OTHERVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Touareg GP, Tiguan, Golf A6, E-Golf GP, CCF, 2016-2017 Passat GP, 2018-2019 Golf R GP, and 2018 Atlas vehicles. These internal-use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applica

Other Volkswagen Passat model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 10 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.