2016 Volkswagen Passat: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 106 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 5 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
106
Complaints
5
Recalls
4
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
3
Injuries
37.7
Severity index
Severity index 37.7 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
Among the 140 2016 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2016 Volkswagen Passat ranks 104 of 140 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 26% of its model-year peers. See the full 2016 ranking.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | 25 | 23.6% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 22 | 20.8% |
| STEERING | 19 | 17.9% |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 17 | 16.0% |
| ENGINE | 17 | 16.0% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 15 | 14.2% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 13 | 12.3% |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 11 | 10.4% |
The single most-reported system is AIR BAGS, cited in 25 of 106 complaints (23.6%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 7 |
| 2018 | 16 |
| 2019 | 13 |
| 2020 | 10 |
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 8 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2025 | 9 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 4 |
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19V389000 | 22/05/2019 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS | Volkswagen 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 |
| 16V403000 | 06/06/2016 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:FUEL RAIL | Volkswagen 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 |
| 15V705000 | 26/10/2015 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | Volkswagen 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 |
| 20V561000 | 16/09/2020 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Volkswagen 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 |
| 21V321000 | 05/05/2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Volkswagen 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 |
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.