2019 Volkswagen Passat problems and recalls

Owners have filed 12 complaints on the 2019 Volkswagen Passat, and NHTSA has issued 1 recall. The most cited component is the Electrical System (4 complaints).

12
Complaints
1
Recalls
0
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
0
Injuries
54.4
Severity index

Severity index 54.4 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 54.4p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Components cited in complaints

Electrical SystemElectrical System: 4 complaints (33.3%)4 33%Service BrakesService Brakes: 3 complaints (25.0%)3 25%EngineEngine: 2 complaints (16.7%)2 17%Power TrainPower Train: 2 complaints (16.7%)2 17%Fuel SystemFuel System: 1 complaints (8.3%)1 8%GasolineGasoline: 1 complaints (8.3%)1 8%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 1 complaints (8.3%)1 8%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 1 complaints (8.3%)1 8%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM433.3%
SERVICE BRAKES325.0%
ENGINE216.7%
POWER TRAIN216.7%
FUEL SYSTEM18.3%
GASOLINE18.3%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE18.3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM18.3%

Complaints filed per year

0482019: 82020: 22022: 12025: 1198202225
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20198
20202
20221
20251
Filings in 2020 to 2025 ran 0.5x those in 2019 to 2019 (4 against 8).

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

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.