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7 recalls covering model years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021. To check whether your vehicle is affected, look up your 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — a recall may apply only to some vehicles of a given year.
The bolts that hold the front wheel bearings may not have been tightened correctly when these vehicles were built. If those bolts work loose, the front wheel can move out of position and you could lose control of the vehicle while driving. A dealer will check how tight the bolts are on the front wheels and install new bolts wherever they find a problem. The inspection and any parts needed are done at no cost to you.
A small number of Volkswagens that the company had been using internally were sold to customers without confirming they were built to all federal safety rules, and they may have been changed in some way before being sold. Because nobody verified them, Volkswagen cannot say they meet the safety standards every new car must meet. Rather than repair them, Volkswagen is buying these vehicles back from the people who own them.
The airbag in front of the passenger seat may have been folded the wrong way when it was built. A folded airbag has to unpack in a specific way so it inflates at the right speed. If it was folded incorrectly, it can come out with more force than it should. Someone sitting in that seat during a crash could be hurt by the airbag itself. Federal crash-protection rules cover how these airbags must perform.
A small cap that locks the headlight's side-to-side aim may be missing on these cars. With the cap in place, the aim cannot be knocked or adjusted out of position. Without it, the headlights can end up pointed the wrong way, so less of the road ahead is lit and you may not see as far at night. This covers certain 2012-2020 Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. Dealers will inspect and block the adjustment for free.
The wrong side airbag may have been installed on the driver's side, the front passenger's side, or both. These are the airbags that are supposed to cushion you if another vehicle hits the side of yours. An airbag built for a different application may not inflate the way it should in that kind of crash, so you would get less protection. Volkswagen says it already inspected these vehicles and replaced the incorrect airbags, finishing the work in April 2019.
On certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and 2017-2018 Volkswagen Passat vehicles, the bolts that hold the brake caliper bracket to the wheel may not have been tightened enough at the factory. The caliper is the part that squeezes the brake pads against the wheel to slow you down. If those bolts are loose, the caliper can shift around instead of staying put, which can weaken your braking or make the car hard to control.
The brake calipers — the parts that squeeze the brake pads against the wheels — were built with pistons that did not get enough protective coating. Over time that can make the brakes work less well than they should, so the car may not slow down or stop the way you expect. Volkswagen and Audi say owners should not drive these vehicles until the brake system has been checked. Dealers bleed the brake lines to fix it.
⚠ NHTSA advises: do not drive this vehicle until repaired.
Complaints owners have filed with NHTSA about the Volkswagen Passat. These are unverified reports; better-selling years collect more.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 45 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Recalls and complaint record for one model year at a time: