2013 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 741 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (295 complaints · 39.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 29
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 24
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 2012 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution AIR BAGS appears in 295 of 741 owner complaints (39.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 295 complaints, 39.8% of reports AIR BAGS 295 · 39.8% · 17 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 71 complaints, 9.6% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 71 · 9.6% · 3 crash reports 3 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 57 complaints, 7.7% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 57 · 7.7% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 53 complaints, 7.2% of reports ENGINE 53 · 7.2% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 45 complaints, 6.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 45 · 6.1% STEERING: 39 complaints, 5.3% of reports STEERING 39 · 5.3% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 21 complaints, 2.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 21 · 2.8% · 2 crash reports STRUCTURE: 19 complaints, 2.6% of reports STRUCTURE 19 · 2.6% VISIBILITY: 18 complaints, 2.4% of reports VISIBILITY 18 · 2.4% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 145 complaints, 19.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 145 · 19.6% · 2 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
AIR BAGS 295 39.8% 17 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 71 9.6% 3 crashes · 3 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 57 7.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 53 7.2% 1 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 45 6.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 39 5.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 21 2.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 19 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 18 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 145 19.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2013. 2013-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2014-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2014-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2014-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2015-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2015-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2015-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2016-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2016-Q2: 44 owner reports 44 2016-Q3: 66 owner reports 66 2016-Q4: 62 owner reports 62 2017-Q1: 40 owner reports 40 2017-Q2: 42 owner reports 42 2017-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 2017-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2018-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2018-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2018-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 2018-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2019-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2019-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2020-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2020-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2020-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2020-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2021-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2021-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2021-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2022-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2022-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2023-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2023-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2024-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2025-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2025-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2025-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2026-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2013 Jul 2026 Investigation PE15010 ● Investigation PE15010 Investigation RQ17009 ● Investigation RQ17009 Investigation EA18003 ● Investigation EA18003
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2013-Q1 Owner reports 3
2013-Q2 Owner reports 4
2013-Q3 Owner reports 6
2013-Q4 Owner reports 8
2014-Q1 Owner reports 17
2014-Q2 Owner reports 14
2014-Q3 Owner reports 14
2014-Q4 Owner reports 11
2015-Q1 Owner reports 10
2015-Q2 Owner reports 6
2015-Q3 Owner reports 14
2015-Q4 Owner reports 13
2016-Q1 Owner reports 16
2016-Q2 Owner reports 44
2016-Q3 Owner reports 66
2016-Q4 Owner reports 62
2017-Q1 Owner reports 40
2017-Q2 Owner reports 42
2017-Q3 Owner reports 21
2017-Q4 Owner reports 19
2018-Q1 Owner reports 16
2018-Q2 Owner reports 18
2018-Q3 Owner reports 21
2018-Q4 Owner reports 10
2019-Q1 Owner reports 12
2019-Q2 Owner reports 12
2019-Q3 Owner reports 10
2019-Q4 Owner reports 11
2020-Q1 Owner reports 9
2020-Q2 Owner reports 8
2020-Q3 Owner reports 13
2020-Q4 Owner reports 12
2021-Q1 Owner reports 8
2021-Q2 Owner reports 6
2021-Q3 Owner reports 2
2021-Q4 Owner reports 5
2022-Q1 Owner reports 7
2022-Q2 Owner reports 7
2022-Q3 Owner reports 8
2022-Q4 Owner reports 9
2023-Q1 Owner reports 8
2023-Q2 Owner reports 5
2023-Q3 Owner reports 5
2023-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 9
2024-Q2 Owner reports 5
2024-Q3 Owner reports 5
2024-Q4 Owner reports 7
2025-Q1 Owner reports 16
2025-Q2 Owner reports 23
2025-Q3 Owner reports 16
2025-Q4 Owner reports 4
2026-Q2 Owner reports 1
2026-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE15010
Defect investigation 1 RQ17009
Defect investigation 1 EA18003
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 741 complaints · page 1 of 30

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources