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Volkswagen · NHTSA safety record

2010 Volkswagen Passat Wagon

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 9 safety complaints about the 2010 Volkswagen Passat Wagon with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the air bags and the gasoline fuel system.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 3 complaints, 33% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 76,052 miles, the median across the 8 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers October 2017 to February 2019 · How this is counted

What is on file

9 complaints on file

9

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 3 · 33%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 33%
ENGINE 3 · 33%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 · 22%
STEERING 2 · 22%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 · 11%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 9.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2018 at 4.

8 6 4 2
17 18 19

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2019.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2010 Volkswagen Passat Wagon. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

18V148000 · March 6, 2018

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Volkswagen CC, 2010-2014 Golf, 2010-2014 Eos, 2007-2010 Passat Sedan and Wagon, and 2012-2014 Passat vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.
The risk
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 16, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69Q9. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-078.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 363,713 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

17V509000 · August 16, 2017

The defect
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009-2016 Volkswagen CC, 2006-2010 Passat and Passat Wagon vehicles. Interruption of electrical power to the fuel pump control module may cause the fuel pump to fail.
The risk
If the fuel pump fails, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump control module, free of charge. The recall began June 26, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20AE.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. · up to 280,915 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

74,355 miles

MANUFACTURER RECALL 20AE NHTSA RECALL 17V509

NHTSA complaint 11173682. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

88,000 miles

2010 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT WAGON. 88K MILES. CHECK ENGINE CAME ON AS I WAS DRIVING IT IN THE CITY. WITHIN ONE HOUR OF CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARING I STOPPED THE CAR. WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART 30 MINUTES LATER IT REFUSED TO START. PROMPTLY HAD IT TOWED TO DEALER. VW DEALERSHIP MECHANIC SAYS: TIMING IN THE ENGINE SLIPPED DUE TO SLACK IN TIMING CHAIN. COMPRESSION MEASURED LOW TO NONE. INCORRECT TIMING HAS CAUSED DAMAGE TO VALVES AND CAMSHAFT. VEHICLE WILL NEED A CYLINDER HEAD, CAMSHAFT, TIMING CHAIN & TENSIONER TO START. THEY SAY THIS PORTION WILL COST ME $5,700 PLUS TAX. ALSO A POSSIBILITY IT WILL NEED AN ENGINE BLOCK IF THE CYLINDER WALL IS DAMAGED IN ADDITION. IN MY RESEARCH I'VE FOUND MANY VW

NHTSA complaint 11151418, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

64,834 miles

TAKATA RECALL I RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS VEHICE. I BRING IN TO THE KING VW TO HAVE IT DONE. BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN CLEARED BY NHTSA OR VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY PAPERWORK ABOUT THIS. I KNOW THIS FROM CARFAX. THERE WAS NO COLLISION, FIRE OR SUCH, SPEED WAS 0 MPH

NHTSA complaint 11144113. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

85,600 miles

THERE WAS AN INTERRUPTION IN ELECTRICAL POWER FROM THE FUEL PUMP CONTROL MODULE. THIS RESULTED IN THE FUEL PUMP RUNNING CONTINUOUSLY, RESULTING IN A DRAINED BATTERY AND NO START CONDITION, OR CAUSE A LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IDLE AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS. TOOK THE CAR TO VW GARAGE WHO WERE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM SAID THERE WOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL SOON, BUT I SHOULD PAY FOR REPAIR AND CLAIM MONEY BACK ONCE RECALL WAS ACTIVE, WAS TOLD THIS WOULD BE EARLY PART OF 2018. STILL NO RECALL AND OVER $400 OUT OF POCKET. CAR STALLED AND CUT OUT AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS DUE TO THIS FAULT, VW WERE VERY AWARE OF PROBLEM BUT AS YET NO RECALL MADE, DESPITE VW ASSURING ME THERE WOULD BE ONE.

NHTSA complaint 11097100. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
MY VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN THE AIRBAG RECALL. AFTER IT WAS REPAIRED, THE CLOCKSPRING FAILED AND THE "AIRBAG ERROR" LIGHT CAME ON. THIS VEHICLE ISN'T PART OF THE EARLIER CLOCKSPRING RECALL, BUT IT SHOULD BE.

NHTSA complaint 11083491. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

77,748 miles

PCV VALVE FAILED, AT SOME POINT PRIOR TO JAN 11, 2016 AND 77,748 MILES. NO WARNING LIGHTS OR OTHER INDICATION OF THE FAILURE EVER OCCURRED UNTIL THE PCV VALVE FAILURE CASCADED INTO FAILURE OF THE ENGINE REAR MAIN SEAL (BETWEEN THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION), RESULTING IN A MASSIVE OIL LEAK. BASED ON A WEB SEARCH, THIS IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON SITUATION, NOT ONLY FOR THE VALVE FAILURE, BUT THE METHOD IN WHICH IT FIRST BECOMES APPARENT TO THE VEHICLE OWNER (REAR MAIN SEAL FAILURE). COST TO REPAIR WAS OVER $1900. PCV VALVE FAILED AGAIN AT SOME POINT PRIOR TO OCT 24, 2017 AND 116,102 MILES. SIMILAR TO THE FIRST EVENT, NO INDICATION OF THE FAILURE OCCURRED UNTIL THIS CASCADED INTO AN UPPER TIMING

NHTSA complaint 11046156, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2010 Volkswagen models

Every Volkswagen on this site — 155 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst