Volkswagen Passat: the model-year record

Catalog entry · VOLKSWAGEN-PASSAT

The entry

Brand

Volkswagen

Model

Passat

Body style

midsize sedan

Timing drive

mixed: chain or belt depending on engine

Model years

2012 to 2022 (11 in the file)

Source: Click 4 Coverage model-line table, read October 16, 2026.

Inherited terms

Factory terms this model inherits from Volkswagen

Basic

4 years or 50,000 miles

Powertrain

4 years or 50,000 miles

Confirm against your VIN. The clock starts at first sale. Terms vary by model year, trim and market.

The terms are filed by brand, not by model, so a particular trim or market may differ. The Volkswagen drawer has the worked example.

Federal file · recalls

Recall campaigns

27 distinct NHTSA recall campaigns name this model across the 11 model years in the file, or 2.45 per model year.

A recall is a free repair the maker performs. The count is not a defect rate and is not adjusted for how many cars were sold. Whether a given car has had its recall work done is answered by a VIN lookup on the federal recall site.

Campaign numbers: 12V146000, 14V125000, 14V182000, 14V670000, 15V028000, 15V373000, 15V483000, 15V705000, 16V078000, 16V171000, 16V403000, 17V075000, 17V309000, 18V148000, 18V329000, 18V369000, 18V536000, 19V014000, 19V218000, 19V389000, 19V679000, 19V862000, 20V533000, 20V561000, 21V321000, 21V812000, 24V834000.

Source: NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL), pulled 2026-10-16. Matched in the federal file as make VOLKSWAGEN, model PASSAT.

Federal file · complaints

Most-reported components

2,393 complaints on file for this model across the model years in the file.

Self-reported safety complaints, not adjusted for sales volume, and not verified by NHTSA as defects. Counted by distinct complaint number; one complaint can name several components, so the rows add up to more than the total. Complaint counts tend to rise after a recall is announced. A component named often is where owners reported problems, not a measured failure rate.

Source: NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL), pulled 2026-10-16.

Federal file · years compared

Volkswagen Passat years to avoid? The complaint count by model year

Within this model only, the model years with the most self-reported safety complaints on file: 2013 (748), 2014 (594), 2012 (484). This ranks years of one model against each other and is not adjusted for sales volume. Newer model years have had fewer years on the road in which to collect complaints, and a year showing zero means no complaint in the file matched that model year under the strings used. Read it as a record, not a verdict.