2015 Volkswagen Passat Problems, Recalls & Reliability
389 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2015 Volkswagen Passat, alongside 7 recall campaigns and 0 defect investigations. It scores 34/100 on the trouble index — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Airbags leads the reports, typically around 53,100 miles.
Typical
Where 2015 sits among all Passat years
What owners report
“Airbag light on, steering controls (on steering wheel, radio, horn) no longer functioning”— owner report to NHTSA, 2015 Passat
“Timing chain skipped. 82,000 miles on the car. When it was stationary it would not start.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2015 Passat
“Clock spring failure. 2015 passat steering wheel started clicking then it snapped my airbag light came on and steering wheel functions didn't work. The sa”— owner report to NHTSA, 2015 Passat
“Horn, steering wheel buttons, power steering and driver side airbag are not working as a result of a faulty clock spring.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2015 Passat
“Power brakes are not functional on startup when cold -- brake pedal is very stiff and takes a lot of pedal pressure to stop the car from moving while exiting driveway. Generally, braking improves within a minute or two of driving, but sudden stops in this condition are difficult and unsafe. The…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2015 Passat
“My airbag clockspring has went out and now my horn and cruise control does not work . Nothing on my steering wheel work”— owner report to NHTSA, 2015 Passat
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 205 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 47,773 miles. Half of those reports fall between 19,797 and 67,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (7)
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2015 Passat, 2011-2014 Golf A6, and 2011-2013 Audi A3 diesel vehicles, thought to have been previously repaired under one of the Takata air bag recalls. The driver's side air bag…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's side air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began December 20, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at…
Volkswagen 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…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, block the headlight horizontal adjustment, free of charge. The recall began July 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015 Passat, 2015-2016 Eos, 2015-2017 CC, 2016-2017 TT Roadster, TT Coupe, 2017 Audi R8 Coupe, and R8 Spyder vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal…
Fix: 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 4, 2019. Volkswagen owners may…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Passat, Golf and Golf SportWagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear…
Fix: Volkswagen dealer will update the engine control module (ECM) software. The recall began March 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015 Passat vehicles manufactured May 18, 2015, to May 21, 2015. The affected vehicles have a brake line at the left rear wheel area that may not have been properly tightened.
Fix: Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will tighten the brake line fitting, free of charge. The recall began on June 11, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Jetta vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to November 24, 2014, 2014-2015 Passat vehicles manufactured April 7, 2014, to November 18, 2014, 2015 Golf and GTI vehicles…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails with new parts, free of charge. The recall began February 6, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at…
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015 Volkswagen Jetta and Passat vehicles manufactured September 23, 2014, to October 9, 2014, and equipped with manual front seatback recliners. In the affected vehicles, the…
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the assembly of the seatback recliner retaining bracket, correcting it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began in October 2014. Owners…
Technical service bulletins
1,126 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on engine and electrical — are on file for the 2015 Volkswagen Passat. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2015 Passat TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2015 Volkswagen Passat reliable?
The 2015 Volkswagen Passat drew 389 complaints in federal safety records — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Its trouble index is 34/100, scored against the model's worst year (2003).
What are the most common 2015 Volkswagen Passat problems?
The top reported problems for the 2015 Volkswagen Passat are airbags (89 complaints), engine (55), and electrical (54).
At what mileage do 2015 Volkswagen Passat problems show up?
Owners most often report 2015 Volkswagen Passat problems around 47,773 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 19,797 and 67,000 miles.
Does the 2015 Volkswagen Passat have recalls?
7 recall campaigns apply to the 2015 Volkswagen Passat. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.