One problem related to front seat belt webbing has been reported for the 1996 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The latch failed on the driver side safety belt. While braking, the latching device above driver's left shoulder failed causing driver to hit their head on the top of the steering wheel. This has in turn caused repeated failure of the spiral spring in the driver's side air bag system - the warning light continues to activate on an irregular basis.