650 problems have been reported for the 2012 Volkswagen Passat. The following chart shows the 23 most common problems for 2012 Volkswagen Passat. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's air bags with 293 problems. The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's electrical system (96 problems).
In our research we use the PPMY index to compare the reliability of vehicles. The PPMY index of a certain model is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. The total sales of the 2012 Volkswagen Passat in the United States are 76,925 units [1]. If the total number of problems reported by Volkswagen Passat owners in the last 13 years is 650, and the age of the vehicle is 13, the PPMY index can then be calculated as
PPMY Index = 650 / 76,925 / 13 * 1000 = 0.65.
For more information, refer to this page: A study of reliability comparison across Volkswagen Passat model year vehicles.
The following chart shows the number of problems reported during each of the service years since the debut of the 2012 Volkswagen Passat in 2012.
| Service Year | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| 2025 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2019 | |
| 2018 | |
| 2017 | |
| 2016 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2013 | |
| 2012 |
When making the decision between buying a new or used Volkswagen Passat, the following table can be used to compare the 2012 Volkswagen Passat with the Volkswagen Passat from other model years. Note that the number of problems reported for the 2012 Passat is 650 while the average number of problems reported for the 27 model years of the Volkswagen Passat is 372.