One problem related to owners/service manual has been reported for the 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2013 Volkswagen Passat based on all problems reported for the 2013 Passat.
In October 2015 the passenger front door lock began to intermittently fail to engage and disengage. Attempts to switch the lock from the door panel switch and the key were both ineffective. The lock control for the vehicle is 100% electronically controlled, such that there is no means for manual override on the passenger side. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on Nov 6, 2015 and the lock was repaired under warranty. 1 week after the passenger side lock was repaired, the driver side lock began to fail intermittently. The vehicle was broken into on the night of Nov 19 at my residence, as the driver's side door lock had not engaged and the vehicle was left unprotected from thieves. Failure of the lock function presents a safety hazard while on the road and leaves the vehicle unsecured from thieves. Inability to manually force the lock to latch means the vehicle/passengers are vulnerable until the car can be returned to the dealer for repair. I believe this is a design flaw as this has occurred in two locations on my vehicle within the span of a month and online forums report similar issues with the same make/model vehicle.