Volkswagen Passat - Problems, Statistics, and Analysis

Volkswagen Passat owners have reported a total of 10,067 problems for their cars built in the 27 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the Volkswagen Passat. The 2013 Volkswagen Passat cars have the most problems reported (1,035 problems).

Table 1. Total number of problems by model year for Volkswagen Passat

Model Year	Number of Problems
2022 Passat	13
2021 Passat	28
2020 Passat	24
2019 Passat	18
2018 Passat	63
2017 Passat	173
2016 Passat	180
2015 Passat	379
2014 Passat	781
2013 Passat	1,035
2012 Passat	651
2011 Passat	25
2010 Passat	232
2009 Passat	214
2008 Passat	240
2007 Passat	352
2006 Passat	764
2005 Passat	171
2004 Passat	348
2003 Passat	812
2002 Passat	776
2001 Passat	555
2000 Passat	619
1999 Passat	850
1998 Passat	474
1997 Passat	104
1996 Passat	186

🔍 Common problems of Volkswagen Passat

The following chart shows the 31 most common problems for Volkswagen Passat cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's air bags (1,658 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's engine and engine cooling (1,490 problems).

Table 2. Common problems of Volkswagen Passat

Problem Category	Number of Problems
Air Bag	1,658
Engine And Engine Cooling	1,490
Electrical System	1,192
Service Brakes	887
Other Fuel System	599
Steering	587
Power Train	451
Equipment	451
Suspension	402
Gasoline Fuel System	380

Visibility	327
Exterior Lighting	298
Structure	244
Vehicle Speed Control	234
Seats	214
Air Brake	106
Unknown Or Other	90
Tire	88
Latches/locks/linkage	78
Electronic Stability Control	76
Seat Belt	63
Wheel	38
Forward Collision Avoidance	38
Diesel Fuel System	18
Parking Brake	17
Interior Lighting	16
Lane Departure	12
	4
Back Over Prevention	3
Traction Control System	3
Child Seat	3

📉 Compare Reliability Across Model Years Using PPMY Index

It would not be fair to compare the Volkswagen Passat of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Passat model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.

PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,

where P = total problems reported during the life of a Volkswagen Passat model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).

The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Use PPMY Index to Compare Reliability Across Passat Model Years

Passat Model Year	Problems	Sales [1]	Vehicle Age	PPMY Index
2022	13	9,761	4	0.33
2021	28	17,078	5	0.33
2020	24	23,376	6	0.17
2019	18	14,016	7	0.18
2018	63	41,773	8	0.19
2017	173	76,549	9	0.25
2016	180	56,223	10	0.32
2015	379	74,444	11	0.46
2014	781	68,860	12	0.95
2013	1,035	88,846	13	0.90
2012	651	76,925	14	0.60
2011	25	13,006	15	0.13
2010	232	42,330	16	0.34
2009	214	31,237	17	0.40
2008	240	35,313	18	0.38
2007	352	39,646	19	0.47
2006	764	62,994	20	0.61
2005	171	34,941	21	0.23
2004	348	70,704	22	0.22
2003	812	105,137	23	0.34
2002	776	93,736	24	0.34
2001	555	82,907	25	0.27
2000	619	68,042	26	0.35

📊 Number of Problems Reported During the First Year

Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the Volkswagen Passat is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.

Table 4. Number of problems in vehicle's; first service year

Model Year	Problems Reported
2021 Passat	6
2020 Passat	3
2019 Passat	14
2018 Passat	9
2017 Passat	18
2016 Passat	12
2015 Passat	35
2014 Passat	40
2013 Passat	48
2012 Passat	33
2011 Passat	3
2010 Passat	17
2009 Passat	6
2008 Passat	7
2007 Passat	23
2006 Passat	68
2005 Passat	8
2004 Passat	44
2003 Passat	53
2002 Passat	171
2001 Passat	47
2000 Passat	32
1999 Passat	85
1998 Passat	34
1997 Passat	6
1996 Passat	18

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