Clean Feeds
Home › Recalls › Volkswagen › Passat › 2015

2015 Volkswagen Passat recalls, complaints and safety ratings

There are 7 US recalls for the 2015 Volkswagen Passat, and 6 in Canada. Owners filed 243 complaints with NHTSA, most often about air bags. Its best NHTSA overall crash rating is 5 stars.

7US recalls
0urgent recalls
243owner complaints
5★overall crash rating

Is your car affected?

Check by VIN to confirm the exact model and see every recall for it.

Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.

US recalls (7)

Air bags: frontal, driver side

2019-12-04 · campaign 19V862000 · 226 vehicles

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 inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Risk and remedy

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: 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 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69R6, 69Q8, 69Q9, and 69Y5.

Exterior lighting: headlights

2019-05-22 · campaign 19V389000 · 662,185 vehicles

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 fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Risk and remedy

Risk: Without the blocking cap, the headlight aim can be adjusted out of specification, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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 customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94L9.

Air bags: frontal, driver side

2019-01-11 · campaign 19V014000 · 119,394 vehicles

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 pressure may cause the inflator to explode.

Risk and remedy

Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: 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 contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298; Audi owners may contact Audi at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69S8 (Audi) and 69Y5 (Volkswagen).

Engine and engine cooling: engine

2015-10-26 · campaign 15V705000 · 91,867 vehicles

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 off, resulting in a loss of brake assist.

Risk and remedy

Risk: If the camshaft lobe shears off there would be a loss of brake assist, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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 recall is 23R1.

Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components, hoses, lines/piping, and fittings

2015-06-15 · campaign 15V373000 · 62 vehicles

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.

Risk and remedy

Risk: If the brake line was not properly tightened, it may leak brake fluid, causing a reduction in braking performance, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of crash.

Remedy: 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's number for this recall is 47M3.

Fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system, fuel rail

2015-01-23 · campaign 15V028000 · 44,658 vehicles

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 manufactured July 1, 2014, to November 20, 2014, and 2014-2015 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles manufactured March 31, 2014, to November 27, 2014. A sealing cap at the fuel rail may fail, allowing fuel to leak into the engine compartment.

Risk and remedy

Risk: A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire.

Remedy: 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 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24BL. Note: This recall expands and supersedes recall 14V-809 (Volkswagen recall number 24Bi) and only affects vehicles not previously repaired under that campaign.

Seats

2014-10-24 · campaign 14V670000 · 393 vehicles

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 seatback recliner retaining bracket may not engage correctly, resulting in unexpected movement of the seatback.

Risk and remedy

Risk: Unexpected movement of the driver's seatback may distract the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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 may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 72F1.

Canadian recalls (6)

Show 6 Canadian recalls

Label

2020-08-04 · campaign 2020-353

Issue: On certain vehicles, the warning label for the engine block heater cable is written in English only. As a result, a French user may not receive important safety information about how to use the engine block heater. A label that is not provided in both official languages could create confusion. Safety Risk: User confusion could increase the risk of injury when trying to use the block heater. Corrective Actions: The company will mail each owner a new label for the block heater cable. If you would like help installing the label, you can contact a dealer for assistance.

Lights and instruments

2019-05-23 · campaign 2019-242

Issue: Certain vehicles were built with headlights that may allow horizontal adjustment. This is not allowed under Canadian regulations. Safety Risk: Headlights that are not properly adjusted could cause reduced visibility or glare for oncoming drivers, and could increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: The company will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the headlights. A blocking cap will be installed on the horizontal adjusters as necessary.

Airbag

2019-01-03 · campaign 2019-002

Issue: On certain vehicles, long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the driver-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function. Safety Risk: If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury. Corrective Actions: Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to have the driver-front airbag inflator replaced. Note: The Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. This recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk. It is expected that all airbag inflators will be replaced before their function would be affected.

Engine

2015-10-23 · campaign 2015-504

On certain vehicles, the camshaft lobe which actuates the vacuum pump may fail, causing the pump to fail to deliver further vacuum supply to the brake booster, potentially increasing stopping distances. This would also result in a reduction in available engine power. These issues could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Note: This issue would result in the Engine Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) illuminating. Correction: Dealers will update the engine control module (ECM) software.

Fuel system

2014-12-17 · campaign 2014-575

On certain vehicles, a sealing cap at the fuel rail may fail to seal, allowing fuel to leak into the engine compartment during engine operation. Leaking fuel, in the presence of an ignition source, could lead to a fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the fuel rail.

Seats and restraints

2014-10-22 · campaign 2014-469 · 119 vehicles

On certain vehicles equipped with manual front seatback recliners, the retaining bracket may have been improperly assembled and may not engage correctly. This could cause the seatback to shift fore and/or aft with minimal effort. Should this movement occur unexpectedly with the driver's seatback, it could startle the driver and lead to a crash. In a crash, if the movement occurs on either seat, this could increase the risk of personal injury to the driver and/or front passenger occupant. Correction: Dealers will inspect the seatback recliner retaining bracket, and if found out of specification, it will be corrected.

Owner complaints (243)

Owners filed 243 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Volkswagen Passat (11 crashes, 2 fires, 14 injuries reported). Among 33 model years of this model, it ranks #13 for the most complaints (median 146).

Most-reported problemComplaints
Air bags88
Engine53
Electrical system48
Unknown or other40
Service brakes26
Steering26
Fuel/propulsion system21
Suspension16

Crash test ratings

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2015 Volkswagen Passat.

VersionOverallFrontalSideRollover
2015 Volkswagen Passat 4 DR FWD5★5★5★4★

Fuel economy

EPA ratings for each 2015 Volkswagen Passat version.

VersionCity MPGHighway MPGCombinedYearly fuel cost
Passat 1.8 L Manual 5-spd243428$2,400
Passat 1.8 L Automatic (S6)243528$2,400
Passat 2.0 L Automatic (AM-S6)294033$2,900
Passat 2.0 L Manual 6-spd304234$2,800
Passat 3.6 L Automatic (AM-S6)202823$3,550
Need this data in your app?
Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy as a JSON API. Decode up to 50 VINs per call and get a daily feed of new recalls.
Explore the API →

Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada). Recalls updated 2026-10-30.