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2006 Volkswagen Passat Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 576 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Volkswagen Passat, most often about the air bags (26% of complaints, typically around 93,500 miles). It is 5th of 23 Passat model years by number of complaints and has 7 recalls.
Most common 2006 Volkswagen Passat problems
Air bags
148 complaints · 26%Half of these problems showed up before 93,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
I purchased the vehicle then I received a tanaka airbag recall from Volkswagen of america informing me that there are no parts the airbags the vehicle is unsafe on the road I can't go anywhere nothing has happened yet just a matter of time.
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16v079000 (air bags); however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated…
Engine
130 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 79,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
Started vehicle in normal fashion, noticed large amount of vibration from engine compartment, check engine light came on. Upon acceleration, vehicle hesitates drastically. Took to vw service center and they ran diagnostics. 3 fault codes - po300 multiple cylinder misfire detected, po304 cylinder 4 misfire detected…
I got 2006 vw Passat 2.0t - 77,000miles. Last week, I got engine light came on during the drive and went to dealership and they checked computer system then fixed air filter housing. I paid $585.00. I don't understand how it can break, but I don't have choice. And next day on the driving it happen again and I went to…
Steering
112 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 63,500 miles. Parts named most often: column.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the steering column locks up on her vehicle and prevents it from being driven. She attempted to start the engine and an indicator illuminated, which stated that the steering column was locked. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the…
2006 vw Passat 3.6 4-motion. 65k miles. Steering column lock failure. While on my honeymoon trip with my new wife to vancouver b.c. My car failed to start as usual. Key is placed in dash and pressed into starting position. Car starts and then abruptly engine stops. Very intermittent. Problem is worrying because it…
Electrical
79 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 59,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, wiring, instrument cluster/panel, starter assembly.
When the car is traveling approximated 2-10 MPH, the automatic transmission accelerates and brakes as the automobile bucks a few times. Their is a loud thunking noise and then goes back to normal. From time to time the car gets stuck in 2nd gear, which forces me to pull over and restart the engine. Windows are…
2006 Passat purchased october 2009 with 48,000 miles, already out of warranty. The car now starts and cuts off immediately and has cut off around 6 or 7 times while driving at high speeds on the freeway! I have to pull off safely but in a hurry to avoid possible collisions. I would like to start a class action suit…
Fuel system
64 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 92,500 miles. Parts named most often: storage, fuel injection system, delivery.
I began to have problems with the engine light. Every time I had it checked, it coded something different (po455, po171, po441) with these results: fuel cap light came on, high pressure fuel pump, evaporative emission control system , and lean bank 02 censor before the catalytic converter. It became hard to crank, and…
Takata recall. The past two weeks my vehicle has not started as it normally does. It takes two or three key pushes to get my engine to start upon starting my car, and then it fires up. It is difficult to get up to and maintain speeds on the highway. If and when I am maintaining speed on the highway its common for the…
Brakes
48 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 54,500 miles. Parts named most often: power assist, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
Driving down snow and ice covered mountain pass in colorado when I suddenly experienced heavy resistance of brake pedal and loss of braking. Brake light also came on. Fortunately, I made it home safely. Subsequently brought car to dealer and found out that the vacuum line for the brake had cracked causing loss of…
Service brakes, hydraulic:power assist:vacuum 2006 vw Passat 3.6l vr6 model. The problem occurred in late 2010 at first a few months after the car was purchased. The problem occurs when the vehicle is at a set of lights, the RPM are normally around 650-700 RPM, when the problem occurs the RPM go to 1250-1300 while the…
Transmission
47 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 61,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, axle assembly.
Turbo charger is faulty. I still owe $12,00 on this car. It is appearing thru the forums online that the diesel engine is not the only engine affected by the recent emmision failure of volkswagon car. Please investigate and recall for 2006...not just 2009 thru 2014 cars. This is not fair. Car is smoling so badly you…
I was getting onto the highway in my 2006 3.6 Passat. The car lost power, check engine light & epc light came on in the car. The car would not allow me to go over 40mph, so I exited the highway & drove car to the mechanic. They removed the transmission to find the issue of the bolt holding the oil pump was partially…
Speed control
32 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 25,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
: the contact stated while driving 10mph and attempting to come to a stop, the RPM gauge needle gave sporadic readings. While the RPM readings were inaccurate, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the brake pedal went to the floor and the vehicle did not stop. The contact was forced to down shift and use the…
The vehicle has a hesitation when accelerator is pressed from a stop. This is extremely dangerous for the driver and to others when driving in traffic and otherwise. The delay in the vehicle moving forward when the accelerator is pressed is troubling on new vehicles in proper operating condition.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2006 Volkswagen Passat recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's side front air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed december 4, 2024. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69eg, 69gq, and 69e6.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 beetle, beetle convertible, 2012-2014 passat, 2017 passat wagon, and 2006-2007 passat sedan vehicles. The driver's side frontal air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
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 driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front driver air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on april 30, 2018. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69q8. Note: this recall partially supersedes recall 16v-079.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain 2006-2007 volkswagen passat sedan and wagon vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: If the fuel pump fails, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump control module, free of charge. The recall began june 26, 2018. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 20ae.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009-2016 volkswagen cc, 2006-2010 passat and passat wagon vehicles. Interruption of electrical power to the fuel pump control module may cause the fuel pump to fail.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began march 2017. Volkswagen owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Audi owners may contact audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2006 volkswagen passat sedans and wagons, 2005-2013 audi a3, and 2006-2009 audi a4 cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Visibility and wipers: motor
Risk: This could lead to reduced visibility increasing the risk of a crash without warning.
Fix: Dealers will install a special cover and sealing kit. The recall began on january 12, 2007. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298.
Full defect summary
On certain '6' generation passenger vehicles, the wiper motor may fail during heavy rain due to excessive moisture entering the wiper motor. If this happens, the wipers can become inoperative.
Brakes: vacuum
Risk: If this happens, the brake power assist can become inoperative, and the driver will experience increased effort to apply the brakes possibly increasing vehicle stopping distance. This could lead to a crash without warning.
Fix: Dealers will install the newly designed vacuum line. The recall began on january 12, 2007. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298.
Full defect summary
Certain passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.0l engine with 147 kw may have a vacuum line that may fracture and become disconnected at low ambient temperatures.
Steering: tie rod assembly
Risk: An insufficiently tightened tie rod nut may loosen, resulting in separation of a tie rod. This can cause a loss of steering control, which could cause a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and install new left and right tie rod securing nuts at the proper torqued specification. The recall began on december 7, 2005. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the left and right tie rod securing nut may be insufficiently torqued.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Engine compartment fire
Summary
In july 2010, the agency opened pe10-027 to investigate allegations of coil on plug (cop) ignition coil fires in my2002-2003 vw passat vehicles.the investigation was upgraded in january 2011 to include all my2001-2007 4-cylinder vw passat, gasoline, turbo-charged vehicles.based on the analysis of vw's response, and including odi's consumer complaints, odi has since identified 135 unique engine fire reports attributable to the cop coils.after further review of the details as contained in each report, odi determined that 43 of the 135 fire reports were actual fire/flame incidents, 83 fire reports were thermal events (smoke, spark, heat or wire melt), and another 9 fire reports were undetermine
Questions about the 2006 Volkswagen Passat
- What are the most common problems with the 2006 Volkswagen Passat?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (148 complaints, typically around 93,500 miles); engine (130 complaints, typically around 79,000 miles); steering (112 complaints, typically around 63,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2006 Volkswagen Passat have?
- 7 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 30, 2024 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2006 a bad year for the Volkswagen Passat?
- It is 5th of 23 Passat model years by number of complaints, with 576 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.