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2010 Volkswagen Passat Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 163 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Volkswagen Passat, most often about the air bags (28% of complaints, typically around 62,500 miles). It is 13th of 23 Passat model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2010 Volkswagen Passat problems
Air bags
45 complaints · 28%Half of these problems showed up before 62,500 miles.
Tl contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that when reversing and turning the steering wheel, there was a loud abnormal noise and the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the spiral cable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The…
Vehicle was recalled for air bag/clock spring reason twice in just over a year. Now, shortly after both of these repairs, we had a noise in the steering wheel, as well as an air bag failure indicator illuminate. We cannot help but feel this is related to the work that has been performed on these recent recalls and…
Engine
41 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 89,000 miles.
Hello, my 2010 Volkswagen Passat engine resulted in a catastrophic failure because the timing chain tensioner failed. The engine is the 2.0t made in 2010. After a quick search on the internet it seens like many owners of the 2.0t from those years have experienced the same problem. The only solution is to replace the…
Timing chain broke resulting in catastrophic engine failure. This vehicle has had numerous recalls and is the subject of multiple class action lawsuits. If you have the option to purchase a vw cc do not do it. These vehicles are complete garbage and should be recalled completely by the manufacturer.
Transmission
34 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, clutch assembly.
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Passat . The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk and would not accelerate. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was advised that the mechatronic box for the transmission had malfunctioned. The manufacturer was not notified of the…
Car equipped with dsg transmission (automatic manual) prnds light started flashing, car would not go into reverse and was stranded blocking roadway with oncoming cars. Tried selecting any gear, putting into park, back into gears and the car would not move. Finally went into drive and pulled out of traffic by driving…
Fuel system
33 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 100,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
Fuel manifold under the back seat of the vehicle was cracked due to the wiring harness placement and pressure from occupants in the back seat caused the manifold to crack and spew fuel all over the electrical harness. Poor placement of the electrical harness for the fuel pump or poor engineering caused this manifold…
Fuel pump cracks and leaks fuel. Fuel pump resides under rear passenger seat. Fuel pump control module sits on top of fuel pump. Fuel pump control module gets really hot and may ignite leaking fuel???
Electrical
21 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 71,000 miles. Parts named most often: horn, ignition.
Vehicle was recalled for air bag/clock spring reason twice in just over a year. Now, shortly after both of these repairs, we had a noise in the steering wheel, as well as an air bag failure indicator illuminate. We cannot help but feel this is related to the work that has been performed on these recent recalls and…
The contact owns a 2010 Volkswagen Passat. When the steering wheel was turned, the horn inadvertently sounded. The vehicle had to be turned off and restarted to disengage the horn. The contact stated that the failure began after the vehicle was serviced on january 25, 2016 for NHTSA campaign number: 15v483000 (air…
Other or unspecified
13 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles.
I have owned this car for beraly one month. 2 days after purchasing the 02 sensors went bad. 1 week later my pcv valve went bad. And 2 days after that my car stalled on me while driving down a canyon and would not start again. I lost control and ended up on the side of the road. I though I was going to kill myself.…
Purchased the car at 62k engine timing chain went out at 72k I'm very frustrated they are not communicating with me on anything and nobody is helping.
Steering
13 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 81,500 miles.
Vehicle was recalled for air bag/clock spring reason twice in just over a year. Now, shortly after both of these repairs, we had a noise in the steering wheel, as well as an air bag failure indicator illuminate. We cannot help but feel this is related to the work that has been performed on these recent recalls and…
The second time in one week I lost power steering while driving on a city street. Loss of power steering due to clock spring malfunction? If that occurs while driving on a highway it very dangerous to me and other motorists. I purchase this vehicle 9 months ago.
Lights
4 complaints · 3%
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2010 Volkswagen Passat recalls
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 vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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 16, 2018. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69q9. Note: this recall partially supersedes recall 16v-078.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009-2014 volkswagen cc, 2010-2014 golf, 2010-2014 eos, 2007-2010 passat sedan and wagon, and 2012-2014 passat 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 vehicle occupants potentially 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. Volkswagen issued an interim notification to owners on april 12, 2016, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Volkswagen will notify owners again once parts are available. 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 2010-2014 golf, 2007-2010 passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 passat sedan and eos, 2009-2014 cc, 2009-2012 audi q5, 2010-2012 s5 cabriolet and 2010-2012 audi a5 cabriolet vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Air bags: frontal
Risk: A loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag will prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will install a protective cover over the steering wheel clock spring if the air bag light is off. If the airbag light is on and the steering wheel clock spring requires replacement, dealers will install a new steering wheel clock spring. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on january 15, 2016. Owners may contact volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987.
Full defect summary
Volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 volkswagen cc, and passat, 2010-2013 eos, 2011-2014 golf, gti, jetta, and tiguan, and 2012-2014 jetta sportwagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, debris may contaminate the air bag clock spring, a spiral wound, flat cable that keeps the air bag powered while the steering wheel is being turned. This contamination may tear the cable and result in a loss of electrical connection to the driver's frontal air bag.
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
Air bag clockspring failure
Summary
In august 2015, volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) launched safety recall 15v-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 model year (my) cc, passat, eos, golf, gti, tiguan, jetta and jetta sportwagen models.contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel mounted controls.the loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag will result in i
Air bag clockspring failure
Summary
In august 2015, volkswagen group of america, inc. (volkswagen) launched safety recall 15v-483 to address the loss of the protection provided by the front driver air bag in several models due to the failure of the clockspring.debris entry into the steering wheel hub can result in contamination and ultimately failure of the clockspring in 2010-2014 model year (my) cc, passat, eos, golf, gti, tiguan, jetta and jetta sportwagen models.contamination of the clockspring can cause the ribbon cable to tear resulting in loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag and any steering wheel mounted controls.the loss of the electrical connection to the front driver air bag will result in i
Air bag clockspring failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened an investigation based on consumer allegations of steering wheel clock spring/steering column control module (sccm) failures in model year (my) 2012 volkswagen passat and cc models.the sccm is a module within the steering column that incorporates a spiral conductor (a ribbon cable) to electrically connect the steering wheel to the vehicle's electrical system while allowing for the turning of the steering wheel.complainants alleged that that the clock spring failed while driving and without warning.when the sccm fails electrically, an air bag warning light is illuminated on the dash of the vehicle.if a vehicle with a failed sccm were to be invo
Questions about the 2010 Volkswagen Passat
- What are the most common problems with the 2010 Volkswagen Passat?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (45 complaints, typically around 62,500 miles); engine (41 complaints, typically around 89,000 miles); transmission (34 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2010 Volkswagen Passat have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from March 6, 2018 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2010 a bad year for the Volkswagen Passat?
- It is 13th of 23 Passat model years by number of complaints, with 163 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.