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2018 Volkswagen Passat

Gas Midsize car

2022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
D
Safety Signal
61 / 100
DSafety Signal · 61 / 100
4Recalls · 1 critical
45Complaints · owner reports
5★Crash rating · NHTSA overall
29 mpgFuel economy · best combined
⚠️
Active NHTSA advisory: do not drive. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

The 2018 Volkswagen Passat is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize car with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Passat, is EPA-rated at 29 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 45 complaints, most often about service brakes. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
PassatGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo253629$2,150
PassatGasFWD3.6L 6-cyl192822$2,850

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

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Recalls (4)

Unknown Or Other

high
23 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R and Atlas, 2017 Golf Alltrack and E-Golf and 2016-2018 Passat vehicles. These internal use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of various Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Risk: Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of a crash or injury to vehicle occupants.

Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners and will repurchase the vehicles. The recall began October 6, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01E9.

NHTSA campaign 20V561000 · reported Sep 16, 2020 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Exterior Lighting

high
662,185 vehicles

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

Fix: 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.

NHTSA campaign 19V389000 · reported May 22, 2019 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

high
8,416 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and 2017-2018 Volkswagen Passat vehicles. The brake caliper bracket mounting bolts on these vehicles may not have been tightened sufficiently.

Risk: The loose brake bracket bolts can allow the caliper to move, reducing braking ability or causing a loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake caliper bracket bolt tightness, replacing and re-torque the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Additionally brake caliper fasteners, bleeder valve, and brake hose bolts will be checked and torqued to the correct specification, if necessary, free of charge. For Passat vehicles, dealers will also inspect the parking brake cable for proper connection, free of charge. The recall began September 14, 2018. Owners may contact Volksw

NHTSA campaign 18V536000 · reported Aug 15, 2018 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

critical
Do not drive10,225 vehicles

Problem: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.

Risk: A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.

Fix: Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 47N8, 47N9, and 47N6.

NHTSA campaign 18V369000 · reported Jun 1, 2018 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Owner complaints

45 complaints filed

5 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 2 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2018: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2026: 6

Most-cited components

  • Service Brakes — 12
  • Engine — 11
  • Electrical System — 10
  • Fuel/Propulsion System — 6
  • Air Bags — 5
“TL* THE CONTACT LEASED A 2018 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HORN WAS INOPERABLE WITH THE IGNITION IN THE OFF POSITION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ANOTHER VEHICLE WAS ATTEMPTING TO PARK AND GETTING EXTREMELY CLOSE TO THE VEHICLE, THE HORN PAD WAS DEPRESSED AND FAILED TO NOTIFY THE OTHER DRIVER OF THE…”Feb 11, 2020 · Electrical System · NHTSA owner report
“UPON INSPECTING THE BRAKES FOR WEAR I FOUND THEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, I CHOSE TO GO TO PEP BOYS FOR THE BRAKE PADS. THESE PADS CAME WITH A WEAR SENSOR INSTALLED, SO I CALLED VOLKSWAGEN TO VERIFY WITH THE PARTS DEPARTMENT MY VEHICLE INDEED NEEDED THE WEAR SENSOR THEY CONFIRMED UTILIZING MY VIN HOWEVER, MY VEHICLE IS N…”Jan 20, 2020 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report
“THE FRONT ASSIST DOES NOT WORK WHEN THERE IS BAD WEATHER WHETHER SNOW OR RAIN. IF WATER COVER THE VW EMBLEM. THIS IS WHEN YOU WOULD THIS FEATURE THE MOST”Jan 16, 2020 · Unknown Or Other · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
4 DR FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆11%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning.

Other Passat model years

A

2022 Passat

0 recalls · 12 complaints

A

2021 Passat

1 recalls · 18 complaints

C

2020 Passat

3 recalls · 17 complaints

A

2019 Passat

1 recalls · 12 complaints

F

2017 Passat

7 recalls · 110 complaints

F

2016 Passat

5 recalls · 106 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 38938, 39505). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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