2022 Volkswagen Passat Problems & Owner Complaints

Engine 3

“My car consumes an over abundant amount of oil about 1 quart every 1000 to 1500 miles. There is a civil lawsuit right now about the piston rings having low tension and my car has every symptom of this. This could lead to turbo issues, and several thousands of dollars in repair costs. I’ve already had to replace my oil pan, timing cover, and pcv and the car only has 80,000 miles on it.”
NHTSA complaint #11745509, 2025

“Manufacturers defect. Known excessive oil consumption of the 2.0 Turbo 4 cylinder engine.”
NHTSA complaint #11680260, 2025

“I keep adding oil and the dealership says there’s nothing wrong. For electric problems the speakers have static noise and the screen goes black and turns on hours later. I took in my recently they said there wasn’t any problems with the car but I literally deal with it everyday. I told them my car shakes when I brake on high speed they said they checked car but found no issues I personally do not feel safe driving my car at all.”
NHTSA complaint #11566743, 2023

Service Brakes 3

“I am reporting what appears to be a serious, chronic safety issue with this vehicle (not just this particular car, but all M/Y 2020~2022 (and possibly 2012~2019 as well if they use the same brake components). Since new, my car has had chronic brake problems and these ongoing issues keep arising, pointing to defective brake caliper design. They have not caused an accident (for me anyway), but should be investigated because they have the potential to do so. I'll list dates, mileage and details here because they are numerous: 05/22/2023 - 40,805 - Heard brake (dragging) noise. Found one pad i…”
NHTSA complaint #11722806, 2026

“In May of 2023, I reported that the driver side rear brake caliper appeared to be sticking as one pad at that corner was completely worn down and making contact with the rotor, while the other pad at that same corner had no visible wear. Dealer replaced the rear left rotor under warranty (40,805 miles). Warranty also covered both rear rotors and rear pads due to rotor damage. In February of 2024, dealer inspection noticed the exact same issue on rear right brake caliper and replaced it under the extended warranty (59,631 miles). Although rear right rotor was damaged again, the extended warr…”
NHTSA complaint #11624685, 2024

“Brakes are on this care are failing well in advance of typical cars. My car's rear brakes are measuring at a 2 with just over 20,000 miles on the vehicle. When we asked the dealership about this, they said the Passat is just "hard on rear brakes." We had a previous Passat and did not experience this issue. This is unsafe and unreasonable to expect these brakes wearing out at less than half of what is expected. Ironically, my husband's Taos - of the same model year - is doing the same.”
NHTSA complaint #11546562, 2023

Electrical System 2

“I keep adding oil and the dealership says there’s nothing wrong. For electric problems the speakers have static noise and the screen goes black and turns on hours later. I took in my recently they said there wasn’t any problems with the car but I literally deal with it everyday. I told them my car shakes when I brake on high speed they said they checked car but found no issues I personally do not feel safe driving my car at all.”
NHTSA complaint #11566743, 2023

“The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that whenever the vehicle was parked, all 4 doors would automatically unlock. There were no warning lights on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and diagnosed with no failure being found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90.”
NHTSA complaint #11460642, 2021

Lane Departure 2 1 crash

“I believe the cars FRONT END BRAKE ASSIST FAILED, resulting in a preventable accident. VW will not release data, and I have never had an accident in 32 years. There have been multiple class action lawsuits but VW refuses to announce a recall. Now, my car that is a 2022, with 50k miles on it, has major front end damage, and deployed airbags for an accident that could have been avoided. They have already been sued in 2024.”
NHTSA complaint #11746104, 2026 · crash

“Since owning the vehicle, the lane assist is very aggressive. It will pick up tire marks or tar in the road and jerk the car out of the lane that I am in. I’ve contacted the dealership and they told me that there is nothing they can do to turn the sensitivity down. It has done it several times and almost caused a sideswiped collision.”
NHTSA complaint #11517727, 2023

Power Train 2

“While driving car began to jerk and had odd smell. Stopped at a Midas to have car looked at and all of the transmission fluid leaked out. Techs at Midas state the gasket that hold the fluid in came out and caused all the fluid to leak out. Had no issues while driving previous to this, this just happened randomly in the middle of our drive. We did jot hit or run over anything and the road we were traveling on was in good paved condition.”
NHTSA complaint #11602398, 2024

“The steering tightens up at times when decelerating between 30 - 42 mph. This has occurred three times now since purchase of the vehicle new. My vehicle database feedback notes no repairs needed; just check of vehicle at 20,000 miles and oil change at 10,000 miles. I am subscribed to the vehicle's car-net data monitoring system since purchase of the vehicle new from the dealership. The monitoring system notes GPS location, speed travelling, etc. When this steering condition occurs it is as if power to the steering is lost for about 0.7 - 1.2 seconds. It is as if driving in a vehicle th…”
NHTSA complaint #11437106, 2021

Steering 2

“I keep adding oil and the dealership says there’s nothing wrong. For electric problems the speakers have static noise and the screen goes black and turns on hours later. I took in my recently they said there wasn’t any problems with the car but I literally deal with it everyday. I told them my car shakes when I brake on high speed they said they checked car but found no issues I personally do not feel safe driving my car at all.”
NHTSA complaint #11566743, 2023

“The steering tightens up at times when decelerating between 30 - 42 mph. This has occurred three times now since purchase of the vehicle new. My vehicle database feedback notes no repairs needed; just check of vehicle at 20,000 miles and oil change at 10,000 miles. I am subscribed to the vehicle's car-net data monitoring system since purchase of the vehicle new from the dealership. The monitoring system notes GPS location, speed travelling, etc. When this steering condition occurs it is as if power to the steering is lost for about 0.7 - 1.2 seconds. It is as if driving in a vehicle th…”
NHTSA complaint #11437106, 2021

Forward Collision Avoidance 1 1 crash

“I believe the cars FRONT END BRAKE ASSIST FAILED, resulting in a preventable accident. VW will not release data, and I have never had an accident in 32 years. There have been multiple class action lawsuits but VW refuses to announce a recall. Now, my car that is a 2022, with 50k miles on it, has major front end damage, and deployed airbags for an accident that could have been avoided. They have already been sued in 2024.”
NHTSA complaint #11746104, 2026 · crash

Latches/Locks/Linkages 1

“The contact owns a 2022 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that whenever the vehicle was parked, all 4 doors would automatically unlock. There were no warning lights on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and diagnosed with no failure being found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90.”
NHTSA complaint #11460642, 2021

Unknown Or Other 1

“The steering tightens up at times when decelerating between 30 - 42 mph. This has occurred three times now since purchase of the vehicle new. My vehicle database feedback notes no repairs needed; just check of vehicle at 20,000 miles and oil change at 10,000 miles. I am subscribed to the vehicle's car-net data monitoring system since purchase of the vehicle new from the dealership. The monitoring system notes GPS location, speed travelling, etc. When this steering condition occurs it is as if power to the steering is lost for about 0.7 - 1.2 seconds. It is as if driving in a vehicle th…”
NHTSA complaint #11437106, 2021