2002 Volkswagen Passat: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 772 complaints
772
Total Complaints
50,000mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
Top Issue
15
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

15,000 25th Percentile
50,000 Median Mileage
85,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
134
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
56
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
52
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
45
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
28
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
24
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
18
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
17
STRUCTURE
17
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE
15

Severity Assessment

15
Crashes
53
Fires
23
Injuries
4
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING FIRE STARTED IN VEHICLE. CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK"
"FIRE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT (APPROXIMATELY 2"-3" HIGH 6"-12" INCHES WIDE) NO ACTION TAKEN BY FACTORY AFTER 10 DAYS OF HAVING THE CAR IN THE DEALER. WE BOUGHT THE CAR WITH 14 MILES ON IT AND IT WAS ON FIRE WITHIN 59 MILES ON IT AND FACTORY & DEALER TOLD ME NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR AND TOLD ME TO ..."
"FIRE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT (APPROXIMATELY 2"-3" HIGH 6"-12" INCHES WIDE) NO ACTION TAKEN BY FACTORY AFTER 10 DAYS OF HAVING THE CAR IN THE DEALER. WE BOUGHT THE CAR WITH 14 MILES ON IT AND IT WAS ON FIRE WITHIN 59 MILES ON IT AND FACTORY & DEALER TOLD ME NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR AND TOLD ME TO ..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28