"How reliable is the 2004 Volkswagen Passat?"

"Based on 348 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Volkswagen Passat has a median complaint mileage of 68000 miles. The most common issue is Engine And Engine Cooling."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Volkswagen Passat?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Volkswagen Passat is Engine And Engine Cooling, accounting for a significant portion of the 348 total complaints filed."

2004 Volkswagen Passat: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 348 complaints

348

Total Complaints

68,000mi

Median Mileage

Engine And Engine Cooling

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

38,000 25th Percentile

68,000 Median Mileage

97,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine And Engine Cooling

Automatic Transmission

Fuel/Propulsion System

Fuel System, Gasoline

Seat Heater/Cooler

Engine

Electrical System

Seats

Structure

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP OR WHILE CRUISING, THE VEHICLE LURCHES FORWARD. THE DEALER RECALIBRATED THE COMPUTER CHIP IN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND ALSO REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE. AFTER THE REPAIRS, THE PROBLEM CONTINUED. *PH THE TRANSMISSION MADE A CLUNK NOISE, MALFUNCTIONED ..."

"VOLKSWAGEN PASSATT 2004. VEHICLE WINDSHIELD WIPERS ARE DESIGNED WITH A GROOVE IN THE RUBBER THAT HOLDS SNOW AND ICE AND CAUSES ICE BUILDUP ON THE WIPER. IN SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN THE WIPER SURFACE CANNOT CONTACT THE WINDSHIELD RESULTING IN AN OBSTRUCTED WINDSHIELD. THIS IS A DESIGN PROBLEM AND HAPPE..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Engine And Engine Cooling 33 complaints

25th: 53,583 mi Median: 75,000 mi 75th: 102,000 mi

Automatic Transmission 22 complaints

25th: 1,237 mi Median: 22,500 mi 75th: 83,525 mi

Fuel/Propulsion System 22 complaints

25th: 88,382 mi Median: 130,000 mi 75th: 160,580 mi

Fuel System, Gasoline 21 complaints

25th: 77,750 mi Median: 95,000 mi 75th: 102,500 mi

Seat Heater/Cooler 20 complaints

25th: 33,125 mi Median: 47,500 mi 75th: 71,962 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 50 NY: 31 FL: 25 IL: 25 TX: 21 NJ: 19 MD: 16 PA: 16 VA: 15 GA: 15

Who Files Complaints?

31.3%

Original Owners

68.7%

Second+ Owners

Volkswagen Passat — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	50	179,000	Engine	0
1991	30	-	Electrical Heating Element	0
1992	60	-	Engine	4
1993	90	107,387	Heater Core	8
1994	36	-	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	0
1995	142	153,015	Gasoline	4
1996	48	84,200	Switch	0
1997	57	98,500	Heater Core	1
1998	476	80,000	Control Arm	7
1999	854	75,959	Control Unit/Module	15
2000	625	69,950	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	13
2001	557	58,100	Engine	20
2002	772	50,000	Ignition	15
2003	815	57,665	Fuel Pump	18
2005	172	71,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	9
2006	779	63,000	Air Bags	24
2007	340	75,000	Air Bags	7
2008	240	92,000	Fuel/Propulsion System	3
2009	209	75,000	Engine	9
2010	226	71,500	Air Bags	7
2011	27	75,000	Engine	5
2012	658	57,500	Air Bags	15
2013	1023	50,000	Air Bags	43
2014	776	45,100	Air Bags	34
2015	388	47,000	Air Bags	19
2016	175	37,000	Electrical System	9
2017	173	24,200	Air Bags	13
2018	62	40,235	Service Brakes	8
2020	24	2,000	Engine	2
2021	26	5,000	Service Brakes	3

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