"How reliable is the 2020 Volkswagen Passat?"

"Based on 24 NHTSA complaints, the 2020 Volkswagen Passat has a median complaint mileage of 2000 miles. The most common issue is Engine."

"What are common problems with the 2020 Volkswagen Passat?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2020 Volkswagen Passat is Engine, accounting for a significant portion of the 24 total complaints filed."

2020 Volkswagen Passat: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 24 complaints

Total Complaints

2,000mi

Median Mileage

Engine

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

2,000 25th Percentile

2,000 Median Mileage

7,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine

Unknown Or Other

Air Bags

Warnings

Steering

Automatic Emergency Braking

Service Brakes

Wheels

Seat Belts

Engine And Engine Cooling

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"PARK ASSIST NOT AVAILBLE. LOSS OF ENGINE POWER ON LEFT OR RIGHT TURN"

"I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY SOUTH SHORE IN RANDOLPH MA STOUGHTON EXITS AND I HEARD A POP IN MY DRIVER SIDE REAR TIRE AND WHEN I PULLED OVER I CHECKED MY TIRE AND MY TIRE WAS COMPLETELY FLAT AND THERE WAS A HOLE APPROXIMATELY THE SIZE OF A HAND GUN BULLET HOLE IN MY RIM. I WAS GOING A LITTLE UNDER..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 4 GA: 3 WA: 3 IA: 3 NY: 2 IL: 2 NC: 2 KY: 2 MA: 1 VA: 1

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
2004	348	68,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	12
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
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