1993 Volkswagen Passat problems
NHTSA has received 90 complaints about the 1993 Volkswagen Passat, and 20% of them involve wipers, windshield & visibility. After that come electrical system (18%) and air conditioning & heating (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 90 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 10
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 107,000 miles 12 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 0 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 12 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 107,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 10 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 85% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1993 ranks 21st most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Volkswagen Passat with enough data (50 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
After turning on the vehicle, an electrical short in the wiring caused the wires from the battery to the dash to catch on fire.
92v05800; when driving vehicle started smoking, and underhood the cables melted, and the hood would not open. Vehicle has extensive damage to front/interior, and motor compartment. Vehicle will be towed back,. Dealer is aware of the problem. Manufacturer contacted, and stated the vehicle does not comply to recall.
Driving the vehicle and other cars noticed flames coming from underneath the fog lights of the car. Pulled vehicle over , turned the ignition switch off and put the flames out. Fireman determined that the fire came from the front left fog light. Took vehicle to the dealer.
The left fog light started smoking, and then on fire. I was sitting inside the vehicle, cleaning it. The lights were on, including the fog lights. I smelled burning plastic, and didn't think much of it at first, it got worse, so I got out of the car and saw smoke coming from around the right side of the bumper. I got under there to see what's going on, and seconds later a piece of burning plastic with the bulb still in it fell into the inside of the bumber, apparently it separated from the main unit of the light.
While driving at roughly 25 MPH, heater core failed. Interior of vehicle immediately began filling with foul smelling dense smoke, and windows became coated with a film. Driver quickly pulled off the road, which fortunately was easy as we were in a residential neighborhood. Driver and passengers believed the engine was on fire, as the true cause of the failure was not immediately known. We quickly evacuated all 4 passengers, including a 5 year old child who was strapped in a car seat.