2005 Volkswagen Passat problems
NHTSA has received 172 complaints about the 2005 Volkswagen Passat, and 35% of them involve engine. After that come fuel system (13%) and seats (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 172 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 35% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 142 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 | 7 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 29 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 27 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 11 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 142 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 71,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 87,000 miles (53 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Volkswagen Passat with enough data (107 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.
I own a 2005 volkswagen passat gls. The factory installed seat heater malfunctioned the other day producing smoke, burning my buttock (and finger when I reached down) and burning two pea sized holes on the driver's seat. The local VW dealer was aware of the issue. Apparently VW is covering the cost of repair on some but not all vws. I was told the 2005 passat is not covered under any kind of extended warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 volkswagen passat. The contact stated the that front passenger's side heated seat was activated when a high voltage of heat penetrated through the leather seat cushion unexpectedly. The front seat passenger suffered from a burn to the right leg. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The manufacturer was notified and accepted responsibility for the repair expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
VW passat was involved on head-on collision (35MPH), with most of the damage observed on driver's side. Driver's side airbag did not deploy, passenger's side airbag deployed. Driver of the vehicle was slightly injured by the seatbelt.
I have not had failure yet, but there are several individuals who own the same exact car I own, a 2005 VW passat tdi. There is an ongoing concern at several news groups including [link removed] and other diesel enthusiast newsgroups about the oil pump chain unit that is in the VW bhw 2.0 turbodiesel engine. Many of these cars when they get out of warranty at 60k will start to have engine noise which is indicative of the oil pump chain unit chain weakening.
My volkswagen passat has experienced scary acceleration without me pushing on the accelerator. This has happened twice, both when on the highway. I checked my mats, but they were not obstructing anything. I was so surprised to see the news tonight on channel 5 boston covering this story!