2006 Volkswagen Passat problems
NHTSA has received 779 complaints about the 2006 Volkswagen Passat, and 19% of them involve air bags. After that come engine (16%) and steering (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 779 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 24 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 63,000 miles 575 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 | 113 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 49 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 100 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 93 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 69 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 56 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 46 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 23 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 14 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 11 |
What the data shows
Among the 575 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 63,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 90,000 miles (49 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 24 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 86% 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 2006 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Volkswagen Passat with enough data (397 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 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.
Me and my wife were traveling rt. 80 west bound to exit 61 elmwood park at about 12:45 am, weather condition was wet with rain and roads were slick. As my wife(driver) merged towards the exit the jeep in front of us dead stopped because as we later found out there was a car before it that spun out earlier. Our car collided with the stopped vehicle hitting it on the rear right side and ours was the left side front .
2006 passat purchased october 2009 with 48,000 miles, already out of warranty. The car now starts and cuts off immediately and has cut off around 6 or 7 times while driving at high speeds on the freeway! I have to pull off safely but in a hurry to avoid possible collisions. I would like to start a class action suit against VW for negligence. This part should have been recalled, it's a known issue these models have. I'm going to contact an attorney for this.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 volkswagen passat. The driver was traveling approximately 55 MPH when a vehicle crashed into the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The crash caused the driver to crash into the vehicle in front of her and damage the front end. The vehicle came to a stop when it crashed into a guard rail on the highway. A police report was filed. The driver of the vehicle was transported to the hospital by ambulance. The driver sustained injuries to her chest.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 volkswagen passat. While driving approximately 30 to 35 MPH on normal road conditions; proceeding from a traffic signal with pressure applied to the accelerator pedal there was no power. There were several attempts before the vehicle was able to resume normal operation. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle has not been repaired.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated while driving. The contact was concerned that the air bag might deploy while driving. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 18v247000 (air bags). In addition, the contact stated that the steering wheel seized when attempting to drive.