2009 Volkswagen Passat engine problems
Owners reported engine problems in 64 complaints for the 2009 Volkswagen Passat, 30% of the complaints on file. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 64 30% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 59 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When engine problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 59 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 78,000 miles, and 27% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 9 fires.
What owners wrote
Parked car and went into the store to shop and approximately 10 minutes later someone said a car was on fire and that it was a silver VW. My husband went out and found the whole front end engulfed in flames.
Found out there was a timing chain issue with the vehicle where it jumped 22 degrees. After research have found on a number of forums that this is a widespread issue with this engine in both VW and audi vehicles. VW will not issue a recall, the claim is, due to it being too widespread and extremely expensive. Under most circumstances from what I have read, it causes catastrophic engine failure. Luckily, mine did not jump that far, but it still was an expensive repair that shouldn't have had to happen.
Other problems reported for the 2009 Volkswagen Passat
- Fuel system 53 complaints
- Steering 20 complaints
- Electrical system 19 complaints