2020 Volkswagen Passat problems and complaints

Owners have filed 18 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Volkswagen Passat. The most-reported areas: Unknown Or Other (4), Engine (4), Air Bags (4).

Key takeaways

  • 18 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 1 involve a crash, 0 a fire, 1 reported injury.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Unknown Or Other422%
Engine422%
Air Bags422%
Electrical System317%
Forward Collision Avoidance317%
Wheels211%
Service Brakes211%
Fuel/Propulsion System211%
Steering211%
Visibility/Wiper16%
Back Over Prevention16%
Engine And Engine Cooling16%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2020 Volkswagen Passat 4 DR FWD5/54/55/54/5

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Electrical System,wheels,service Brakes - filed 2026-09-10

my 2020 vw passat has less than 60k mikes and i am replacing my 3rd wheel sensor. they fail without warning disabling my antilock brakes. And other safety features

Electrical System,visibility/Wiper,back Over Prevention - filed 2026-08-28

The front information center which is responsible for the rear camera system is shutdown due to the radio / entire screen being dead without reason

Fuel/Propulsion System - filed 2026-08-24

While driving and after, we noticed gas fumes both inside and outside of vehicle. The gas tank was approximately half full. Became very concerned over the the possibility of a fire. Did research online and realized that this was and is a common problem with older models of the Passad (ours is a 2020 model that we bough...

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More for the 2020 Volkswagen Passat

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.