2013 Volkswagen Passat acceleration problems

Filed Jul 12, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · FL

Timing chain issues, motor oil circulation problems, that Volkswagen has recalls out for 2.0 cc turbo 2013.

Filed Mar 17, 2025 · Acceleration, Engine · TN

I was on top of Beech Mountain NC working at a customer's house when it started to snow. I was at the bottom of their driveway and when I attempted to drive out, the traction control light would turn on, indicating I was losing traction. When this happened, I was unable to accelerate any more and the car started sliding backwards. So sitting in the car in the snow, I pulled up YouTube to figure out the "procedure" to disable traction control so I could get more speed. Turn the car off, ignition on, activate the flashers, push the brake pedal multiple times, then start the car. Traction control disabled, so "simple"! The only problem is once the car starts moving traction control gets enabled again and I'm sliding backwards again! Extremely dangerous on a mountain! Eventually I was able to clear the snow enough and just hold down the accelerator to power out. So now my GPS is telling me I have to drive up a hill to get off the mountain. Same problem: I start up the hill, traction control kicks on and I lose ALL power and begin to slide backwards! Luckily I am a good driver because I was able to control the slide and do a 180 in the middle of the road. So my GPS tries to reroute me and sends me up a different hill! Same exact result! I eventually had to just ignore my GPS entirely and just manually look for a road that was heading down hill. I thought for sure I was either going to wreck because of the traction control or be stuck up there in a snow storm! Not having the option to disable traction control and leave it off so that I could get uphill us very unsafe! The worst part is I didn't even realize my car didn't have the option to disable traction control until I was already stuck! If I'd known that, I would have taken my truck.

Filed Nov 6, 2022 · Acceleration, Airbags · NJ

* Driver air bag, horn, all controls in steering wheel. * Not having a horn or working air bag * Yes, defective clock switch has been confirmed-this was a recall, was replaced and failed again * No- dealer/recall repair center only * No, air bag light came on and that was it. At that moment nothing worked This occurred in March 2022. I was told it would take 1-2 months to get the part. The part is still unavailable. Called VM Customer Care-they instructed me to call the dealer. The dealer has no control over parts coming from VW. Now driving 8 months without an airbag or horn. All controls in the steering wheel are inoperable. Most are convenience items. Air bag and horn are safety issues.

Filed Nov 7, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 60,925 miles · AZ

Check engine light and epc light suddenly came on during acceleration around 40mph. Acceleration dropped and idle is rough. Check engine and epc light and rough idle with no acceleration occurs every time vehicle is started. Obdii codes show misfire. Online forums show similar cases with no consistent reason or fix between 30k and 70k miles.

Filed Jul 14, 2017 · Acceleration, Airbags · 51,500 miles · FL

The repaired clock spring failed again per dealer. So the air bag doesn't work and neither does the horn or any other steering wheel controls. She was driving and turned the steering wheel and heard a pop !

Filed Oct 17, 2016 · Acceleration, Airbags · 27,000 miles · FL · crash · 2 injuries

Tl* the contact owned a 2013 volkswagen passat. While proceeding to stop at a red light, the vehicle independently accelerated when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags deployed and scrap metal passed through the rear driver side passenger. A police report was filed. The contact sustained severe injuries to the hand and the passenger sustained a broken rib. Medical attention was required. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 16v078000 (air bags). The parts to remedy the vehicle were unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000. ....updated 01/11/2017*ct consumer stated airbag recall replacement could not be completed-part not available- dealer installed "clock spring" as temporary fix until new airbag available- recall spring of 2016- part never made available. Vw engineers would examine the car at the salvage site, engineers determined consumer foot was on the gas, not brake pedal and there were no tears in the airbag and therefore not responsible for mechanical failures or personal injuries. Consumer stated foot was on the brake pedal and not gas pedal. Updated 66/22/18

Filed Dec 3, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 41,176 miles · VA

Car was set on cruise control and engine revved up , cruise control shut off and loss of power to the motor. Tried to reset cruise control to a lesser speed and would not set. Car felt like it would not shift gears (acted like it was a manual drive being wound to tight). Drove for several miles then the warning light came on (glowplug indicator). Parked in a safe location and stopped car. After about 10 minutes I restarted the car and no warning flashed so I began to drive car...would not accelerate. Warning light came back on. Had car towed to dealership got repaired (replaced turbo charger along with oil feed and return lines). Picked car up on 11/26/14 drove for less than 30 miles and got a engine oil light and warning message: engine off manual. Had car towed to dealership. Dealership stated that they talked with manufacturer and they are going to give me a new turbocharger and new engine. The car is still in the shop and repairs have not been completed at the time of this writing.

Filed Aug 28, 2014 · Acceleration, Body · 12,153 miles · IA · crash

I was pulling slowly into a parking space, and the car suddenly surged and hit a parking meter pole. The same thing happened again six and a half weeks later, again at very low speed. This time the car hit the wall of the parking ramp, and the driver's airbag deployed. In both cases, it was the first time the car had been driven that morning, a distance of about three miles.

Filed Jun 17, 2014 · Acceleration · 10,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated whenever he attempted to accelerate. The contact mentioned that the failure reccured several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician stated that the occurrences were contributed to the way that the vehicle was designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 10,000.

Filed Jun 5, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 32,000 miles · MI

This incident had to happen twice for the dealer to see the issue. Accelerating from stop at a light when I reached 3000 RPM the engine stalled and the car will not accelerate. I pulled to the side and turned the car off and turned it back on problem was gone. I took it to the dealer and they could not see any issue. Couple of weeks later same thing happened again but instead of turning the car off or even shifting out of d. I drove the car with that condition directly to the dealer and instructed one of the service technician to get in the car and take a ride with me. He saw the issue and this time believed me and they investigated further and found out that the knock sensors were malfunctioning. I have had nothing but problems with my car. My seat frame was fixed incorrectly twice. My navigation unit replaced twice and vw still ignoring the lag and freezing of the unit. Why pay 5000 more for a navigation and camera for them not to function right. A section of my muffler was malfunctioning as well. Another issue is the key fob. I found out it is effected very easily by interference and when your key fob is in the car it can say key fob not in close proximity. I am very disappointed by this vehicle, I thought vw had better quality standards.