I purchased this car from what I believed was a private individual for my 15 year old daughter as her first car. This individual knew the purpose of this sale and was accutely aware that a new driver would be the primary driver. Before allowing her to drive this car, I had a detailed safety and condition inspection completed by a local import repair specialist. They found that there had been a deployment of the air bags resulting in the clock spring and front seat belt retractors being unusable. In addition, the air bag warning light had been removed from the instrument cluster and the bulb was removed, disguising the fact that there was an issue with the air bags. Further inspection showed overspray on one headlight lens from the repairs, the ac condenser was bent upwards, none of the splash shields under the front were intact or completely missing, body panels do not line up, and there is an issue with the front brakes. It is the opinion of the inspector and the business owner that this car had been reconditioned for a quick sale, intentionally hiding the fact the air bags had been deployed and the air bag system was rendered unusable. The CarFax shows minor damage to the rear and left rear, nothing about front end. The title reflects this car was at Adesa in Jacksonville FL (a car reconditioner) and sold to NES Enterprises of Jacksonville, then sold to Performance Motor Group, who sold it to me, all between 9/22/2022 and 10/31/2023. The individual I was dealing with was not involved in this sale.
2015 Volkswagen Passat electrical complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 48, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated his wife was unable to insert the key into the ignition to start the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed the key was faulty. The vehicle was repaired. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
The clock spring has broken again. The clock spring had been replaced on this vehicle in spring 2020, it is currently summer 2022. The vehicle currently has approximately 162,000 miles. I am concerned because the VW dealers state that there is a nationwide back order on this part, with people waiting since early 2022 for the part at this time.
The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. Additionally, the horn was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clockspring needed to be replaced; however, the clockspring part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer informed the contact that an ETA for parts was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 167,000.
Clockspring broke when making a turn in the drive-thru pharmacy. Loud pop, then lost all power to steering wheel. Horn does not work, none of the controls work and the airbag is not guaranteed to work. Car has been at dealership for 5 months waiting for a repair. No ETA for 5 months now....
During a left hand turn a loud "pop" occurred in the steering wheel while illuminated the Air Bag error light and disabled the horn and all steering wheel controls. I called Volkswagen about the errors and was transferred around on phone system, hung up on while transferring, message left with no contact back. While searching online have found numerous air bag recalls with clock spring issues but this model is not showing it although it is obvious it has failed. The car is not currently safe to drive and is parked, I currently own 4 of these VW TDI Passat's and need this addressed. Thank You
CATASTROPHIC SAFETY ISSUE MANY of the warning lights on the instrument cluster are illuminated. These include: * ABS is steadily illuminated. * Airbag is steadily illuminated. * The speedometer is not functioning showing "0" so I can't tell how fast I'm going. * The steering system indicator light is steadily illuminated. * Check Engine/Engine Malfunction is intermittent. * The Electric Power Control indicator is intermittent. * ESP/ASR is steadily illuminated. * The Alternator indicator light is intermittent * Tire Pressure Monitoring is steadily illuminated. * The fuel gauge is moving ranging from empty to full therefore the low fuel indictor flashed frequently. * Several times when depressing the accelerator instead of gaining power, acceleration dropped off. In traffic, at highway speeds, this is an additional serious safety issue. I HAVE MADE NO MODIFICATION TO THE VEHICLE OTHER THAN REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND NEW TIRES. I took the car to the local dealership where the on-site technical advisor speculated that the wheel speed sensor was at fault. This did not build confidence.
The car went 8 blocks 35mph the engine started shaking, I was stopping at the red light the car surging forward with my foot on brake engine still shaking. This all happened in 3 minutes. No lights on dashboard, the rpm dropped from 2,000 to 1,000 and then everything was ok.
The key gets stuck in the ignition (about 1 out of 4 times) when put into park. This is dangerous as it does not allow the driver to safely exit the vehicle without the risk of damage, theft, a perpetrator could hide in the vehicle to prey on the driver as it is unlocked. After researching, I see this is a common problem with ALL volkswagons of this year. In fact, an extended warranty has already been issued by volkswagon for most models EXCEPT the Passat!
I purchased the vehicle from empire auto used. I had an issue with the horn and they told me it was a recall on the clockspring. I decided to take it to the dealer itself for the service. The part has been replace like 3 times already. I consider this a safety issue. They can't figure out it keeps happening. Please advice, the last service date was on 01/25/2021. At the present time I got no horn again.
Steering wheel started making ticking noises around 35k miles. Roughly 36k miles the air bag error light came on. Roughly 38k miles horn and all steering wheel buttons lost power. Clock spring problem obviously. Im told this vehicle was recalled from 2010 to 2014 models. Well obviously the issue was not fixed.
While turning out of a parking space at a slow speed I felt a stiffness in the turning wheel followed by a crunch and the airbag error light illuminating. Horn is not operational either in addition to other steering wheel controls.
Have an air bag error coming up on dash. At the same time this happened all of the controls on the steering wheel have stopped working. Vehicles horn does not work now as well on the steering wheel.
Tl* the contact's daughter owns a 2015 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that the key would not insert into the ignition. Camelback volkswagen (1499 e camelback rd, phoenix, az 85014, (602) 648-9181) was contacted and stated that the ignition needed to be replaced and the warranty expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.
My dpf sensors melted while driving, almost causing me to crash as the car lost power while driving speed limit (70mph) and suddenly went down to 45mph. Dealer replaced sensors, but problem was not fixed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that he was unable to insert the key into the ignition switch. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to volkswagen of new port richey (4719 us-19, new port richey, fl 34652) where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.
Car was off and parked. Can't get key into ignition. Steering wheel is locked ignition lock cylinder. Ignition issues seem to be common in vw's
Update june 2019 - now my car has 53,000 miles. My replaced clock spring has failed again. No horn, or steering wheel controls and the airbag light is on. This is 8 months/10 miles after I had it replaced. This is a safety issue. I am requesting that dot the federal safety agency investigate a safety issue with clock spring part on my 2015 vw passat, which controls both the air bags and the horn. I purchased the car new in sept 2015. I started my car with 42,500 miles and the airbag light came on and stayed on. The vehicle was stationary in a flat parking lot the first time I noticed the air bag light. When I drove the vehicle and turned the steering wheel there were clicking noises coming from the steering wheel area. When I got home, I googled a couple possible causes and scheduled the vehicle in to a mechanic. Before I could get vehicle in for service, the horn and other steering wheel controls went out. I was left without airbags and a horn on a vehicle that I drive daily. The mechanic determined that the clock spring needs to be replaced.
I experienced the same issue that the 2012-2013 model passats experienced in that the low beam died multiple times. I had to replace the headlight housing on the passenger three times after the original owner replaced it once. I took it to a volkswagen dealership and they finally figured out the root of the problem. The applied the same fix that was part of a 2012-2013 model recall and got the headlight working properly.
Clock spring failure!!! Clock spring failure!!! Clock spring failure!!! While moving and executing a right turn a crunching noise was heard from the center of the steering wheel. The airbag light immediately came on. Also, the horn & all steering wheel buttons/controls failed. This car was purchased a week prior from carvana. 49,300 miles on the odo. Too late to return it. The clock spring failure means that the airbag system is not active until the part is replaced, installed, and the system is reset. A quick read thru of these numerous complaints from model year 2015 show these failures of a safety-critical part over the last 18 months are now occurng with increasing frequency. It is quite obvious to me that vwoa/chattanooga installed the same defective part, from the same supplier, that fails after about 2.5-3 years in service. This problem is no different than that of the thousands of identical failures in vw passat model years 2012, 2013, & 2014 leading to a recall of the defective component. Immediate action is required by dot to readdress and recall this previously recalled part. Vw dealers are currently charging 2015 passat owners between $500 and $800 to install a $35 part. If their passat is older than 2015, the part is installed gratis as part of that recall.. Vw will not act until prompted/ordered to do so. Something is rotten in wolfsburg again! Let's quickly act before more are harmed/killed because an airbag system failed to operate when parameters dictated it should have deployed.
Airbag light on, steering controls (on steering wheel, radio, horn) no longer functioning
I was parked on flat ground while starting my car this morning and noticed the air bag light on the dash board stayed light. Then I noticed the stereo control on the steering wheel was not light and did not work. At work I did some research and found that it could be the clock spring. When I got home from work I tested my horn to find that my horn does not work. My vehicle has 47773 miles and I bought it new. I'm almost positive it is the clock spring after all the research I have done. I feel vw should extend the recall past 2014 because it seems obvious that the issue continued into 2015 models.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 volkswagen passat. The contact stated that the air bag indicator illuminated and remained lit. The contact also stated that the horn did not work. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The dealer was not called. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and referred the contact to the federal safety agency. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 volkswagen passat. While driving 65 MPH on different occasions, the engine turned off while the vehicle was still engaged in drive. Also, the engine power control, battery, and check engine warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v509000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 81,600.
Clock spring failure, airbags off-line, horn inoperative, steering wheel controls inoperative
Steering wheel began clicking when being turned. Air bag light came on. Horn and steering wheel controls are not working. Appears to be a failed clock spring.
At around 47,000 miles I began hearing a clicking noise when turning my steering wheel. After a day or two of this my airbag light came on. I lost function of my horn and found that out while traveling at highway speeds when some one was merging into my lane without checking to see if it was clear. I also lost all steering wheel mounted controls. I purchased the vehicle used about 27 days prior so I returned to the dealer and was informed I was responsible for the repairs. They did trouble shoot the issue and let me know that the clock spring was defective.
There was a noise like a overtightened spring from the steering column when turning at low speed. Right afterwards, the horn as well as steering wheel controls for audio and phone stopped working. Later the airbag warning light came on in dash. Possible failure of the clock spring. Failed at 59,600 miles.
Around the 60,000 mile mark, the airbag light came on, and the horn, as well as the steering wheel controls, stopped working. Went to the dealership, where they figured it was the clockspring, which would cost nearly $700 to replace. Vw has prevously issued recalls for other models because of this very issue
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 volkswagen passat. While driving 20 MPH, the contact depressed the horn, but it failed to sound. The vehicle was taken to commonwealth volkswagen (1 commonwealth dr, lawrence, ma 01841). The dealer diagnosed that the clock spring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and was unable to assist. The failure mileage was 51,000.
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