2013 Volkswagen Passat problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid
The 2013 Volkswagen Passat has 748 owner complaints on record with NHTSA, which ranks it 1 of 6 Volkswagen Passat model years by complaint volume. That is the highest of any year in the run — the 2018 car has 45. 9 recall entries cover this year.
Is 2013 a good year for the Volkswagen Passat?
The spread across this nameplate is wide: the 2013 draws 17 times the complaints of the 2018. On a run like that the model year you buy matters more than the badge, and 2013 sits near the top of it.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Recall entries |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 45 | 4 |
| 2017 | 110 | 7 |
| 2016 | 106 | 5 |
| 2014 | 594 | 10 |
| 2013 ← this page | 748 | 9 |
| 2012 | 484 | 11 |
Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.
This retrieval holds 6 of the nameplate’s model years. 2015 is absent, which means no records came back for it — not that it was clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.
The 2013 accounts for 36% of every complaint filed against the Volkswagen Passat in this retrieval, which works out to 57.5 complaints per year on the road across the 13 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.
Complaints rose sharply against the preceding year: the 2013 carries 1.5 times the reports of the 2012. A jump that size between consecutive years usually means something changed in the car rather than in how many were sold, and it is worth asking a seller what was done to this one.
Which recalls cover the 2013?
NHTSA records 9 recall entries against the 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The campaign text for this year was not part of the stored sample — check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, which is the only way to know whether a specific car’s campaigns were carried out.
What do owners report on the Volkswagen Passat?
Across every Volkswagen Passat year, not the 2013 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.
- Air Bags — 901 reports
- Electrical System — 251 reports
- Steering — 191 reports
- Engine — 149 reports
Which other Volkswagen Passat years should you compare?
← 2012 Volkswagen Passat · 2014 Volkswagen Passat → · All Volkswagen Passat years
If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Volkswagen Passat page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.
Check a 2013 before you commit
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