2010 Volkswagen Passat Air bags Problems
- Complaints
- 45about this part
- Share
- 28%of 163 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 62,500miles
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 45 complaints about the air bags of the 2010 Volkswagen Passat, 28% of the 163 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 62,500 miles. 4 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 3 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“My airbag and horn do not work due to a failure of the airbag clock spring. This part was recalled on certain vehicles previously. This is a safety hazard as I cannot use my horn and of course the airbag is needed. This almost caused an accident because I cannot use the horn to alert other drivers. I had someone come into my lane which almost caused a pretty big accident”
NHTSA complaint #11083923, filed 2018-04, 73,000 miles“Vehicle was recalled for air bag/clock spring reason twice in just over a year. Now, shortly after both of these repairs, we had a noise in the steering wheel, as well as an air bag failure indicator illuminate. We cannot help but feel this is related to the work that has been performed on these recent recalls and feel vw should be responsible for the cost of these repairs. This happened while driving on a city street while making a turn. Attached is a copy of the service record.”
NHTSA complaint #11056793, filed 2017-12, 71,000 miles“Pods - when I went to get the wheel clock spring recall repair, I still had a airbag error lit - mechanic said it was a faulty passenger occupant device system switch. I only have 32k miles on my car and I very rarely have anyone ride in the passenger seat, so not sure why it failed - was quoted a price of 3k for the part. Jetta and golf models have a recall for this, but not the Passat - if it is a safety issue for those models, it should be one for the Passat as well.”
NHTSA complaint #10863742, filed 2016-05, 32,000 miles“Takata recall . I was notified that my vw driver frontal airbag needs to be replaced in april. This should be taken care of immediately, and nothing has been done. Takata needs to be held accountable in a timely manner.”
NHTSA complaint #10934434, filed 2016-12, 40,000 miles“I had a wreck on oct. 28 2013 on 1-26 in USA south carolina. A deer ran into my car(2010 Passat) passenger side and right front of car. No airbags came out. My insurance coming fixed car at vw garage. They told me at that time my airbag part was not on hand they had to order it and they would call me when it came in. Never heard from vw again. I got a recall notice after that,stateing that my car needed to be brought to the dealership it was not safe and then did not have a part to fix it yet. My car had 53,000 miles on it . I had retired from working did not want another car at that time. …”
NHTSA complaint #11052300, filed 2017-12, 42,000 milesRelated recalls
- 18V148000Mar 6, 2018Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Volkswagen CC, 2010-2014 Golf, 2010-2014 Eos, 2007-2010 Passat Sedan and Wagon…Covers: Volkswagen Passat 2007–2010, 2012–2014, CC 2009–2014, Golf 2010–2014 +2 more
- 16V078000Feb 10, 2016Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Golf, 2007-2010 Passat sedans and wagon, 2012-2014 Passat sedan and…Covers: Volkswagen Passat 2007–2010, 2012–2014, CC 2009–2014, Golf 2010–2014 +5 more
- 15V483000Aug 4, 2015Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Volkswagen CC, and Passat, 2010-2013 Eos, 2011-2014 Golf, GTI, Jetta…Covers: Volkswagen Passat 2010, 2012–2014, CC 2010–2014, Jetta 2011–2014 +4 more
Related service bulletins
- 11034621Jun 11, 2026Inquiries
- 10233240Mar 13, 2023In conjunction with the New Mexico DMV, Volkswagen will be sending Takata airbag recall reminder notices to approximately 363 Volkswagen owners in the State of New Mexico on…
- 10233239Mar 13, 2023In conjunction with the Massachusetts DMV, Volkswagen will be sending Takata airbag recall reminder notices to approximately 1,498 Volkswagen owners in the State of Massachusetts…
- 10231847Feb 13, 2023In conjunction with the Colorado DMV, Volkswagen will be sending Takata airbag recall reminder notices to approximately 1,414 Volkswagen owners in the State of Colorado on…
- 10231584Feb 2, 2023VW contact when reporting a Airbag or Pyrotechnic safety belt deployment. Update to model year applicability.
- 10224368Oct 17, 2022In conjunction with the New York DMV, Volkswagen will be sending Takata airbag recall reminder notices to approximately 2,743 Volkswagen owners in the State of New York on…
- 10222092Sep 19, 2022In conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, Volkswagen is sending Takata airbag recall reminder notices to approximately 1,824 Volkswagen owners in the…
- 10216857Jul 25, 2022In conjunction with the Georgia Department of Revenue - Motor Vehicle Division and Department of Driver Services, Volkswagen sent Takata airbag recall reminder notices to…
- 10216552Jul 25, 2022In conjunction with the Georgia Department of Revenue - Motor Vehicle Division and Department of Driver Services, Volkswagen sent Takata airbag recall reminder notices to…
- 10216553Jul 21, 2022In conjunction with the Virginia DMV, Audi will be sending Takata airbag recall reminder notices to approximately 2,217 VW owners in the State of Virginia on July 21, 2022
Air bags: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 | 15% |
| 2020 | 4 | 22% |
| 2018 | 5 | 11% |
| 2017 | 28 | 25% |
| 2016 | 25 | 24% |
| 2015 | 88 | 36% |
| 2014 | 354 | 60% |
| 2013 | 382 | 51% |
| 2012 | 296 | 61% |
| 2011 | 5 | 31% |
| 2010 | 45 | 28% |
| 2009 | 12 | 8% |
| 2008 | 32 | 19% |
| 2007 | 106 | 40% |
| 2006 | 148 | 26% |
| 2005 | 4 | 3% |
| 2004 | 8 | 3% |
| 2003 | 23 | 4% |
| 2002 | 11 | 2% |
| 2001 | 26 | 6% |
| 2000 | 17 | 3% |
| 1999 | 21 | 3% |
| 1998 | 8 | 2% |
| 1997 | 1 | 3% |
Other parts of the 2010 Volkswagen Passat
41 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
34 complaintsFuel system
33 complaintsElectrical system
21 complaintsOther or unknown
13 complaintsSteering
13 complaintsBrakes
5 complaintsExterior lighting
4 complaintsBody and structure
3 complaintsVehicle speed control
3 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
3 complaintsSuspension
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2010 Volkswagen Passat
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Nov 1, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology