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Body and structurePart report

2021 Volkswagen Passat Body and structure Problems

Complaints
1about this part
Share
6%of 18 total for the year
Median mileage
—not reported
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 1 complaints about the body and structure of the 2021 Volkswagen Passat, 6% of the 18 complaints for this model year.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“There is a headlight chrome accent piece right above the left headlight that one day just blew off the vehicle when driving down the highway. Oddly enough, I live in a small town of Mason City, IA and I saw another VW Passat (same year) missing the same exact piece so I know this is a vehicle defect. You also can not just replace this one part, it costs over $1,000 to replace the full headlight assemble. I hope others report this defect as this is very dangerous when you have chrome pieces flying off your vehicle when it is not even windy and the vehicle has never had any other damage.”

NHTSA complaint #11627446, filed 2024-11

Related service bulletins

Body and structure: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202116%
201812%
201733%
201644%
201552%
2014122%
2013314%
2012174%
201032%
200911%
200821%
200752%
2006102%
200564%
2004166%
2003295%
2002305%
2001235%
2000102%
1999112%
199882%
199738%
199613%
199566%
199414%

Other parts of the 2021 Volkswagen Passat

Brakes
5 complaints
Lane departure
5 complaints
Air bags
3 complaints
Electrical system
3 complaints
Exterior lighting
2 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Engine
1 complaints
Engine cooling
1 complaints
Equipment
1 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
1 complaints
Other or unknown
1 complaints
Tires
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2021 Volkswagen Passat

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 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