Reliable Auto DB

2017 Volkswagen Passat reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 110 complaints with NHTSA about the 2017 Volkswagen Passat over 10 years — 11 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Passat years here — over the median of the other years, which is 8. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Inflator, Unknown or other, and Headlights.

2012 Volkswagen Passat
Photo by Alexander-93, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

110

Per year

11

Recalls

7

Years on the road

10

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Air bags (28 of 110), then Electrical system (18) and Forward collision avoidance (16). Those filings include 9 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2016 and 2018

The 2016 Passat has 106 complaints, 10 per year, and the 2018 has 45 complaints, 5 per year. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2016. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2018.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2017 Volkswagen Passat. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (7)

Recall air bags, frontal, driver side, inflator 2024-10-30 · NHTSA campaign 24V834000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Beetle, Beetle Convertible, 2012-2014 Passat, 2017 Passat Wagon, and 2006-2007 Passat Sedan vehicles. The driver's side frontal air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Remedy Dealers will replace the driver's side front air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 4, 2024. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69EG, 69GQ, and 69E6.
Recall Unknown or other 2021-05-05 · NHTSA campaign 21V321000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Touareg GP, Tiguan, Golf A6, E-Golf GP, CCF, 2016-2017 Passat GP, 2018-2019 Golf R GP, and 2018 Atlas vehicles. These internal-use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of various Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Remedy Volkswagen will repurchase the vehicles. Owner notification letters were mailed May 20, 2021. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01F1.
Recall Unknown or other 2020-09-16 · NHTSA campaign 20V561000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R and Atlas, 2017 Golf Alltrack and E-Golf and 2016-2018 Passat vehicles. These internal use vehicles were sold without confirmation that they were built to all applicable regulatory requirements and may have been modified prior to sale. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of various Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners and will repurchase the vehicles. The recall began October 6, 2020. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01E9.
Recall Unknown or other 2019-09-25 · NHTSA campaign 19V679000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Volkswagen Passat, 2018 Tiguan LWB, 2007-2009 Jetta Sedan, 2011-2013, 2015 and 2019 Jetta, 2013 Jetta Hybrid, 2008-2009 Jetta Sportwagen, 2015 Golf Sportwagen, 2013 Golf, 2008-2010 and 2012-2013 Beetle and Beetle Convertible, 2008-2010 Beetle, and Beetle Convertible vehicles. Modifications made while the vehicles were in an internal evaluation period may cause the affected vehicles to not comply with all of the applicable regulatory requirements.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners and repurchase the affected vehicles. The recall began November 6, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 01D7. Note: This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 18V-329.
Recall exterior lighting, headlights 2019-05-22 · NHTSA campaign 19V389000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2020 Volkswagen Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. The blocking cap disabling the adjustment of the headlight's horizontal aim may not have been installed. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, block the headlight horizontal adjustment, free of charge. The recall began July 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94L9.
Recall hydraulic brakes, foundation components, disc, caliper 2018-08-15 · NHTSA campaign 18V536000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas and 2017-2018 Volkswagen Passat vehicles. The brake caliper bracket mounting bolts on these vehicles may not have been tightened sufficiently.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake caliper bracket bolt tightness, replacing and re-torque the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Additionally brake caliper fasteners, bleeder valve, and brake hose bolts will be checked and torqued to the correct specification, if necessary, free of charge. For Passat vehicles, dealers will also inspect the parking brake cable for proper connection, free of charge. The recall began September 14, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 46H6.
Recall hydraulic brakes, fluid 2017-02-08 · NHTSA campaign 17V075000
Summary Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Passat vehicles. Brake fluid may leak slowly from the some of the brake line connections, resulting in a low brake fluid level.
Remedy Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected brake lines, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in March 2017. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47N3.

Complaints by component (110 total)

Air bags
28
Electrical system
18
Forward collision avoidance
16
Steering
16
Service brakes
15
Engine
7
Fuel and propulsion system
6
Lane departure
6
Powertrain
5
Visibility and wipers
4
Wheels
4
Back-over prevention
3
Speed control
3
Structure
3
Suspension
3
Tires
3
Hydraulic brakes
2
Seat belts
2
Visibility
2
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Equipment
1
Exterior lighting
1
Fuel system, gasoline
1
Seats
1
Traction control
1
Show 17 more Show less
Crash-flagged

9

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

2

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

82017142018112019102020212021152022112023920247202542026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "I am reporting a recurring safety-related defect involving the factory-installed infotainment touchscreen in my 2017 Volkswagen Passat SE Technology. The touchscreen intermittently malfunctions in several ways. At…"
    Electrical system, Unknown or other · filed 2026-08-27
  • "The contact owns 2017 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 15 MPH, with the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated, the vehicle failed to detect another vehicle and the vehicle…"
    Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-08-05
  • "cracks in the fuel pump houisng cauisng vapors and fumes into my car."
    Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-07-22
  • "ABS sensor has failed. Air bag sensor is faulty due to abs"
    Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-01-15
  • "said vehicle started making a grinding sound and all of a sudden the brake pad or shoe they'll completely off of the vehicle and the caliper for disc brake was the wrong calipers on my front end of my vehicle and now…"
    Service brakes · filed 2025-12-03

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Passat 1.8L, 4-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 23 34 27 MPG $2400
Passat 3.6L, 6-cyl Automatic (AM-S6) Front-wheel drive 20 28 23 MPG $2800

Specs and fitment

B8 (NMS refresh), 2016–2022
Body styles Sedan
Oil VW 502.00/504.00 5W-30 or 0W-20 (engine dependent) , 4.8 qt capacity
Tire size 215/55R17

Known issues for this generation

NHTSA safety recall 19V389000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2020 Volkswagen Passat and 2018-2019 Atlas vehicles. The blocking cap disabling the adjustment of the headlight's horizontal aim may not have been installed. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment.". Without the blocking cap, the headlight aim can be adjusted out of specification, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy: Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, block the headlight horizontal adjustment, free of charge. The recall began July 16, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 94L9.

Compare

Previous year 2016 Volkswagen Passat Next year 2018 Volkswagen Passat See every Volkswagen Passat model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2017 Volkswagen Passat reliable?

Owners have filed 110 complaints with NHTSA about the 2017 Volkswagen Passat over 10 years — 11 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Passat years here — over the median of the other years, which is 8. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Inflator, Unknown or other, and Headlights.

What are common problems with a 2017 Volkswagen Passat?

The complaints owners file most often name Air bags (28 of 110), then Electrical system (18) and Forward collision avoidance (16). Those filings include 9 that report a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Is the 2017 Volkswagen Passat more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2016 Passat has 106 complaints, 10 per year, and the 2018 has 45 complaints, 5 per year. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2016. The 2017 has more complaints per year than the 2018.

Has the 2017 Volkswagen Passat been recalled?

The 2017 Volkswagen Passat has 7 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2017 Volkswagen Passat?

Owners have filed 110 complaints about the 2017 Volkswagen Passat with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2017 Volkswagen Passat get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2017 Volkswagen Passat is 25 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What engine oil does a Volkswagen Passat use?

VW 502.00 5W-30 or 5W-40 (engine dependent)

What does NHTSA recall 19V-014 cover on the Volkswagen Passat?

NHTSA safety recall 19V014000 covers affected vehicles after the agency found that volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

What generation is the 2013 Volkswagen Passat?

B7 (NMS) (2012-2015).