2018 Volkswagen Passat: recalls and complaints

NHTSA advisory: do not driveCampaign 18V369000. NHTSA received the report on 1 Jun 2018. 10,225 units. Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / Caliper

Remedy of campaign 18V369000, in the NHTSA record

Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 47N8, 47N9, and 47N6.

Do-not-drive advisory: A mark on a recall campaign in the NHTSA recall file. This site shows the mark as NHTSA sets it.

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2018 Volkswagen Passat. The newest campaign is 20V561000. NHTSA received the report on 16 Sep 2020. The NHTSA record gives the component Unknown or Other. NHTSA has 45 complaints on file for this model year.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 20V561000, in the NHTSA record

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.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 680,849 units in total.

20V56100016 Sep 2020Unknown or Other
19V38900022 May 2019Exterior Lighting / Headlights
18V53600015 Aug 2018Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / Caliper
18V3690001 Jun 2018Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / CaliperAdvisory

20V561000Received 16 Sep 2020. 23 units.
Unknown or Other
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Vehicles that do not meet all regulatory requirements may have an increased risk of a crash or injury to vehicle occupants.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.. Manufacturer campaign number 01E9. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 6 Oct 2020.
19V389000Received 22 May 2019. 662,185 units.
Exterior Lighting / Headlights
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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."
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Without the blocking cap, the headlight aim can be adjusted out of specification, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.. Manufacturer campaign number 94L9. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 16 Jul 2019.
18V536000Received 15 Aug 2018. 8,416 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / Caliper
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
The loose brake bracket bolts can allow the caliper to move, reducing braking ability or causing a loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.. Manufacturer campaign number 46H6. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 13 Sep 2018.
18V369000Received 1 Jun 2018. 10,225 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / CaliperDo-not-drive advisory
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Atlas, Passat, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen and GTI and Audi Q5 and SQ5 vehicles. The brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have insufficient coating, potentially reducing the brake performance.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Volkswagen and Audi will notify their owners. Audi dealers will bleed the rear brakes. Volkswagen dealers will bleed the front and rear brake calipers. Note: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the brake system has been checked. The recall began June 29, 2018. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 and Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 47N8, 47N9, and 47N6.
Report filed by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.. Manufacturer campaign number 47N8, 47N9, 47N6. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 29 Jun 2018.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

45 complaints, 65 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2018 Volkswagen Passat
All 2018 vehicles

2018 Volkswagen Passat: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2018 Passat	All 2018 vehicles	Passat, all years	Mentions
Service Brakes	184.6	82.1	17.3	12
Engine	169.2	162.1	61	11
Electrical System	153.8	120.7	118.6	10
Fuel/Propulsion System	92.3	47.4	44.7	6
Air Bags	76.9	24.9	158.4	5
Vehicle Speed Control	61.5	32.9	23.1	4
Unknown or Other	46.2	100.9	38.1	3
Power Train	46.2	102.3	47.6	3
Forward Collision Avoidance	46.2	45	4	3
Steering	30.8	58.4	55.6	2

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 14.

Complaints that report a crash: 5
Complaints that report a fire: 0
Injuries in the complaints: 2
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 3 Jun 2026

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2018 Volkswagen Passat, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2021, with 8 complaints.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2018 Volkswagen PassatThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2018 Volkswagen Passat: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/volkswagen/passat/2018/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2018 Volkswagen Passat?: 680,849 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Volkswagen Passat have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 54 recall campaigns for the Volkswagen Passat, model years 1988 to 2022. 4 of them name the 2018 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2018 Volkswagen Passat name most often?: Service Brakes: 12 of 65 component mentions, or 184.6 per 1,000. For all 2018 vehicles the figure is 82.1 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2018 Volkswagen Passat open?: The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.