There are 33 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2010 Volkswagen Passatin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
VW FOUND OUT THAT THE TIMING CHAIN IS DEFECTIVE IN THEIR VW CC 2.0 T ENGINE. THIS PART CAN GO OUT AT ANYTIME. IF YOU ARE TRAVELING AT A HIGH SPEED YOU CAN BE FATALLY INJURED IF THIS TIMING CHAIN GOES OUT. IT HASN'T HAPPENED BUT I WAS WARNED. WITH THE SOLUTION OF A 3800.00 REPAIR. *TR
THE VEHICLE IS DISPLAYING ERRATIC SHIFTING BETWEEN GEARS AS WELL AS SLIPPING WHILE IN GEAR IN BOTH DRIVE AND MANUAL DRIVE MODE. THE TRANSMISSION FUNCTION IS PUSHING THE GHG EMISSIONS PAST THE PER DETERMINED LIMIT. THE CALIBRATION SOFTWARE V1979 DOES NOT APPEAR COMPLIANT WITH ITS EMISSIONS CERTIFICATION PER CERTIFICATE NUMBERS AVWXV02.02UA-005 AND AVWXV02.03UA-006 AND I CANNOT FIND A RECALL OR TSB ADDRESSING SOFTWARE V1979. MODE9 : CALIBRATION IDENTIFICATION TYPE 02 - VIN : [XXX] (ADDRESS E8) TYPE 04 - CALIBRATION ID : 06J906026DA 6987 (ADDRESS E8) TYPE 04 - CALIBRATION ID : 02E300051P 1979 (ADDRESS E9) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
DROVE CAR WITHOUT PROBLEMS. CAME BACK AN HOUR LATER AND IT STARTED, BUT ENGINE WAS SHAKING. MOVED IT ACROSS PARKING LOT AND SHUT ENGINE OFF. NEXT TIME I TRIED TO TURN IT ON, WOULD NOT START. TOOK IT TO MECHANIC, SAID THAT TIMING CHAIN BROKE AND RUINED THE REST OF THE ENGINE. DID RESEARCH AND FOUND THIS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE WITH VW ENGINES. FAULTY TIMING CHAINS ARE USED WHICH CAUSE CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE LEAVING DRIVER AT RISK IF THIS HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING. EVEN WHEN NOT DRIVING, THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH A COMMON OCCURRENCE FROM ONE OF THEIR PRODUCTS FAILING AND RUINING THE REST OF THE CAR IS UNFAIR TO CONSUMERS AND VOLKSWAGEN SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BEYOND WARRANTY LIABILITIES FOR ANY OF THEIR VEHICLES THAT THIS HAPPENS TO. THEY SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BUILD FAULTY ENGINES AND LEAVE CONSUMERS TO FOOT THE BILL FOR THEIR SHODDY DESIGNS AND WORKMANSHIP.
DSG TRANSMISSION INTERMITTENTLY FLASHES D GEAR SELECTOR INDICATOR. THIS MEANS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS INTO NEUTRAL AND CANNOT BE REENGAGED INTO DRIVE. VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION ON FREEWAY OR MAKING LEFT HAND TURN WITH ON COMING TRAFFIC. SHUTTING VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON ALWAYS CLEARS THE CONDITION HOWEVER VEHICLE MUST BE STOPPED AND IN P. FAULT OCCURS RANDOMLY SOMETIMES WITH 2500 MILES BETWEEN OCCURRENCES. HAS OCCURRED 5 TIMES WITH 2500 MILES BETWEEN THE 4TH AND 5TH OCCURRENCE. TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN SERVICED PER VW REQUIRED INTERVALS.
I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR BERALY ONE MONTH. 2 DAYS AFTER PURCHASING THE 02 SENSORS WENT BAD. 1 WEEK LATER MY PCV VALVE WENT BAD. AND 2 DAYS AFTER THAT MY CAR STALLED ON ME WHILE DRIVING DOWN A CANYON AND WOULD NOT START AGAIN. I LOST CONTROL AND ENDED UP ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I THOUGH I WAS GOING TO KILL MYSELF. AFTER SITTING THERE FOR ABOUT AN HOUR THE CAR TURNED ON BUT WAS EXTREMELY SHAKY AND WOULD STALL THE MINUTE I SLOWED DOWN OR CAME TO A STOP. I MANAGED TO GET THE CAR TO A REPAIR SHOP ONLY TO HAVE THE ENGINE DIE ON ME. THE CAR CANNOT BE TURNED ON OR MOVED. I WAS TOLD IT MIGHT BE THE TIMING CHAIN WHICH IS A COMMON ISSUE IN THIS ENGINE. I'M BEING TOLD I NEED TO PRACTICALLY REPLACE THE ENGINE WHICH WILL COST MORE THAN WHAT THE CAR IS WORTH. IF I TRY TO TURN THE CAR ON. IT HESITATES A LOT AND ONCE IT TURNS OVER IT IMMEDIATELY SHUTS OFF. I HAVE BERALY MADE 1 PAYMENT ON THIS VEHICLE AND IT ALREADY DIED ON ME. WAS EXCITED ABOUT SUCH A NICE LOOKING CAR ONLY TO HAVE FALL UNDER THE LEMON CAR CATEGORY IN MY OPINION. I AM NOW LEFT WITH A CAR PAYMENT. A HUGE REPAIR BILL AND NO MODE OF TRANSPORTATION ALL DUE TO VOLKSWAGENS FAULTY DESIGN.
TIMING CHAIN BROKE RESULTING IN CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD NUMEROUS RECALLS AND IS THE SUBJECT OF MULTIPLE CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS. IF YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO PURCHASE A VW CC DO NOT DO IT. THESE VEHICLES ARE COMPLETE GARBAGE AND SHOULD BE RECALLED COMPLETELY BY THE MANUFACTURER.
DRIVING AND THE TRANSMISSION FALLS OUT OF GEAR. ALSO HAD IT TO WHERE THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT SHIFT FROM 1ST GEAR. I HAVE TO PULL OVER PUT VEHICLE IN PARK TURN THE CAR OFF AND RESTART. SOMETIMES IT WILL RUN FINE OTHERS HAVE HAD TO PULL OVER 3 OR 4 TIMES BEFORE I COULD GET BACK HOME. STARTED LOOKING ON INTERNET ON CARPROBLEMZOO.COM AND THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINT OF THE SAME PROBLEM. SOME STARTED WITH ONLY 20K MILES ON THE VEHICLE. THIS HIS A SAFETY ISSUE ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR DRIVING 35 MPH OR FASTER.
SO WE JUST PAYED OFF OUR CAR AND THE PROBLEMS STARTED, FIRST THE CAR WOULDN'T GO IN REVERSE IT ACTED AS IT WAS IN NEUTRAL THEN IT STARTED DOING IN WHEN DRIVING SO WE TOOK IT IN AND THEY SAID WE NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION AFTER THAT THE A/C STOPPED WORKING AND WE STARTED GETTING A LOUD TICKING NOISE SO WE TOOK IT IN AGAIN TO THE DEALERSHIP THIS TIME THEY TELL US THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED , A SEAL FOR THE TRANSMISSION IS LEAKING ALSO, WE HAVE DONE ALOT OF RESEARCH ONLINE AND HAVE SEEN THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO ALOT OF PEOPLE IF THE TIMING CHAIN BREAKS IT CAN SEIZE THE WHOLE MOTOR! I PAID ROUGHLY 22K FOR THE CAR IT HAS LESS THEN 70K MILES AND THEY WANT AROUND 9K FOR THE REPAIRS THERE HAS TO SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THIS THEY SHOULD NOT GET AWAY WITH RIPPING PEOPLE OFF
GEAR INDICATOR, PRNDS, WAS FLASHING AFTER COUPLE HOURS DRIVE ON A CITY STREET OR AFTER HIGHWAY, THEN CAR CANNOT REVERSE AND STAY IN THE SLOW SPEED, CANNOT SPEED UP WHEN HIT THE GAS, ONLY THE ENGINE RUNING FAST BUT NOT SPEED.
COMING FROM A STANDSTILL, MY 2010 VW PASSAT WITH 69,000 MILES HAS A MULTIPLE SECOND DELAY BEFORE GOING INTO D OR R. ONE DAY, I PUT IT IN R AND DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AND THE CAR ACTED LIKE IT WAS IN N. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS HAPPENED
PROBLM WITH A SEPARATED REAR MAIN SEAL AT 100000MILES. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THAT IF VW WOULD PROPERLY INSTALL THE SEALAT THE OF PRODUCTION, IT WOULD NEVER SEPARATE. COMPARING TO MY OLD VW THAT HAD 250000MILES AND NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM IS SEAM AS A DESIGN FLAW. VW HAS TO STEP UP AND PAY FOR THEIR OWN MISTAKE!
WHILE DRIVING HOME (APPROX 50 MILE TRIP) I HEARD A LOUD SCREECHING NOISE FROM THE ENGINE AREA. I WAS TRAVELING ON A HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 60MPG. I PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE CAR AND SAW SMOKE AND SMELLED BURNING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. I OPENED THE HOOD AND SMOKE BILLOWED OUT OF THE BACK OF THE ENGINE BAY. I LOOKED UNDER THE CAR TO SEE IF IT WAS LEAKING ANYTHING AND FOUND A LARGE AMOUNT OF WHAT SEEMED TO BE OIL DRIPPING FROM THE CAR. I THEN NOTICED A TRAIL OF OIL FROM BEFORE I STOPPED THE CAR. I LEFT THE CAR IN PLACE FOR A TOW TO NOT DAMAGE THE VEHICLE ANYMORE THAN IT ALREADY WAS. IT WAS TOWED TO THE VW DEALERSHIP IN TOWN WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE PCV VALVE STOPPED WORKING CORRECTLY, WHICH CAUSED THE REAR MAIN SEAL TO FAIL AND BECOME COMPLETELY DESTROYED. THEY SAID THAT THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OUT TO REPLACE THE SEAL AND IS GOING TO COST $1700. VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE ANY INDICATION OF PROBLEMS BEFORE THE SCREECHING NOISE AND DID NOT HAVE ANY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON DURING THE PROBLEM. VEHICLE HAS JUST OVER 100,000 MILES AND VW OF AMERICA DENIED TO HELP OUT IN ANYWAY WHEN CONTACTING CUSTOMER SERVICE. ANOTHER INCIDENT WITH EXACT SAME ISSUE WAS FOUND WHEN I LOOKED AT OPEN CLAIMS ON NHTSA AND MANY OTHER CLAIMS ARE EASILY FOUND WITH A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH. I HAVE HAD ALL MAINTENANCE PERFORMED ON TIME AND AT VW DEALERSHIPS AND WAS NEVER ADVISED TO GET THE PCV REPLACED AS NORMAL MAINTENANCE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AND WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SWITCH GEARS. THE "DRIVE MODE" AND "REVERSE MODE" INDICATORS ILLUMINATED WITHOUT WARNING WHEN EITHER OF THE TWO GEAR MODES WERE ENGAGED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SWITCH FROM THE REVERSE GEAR TO THE DRIVE GEAR, NOR WOULD THE VEHICLE SWITCH FROM THE DRIVE GEAR TO THE REVERSE GEAR, WHEN PROMPTED. IN AN ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE FAILURE, THE CONTACT REMOVED THE IGNITION KEY AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS INTERMITTENT OVER A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR. THE DEALER (VOLKSWAGEN IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, (260) 489-7900) WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO PAY A DIAGNOSTIC FEE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND STATED THAT VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THAT THE RECALL FOR THE FAILURE WAS VIN-SPECIFIC. VOLKSWAGEN PROVIDED THE CONTACT WITH CASE NUMBER: 17-108-93-69. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 48,000.
JERKING AND LURCHING AT IDLE AND LOW SPEEDS. MATCHES DESCRIPTION OF MECHATRONICS FAILURE OF THE DSG TRANSMISSION. SIMILAR TO THE SAME FAILURE ON OTHER MODELS OF THE SAME YEAR, WITH VW EXTENDED WARRANTY TO 10 YEAR /100,000 MILES. PASSAT NOT INCLUDED IN THIS EXTENSION DESPITE SAME FAILURE AND VW WILL NOT WARRANTY THE REPAIR.
PCV VALVE WENT OUT; AND IN TURN, THE REAR MAIN SEAL RUPTURED A MAJOR OIL LEAK BETWEEN ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. DEALERSHIP CONCLUDED THE PCV POSITION CRANK VALVE CAUSE BACK PRESSURE INTO THE CRANK RESULTING IN DAMAGING THE REAR MAIN SEAL. VW HAS ISSUED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON PCV ON CERTAIN MODELS CAUSING THIS ISSUE, BUT THE TSI 2009 AND UP HAVE NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. THIS ISSUE COULD RESULT IN A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO ALL OIL LEAKING OUT OF CAR WHILE ON ROAD. THIS OCCURS WHEN PRESSURE BUILDS UP TO PCV FAILS WHEN CAR IS BEING OPERATED.
CAR WAS PARKED. SHIFTING TRANSMISSION FROM P TO D OR R OR ANY GEAR WOULD RESULT IN THAT INDICATOR FLASHING AND ENGINE REVVING WHEN ACCELERATING. CAR BEHAVED LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL THIS CAR HAS A DSG TRANSMISSION BUT THE VIN NUMBER DOESN'T FALL INTO THE ONES THAT VW HAS ACKNOWLEDGED HAVE ISSUES AND HAVE EXTENDED REPAIR WARRANTY. TURNING OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTING CLEARED THE PROBLEM..THIS HAPPENED AGAIN ON ANOTHER OCCASION. DSG WAS PROPERLY MAINTAINED AND DOCUMENTED AT 40K MILES AS PER SERVICE MANUAL....UPDATED 10-20/15*BF
WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A TOLL PLAZA I FELT THE CAR SHUTTER AND HEARD/FELT IT BANG. THAN THE CAR DROPPED INTO SECOND GEAR AND THE "D" INDICATOR OF THE TRANSMISSION STARTED TO FLASH. I WAS FORCED TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD (THROUGH A LOT OF TRAFFIC). ONCE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD I WAS ABLE TO SHUT OFF THE CAR AND RESTART IT. THE CAR WORKED FINE AFTER THAT. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE. IT WAS REPAIRED THE FIRST 2 TIMES BY THE DEALER. *TR
CAR EQUIPPED WITH DSG TRANSMISSION (AUTOMATIC MANUAL) PRNDS LIGHT STARTED FLASHING, CAR WOULD NOT GO INTO REVERSE AND WAS STRANDED BLOCKING ROADWAY WITH ONCOMING CARS. TRIED SELECTING ANY GEAR, PUTTING INTO PARK, BACK INTO GEARS AND THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. FINALLY WENT INTO DRIVE AND PULLED OUT OF TRAFFIC BY DRIVING UP CURB. CAR WOULD NOT SHIFT TO 2ND. PULLED OUT OF TRAFFIC, TURNED OF CAR AND RESTARTED. PROBLEM DISAPPEARED. HAPPENED AGAIN 7 DAYS LATER, RESTART SOMEHOW FIXED PROBLEM. NOW FEARFUL THAT CAR MAY BE STRANDED SOMEWHERE OR FAIL TO ENGAGE WHILE DRIVING AS OTHERS HAVE LISTED. *TR
PRNDS LIGHTS FLUSHING AND DSG SHIFTING PROBLEMS. CAR STOPPED ON RED LIGHT WITH DSG IN D POSITION. ON GREEN LIGHT, CAR MOVED AND ACCELERATED BUT, RPM RAISED ABOVE 4000 AND GEAR DOES NOT SHIFTED TO THE NEXT STAGE. SPEED CONTROL WAS DIFFICULT. ADDITIONALLY, CAR HAD A BLINKING SHIFTER "D" LIGHT. I STOPPED THE CAR AND ATTEMPTED TO CHANGE DSG TO S, N, P BUT, SHIFTER LIGHTS CONTINUE TO BLINK. ONLY AFTER TURNING MY CAR COMPLETELY OFF AND RESTART, DSG MALFUNCTION HAD BEEN FIXED. FORTUNATELY, IT HAPPENED AT LOW SPEED AND DID NOT LEAD TO LOST OF CONTROL. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT . THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS ADVISED THAT THE MECHATRONIC BOX FOR THE TRANSMISSION HAD MALFUNCTIONED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000.
Showing 1–20 of 33 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026