There are 3 owner-reported driver assist & adas complaints for the 2016 Volkswagen Passatin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
While driving on a residential street the VW Front Assist suddenly engaged the brakes. There was no car in front or any cars driving in the area. The car came to a complete stop. The only explanation may be that it had been recently raining in Seattle and it was also late in the day so the sun was low in the sky. There was also a metal plate on the street that appeared to be reflective with the rain. We have had incidents like this in the past while driving over the University Bridge as well which is a metal grated draw bridge in Seattle. We are extremely concerned that the brakes will engage and we will be rear ended. I had the dealership inspect the Front Assist feature on Thursday April 17th, 2025 and they have no indication of any fault with the system. The radar sensor that the feature relies upon was properly aligned and in working order. This system makes our car less safe to drive than if it was permanently disabled. Rain followed by sunshine is common in Seattle creating situations where the Front Assist will be triggered incorrectly putting us and other motorists at risk.
On October 3rd, 2021 the minder to change oil service came on and a wrench in the display. As the mechanic had set the incorrect timing interval between services, I went into the menu to attempt to reset the service minder but never got that far as the airbag light came on and all buttons on the steering wheel stopped responding. My husband in the passenger seat instructed me to restart the car and this did not reset any warnings but also showed the ACC: Error, in the display alternating with the Airbag: Error. The dealership wants $ 165 just to plug in the diagnostic reader and won't apply it to a repair and says this car has no open recalls which I am aware of. However, there was an airbag recall including the 2015 year build Passat, but the dealership wants payment to diagnose. When the car is stirred to make a 90 degree left hand turn I can hear a coil in the steering wheel cracking at times. Frequently, the airbag light for the passenger scale stays on but may go out if someone goes to sit in the passenger seat. All seat belts are unlocked at the top, and the receivers for the buckles look fine and nothing is stuck in them. I have not yet lifted the seats to inspect the harnesses but I doubt I will be able to fix anything as I cannot reset the codes anyhow. Not being able to change the information on the instrument panel from useless Error Messages is distracting. Tell VW to read an airbag fault light for free! This is a safety concern for every passenger and should not be taken advantage of to make a service department money. How can I find out if this model was added to the air bag recalls or is in the process of being added? Honda has a lifetime warranty service for free on all safety restraints. I am surprised that VW does not make safety their highest priority. I'm not certain the Forward Collision Warning is affected but the lanes blink Orange showing me the ACC is not responsive and it's close enough in function to mention just in case it may not work.
The automatic emergency braking has applied three times while driving this vehicle. Once on a freeway onramp curve in traffic with following car, twice driving on different paved city streets. All three times were daylight and no other vehicle or obstruction in front of my car. This to me is asking for a trailing vehicle to rear end collide, or maybe even worse yet what would happen if this were to happen on rain slick or snow covered road? I did take it to an authorized VW dealer after the second brake application and of course they could not replicate the brake issue. I did not have it checked the first time since I falsely assumed I had done something I had not thought about. Now, after the third time, I am sure that it is the car and not something I have done. I have not been back to VW shop yet after this third time. My wife is scared to drive the car now and I am concerned about myself. I do not think the VW dealer went any further than a test drive and maybe a computer check after the second braking I encountered. There have been no warning lights or messages on my car dash before or after all three times. The dash light warning to "BRAKE!" did light up as the brakes were applying on their own. As a small aside comment, I was a professional highway truck driver with over a million miles driving and achieved a 28 year safe driving record. That has let me make this statement with a lot of "boots on the ground" certainty.
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