12 complaints reported

2015 Volkswagen Passat ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
12
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2025

The airbag system/clockspring assembly in the steering column appears to have failed. The airbag warning light turned on and all steering-wheel controls stopped working at the same time, which indicates that the driver airbag may not function in a crash. The vehicle can be inspected upon request. This is a major safety risk because the primary airbag might not deploy during a collision, putting the driver at high risk of injury. The issue has remained constant since it first appeared. I had the vehicle inspected by a highly reputable independent repair shop, and their assessment was that the clockspring/airbag component has failed. They advised that the necessary replacement part is unavailable to order, leaving the vehicle without a functional airbag system. I have also seen many other owners of similar 2015 Passat models reporting the same failure online, which suggests this may be a widespread defect. The airbag light is the only warning I received. It turned on a few months ago and has stayed on continuously since. UNKNOWN if there are other related electrical faults.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2025
Dec 2024

Clock spring failure. 2015 passat steering wheel started clicking then it snapped my airbag light came on and steering wheel functions didn't work. The sa

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2023
Dec 2022

Clockspring broke when making a turn in the drive-thru pharmacy. Loud pop, then lost all power to steering wheel. Horn does not work, none of the controls work and the airbag is not guaranteed to work. Car has been at dealership for 5 months waiting for a repair. No ETA for 5 months now....

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2021
May 2022

The contact owns a 2015 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. Additionally, the horn was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clockspring needed to be replaced; however, the clockspring part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer informed the contact that an ETA for parts was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 167,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2022
Jan 2021

STEERING WHEEL STARTED MAKING TICKING NOISES AROUND 35K MILES. ROUGHLY 36K MILES THE AIR BAG ERROR LIGHT CAME ON. ROUGHLY 38K MILES HORN AND ALL STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS LOST POWER. CLOCK SPRING PROBLEM OBVIOUSLY. IM TOLD THIS VEHICLE WAS RECALLED FROM 2010 TO 2014 MODELS. WELL OBVIOUSLY THE ISSUE WAS NOT FIXED.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2021
Nov 2020

WHILE TURNING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AT A SLOW SPEED I FELT A STIFFNESS IN THE TURNING WHEEL FOLLOWED BY A CRUNCH AND THE AIRBAG ERROR LIGHT ILLUMINATING. HORN IS NOT OPERATIONAL EITHER IN ADDITION TO OTHER STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2020
Jun 2020

HAVE AN AIR BAG ERROR COMING UP ON DASH. AT THE SAME TIME THIS HAPPENED ALL OF THE CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL HAVE STOPPED WORKING. VEHICLES HORN DOES NOT WORK NOW AS WELL ON THE STEERING WHEEL.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2020
Jul 2018

AT AROUND 47,000 MILES I BEGAN HEARING A CLICKING NOISE WHEN TURNING MY STEERING WHEEL. AFTER A DAY OR TWO OF THIS MY AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. I LOST FUNCTION OF MY HORN AND FOUND THAT OUT WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN SOME ONE WAS MERGING INTO MY LANE WITHOUT CHECKING TO SEE IF IT WAS CLEAR. I ALSO LOST ALL STEERING WHEEL MOUNTED CONTROLS. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE USED ABOUT 27 DAYS PRIOR SO I RETURNED TO THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIRS. THEY DID TROUBLE SHOOT THE ISSUE AND LET ME KNOW THAT THE CLOCK SPRING WAS DEFECTIVE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2018
Jun 2018

THERE WAS A NOISE LIKE A OVERTIGHTENED SPRING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN WHEN TURNING AT LOW SPEED. RIGHT AFTERWARDS, THE HORN AS WELL AS STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS FOR AUDIO AND PHONE STOPPED WORKING. LATER THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON IN DASH. POSSIBLE FAILURE OF THE CLOCK SPRING. FAILED AT 59,600 MILES.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2018
Apr 2018

AROUND THE 60,000 MILE MARK, THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE HORN, AS WELL AS THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS, STOPPED WORKING. WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHERE THEY FIGURED IT WAS THE CLOCKSPRING, WHICH WOULD COST NEARLY $700 TO REPLACE. VW HAS PREVOUSLY ISSUED RECALLS FOR OTHER MODELS BECAUSE OF THIS VERY ISSUE

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2018
Feb 2018

STEERING WHEEL BEGAN CLICKING WHEN BEING TURNED. AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON. HORN AND STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS ARE NOT WORKING. APPEARS TO BE A FAILED CLOCK SPRING.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2018
Apr 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE HORN, BUT IT FAILED TO SOUND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO COMMONWEALTH VOLKSWAGEN (1 COMMONWEALTH DR, LAWRENCE, MA 01841). THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE CLOCK SPRING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND WAS UNABLE TO ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 51,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2015 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2017

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2015 Volkswagen Passat has 12 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.