Audited US model-year file

2015 VOLKSWAGEN Passat

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

7 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 2015 VOLKSWAGEN Passat. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2019-01-11

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Campaign 19V014000
Summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2015 Passat, 2015-2016 Eos, 2015-2017 CC, 2016-2017 TT Roadster, TT Coupe, 2017 Audi R8 Coupe, and R8 Spyder vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to explode.

Consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could explode with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternative inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 4, 2019. Volkswagen owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298; Audi owners may contact Audi at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 69S8 (Audi) and 69Y5 (Volkswagen).

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2019-05-22

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

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."

Consequence

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.

03
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2015-10-26

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Campaign 15V705000
Summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Passat, Golf and Golf SportWagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear off, resulting in a loss of brake assist.

Consequence

If the camshaft lobe shears off there would be a loss of brake assist, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Volkswagen dealer will update the engine control module (ECM) software. The recall began March 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 23R1.

04
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2014-10-24

SEATS

Campaign 14V670000
Summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015 Volkswagen Jetta and Passat vehicles manufactured September 23, 2014, to October 9, 2014, and equipped with manual front seatback recliners. In the affected vehicles, the seatback recliner retaining bracket may not engage correctly, resulting in unexpected movement of the seatback.

Consequence

Unexpected movement of the driver's seatback may distract the driver, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the assembly of the seatback recliner retaining bracket, correcting it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began in October 2014. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 72F1.

05
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2015-06-15

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

Campaign 15V373000
Summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015 Passat vehicles manufactured May 18, 2015, to May 21, 2015. The affected vehicles have a brake line at the left rear wheel area that may not have been properly tightened.

Consequence

If the brake line was not properly tightened, it may leak brake fluid, causing a reduction in braking performance, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of crash.

Remedy

Volkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will tighten the brake line fitting, free of charge. The recall began on June 11, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 47M3.

06
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2015-01-23

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:FUEL RAIL

Campaign 15V028000
Summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Jetta vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to November 24, 2014, 2014-2015 Passat vehicles manufactured April 7, 2014, to November 18, 2014, 2015 Golf and GTI vehicles manufactured July 1, 2014, to November 20, 2014, and 2014-2015 Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles manufactured March 31, 2014, to November 27, 2014. A sealing cap at the fuel rail may fail, allowing fuel to leak into the engine compartment.

Consequence

A fuel leak, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in a vehicle fire.

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel rails with new parts, free of charge. The recall began February 6, 2015. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 24BL. Note: This recall expands and supersedes recall 14V-809 (Volkswagen recall number 24Bi) and only affects vehicles not previously repaired under that campaign.

07
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2019-12-04

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Campaign 19V862000
Summary

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2012-2015 Passat, 2011-2014 Golf A6, and 2011-2013 Audi A3 diesel vehicles, thought to have been previously repaired under one of the Takata air bag recalls. The driver's side air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's side air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began December 20, 2019. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's numbers for this recall are 69R6, 69Q8, 69Q9, and 69Y5.

02 · Owner allegations

243 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
11
Fire mentions
2
Injuries reported
14
Most-reported component labels
AIR BAGS88
ENGINE53
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM48
UNKNOWN OR OTHER40
SERVICE BRAKES29
STEERING26
Complaints across nearby Volkswagen Passat model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 7482013
  2. 5932014
  3. 2432015
  4. 1062016
  5. 1092017
  6. 452018

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all Passat years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

0 NHTSA ODI investigations

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

VERIFIED EMPTY IMPORT SNAPSHOT

No exact NHTSA ODI investigation row was matched.

The checked bulk snapshot returned zero investigation action numbers for 2015 VOLKSWAGEN Passat. That is source coverage, not proof that no issue exists or will be investigated later.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
5
Combined economy
23–34 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
20–30 / 28–42 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
1.8–3.6 L
Cylinders
4–6
Fuel type
Diesel · Premium · Regular
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Midsize Cars
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$2300–3450

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

7 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

243 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

verified empty

ODI investigations

0 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/2015/volkswagen/passat
NHTSA make ID
482
NHTSA model ID
3134
Match key
2015 · VOLKSWAGEN · Passat · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · verified empty

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.