2017 Volkswagen Passat problems & reliability
110 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2017 Volkswagen Passat, alongside 7 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
2 complaints report injuries (3 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2017 Volkswagen Passat vehicles were involved in 46 fatal crashes with 17 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags → | 28 | 25% |
| Unknown / Other | 21 | 19% |
| Electrical System → | 18 | 16% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance → | 16 | 15% |
| Steering → | 16 | 15% |
| Service Brakes → | 15 | 14% |
| Engine | 7 | 6% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 6 | 5% |
| Lane Departure | 6 | 5% |
| Power Train | 5 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 26 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 46 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 35,000 miles (middle 50% between 12,216 and 52,250 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I am reporting a recurring safety-related defect involving the factory-installed infotainment touchscreen in my 2017 Volkswagen Passat SE Technology. The touchscreen intermittently malfunctions in several ways. At times, the entire infotainment system freezes and becomes completely unresponsive, preventing access to…”
Unknown / Other · filed Aug 27, 2026
“The contact owns 2017 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 15 MPH, with the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated, the vehicle failed to detect another vehicle and the vehicle was involved in a crash. The air bags did not deploy. There was no injuries sustained. A Police…”
Forward Collision Avoidance · filed Aug 5, 2026
“while in cruise control and going up a incline or a hill The EPC light will come on and the car will start lugging down very badly and have no power, they've said vehicle has done this for a year now and we have not been able to get any kind of acknowledgment of it from another dealership or the actual company I've…”
Unknown / Other · filed Dec 3, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
677 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2017 Volkswagen Passat. The 10 most recent:
This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed and only order the successor parts going forward.
SM 35-2026 · Other · issued Aug 21, 2026
Permission to change Daily Order upgraded to RED Order
TT 00-13-04_7 · Other · issued Aug 6, 2026
Differences between a leak and seepage
V0026012081638_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 4, 2026
This is a notice for software changes with the ODIS diagnostic program to correct the communication during vehicle programming function: A software fix is needed to correct the issue: DA 0019 - Hotfix 12-V battery…
VOS-26-42 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 15, 2026
Oil Consumption Measurement and Electronic Oil Consumption Measurement
V1718062017813_24 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 9, 2026
Instruction, how to lubicate engine before initial start.
TT 13-20-01_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 18, 2026
Lubricating engine components before reassembly.
TT 10-18-02_2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 18, 2026
Inquiries
V6919012010479_17 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 11, 2026
Volkswagen Engine Oil Standards
V1719012012855_81 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 4, 2026
This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.
SM 26-2026 · Other · issued May 19, 2026
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2017 Volkswagen Passat has 7 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2017 Volkswagen Passat?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 35,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.