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Selling a junk Volkswagen Passat

Any Passat sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.

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What owners report about the Volkswagen Passat

NHTSA has 10,083 owner complaints on file for the Volkswagen Passat, model years 1995 to 2022, the 47th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are air bags (1,662, 16%), electrical system (1,170, 12%), fuel system (951, 9%). 323 complaints involved a crash, 349 a fire, and 179 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 64,000 miles. The 2013 model year has the most complaints (1,027). Data as of 2026-10-12.

When the top complaint is air bags, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car after an accident: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.

Volkswagen Passat by model year

YearComplaintsMost reportedCrashFireRecallsMedian miles
1995142Visibility and wipers421158,007
199648Electrical system00184,200
199757Electrical system131100,000
1998476Suspension76580,500
1999854Brakes1518677,058
2000625Brakes1334570,000
2001558Engine and cooling2017459,000
2002772Electrical system1553451,300
2003816Fuel system18102758,189
2004348Engine and cooling1231471,850
2005172Engine and cooling912471,000
2006779Air bags247766,124
2007341Air bags76778,000
2008240Fuel system39492,000
2009211Engine916475,000
2010226Air bags71474,881
201127Engine530—
2012664Air bags1651159,900
20131,027Air bags439954,000
2014791Air bags3771050,000
2015389Air bags194747,773
2016179Air bags90546,000
2017177Driver assistance141735,000
201866Brakes81046,000
201918Electrical system001—
202031Driver assistance203—
202128Driver assistance321—
202221Driver assistance300—

Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.

Volkswagen Passat recalls

NHTSA lists 51 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for air bags (11), fuel system (10), engine and cooling (6). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.

  • 2006 model year, air bags (campaign 24V834000, Oct 2024): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Beetle, Beetle Convertible, 2012-2014 Passat, 2017 Passat Wagon, and 2006-2007 Passat Sedan vehicles. The driver's side frontal air bag inflat…
  • 2021 model year, wheels (campaign 21V812000, Oct 2021): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2021 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, and Passat vehicles. The front wheel bearing bolts may have been incorrectly tightened.
  • 2016 model year, other (campaign 21V321000, May 2021): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2017 Touareg GP, Tiguan, Golf A6, E-Golf GP, CCF, 2016-2017 Passat GP, 2018-2019 Golf R GP, and 2018 Atlas vehicles. These internal-use vehicles were so…
  • 2016 model year, other (campaign 20V561000, Sep 2020): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2018 Volkswagen Golf R and Atlas, 2017 Golf Alltrack and E-Golf and 2016-2018 Passat vehicles. These internal use vehicles were sold without confirmatio…
  • 2020 model year, air bags (campaign 20V533000, Sep 2020): Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2020 Passat vehicles. The passenger frontal air bag may have been folded incorrectly affecting its deployment force. As such, these vehicles fail to com…

What a Volkswagen Passat is worth as a junk car

Buyers price a junk Passat on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.

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Questions people ask

What is a junk Volkswagen Passat worth?
What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Passat gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
Will a junkyard buy a Volkswagen Passat that doesn't run?
Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
Should I fix an open recall before selling a Volkswagen Passat?
Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
Where do these Volkswagen Passat numbers come from?
From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.