2009 Volkswagen Passat

Name: 2009 Volkswagen Passat owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

Too few owners filed complaints about the 2009 Passat in its first three years to say whether it is a better or a worse year than the others. Among the 6 Passat years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2016 (0.38 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2014 (1.69).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.58 per 1,000

too few complaints to rank against its other years

Counted from 12 complaints filed in the first three years, of 152 ever. 95% lower bound 0.25.

Every Passat model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years

This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.65

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.70	21
2009	0.58	12
2010	1.52	18
2012	0.59	69
2013	1.08	122
2014	1.69	174
2015	0.65	57
2016	0.38	29
2017	0.49	33
2018	0.31	16

Issues owners of the 2009 Passat report

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 61 complaints

chain	15	25%
timing	15	25%
tensioner	14	23%
timing chain	14	23%
fuel pump	12	20%
damage	12	20%

When it breaks

10% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 78,000 miles, from 116 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

1 investigation covering this model year, 0 of which list a recall campaign.

TRANSMISSION FLUID HOSE CHAFE

Questions buyers ask about the 2009 Volkswagen Passat

Is 2009 a good year or a bad year for the Passat?

What problems does the 2009 Passat have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Engine (61), Fuel/Propulsion System (49), Steering (20). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2009 Passat reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Passat years: too few owners filed complaints about the 2009 Passat in its first three years to say whether it is a better or a worse year than the others.

Which Passat year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2016, at 0.38 per 1,000 sold. Every Passat year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Passat.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is checked by hand against its source table, not against an outside figure.