VehicleVerdict

1999 Volkswagen Passat engine problems

The 1999 Volkswagen Passat has 92 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 11% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

92

Engine complaints

11%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Passat engine complaints by model year156 complaints1990: 13 complaints1991: 6 complaints1992: 18 complaints1993: 20 complaints1994: 10 complaints1995: 21 complaints1996: 12 complaints1997: 14 complaints1998: 46 complaints1999: 92 complaints2000: 109 complaints2001: 100 complaints2002: 150 complaints2003: 156 complaints2004: 80 complaints2005: 63 complaints2006: 131 complaints2007: 60 complaints2008: 53 complaints2009: 64 complaints2010: 41 complaints2011: 6 complaints2012: 44 complaints2013: 109 complaints2014: 81 complaints2015: 55 complaints2016: 19 complaints2017: 7 complaints2018: 11 complaints2019: 2 complaints2020: 5 complaints2021: 2 complaints2022: 3 complaints
Passat engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WAS DRIVING VEHICLE ON THE HIGHWAY , THE VEHICLE'S CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN , I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY I SEEN SMOKE I OPENED THE HOOD AND IT WAS ON FIRE. I CALLED POLICE AND FIRE. THE FIRE WAS PUT OUT THE FANS ARE MELTED AND I'M…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · September 8, 2012 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 1999 Volkswagen Passat have?

NHTSA has 92 complaints about the 1999 Volkswagen Passat engine — 11% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.