2016 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT — Complaint #1771966
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE filed October 5, 2021
NHTSA complaint #1771966 (ODI reference 11435641) concerns a 2016 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT and was filed on October 5, 2021. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 3, 2021. The report was geocoded to North Carolina based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as air bags:frontal:driver clockspring/spiral cassette, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT cohort independently describe similar air bags:frontal:driver clockspring/spiral cassette failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2016 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
On October 3rd, 2021 the minder to change oil service came on and a wrench in the display. As the mechanic had set the incorrect timing interval between services, I went into the menu to attempt to reset the service minder but never got that far as the airbag light came on and all buttons on the steering wheel stopped responding. My husband in the passenger seat instructed me to restart the car and this did not reset any warnings but also showed the ACC: Error, in the display alternating with the Airbag: Error. The dealership wants $ 165 just to plug in the diagnostic reader and won't apply it to a repair and says this car has no open recalls which I am aware of. However, there was an airbag recall including the 2015 year build Passat, but the dealership wants payment to diagnose. When the car is stirred to make a 90 degree left hand turn I can hear a coil in the steering wheel cracking at times. Frequently, the airbag light for the passenger scale stays on but may go out if someone go
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1771966 |
| ODI Number | 11435641 |
| Date Filed | October 5, 2021 |
| Failure Date | October 3, 2021 |
| VIN | 1VWBT7A3XGC |
Similar AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER CLOCKSPRING/SPIRAL CASSETTE Complaints for 2016 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
The contact owns a 2016 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that on seven occasions, the clock spring failed while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that there was an abnormal clicking s
The contact owns a 2016 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while parked, the horn, cruise control, and the radio became inoperable. The message âair bag not availableâ, check clockspring,
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.