- Vehicles
- 150,201
- Built between
- Jan 2011 – Nov 2012
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 13 May 2014
- Repaired
- 87%
- Unrepaired
- 18,467
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 2011 and November 2012. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2012-2013 Volkswagen PassatBuilt January 2011 to November 2012
Repair progress
18,467 of 150,201 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2015.
87% repaired — 130,837 of 150,201 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 859
- Scrapped or exported
- 38
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
Volkswagen Group of America (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Passat vehicles manufactured January 2011 through November 2012. In the affected vehicles, the low beam headlight bulb may become loose and lose electrical contact.
What could happen
A loss of low beam headlights may reduce the driver's visibility and increase the risk of a crash.
What gets fixed
Volkswagen notified owners, and dealers will replace the bulb holder, free of charge. The recall began in May 2014.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 2011 to November 2012
- Recall reported to NHTSA17 March 2014
- Owners notified13 May 2014
- Latest repair reportQ3 2015 — 87% repaired
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 17 March 2014.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987. Volkswagens recall number associated with this campaign is 94G8/7V.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 94G8/7V
- Recalling manufacturer
- Volkswagen of America, Inc.
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.