In-car Electronics
CD or DVD players, radio, speakers, GPS, communication system (e.g., OnStar), display screen freezes or goes blank, phone pairing (e.g. Bluetooth), voice control commands, steering wheel controls, portable music device interface (e.g., iPod/MP3 player), backup or other camera/sensors.
What Owners Say
"Back up camera doesn't start operating until you've already backed up & have started to drive forward. VW's fix is to constantly manually reboot the information center since it is nothing more than a computer hard drive. This procedure is useless"
Joseph T., PA (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Long delay once being put into reverse to the image appearing"
Jeffrey S., NJ (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The system is very slow to display the rear camera image after shifting into reverse most often noticed when backing out of a parking space when parked for longer than 5 or 10 minutes. The display typically comes on after beginning forward motion. VW"
Anonymous, IL (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"back up camera often does not activate for up to 30 seconds after putting the car in reverse"
Arthur C., AL (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"There is an unacceptable delay in rear camera display once the car is placed in reverse. On initial start up it can take more than 5 seconds. Absolutely unacceptable"
Anonymous, CO (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The system is so slow that I am backed out of my garage and headed down the driveway BEFORE the backup camera even comes on. Too late!!! Terrible system"
William D., CA (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"CD kept spinning and drained the battery upon sitting. Had to replace the entire gps/radio/cd module"
Anonymous, CO (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Display screen darkened covered under warranty"
Anonymous, TX (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"System would freeze and sometimes reboot. Other times ignition would need to be shut off in order to get it going again. Continental makes crap head units"
Jeffrey S., NJ (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The backup camera sometimes comes on within seconds of starting the car and putting it in reverse and sometimes the screen remains blank for a whole minute. It isn't related to how recently the car was running. The performance is erratic and intermittent."
Anonymous, MT (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"I beleive all the problems are related to the unit with the screen. They are all used on that piece of equipment. It is an expensive fix $1500-2000. I still believe the car is amazing. I think this part of the electronics is going bad because it sat and baked in the hot sun for so long due to the recall. I believe the vehicle is very dependable and will buy a newer one when I pass this one down to my daughter."
Anonymous, (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Delay in backup camera turning on. Display screen freezes and cancels sound system until manually reset."
Anonymous, WI (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Reboots at will"
Kenneth S., CT (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The screen would fail to illuminate or be very dim. On other occasions the screen navigation wouldn't work"
Anonymous, AB (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"the entire stereo/gps unit will essentially turn off and restart at random times. sometimes every few seconds, other times it will work for days on end. this is the third unit the dealer has replaced. it is as if the unit loses power, but is not tied to hitting a bump or the like (is as if a loose connection)"
Anonymous, TX (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.5-L 5 Cyl)"Not sensitive enough to determine when on feeder or main highway or determine address when in subdivision where streets close. Cant find many Texas established addresses. If street # not recognized, won't use default to get close to address. VW manag"
Bonnie P., TX (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The information center controls maps, back up camera screen, radio & external music devices. I had constant problems with screens freezing, music controls going to max volume when you touch them, etc. Unit was replaced, but still have same problems"
Joseph T., PA (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The delivered maps were about 3 years out of date when I took delivery of the car. VW absolutely refused to correct the problem after each of several times I reported the issue and complained about the lack of current maps and points of interest. E"
Anonymous, IL (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"not as well designed as other cars...poor directions and ability to change when another route is taken... NOT up to date"
Anonymous, OH (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"When I went to update the database, the unit froze up and when it came back it experienced errors. The dealer replaced the unit and no problems since"
Harvey P., IN (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The ENTIRE 510 system is CRAP! It is WAY TOO SLOW, user Unfriendly and generally is a waste of money - including the back up camera. I have written/talked to the VW Company but they do nothing. Check the internet for similar complaints, many, many sa"
William D., CA (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Not user friendly to us that have used Garmin hand held in our other automobiles. Slow to locate requests and not always accurate. Requires expensive update that takes considerable time. Does not update when asked. Would not consider this company a"
Anonymous, WA (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Navigation did not find itself and I could not use it for one leg of a trip out of state"
Anonymous, NM (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI)"VW RNS510 NAV system stopped working after map update, Cannot load new maps, but nav works with map cd in cd player. No features available in NAV system and saved routes and saving routes from memory very sketchy. VW can't or won't fix, and manufacturer of NAV system, Continental blames software. Software by HERE Technologies (Formerly NAVTEQ) can't help - they tried diagnosing and walking me through fixes on phone, but nothing worked."
Anonymous, VA (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.5-L 5 Cyl)"The infotainment center had been damaged by the previous owner and it had to be removed and repaired."
Steve R., NY (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.5-L 5 Cyl)"Very slow to respond and system lockups"
Richard P., FL (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"not reliable"
Marvin S., NY (2013 Volkswagen Passat SE 2.5-L 5 Cyl)"On more than one occasion the phone will not connect to the car"
Anonymous, AB (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Bluetooth is horrible. You can't use it since no one can understand what you are saying. Took it back to the dealer numerous times with no satisfactory fixes"
Donna F., TX (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The infotainment system was damaged by the previous owner and had to be removed and repaired."
Steve R., NY (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.5-L 5 Cyl)"In January this year, just a few months past the 3year warranty, the phones constantly need to be re-paired. Pairing worked perfectly until then. We never know if, when we start the car, whether the phones will connect. Concurrently, the radio opens to a different station every time we start the car. I'm not paying to fix it, given that I'll be getting a refund on the car any time now"
Anonymous, ON (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The car stopped pairing with the cell phone I had been using regularly since the car was new. It proved to be a failed Bluetooth Module under the front passenger's seat. I purchased a used module from Europe for $200 and fixed it myself after the dealership charged me $140 to diagnose it and quoted over $600 to fix it"
Kim T., CA (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Radio freezes (no audio or control) for minute or 2 then resets and works again. May repeat every 2 to 10 mins. for an hour or may work entire time in the car the next time. Seems to occur same time touch door locks fail while key fob still works"
Kim T., CA (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"I was having a problem with the volume control. Sometimes I could not turn the volume up or down. I would have to turn the ignition of and then on again to reset the unit. This was a pain on trips. It also would not repeat at the dealer, so it to"
Anonymous, NJ (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 3.6-L V6)"Radio/Navigation/Back-up-camera shuts itself off at random times. This was replaced once under warrenty and is again happening"
Anonymous, ON (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"Squirrels in the computer. Volume control stopped working for the satellite radio. Turned off car. Volume control works on restart. Radio goes dead. Restart car. Radio OK. etc"
Terry V., OH (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"The radio gets stuck on a station and nothing works to get the station to change, the whole radio just freezes on a station that I do not choose"
Anonymous, NM (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI)"Sometimes the AM radio band freezes and does not operate properly. It usually operates properly after turning it off and back on again."
Anonymous, MA (2013 Volkswagen Passat S 2.5-L 5 Cyl)"Radio starts on a random station each time i start the car."
Anonymous, ON (2013 Volkswagen Passat SEL 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)"There is a spring that failed in the steering wheel that caused all the steering wheel electronic controls to fail. It cost over $800 to fix at the dealer. Fortunately I had purchased an extended warranty (I don’t usually)"
Richard R., SC (2013 Volkswagen Passat SE 2.5-L 5 Cyl)"Not reliable"
Marvin S., NY (2013 Volkswagen Passat SE 2.5-L 5 Cyl)
"The backup camera is useless. When I put the car in reverse there is a long delay before the display comes up on the screen. In most cases I have already backed up and put the car in drive before it comes up"
William W., GA (2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI 2.0-L 4 Cyl diesel)