Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Volkswagen Passat owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The drivers door lock will stop working, in freezing temperatures and keep the interior door handle from unlocking the door. This morning I had to get out my passenger door, and that could be a problem in an emergency situation. The car/latch assembly is available for inspection. The problem has been reproduced and TSB# 57-14-01 documents it. No warning lamps, indicators, noises, etc that the latch will not happen. You pull the handle, and the door does not open.
My fiance was taking a left turn crossing a busy road during hours of dusk. Headlights were on. He was not able to see the opening of the road when turning and drove over the side walk and crashed. Front air bags deployed and windshield cracked. 3 tired popped along with other font end body damage. I had just purchased car from a dealership a few months earlier. Later I researched any recalls on my vehicle and a recall dealing with headlight issues and the headlights on my vehicle not being able to be adjusted properly, came up. If this issue was fixed before I bought the car, my fiance would have not crashed.
Door latch freezes in cold weather due to moisture inside the door and prevents opening of doors. I could not exit my vehicle using the drivers door and had to enter and exit through the passenger side. I took the car to vw dealership and they have acknowledged and verified my concern. Technician noted that there was moisture inside the door and the door locks were frozen and not operational. Vw installed new door latch, cables and butyl tape to prevent moisture entering the latch mechanism. I have a friend with 2013 Passat and he has experienced this problem multiple times and mentioned this to his service advisor, however they were unable to verify his concern because locks were operational each time he came back to the service center. While browsing the internet for similar symptoms I have found this is a common problem in cold weather. Please see links below. …
The front right fender liner does not cover a hole that allows snow and water to get into the fresh air blower inside the cabin. When it is very cold outside (which is happens all the time in montana) the water that has contacted the blower motor will freeze, in turn not allowing the fresh air blower to turn. When the fresh air blower does not turn, there is no defrost or heat in the cabin. I drove home and had to go through snow that was on the road. This snow was thrown up into an uncovered hole and got into the blower housing. The next morning I went to start the car and had no blower motor. This is the 4th time this has happened to me. I was driving to work when this particular issue happened, and I had to scrape the window every 30 seconds to ensure that I could see where I was going. I was also very very cold considering the outside temperature was 0 degrees fahrenheit. …
Noticed my drivers side door sticking during recent cold weather, it was frozen. Climbed through passenger door for a cpl days.. No big deal for a one yr old car, right? When the door did open, it wouldn't shut. I have to hold the door shut while driving. Took the car to dealer, was informed that I am the third person today with the same problem on a Passat, but it will be a week and a half before they can charge me $700 to fix it. I realize I'm over my warranty with mileage.. But this is completely unsafe!! I'm now dragging around town holding my door closed, driving no faster than 15mph with blinkers on. Can't shut or lock it, hope it doesn't get stolen! I was told that everything that opens the door is broke. The door latch, lever, and 2 cables. This has to be a defect.. No way it's safe and OK for this to happen. …
This is my third complaint about this vehicle. During the August flooding, while driving home from work and passing through some water piles my car lost the bottom engine cover, lower grill broke, got them replaced no problem. Winter comes and when it gets cold front door freezes shut, remote start barely works only when it wants too. Also no problem. We got out first winter storm thank god I had put new tires before this. However driving home some areas had a bit of snow first I get stuck and cant turn off traction control. Then my lower grill breaks again. Is the grill made out of water bottle plastic. If every time there is a storm I need to spend 250 dollars on a lower grill that is just a wonderful car expense. You try and trade in the car and the value just dropped. This is my first and last vw. Horrible quality that a bumper can't with stand some accumulation of snow. …
Driver side door seals allows water to enter door and onto latch which causing the latching mechanism to freeze shut. The freezing of the door inhibits the driver from being able to exit the car in an emergency of car travels from a wet environment to below freezing environment. This has happened two times in the past 2 months where temperatures were in the upper 30's then fell below freezing. Once when the car was in motion also. When the car is stationary, one has to enter the car from the passenger side, if the door unlocks and opens, to enter and exit the car. On once occasion, I was able to force open the door by pulling the inside handle and shoving up against it. It is known and shared on the vw forums that if you pull the handle too hard, it will stretch a cable which May render the door unable to shut or not properly latch. …
On March 7, 2019 problem began with all door locks clicking. All locks making noise when starting out driving or turning. Driver's door would not lock. Reset all doors with key, except driver's side door, which was not optional. Driver's door still would not lock. Also driver's door would not close latch unless hit lock butter. On March 8, 2019 driving to work, with car in motion on city street, drove over railroad tracks and driver's door flew open. After coming to stop and closing door, the door would not latch even when hitting lock button. Had to tie bungee cord from driver's door to passenger door to drive home from work. Travel to and from work requires long miles on interstate. Has placed me in extremely dangerous situation. Driver door still will not lock and will not close and latch. Will not be able to drive the car safely until door latch and locks are fixed. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the front driver side door handle was stuck and failed to open the door. As a result, the front driver side door fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the door handle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. In addition, the child safety lock on the rear passenger side door failed and the door could not be locked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the lock was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,000.
1. Attempted to open the driver's side door on the vehicle after a cold night with below-freezing temperatures. The door would not open, and attempting to open it from the inside after gaining access to the vehicle through the passenger's side door left the door unable to latch shut. 2. The failure is with the locking mechanism and latch on the door. This was the first time it occurred. 3. Took the car to the dealer where the door latch was replaced in total with a new part and the window regulator was adjusted.
Body complaints in other Passat years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2013 Volkswagen Passat?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the body & structure of the 2013 Volkswagen Passat, 4% of the model year's 749 complaints. The component named most often is body (27 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Volkswagen Passat body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2013 Volkswagen Passat, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2013 Volkswagen Passat body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 40,000 miles, and 29% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 5 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.