There are 8 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2000 Volkswagen Passatin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
THE HAZARD LIGHT AND TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS STOP WORKING. THE DEFECT IS DUE TO MALFUNCTIONING HAZARD SWITCH WHICH CONTROLS TURN SIGNALS. THIS WILL RESULT IN ACCIDENTS SINCE DRIVER UNABLE TO SHOW TURN SIGNALS. *TR
MY ABS SENSOR FAILED AT 130K MILES. THIS CAUSES A ANNOYING FLASH ACROSS THE DASH AND SOUNDS THAT BEEP LOUDLY. *TR
DUE TO THE CLOUDINESS OF MY FRONT HEADLIGHTS I ALMOST RAN OVER TWO JOGGERS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I WAS NOT SPEEDING AND I HAD JUST REPLACED THE LIGHT BULBS IN BOTH HEADLIGHTS, YET, BECAUSE OF THE DECREASED LIGHT OUTPUT OF MY HEADLIGHTS WHICH I ESTIMATE TO BE AT LEAST A 40% REDUCTION, I SIMPLY COULDN'T SEE THE JOGGERS UNTIL I WAS ALMOST ON TOP OF THEM. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO REPLACE/REPAIR NON-CONSUMABLE SAFETY ITEMS SUCH AS HEADLIGHTS ASSEMBLIES. *JB
THE 2000 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT IS DESIGNED SO THAT THE OWNER/OPERATOR CANNOT CHANGE THE TAIL LIGHT BULBS. IT MUST BE TAKEN TO A MECHANIC. TO QUOTE FROM THE OPERATOR'S MANUAL: IT IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO REPLACE VEHICLE LIGHT BULBS SINCE IN MANY CASES, OTHER PARTS OF THE CAR MUST FIRST BE REMOVED BEFORE YOU ARE ABLE TO GET TO THE BULB......FOR YOUR SAFETY, WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU HAVE YOUR AUTHORIZED VOLKSWAGEN DEALER REPLACE ANY BULBS SINCE YOUR DEALER HAS NECESSARY TOOLS, THE CORRECT BULBS, AND THE EXPERTISE. SUPPOSE I AM ON A LONG DRIVE OVER THE WEEKEND, MILES FROM HOME, AND THE TAIL LIGHTS BURN OUT. I CANNOT REPLACE THEM, EVEN IF I HAVE THE CORRECT BULBS, CONSEQUENTLY I WOULD HAVE TO DRIVE HOME WITHOUT TAIL LIGHTS OR BRAKE LIGHTS. THAT IS A SAFETY HAZARD. *NM
A PLASTIC GEAR ON THE HEADLIGHT ADJUSTMENT BREAKS, PREVENTING THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE HEADLIGHT, AND CAUSES THE AIMING OF THE HEADLIGHT TO "DROP". THE ONLY METHOD OF REPAIR IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. I KNOW OF 3 OTHER PEOPLE WITH 2000 PASSATS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.*AK
WHILE DRIVING THE EXTERIOR LIGHTS FAILED INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ON FOUR OCCASIONS BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST. *NM
LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS CANNOT BE ADJUSTED, VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED BY DEALER 3 TIMES INDICATING THAT THE LIGHTS DO NOT EXTEND OUT FAR ENOUGH. NLM
CONSUMER STATED THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLAMP DID NOT ILLUMINATE THE ROAD PROPERLY, CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THE HEADLAMP WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED.*JB
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026