2003 Volkswagen Passat Seats Problems
Owners have filed 97 complaints with NHTSA about seats problems on the 2003 Volkswagen Passat, 15% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 46,400 miles. The words owners use most often: “seat heater” (39% of reports).
- 97seats complaints
- 46,400median miles at failure
- 2mention a crash
- 30mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 23%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Seat heater: mentioned in 38 of 97 complaints (39%)
- Burned through: mentioned in 24 of 97 complaints (25%)
- Heated seats: mentioned in 10 of 97 complaints (10%)
- Felt burning: mentioned in 9 of 97 complaints (9%)
At what mileage do seats problems happen?
Based on 77 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 97 complaints, 2 mention a crash, 51 a fire, 30 an injury.
Volkswagen Passat seats complaints by model year
| Model year | Seats complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Passat | 1 | 8% | 17,200 |
| 2017 Passat | 1 | 1% | 50,000 |
| 2015 Passat | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2013 Passat | 3 | 0% | 25,000 |
| 2012 Passat | 3 | 1% | 21,299 |
| 2010 Passat | 1 | 1% | 84,369 |
| 2008 Passat | 3 | 2% | 90,000 |
| 2007 Passat | 2 | 1% | 30,289 |
| 2006 Passat | 5 | 1% | 100,000 |
| 2005 Passat | 13 | 9% | 81,500 |
| 2004 Passat | 34 | 12% | 78,000 |
| 2003 Passat | 97 | 15% | 46,400 |
| 2002 Passat | 15 | 2% | 49,108 |
| 2001 Passat | 7 | 2% | 80,500 |
| 2000 Passat | 3 | 1% | 43,500 |
| 1999 Passat | 10 | 2% | 52,376 |
| 1998 Passat | 11 | 3% | 91,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists seats for the 2003 Volkswagen Passat. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
My son was driving (in motion) on hwy 17 in miller county mo with seat heater on saturday nov. 28, 2020. Seat caught on fire. I had noticed when i had seat heater on previously it became so hot as to burn legs. This is a serious problem. It could have burned my car completely. Very dangerous.
05/01/2019 car had a dead battery---charge over night still would not start---had the car towed to auto shop--upon arrival with key on approx. 15 min drive--smoke started billowing---disconnected battery---drivers side seat warmer completely melted--mechanic says unit pulling 30 amps--there was a…
We were just leaving our friends house it was approx. 6am in morning little cold out so i turned on the seat warmers which is always nice touch to warm you up on those cold mornings, anyhow about 4-5minutes after seat warmers were turned on passenger side where i was sitting got rather warm and…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2003 Volkswagen Passats have seats problems?
No. NHTSA has 97 owner complaints about seats for the 2003 Volkswagen Passat (15% of the 628 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Volkswagen Passat seats?
No recall currently lists seats for this vehicle.
At what mileage do seats problems start?
The median reported mileage is 46,400 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about seats problems on the 2003 Volkswagen Passat?
The most frequent phrase is “seat heater”, in 38 of 97 complaints, followed by “burned through” (24).
Other 2003 Volkswagen Passat problems
See all 2003 Volkswagen Passat problems or seats problems across all Passat years.