The Lemon Index$7,000 middle bill · most between $5,000 and $8,800
Lower than the $8,000 middle bill owners of all 168 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 79,000 miles (21 reports).
Volkswagen Passat owners reported paying a median of $7,000 for a engine replacement, with the middle half of bills between $5,000 and $8,800. That's from 27 owner reports (27 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,5000%
- $2,500–$5,00026%
- $5,000 and up74%
Share of the 27 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2000 Volkswagen Passat1too few for a middle
- 2002 Volkswagen Passat4$6,800 middle bill
- 2003 Volkswagen Passat4$9,000 middle bill
- 2004 Volkswagen Passat2too few for a middle
- 2005 Volkswagen Passat4$5,500 middle bill
- 2006 Volkswagen Passat4$9,500 middle bill
- 2007 Volkswagen Passat2too few for a middle
- 2010 Volkswagen Passat3$7,000 middle bill
- 2012 Volkswagen Passat1too few for a middle
- 2016 Volkswagen Passat2too few for a middle
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2007 Volkswagen Passat14 complaints name it5% of that year's complaints
- 2005 Volkswagen Passat13 complaints name it9% of that year's complaints
- 2004 Volkswagen Passat11 complaints name it4% of that year's complaints
- 2009 Volkswagen Passat11 complaints name it7% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a engine failure. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Engines in these years
Engines with a page of their own that this model was sold with in the years above. Owners don't always say which engine they had.
Keep going
- Volkswagen Passat reliability by year
- Engine replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Volkswagen Passat owners reported
ABS module replacement (52) · Fuel pump replacement (24) · Steering column repair (22) · Airbag module and clock spring replacement (21) · Brake repair (8) · Heater core replacement (8) · Ignition coil replacement (7) · Timing chain replacement (6) · Brake booster replacement (5) · ECM (engine computer) replacement (5) · Turbocharger replacement (5)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11513039, 11427926, 11204283, 11094010, 11005201, 11003737, 10767581, 10536638, 10484920, 10456864, 10429989, 10429974 and more.
Quick answers
How much does engine replacement cost on a Volkswagen Passat?
Volkswagen Passat owners reported a median of $7,000, and the middle half paid $5,000 to $8,800, from 27 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Volkswagen Passat engine replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Volkswagen Passat middle bill of $7,000 is lower than the $8,000 owners of all 168 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Volkswagen Passat repair costs come from?
From 27 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Volkswagen Passat years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2007 (14), 2005 (13), 2004 (11) Volkswagen Passat named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.