Volkswagen vehicles: safety, fuel economy, and recalls

Every Volkswagen model indexed from NHTSA and EPA. Use the table below to compare models or jump to a specific model for year-by-year detail.

Models

Avg safety (stars)

4.88

Recalls

156

Complaints

6,039

Safety ratings by model

Best NHTSA five-star overall rating across indexed trims. Models without NCAP data are omitted.

Models

Model	Best safety	Best MPG	Action
Arteon	not tested	28 mpg	View profile
Atlas		24 mpg	View profile
Atlas Cross Sport		23 mpg	View profile
Beetle		34 mpg	View profile
CC	not tested	25 mpg	View profile
e-Golf	not tested	119 mpg	View profile
Eos	not tested	25 mpg	View profile
Golf		35 mpg	View profile
Golf Alltrack	not tested	26 mpg	View profile
Golf GTI		n/a	View profile
Golf R		26 mpg	View profile
Golf SportWagen		35 mpg	View profile
GTI	not tested	28 mpg	View profile
ID. Buzz	not tested	83 mpg	View profile
ID.4		113 mpg	View profile
Jetta		35 mpg	View profile
Jetta GLI		28 mpg	View profile
Passat		34 mpg	View profile
Taos		31 mpg	View profile
Tiguan		28 mpg	View profile
Tiguan Limited	not tested	23 mpg	View profile
Touareg	not tested	24 mpg	View profile

Recent Volkswagen recalls

Latest 10 NHTSA campaigns. Severity is inferred from campaign text.

26V185000 - 2026-03-25safety
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 Jetta and Taos vehicles. The instrument panel may fail to display warning lights or gauges. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Control and Displays."
26V138000 - 2026-03-11safety
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Jetta vehicles. The transmission ground wire may not have been properly connected during assembly, causing an open electrical circuit.
26V028000 - 2026-01-21safety
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. The high voltage (HV) battery cell modules may contain misaligned electrodes that can result in a battery fire.
26V030000 - 2026-01-21safety
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 ID.4 vehicles. The high-voltage battery may overheat.
25V854000 - 2025-12-10safety
AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 Tiguan vehicles. The passenger occupant detection system (PODS) may experience a fault in the wiring and deactivate the front passenger air bag when the seat is occupied.
25V836000 - 2025-12-03safety
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. The high voltage (HV) battery cell modules may contain misaligned electrodes that can result in a battery fire.
25V835000 - 2025-12-03safety
WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2026 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, and ID.4 vehicles. The incorrect wheel bolts may have been installed during vehicle manufacturing.
25V638000 - 2025-09-24safety
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 GTI, Golf R, Audi A5, A6 Sportback E-Tron, S5, S6 Sportback E-Tron, 2026 Q4 Sportback E-Tron, and Q4 E-Tron vehicles. The torsion bar in one or both front seat belt retractors may have been damaged during production.
25V526000 - 2025-08-13safety
STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2025 Tiguan vehicles. A tie rod bolt on the rear axle assembly may be loose, which can lead to a loss of vehicle control.
25V434000 - 2025-06-30safety
SERVICE BRAKES
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport and 2023-2024 ID.4 vehicles. Certain bolts on the chassis, brake system and/or suspension (such as bolts for certain cross member, engine mount, control arm, subframe, rear brake carrier, etc.) of affected vehicles may not have been correctly tightened during the manufacturing process.

Source: NHTSA Recalls API. Verify recall status at nhtsa.gov/recalls with your VIN.

Frequently asked

How reliable is Volkswagen?+

NHTSA publishes consumer complaints by model and year. On CarCabin, the Volkswagen complaint total is 6,039. Raw counts favor high-volume brands, so compare against per-model detail on each profile rather than the raw total.

Where does the safety data come from?+

Five-star ratings come from NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Not every trim and year is tested. Untested vehicles appear without a star score on their profile.

How often is Volkswagen data refreshed?+

We re-ingest NHTSA recalls and complaints on a recurring schedule. EPA fuel economy is refreshed annually from the bulk dataset. See the methodology page for details.

Disclaimer. CarCabin is not a dealer, mechanic, or automotive advisor. Recall data should always be verified at nhtsa.gov with your VIN. This page is for educational purposes only.