NHTSA Complaint #11705331 — 2000 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

AIR BAGS issue reported to NHTSA

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1 Injury

Complaint Details

ODI Number	11705331
Vehicle	2000 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
Component	AIR BAGS
Date of Incident	September 8, 2025
Date Filed	December 16, 2025
Mileage	N/A miles
Crash	No
Fire	No
Injuries	1
Deaths	0
Vehicle Towed	No
State	CO

Consumer Description

Side airbag deployed for no reason while driving straight at the speed limit of 75 mph. The local VW dealer determined the side impact sensor is defective. This is a very interesting situation because a fail safe exists in these systems in that the supplemental restraint control module in the center of the car must simultaneously "see" a side impact g force in order to deploy the side air bag. In other words even with a defective side impact sensor The side air bag should not have deployed. At the time of the incident the vehicle was travelling straight ahead next to a semi truck. No such impact occurred and the VW dealer confirmed the vehicle has no evidence of such an impact. I had this investigated by Volkswagen AG and my local dealer. Suffered broken teeth, bruised ribs, hearing loss in left ear.

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