What is PainRank™?

PainRank™ is a scoring system by CarComplaints.com that uses relative complaint analysis to determine which vehicles suffer the most defects. It's more than just complaint volume as the score also considers the average cost of repairs, the mileage at failure, the age of the vehicle, among other factors.

Bottom line: the higher the score, the more painful it is to own.

Least Reliable Volkswagen Models

Volkswagen models have an average PainRank™ of 7.18.

RankModelComplaintsScore
25thPassat92626.33
24thJetta1,24422.93
23rdTiguan33822.22
22ndAtlas5719.66
21stCC17719.31
20thRoutan16214.95
19thJetta Hybrid2010.83
18thGTI929.7
17thBeetle2879.28
16thEos769.26
15thJetta SportWagen487.69
14thGolf1685.44
13thGolf GTI205.36
12thTouareg744.44
11thGLI204.25
10thRabbit324.12
9thCabrio191.84
8thGolf SportWagen181.57
7thVanagon11.12
6the-Golf20.33
5thCabriolet40.21
4thFox20.1
3rdGolf R10.09
2ndTouareg Hybrid10.07
1stEurovan10.04
N/AAtlas Cross Sport0N/A
N/AJetta GLI0N/A
N/AArteon0N/A

Least Reliable Volkswagen Generations

Volkswagen generations have an average PainRank™ of 4.47.

RankModelComplaintsScore
46th5th Generation Jetta (2006-2010)44525.09
45th5th Generation Passat (2006-2010)21619.98
44th4th Generation Jetta (2000-2005)33218.53
43rd6th Generation Jetta (2011-2018)34317.82
42nd4th Generation Passat (1996-2005)49215.21
41st1st Generation Tiguan (2009-2016)30713.87
40th1st Generation CC (2009-2017)17710.5
39th6th Generation Passat (2012-2021)2129.72
38th6th Generation Golf (2010-2013)439.49
37th1st Generation Routan (2009-2014)1629.08
36th6th Generation GTI (2009-2014)748.28
35th1st Generation Beetle (1998-2011)2457.2
34th2nd Generation Jetta SportWagen (2011-2014)477.2
33rd1st Generation Atlas (2018-2021)576.43
32nd2nd Generation Tiguan (2017-2021)314.32
31st1st Generation Eos (2006-2016)764.3
30th3rd Generation Jetta (1992-1999)794.02
29th7th Generation Golf (2014-2019)423.82
28th1st Generation Touareg (2004-2010)523.81
27th4th Generation Golf (1999-2005)533.41
26th7th Generation Jetta (2019-2021)393.41
25th2nd Generation Beetle (2012-2020)423.31
24th6th Generation GLI (2006-2013)203.26
23rd6th Generation Jetta Hybrid (2013-2016)203.11
22nd7th Generation Golf GTI (2015-2019)202.94
21st5th Generation Rabbit (2006-2009)322.88
20th2nd Generation Touareg (2011-2017)222.59
19th1st Generation Golf SportWagen (2015-2019)181.59
18th4th Generation Cabrio (1999-2002)151.17
17th5th Generation Golf (2006-2009)91.14
16th4th Generation GTI (1997-2003)100.76
15th3rd Generation Vanagon (1981-1990)20.68
14th3rd Generation Golf (1992-1998)210.63
13th5th Generation GTI (2004-2008)80.44
12th2nd Generation Jetta (1985-1991)100.4
11th3rd Generation Cabrio (1995-1998)40.35
10th1st Generation e-Golf (2015-2020)20.33
9th1st Generation Passat (1978-1980)10.26
8th3rd Generation Cabriolet (1992-1993)30.23
7th3rd Generation Passat (1990-1995)60.19
6th2nd Generation Cabriolet (1989-1991)20.17
5th1st Generation Jetta SportWagen (2009-2010)10.13
4th1st Generation Fox (1989-1993)30.12
3rd1st Generation Golf R (2015-2019)10.09
2nd2nd Generation Touareg Hybrid (2010-2015)10.07
1st1st Generation Eurovan (2000-2003)10.04
N/A1st Generation Arteon (2018-2020)0N/A
N/A8th Generation Golf (2020-2021)0N/A
N/A1st Generation Jetta GLI (2019-2021)0N/A
N/A8th Generation Golf GTI (2020-2021)0N/A
N/A1st Generation Atlas Cross Sport (2020-2021)0N/A
N/A2nd Generation Passat (1981-1989)0N/A

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Tell Us What's Wrong With Your Vehicle

The best way to find out what's wrong with a vehicle is from the people who drive them. Not only do owner complaints help us rank vehicles by reliability, but they're often used to spark class-action lawsuits and warranty extensions. Plus, they're a great way to vent.

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