What's Bad
Cars with electric parking brakes cannot be used for the Driving Test.
Quality of interior trim materials much poorer than previous Passat. Poor quality or missing stitching from leather seats. Even the decal off the top of the gear lever comes off, though VW will replace under warranty.
Apparently orders for 2.0 TFSI SELs made in April/May 2006 were not honoured as VW decided not to produce that engine and trim combination.
Sport suspension and wheels wipe out tyres on potholes.
With DSGs, protective software can delay the message from brake switch to ECU that brakes have been released, allowing car to enter a junction or roundabout on the fuel in the combustion chambers, then momentarily shut off mid-junction.
Seats in run out R Type Passats deemed to be extremely uncomfortable for some readers.
30-5-2012: 8th Least Reliable 3-5 year old family car in 2012 analysis of Warranty Direct Claims records on www.reliabilityindex.com
What to Watch Out For
Spate of problems with PAS rack, replaced under warranty. Software problem with electro-hydraulic power steering system.
Emissions sensor fault putting 2.0TDI PDs into limp home mode. Stopping and switching off re-sets, but can happen 3 times on a 90 mile motorway journey. Dealer software download cures. PD injector failures starting to occur by October 2009 on TDI PD 170s at just over 3 years old. Clarification 14-7-2011: Bosch injectors were too expensive and VAG/Siemens thought they could do better. The lever system required to achieve the servo needle travel with a short piezo stack is mind boggling. The failure mode is usually insulation breakdown, which shuts the whole lot down - very dangerous if it occurs in the fast lane of a motorway, robbing the car of power, power steering and power braking.
'Clutch judder' actually from failing dual mass flywheel increasingly common on diesels, especially after around 70,000 + miles.
Faults reported in 6 weeks ownership of one new Passat 2.0TDI: trim squeak from unattached wiring loom; rattle from poorly attached engine undertray; self opening boot lid due to fault with locking ECU in drivers door (common problem: by March 2007 the parts needed to fix this were on back order and some cars off the road awaiting parts); rattle from badly fitted ABS wheel sensor; non self folding mirror due to wrong replacement door ECU being fitted; battery leakdown due to fault with satnav.
(Updated 13-2-2011) Electric parking brake fails to release fairly often. Worse on incline. Fails at least one in four. More info at www.vwvortex.com Automatic release of parking brake can be temperamental, sometimes refuses to release because rear pads have corroded to discs. The other reason for failure is water ingress to the electric power brake motors in the calipers. Replacement rear brake calipers are £203 and require two hours labour to fit.
1.6 FSI engine noisy. Radiator failed early on and had to be replaced.
Wet footwells due to condensation drip tube from a/c being plumbed to drip into the car instead of outside.
Collapsing centre armrests.
Early 2.0TDI DSGs suffer from ECU programming that reduces torque from standstill so acceleration very poor initially until hits peak torque and suddenly accelerates. Very dangerous at T junctions and roundabouts.
Wiper motors fail, glow plug lights come on (requiring software update), electrics go dead requiring disconnection of the battery positive terminal, wait 5 minutes, then re-connect.
Continued reports of battery failures due to leakdowns. Battery drain caused by radio. If you don't leave a CD in the player, then it randomly thinks you've inserted one, then decides you haven't, and then switches the radio on. You then find the car in the morning either with with the radio blaring! or the battery flat. Radio failures common. Replaced under warranty. Switch themselves off for longer & longer periods then revert to OK for a couple of days.
If the car has been standing outdoors in wet weather parking sensors malfunction until dry. Replacing under warranty may being no improvement.
'Sport' alloys prone to stone chipping and flaking of lacquer leading to oxidation. Some have been replaced under warranty.
Complaint of whistle from turbo of 140 diesel on decelleration.
Complaint of repeated failure of cruise control, even after replacement of all relevant components.
Complaint in February 2008 of failure of fuel tank lifter pumps for 2.0 TDIs and a shortage of replacement parts putting cars off the road for several weeks.
A lot of problems with self-cleaning particulate filters of TDI 170s because of the cycle the car has to be driven through for it to self clean which makes these cars totally unsuitable for city centre use in heavy traffic.
Turbo failures on TDI 170s.
The oil pump problem:
Report from USA of oil pump/balancer shaft chain of 2.0 TDI failing at 80k - 100k miles. Early 2.0TDIs PD 140s and PD 170s with balancer shafts (up to end of 2005) have a chain drive to the oil pump and the chain drive can eventually snap. Later cars have a hexagonal shaft positive drive to the oil pump that is also a problem. Failed oil pump drives totally wreck the engines and if the car has not been 100% VAG maintained, VAG will not pay.
Later oil pumps (from 2006) are driven from a balancer shaft via a short hexagonal shaft. The peaks of this hexagonal shaft locate in six corresponding but minute grooves machined within the otherwise circular-bored oil pump drive shaft. Thus, the oil pump drive relies entirely on an interference fit of little more than 0.010" along the peaks of the hexagonal shaft. After about 50,000 miles, the shaft can round off, resulting in a totally destroyed engine and turbo, plus a bill of up to £9,000.
If the danger is known and the oil pump is removed by the garage in good time, a new replacement pump will cost over £500, plus the labour etc to remove and refit it. However, it is also possible to save the old pump and modify the drive at a fraction of the cost of a new one. Many local machine shops already have numbers of these pumps in for such rectification, the drive shaft of each having been on the point of rounding off.
The non balancer shaft BKD, AZV and BMN 2.0 engines (which found their way into the 2.0 PD Octavia, A3, Golf, and various SEATs) used a chain driven oil pump very similar, but not identical, to the old 1.9 130hp PD engine. This never seems to give any problems. It's the balancer shafts that cause the problems on the 'posher' VAG 2.0 PD diesels eg Passat, A4, Superb.
This 2.0 PD differs from the 1.9 in having twin Lanchester balancing shafts which contra-rotate at 2x crank speed. The first engines used a chain drive which was a complete disaster and the later engines a shaft drive. All 2.0 PD got the shaft drive towards the end of 2005.
The problem with the 2.0 PD engine is the drive from the slave balancer shaft to the oil pump, which is a piece of 6 AF hexagonal bar that has inadequate engagement depth with the grooves in the slave shaft. It's the torsional oscillations caused by the balance shafts which destroy the oil pump coupling (the 6mm AF bit of hex) and the chain drive to the balancer shafts before the gear driven systems came out, though these still give problems with the hex key rounding. This creates a lack of concentricity of the drive socket into which the drive rod/hex fits. Checking shows that all the drive sockets in the failed units were off centre by at least 0.1mm. All the replacement balancer units were dead centre and have not led to a repeat failure. Some replacement balancer units have now done 100k+ miles.
You will probably get this problem at some point if you have a 2006-2008 Passat 2.0TDi with balancer shafts. If your 2.0TDi does NOT have balancer shafts, you will be ok. If you fit the lastest balancer shaft/ pump assembley from VAG it will more than likely cure the problem for life as they have made the hex longer and centered it all properly.
CR piezo injected engines are safe. Anything before that, Audi/VAG wont say when they started to fit the modified units that work properly.
Same door locking windows opening fault as on old Passat die to water ingress to the locking ECU in the driver's door or owners misunderstanding the keyfob functions. Tailgate lock of estate also prone to problems.
Spate of failures of fuel tank lifter pumps, sometimes described as "tandem pumps", on 2.0TDI has led to a shortage of the part and may eventually lead to a TSB. The mythical cause put about on forums is gasket failure of the main fuel pump body joint, which allows engine oil to contaminate the recirculation line back to the main tank, in turn causing failure of the Lifter Pump. This is a myth. The real reason is the Italian made pumps going 'open circuit' after a period of use. Some cars off the road for 6 weeks waiting for parts, but by early May 2008 new pumps were coming through. More on this at www.audivwforum.co.uk
Excessive and uneven rear tyre wear problem on Dunlop tyres.
Problems of ignition lock failure immobilising the car. Can cost £775 to put right.
Received 29-3-2010: "I own a 2006 VW Passat SEL diesel 170BHP DSG with Sports suspension and lots of extras with 63000 miles on the clock and 6months out of warranty. The car is great to drive but having had 8 Passats over the last 25years, this one has been nothing but trouble. It has had 2 new turbos, a new DSG box and approx 12 other replacements some on recall and not all minor. A few days ago it died after running for 5 miles. The local VW franchise said the tandem pump had failed leading to a fuel pump failure, an injector failure and a wiring loom failure! £1500 plus to put right."
Mechatronic unit problems with DSG/S-tronic can case an initial delay when setting off followed by a sudden surge. A replacement Mechatronic unit cures this. See www.DSGwoes.co.uk . In the USA, VAG has been forced to increase the warranty on the DSG/S-tronic to 10 years.
2005 VW Passat 2.0 TDI, a company car, regularly maintained by Fleet approved garages, 88,000 miles in December 2009 oil pressure warning light came on, oil top up did not help. Garage diagnosed oil pump failure, and when they contacted VW for the replacement part were told that it is a known issue with all VW/Audi 2.0 Turbodiesels and a modified part should be fitted as well as the replacement pump. (possibly referred to the 2005/6 models , not sure). So, new parts fitted £850 plus labour, but of course turbo had failed as well due to oil starvation, so that had to be replaced as well £1200 plus labour.
Numerous reports of 2007 2.0TDI PD engines losing coolant. Diagnosis reveals porous cylinder heads. VW remedy is a complete new £5,000 engine with no goodwill assistance provided if the car has been serviced outside the VW dealer network.
SP warning light can indicate Fault Code "Boost Pressure Sensor G201". This is embedded inside Teves Mk 60 ABS systems and requires replacement of ABS control unit/pump. Seems to be age-related, occurring mainly in 3 - 5 year old cars. Does not necessarily lead to an MoT failure. VAG policy seems to be to pay 100% for fully VAG serviced cars up to 48 months old. Older than that, 35%. Non VAG serviced, smaller contribution towards £1,500 cost of replacement. More on the problem and independent rebuilds of the unit at: http://ecutesting.com/vw_golf_touran_abs_pump_module.html or www.sinspeed.co.uk
Received 24-9-2010: "I drive a 2007 VW Passat 2.0 litre. The parts warranty expired at the end of March this year. The car recently broke down and the cause was a defunct engine control unit and a split manifold inlet pipe which cost me £1501.64 to replace with a VW garage. I was told these are very unusual problems. The warranty had lapsed because the car had done 64,500 miles. (The reader was advised to contact VW customer services for some 'goodwill'.)
22-1-2011: If ESP/ABS amber warning light comes on intermittently and will not re-set, you might not actually have the ATE Teves Mk 60 ABS/ESP problem. First check circuits and start at the ABS fuse and holder (no 9 on a Golf, on scuttle edge by driver door). Pull it out, have a look and if okay replace it. The warning light may then go out. Sometimes they slip out a bit and become wobbly, which is enough to set off the warning.
Received 13-2-2011: I drive a 2005/55 VW Passat 2.0 TDI. I have had problems with it since I bought it new in December 2005. It has had all sorts of things wrong with it culminating in a bill of £1361.97 for EXTRA WORK in addition to my 4 year service in December 2009. None of this extra work was covered by the VW extended warranty as I was told it was wear and tear.It has always been serviced at VW. I wrote to VW listing all the history of this car's performance. VW didn't even acknowledge my letter. I did eventually get them by phone but was told it was all wear and tear and that things had been done under the original warranty where applicable. At the above service the car had only done 17,677 miles and the EXTRA WORK was :
Replace camshaft drive bely and tensioner. I was told this was recommended as the car was 4 years old.
Replace console and wishbone suspension bushes. One of these had been replaced the year before - 3,500 miles earlier.
Replace rear tie rods.
Replace front brake pads and discs.
Carry out air conditioning and brake fluid service.
In that 4 year period up to December 2009 the car had been in the VW garage 37 times, including 3½ weeks to cure dampness on front passenger floor, which was done under warranty. It also goes through front tyres every 9,000 miles (I did ask you about this before and you told me why ). Whilst it is true that whilst under the original warranty things were put right I thought they could give me some sort of goodwill contribution as the extra work above seemed unreasonable considering the mileage but they said no.
5-3-2011: Apparently well known "steering lock failure, bring to dealer " fault on the dash. VW dealer quotes £1,400 to repair. Also apparently a repair can be done by fitting a new column lock part number "3C0 905 861 H" and having the central convenience unit reprogrammed, but VW franchises will not do this so have to go independent. In the USA the NHTSA (www.nhtsa.gov) has persuaded VW to fix this fault FOC, but it is not an official safety recall.
14-3-2011: Digital LED display can be corrupted by below zero temperatures. £830 for a new instrument cluster (including the speedo and rev counter). ‘Cluster Repairs’ at www.Clusterrepairsuk.co.uk. quote £180 to fit a new LED unit to the existing cluster. Instrument cluster removal is a DIY job using the Haynes manual. Existing data; mileage, fuel consumption data etc. is preserved intact.
1-7-2011: Latest on PD170 injector problem here PD 170 Injector Probem . Apparently after action from VOSA, VAG is offering full compensation to owners who have suffered this failure.
16-11-2011: VAG seems to be replacing injectors FOC on Passat diesels with full VAG service history, even when they have done over 100,000 miles. 188 Backroom posts at 16-11-2011: Backroom on Passat Injectors
28-1-2012: Manufacturer recall to replace Siemens Piezoelectric injectors of 2006 - 2009 2.0 TDI BMN engines. All the injectors from the the 2.0 TDI PD engines that use piezoelectric Siemens injectors and Siemens ECUs are affected by this problem. The most problems are on the Passat BKD 2.0 TDI 140HP. No problem from 2009 and the introduction of the common rail 2.0 TDI engine (CEGA).
14-2-2012: From Gary the Taxi Driver: "I bought my 57 plate Passat at 11 months old from main dealer with 10k, VW demonstartor serviced by them since. I have had major problems since day 1 and briefly almost all major components have been replaced, i.e. engine, gearbox, turbo and various others. It has now done 156k and the injectors were replaced today after I took it in for the DPF light coming on. Never knew about injector problems before, so was pleased about that. Then they told me I would have to pay £1,700 for new DPF. In May 2011 I spent £1,800 on replacing EGR valve and exhaust manifold and various pipes and other stuff."
15-2-2011: Report of rod through block of 78k mile 2008 1.9TDI 105.
3-4-2012: More brilliance from 659FBE in The Backroom:
"On the PD engine, the water pump is driven by the cambelt and VAG's engine designers insanely positioned it on the tight side of the belt. As the wrap angle of the belt around the water pump pulley is significant, the loadings on its bearings are needlessly extremely high when a unit injector builds pressure.
"I have seen a fair number of PD engines now and in my view, renewal of the water pump at each belt change is essential - preferably using a pattern part with a metal impeller. Failure of the water pump bearings almost always throws the cambelt resulting in extensive engine damage.
"I have seen fully "dealer serviced" PD equipped cars suffer this fate as their policy appears to be one of fitting a belt kit (if you're lucky) and nothing else - not even new auxiliary belts.
"The last water pump I saw lasted to 140k miles before the rollers came out of its bearings - the result was not pleasing to its owner."
18-4-2012: Taxi driver reported being billed for 3 hours labour at £92 an hour to find reason why his instruments went out when it shoiuld have been obvious from the beginning that the fault was with the final drive speed sensor.
23-5-2012: Report of heater motor of 2008 Passat failing first after two years, then again in May 2008 by which time it was out of warranty and VW would only contribute a small amout of 'goodwill'.
13-6-2012: Report that replacement injectors under the recall leads to a small but significant improvement in economy.
16-7-2012: DPFs of diesels can be coming to the end of their days after about 6 years.
30-7-2012: Siemens Piezoelectric injector recall on 2006 - 2009 2.0 TDI BMN engines seems to be causing problems with DPFs. Several reports of this.
7-8-2012: News of another catastrophic oil pump drive failure, on a 113k mile 2005 2.0TDI.
8-8-2012: Further news of yet another oil pump drive failure, on a 117k mile 2005 TDI, quoted £1,800 to fix.
10-8-2012: Report of 25k mile 4 year old Passat 1.4TSI estate that needed a new clutch, electric parking brake switch (that caused the clutch to fail) and rear door lock after 2 year European warranty expired.
18-8-2012: Owner of 2008 Passat notified of the need to replace "front console bushes" at a cost of £446.40 as an advisory after the car's 30,000 mile service.
18-9-2012: Failed electric power steering on 2007 Passat. Service action campaign put in place in North America for this fault SA4815. In the UK VW owners are asked to fork out £450 to repair it.
2-10-2012: 2009 diesel had injector problems not covered by warranty.
18-12-2012: Successive clutch and Dual Mass Flywheel failures reported at 43k miles then again at 58k miles. 'Driver error' blamed.
19-12-2012: Oil light (denoting oil pump failure) reported on 61k mile 2007 VW Passat 2.0TDI.
26-12-2012: Rear spring of 59 reg Passat snapped after car has been standing outside in the owner's driveway for a couple of days.
7-1-2013: Report of poorer fuel economy of 75k mile 2007 TDI 170DSG after DPF was replaced. Down from around 42mpg and 46-52 on a long run to 39mpg and 45mpg on a run. Probably due to more fuel being used to regenerate the new DPF.
11-1-2013: Warranty on DSG extended to 5 years or 150,000 kilometres in Russia, China and Australia. Sources: Indiancarsandbikes 1, vwwatercooled, Indiancarsandbikes 2 .
8-3-2013: Notification of corrosion problems on 2008 VW Passat Sport: all four doors the bonnet, tailgate and on the A posts. VW's solution: "After removing the corrosion and cleaning the affected area we will apply 2-k-Epoxid filler (part number LLS Max 220) as anti corrosion treatment. We will reapply the seam seal and paint and wax the door fold. During this process we would protect the outer area against damage - stick adhesive tape on the edge of the outer panel to avoid further paint damage. Check the upper fold area to the channel strip. If the corner area of the metal sheathing is open close it according to the with fine seam sealing process. As an authorised Body Shop we would always follow a VW method of repair."
The corrosion is coming from the seam where the inner panel joins the outer panel which they can't access. Reader insisted on new panels, which VW refused so he is in the process of getting and independent engineer to inspect the corrosion so that the SMMT can help (Case 4421). Reader checked four other Passats 57, 08, 08 and 09 reg and three had corrosion on them, the 09 being the worst. Has built a website www.rustingvolkswagen.co.uk also www.badvolkswagen.co.uk
15-3-2013: Yet another report of failed electric parking brake with cheeky VW dealer demanding an outrageous £119 just to look at it. Reader demanded a VOSA safety recall.
Recalls
November 2005: TSB to replace 20amp fuse for heater rear window of early cars with 30 amp fuse if rear window fails to defrost.
11-12-2006: Source: www.just-auto.com : Some 2006 model year VW Passats have a wiper motor that may fail during heavy rain due to excessive moisture entering the wiper motor. Also, some 2.0T engine-equipped 2006 and 2007 Passat saloons and some 2007 Passat wagons may have a power brake vacuum line that may fracture and become disconnected at low ambient temperatures. If this happens, the brake power assist can become inoperative, and the driver will experience increased effort to apply the brake and therefore possible increased vehicle stopping distance. UK customer notification is expected to begin in January 2007. A Volkswagen UK spokesman told just-auto that the defects have led to a 'dealer inspection' programme in the UK and Europe affecting around 43,000 cars in the UK. Owners to receive a letter inviting them to take their cars in for free rectification, taking about an hour, while cars booked in for routine maintenance will also be checked.
31-12-2011: Apparently, all VAG models with the 2.0TDI engine from around 2005 fitted with Siemens peizo injectors are subject to a recall which involves replacing all the injectors FOC. Job takes around 3 hours. A short circuit within the injectors causes the fuel system to shut down and engine cuts out.
28-1-2012: Manufacturer recall to replace Siemens Piezoelectric injectors of 2006 - 2009 2.0 TDI BMN engines. All the injectors from the the 2.0 TDI PD engines that use piezoelectric Siemens injectors and Siemens ECUs are affected by this problem. The most problems are on the Passat BKD 2.0 TDI 140HP. No problem from 2009 and the introduction of the common rail 2.0 TDI engine (CEGA).
15-3-2013: Source InAuto News: China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine received some complaints about some defects in the direct-shift gearbox of Volkswagen’s vehicles.
The costumers complained about unusual noises, vibrations and transmission problems in the DSG of Volkswagen vehicles. The company took action and on March 1st it submitted technology specifications to the watchdog for reference and said it plans to solve the hitches through technology upgrading. Since the reported problems pose no threat to vehicles’ safety, Volkswagen will not recall the vehicles.
The watchdog experts believe that technology improvements cannot fully address the defects and they ordered Volkswagen to conduct more investigations and take effective measures to solve the issues. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is conducting probes with some professional institutes and if the DSG is confirmed to be flawed, it will press Volkswagen to recall the products according to regulations. The watchdog demanded that Volkswagen China attach great importance to the problem concerning direct shift gearboxes and conduct extensive technical analyses.
This year, in the first two months Volkswagen sold 818,800 units in China, up 8% year-on-year, which translates in a steady growth for the company in the Chinese market.
Directly reproduced from Gasgoo.com (Shanghai June 20) - In response to a lawsuit from nearly one thousand VW owners, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has officially stated that it is presently impossible to determine whether or not the DSG gearboxes require a recall, the Economic Information Daily reported today. Jiang Suhua, partner of Beijing-based Yingke Law Firm, received a letter from AQSIQ saying that, "following expert analysis, investigation and authentication of issues mentioned by consumers with the DSG gearboxes, [we] are still unable to determine whether or not [they] are defective."
AQSIQ has previously stated that if they found that the DSG gearboxes were indeed defective, they would adhere to the appropriate legislation and issue a full vehicle recall in order to protect customers.
An official from the AQSIQ's Defective Product Center, who wished to remain anonymous, personally believed that the main reason VW has received such a high number of complaints is that it did not fully consider China's driving environment. In Beijing and other large cities where congestion rates are very high, drivers are forced to constantly shift gears, placing a considerable amount of strain on the transmission. The climate in western Sichuan and other regions is extremely humid, while several cities boast high rates of pollution, both of which may have further exacerbated issues.
"We are extremely concerned… about the issue with VW's DSG gearboxes," AQSIQ said, confirming that it had requested the manufacturer to promptly resolve the issue and satisfy consumer demands on numerous occasions. Its Defective Product Center, meanwhile, is conducting various tests and experiments on the gearboxes to analyze the source of the problem. AQSIQ stated that it will continue to analyze the problem in order to determine whether or not it poses a legitimate safety risk.
Last month, VW issued an officially apology to Chinese drivers affected by issues with its DQ200 dual-clutch transmissions. It also announced that it would be extending warrantees for DQ 200 seven-speed and DQ 250 six-speed gearboxes to cover ten years and 160,000 km.
18-9-2012: Notofied of North American service action campaign SA4815 to repair a fault with the electric power steering. In the UK VW owners are asked to fork out £450 to repair it.
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