It never occurred to me that there was a problem with the engine...everytime I have the oil changed but it seems to be losing a little bit of oil. I need to add oil every 200 to 300 miles to the engine....I've checked for oil leaks..cant find any...please advise...rear seals? Maybe
2004 Volkswagen Passat engine complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 76, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I purchased a used 2004 vw passat with 34k miles in september 2007. The car was running file and has been kept current with oil changes. On april 3, 2009, my fiance was driving us home from work and a loud knocking noise started and a message displayed saying stop! Oil pressure low. This has never happened before. We were still far from home so we pulled over and took a look under the hood. The oil was low for some reason, although it was recently changed, so we purchased a quart to get us home. We continued to drive home and starting losing power as this knocking noise continued. We did make it home. The car was towed from our home to a vw dealer the next day. We were told that the crank shaft was damaged due to oil sludge build-up in the engine. Basically, the engine was shot and I needed a new one, which would cost about $4k with about $2k in labor. The car only has 55k miles on it - how could this happen? We then went online and conducted a search. We found that this is a well-known problem with 1.8 t engines between 2003-2005. I was mortified. I was never given any information from vw about this issue, although the car was purchased used. The dealer told us that vw extended the powertrain warranty for to 8 yrs due to this issue but we must provide oil change receipts. We had none, because not only did we not have ones from the previous owner, but my fiance changes my oil and although he used the required synthetic oil, the dealer told us that there are "approved brands" that must be used. We were never given this info because the owner manual only says use 5w40 or if not available, use 5w30 oil. So, we are left with nothing. It can cost anywhere between $4-8k to fix. The cost to get a new or used engine plus labor is ridiculous. I'm driving my old honda that has 231k miles while my vw sits at the shop waiting to be fixed. I fear the bill. I planned to purchase a new vw in a couple years, but now I will never buy a vw again and will make sure my story is heard!!
I own a 2004 vw passat tdi (diesel) with 64, 500 miles on it. I did not have a failure but I was so concerned about it, that I had it pre- fixed. The problem is that the balance shafts in this engine are driven by a chain off the motor which also drives the oll pump. This unfortunate design subjects the chain to stresses it can't withstand. On various tdi forums, especially tdiclub.com, there have been a significant number of chain failures reported. When the chain driving the oil pump fails,the engine is starved of essential lubrication and if it fails it can cause catastrophic engine damage and the engine could seize up which would be life-threatening. Recently, vw in europe recognized the problem and designed a repair, which changes the chain driven oil pump to a gear driven oil pump. This appears to be a permanent fix to the original design defect. Since, unlike vw of america, I am unwilling to put my and my child's life at risk, I recently paid almost $3000 to have the balance shaft module replaced with the gear driven one. Most of the people having this problem are experiencing it after the car is out of warranty and vw done nothing to notify the nearly 12, 000 owners of these vehicles. Most of the people driving these vehicles have no idea that their car is a potential time bomb. It is not a matter of if, but when, because of the poor design, they all will fail. I was fortunate that the parts were available; there has been a shortage and people have had to wait several weeks just for the parts to come in. If the part fails and destroys the engine, the cost for that repair is $8-10,000. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed by vw of america and we need your help. Thank you for your consideration. *tr the mechanic informed the consumer the module and chain drive had not failed, but they were showing signs of fatigue. Updated 04/15/09.
A potential issue has come to my attention that some engine parts related to the balance shaft assembly and the engine oil pump system drive can fail as early as 45,000 miles. And if the failure of said components do fail, severe engine damage can easily occur forcing the driver, at minimum, to pay an unreasonable and very costly service bill. If a driver experiences a sudden loss of power from the engine during a typical highway pass or merging on a roadway, the cost would be unfathomable pertaining to the loss of life, far surpassing the cost of a new engine and the labor to install the engine. Volkswagen has come up with a fix by changing the chain to a gear. They have not acknowledged this problem as yet, even with many of these vehicles having failed. It is just a matter of when not if this will happen to every 2004 passat with the bhw engines. I would like to know what steps volkswagen of america is taking to inform 2004 and 2005 passat tdi owners of this problem. Good corporate citizenship would dictate a problem of this severity should be communicated to the owners as soon as possible. These engine failures could leave motorists stranded under dire circumstances.
While under warranty complained to dealer of noise from engine area. Dealer could not determine where noise was coming from but said not to worry problem was noted and would be covered if/when something failed. Out of warranty now, dealer states power steering pump needs replacing, not covered under warranty. Had the power steering pump replaced, not by dealer but severe wine remains. Was told it is probably AC pump. Had belt tensioner replaced also with no resolve. Noise is a loud wine, constant varies slightly when AC is on. Have heard several other passats with same noise. No failure has occurred as of yet.
The balance shaft chain drive in the bottom end of our 2004 passat tdi has started to make noise. They will all fail. I am a car enthusiast and from what I understand through the pains of many that have already replaced their failed or failing chain driven balance assembly, many break apart completely, and cause the oil pump to quit turning and the engine to lock up suddenly. Vw has come up with a fix for this, to retrofit a gear driven unit, but as of yet has not even acknowledged this very serious problem that more times than not manifests itself in the 60 to 80k mile range. The cost to repair proactive is about $2500, but if the engine is damaged, the cost is about $9000. This is a very serious safety issue, and can cause the engine to suddenly seize while underway! Currently there is not even a warning of any kind from vw to owners of these vehicles to be aware of this issue. If not for an internet forum, fred's tdi club.com, I like many others who still are, would be completely oblivious to this serious and potentially catastrophic failure.
The chain on the oil pump, balance shaft assembly failed at 96,000 miles. It was detected by a mechanic before the engine seized. The entire oil pump and balance shaft assembly was replaced. Had the problem not been detected, and the chain broke, the engine would have been starved of lubrication and failed. This is the diesel passat with the bhw engine.
The balance shaft assembly and the engine oil pump system drive will fail. Failure of balance shaft assembly and the engine oil pump system drive can lead to catastrophic engine failure with loss of oil pressure, broken oil pan, broken front engine seal flange, and damaged crankshaft. This can result in damage to the extent that the engine must be replaced. If this occurs while the vehicle is in traffic, it can lead to a collision with injuries or deaths.
The balance shaft chain drive in the bottom end of our 2004 passat started to make noise. They will all fail. I am a mechanic specializing in these cars, and have currently had to repair 27 of these, including my own. Many break apart completely, and cause the oil pump to quit turning and the engine to lock up suddenly. I have one such car here right now. Vw has come up with a fix for this, to retrofit a gear driven unit, but as of yet has not even acknowledged this very serious problem that more times than not manifests itself in the 60 to 80k mile range. The cost to repair proactively is about $2500, but of the engine is damaged, the cost is about $9000. This is a very serious safety issue, and can cause the engine to suddenly seize while underway!
It has come to my attention through the b5 forums at www.tdiclub.com that all 2004-2005 vw passat tdi engines have been outfitted with a faulty chain driven oil-pump (aka balance shaft) assembly that has an extremely high rate of failure. Failure of the oil-pump assembly has proven to cause multi-thousand dollar repair bills for owners that experience a failure while driving. A bulk of the failures have been occurring on 04-05 passat tdi's well before the cars reach 100,000 miles. There are no warning signs to oil pump failure other than louder than normal engine noises. Vw has since redesigned the oil-pump assembly to incorporate a gear-driven mechanism that isn't prone to failure. Unfortunately vw has not taken into consideration the thousands of passat tdi owners that are being forced to upgrade their cars on their own dime. The upgrade costs ~$2,500 (parts & labor). It is of my opinion (and the thousands of fellow passat tdi owners) that this faulty design should be recalled immediately as the potential for an oil-pump failure causing property damage and/or death is eminent.
Vehicle passat 2004. 1.8 wagon. With 62000 miles on it, problem as follow , steam came off ventilations when heaters is activated,fogging windshield and windows, the smell is so strong odor of antifreeze filling the whole cabin and causing nausea and headaches to whoever is in the car when car is been driving, according to the dealers repair person the heater core is leaking and need to be replaced at the dealer only at cost of $1600.00 thee part is not a moving part that is easy accessible and that needs regular maintenance, this is a part that came defective from factory and vw does not want to repair not acknowledge that this part came defective from the manufacture. And should be fixed by them ,that is a problem that is a hazard to the driver, and passenger health due to the toxic fumes that emanated throughout the vents from the heater core leakage and entering the inside of the cabin, it should be recalled to fix this very problem that may cause people develop any type of lung cancer inhaling this fumes. On top of the described problem this car has been in repair for bad water pump,bad heating sensor,bad thermostat,broken cv boots at 50200 miles,bad battery, warning sensor lights. This car is a lemon.
Sludge buildup cause by vw design flaw LED to engine locking ... Vw refusing to cover engine replacement even though covered by power train warranty.
In the 2004 vw passat tdi (diesel engine) the balance shaft & oil pump are driven by a chain. The chain failed at 101,000 miles and stopped engine lubrication instantly. Required unsafe maneuver in traffic to get off road to a safe stopping spot.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen passat. While driving 50 MPH, the stop warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. Within seconds, the contact was unable to accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the engine failed due to a massive oil deposit. The engine was replaced. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 77,000 and current mileage was 89,000.
We have a 2002 and a 2004 volkswagen passat sedan and wagon. Both have suffered motor mount leakage and both have broken water pump dispellers. We have replaced the water pump parts and are saving up to replace mounts on both vehicles. This seems to be a weak part for volkswagen. We are constantly going to get something fixed which is not a typical repair for automobiles from other companies.
About 1/2 mile from my house car indicated that there was an oil pressure issue and displayed "stop engine". Proceeded to drive home and let the car cool off and checked oil level. Oil level was fine, based on the dip stick. Started the car up and the car was very loud and exhibited a rough and irregular idle. "stop engine" indicator came on again. Did research on the internet and found that there have been numerous other issues with exactly the same issue. Issue apparently sludge build up in the engine. Car is currently at repair shop and I have no faith that this will be resolved in a positive way (ie not costing me as the car is out of warranty) as apparently there is a design issue with this engine and manufacturer, repair shop recommended changing the oil filter and oil, yet the most recent oil change was performed just about 3 weeks ago. Next they are recommending that they take the oil pan out and look for "repairable culprits", which I believe is just nonsense as I'm sure this is not the first time they've dealt with this specific issue. This is a cash cow for the repair shops/dealers. I would like to know what if any recourse I have. I've seen other similar complaints as well, has volkswagen acknowledged the issue? I've stuck with the manufacturer's recommended service interval and product requirements, so I am at a loss if this is not being investigated as some form of negligence on vw's part.
Incident description = 2004 vw passat had been previously report several fuel consumptions problems at hoy fox vw and gas ended up leaking out of fuel tank and cause a spill in my garage and drive. Hazard was inhalation gas in a closed in area caused head aches/ nausea/dizziness/ for my family and I I have had mutiple problems with vehicle since then has broke down on me twice in less than 1 day's time. On 01 sep 08 my wife noticed and oil spot in driveway after I left to go out of town granted we have brand new home and the vw was only vehicle parked in that spot she could reach me because no service with my cell phone but I ended up broke down outside big spring ,tx the care was sluggish and leaking oil this time and on 03 sep08 in /texarkana after being in shop allday 2sep08 it broke down for a previous condition with ignition coils. Hoy foxvw not admitting that may have put the new oil filter to tight to cause to breakdown after having the oil change on 28aug08/29aug08 for other neglected maintenance. Please look into this matter I'm sure it's not just my vehicle they trying to assume because it just had went out warranty. The engine oil cooler was damaged and bursted when put on at hoy-fox vw by a vw technician after putting the oil filter on entirely to tight. Leaked in yard and I was not aware of it and the spilled out all over the ground at a high temperature vehicle (overheated) which make it hard for me stop while drive because of the slickness of mixture between the coolant and oil. Almost ran off the road but ended up shifting to neutral and letting coast over to median.
Oil sludge developed in the engine of my 2004 vw passat wagon 1.8t, causing excess engine wear and $2800 service charge to desludge the engine. The sludge was caused by a problem known to vw but not made known to vehicle owners. I would like vw to reimburse me for the cost of this service. At a minimum, I would like vw to notify all customers of this defect (including warranty coverage requirements) and provide periodic sludge checks, every one to two years.
On 12/28/2007 the oil cooler on my 2004 passat failed and allowed large quantities of oil to leak into the coolant. The oil cooler repair was covered under vw's powertrain warranty. Per the passat owner's manual and per verbal confirmation from vw, when a part covered under warranty fails and causes damage to other parts, those other parts are covered under warranty as well. In this case the dealer, flow volkswagen of greensboro, nc, replaced not only the oil cooler but also the coolant reservoir, and flushed the cooling system 3 times. During the service they telephoned me at work and gave me a quote of nearly $300 to replace the thermostat because they felt it could have been damaged by the fouled coolant. At that time I was not aware that the thermostat was covered under warranty, nor did I know that the dealer already had the thermostat completely out of the vehicle. The dealers service technician noted that the coolant was the consistency of mud. The $300 quote that the flow volkswagen dealer gave me involved a double charge on the labor as well as violated vw's warranty policy that the thermostat should have been covered. The dealer was already going to charge vw for the removal of the thermostat and other cooling system components, yet they were calling to ask me to pay for the labor as well as for the warranty covered part itself (the thermostat) that was damaged by the oil cooler's leak. During the phone call when I was given the quote the flow volkswagen service personnel told me that the thermostat might be okay since they were cleaning it. In august of 2008, the passat's check engine light came on. According to flow volkswagen this time, the thermostat needed to be replaced and the total charge would be $478.
After hitting 100,000 miles on 2004 passat, the warning light came on for low oil pressure. I took it in to vw and they quoted me $2,800 to replace all oil lines and vacuum lines. I did some research and found out that this is a known problem with vw engines and even after doing the $2,800 worth of work, the engine will still fail within a year. I have gone to another repair shop to perform an oil flush and I was able to drive another 500 miles before the light came on again. I have gone for 2 more oil flushes. Now, they will do 2 oil flushes each time. The first time, there will be a lot of sludge that comes out and the 2nd time is clear. There is an obvious problem with sludge build up and will eventually ruin the engine. I know there was a recall on 1.8t engines for this same issue. It is an issue with all vw engines, not just the 1.8t.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen passat. While driving 40 MPH, the turbo booster became very hot and the engine warning light illuminated. The first time the failure occurred, the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer replaced a certain part of the vehicle, which temporarily corrected the failure. Less than two months later, the turbo booster began to overheat again. The contact believes that the vehicle has a manufacturer defect. The vehicle is currently located at the dealer being repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 63,000 and current mileage was 68,000.
Engine started fine, and let it ran for a minute or two on drive way. Then suddenly it died. Computer screen displayed "stop", oils pressure can, and low oil pressure warning lights came on.
2004 volkswagen passat with the oil pressure light on. Consumer states that the mechanic refuses to see why her vehicle is acting up. She was told to produce receipts saying that the oil was changed. *kb the consumer stated she did some research and discovered the vehicle produced sludge no matter how often the oil was changed. A mechanic informed the consumer that vw should issue a recall and fix the oil pressure pump immediately.
1. New 2004 volkswagen passat, v6 sedan. Returned car several times under warranty for many types of repairs. Volkswagen unable to repair car. Both the dealer and volkswagen of america were made aware of the problems. 2. Several failures including but not limited to: excessive oil consumption, loss of power and acceleration, transmission problems, failure to start, malfunction indicator lamp constantly on, braking problems, climate control problems, and several electrical problems including failed brake lights. 3. Several attempts by volkswagen has failed to fix the problems. They are unwilling to resolve the problems adequately.
I have a 2004 vw passat 1.8 t. I have a complaint with this whole oil sludge issue. Although I do not have a problem yet but I want to be prepared in the advent of mechanical failure. The problem I have is that I received a letter in the mail 2 years ago about the possibility of engine failure do to oil sludge. I since then have been taking the car to the dealer and paying 80 dollars to get the oil changed with the full synthetic oil. Now I am reading that even when using the synthetic oil there are numerous cases of engine failures do to oil sludge. Not to mention the dealer will not cover costs of engine replacement if all receipts of oil changes are not shown. Which is not fair because up until 2 years ago I did not even think we had a problem. So vw has a defect with there unsafe engines and on top of it they scare people into getting the oil changed with full synthetic and then come up with an excuse like you were late on an oil change therefore you have to pay $5,000.00 for engine replacement. I still owe $12,000.00 on the care and I owe more then the car is worth so I cannot sell it, please tell me what can I do to protect myself. Had I have known this in 2004 I would never have purchased the vehicle. I just don't that this is the american way to sell people a inferior product and then make money off there turmoil.
Oil sludge problem with my 2004 vw passat 1.8l turbo has caused irreversible engine problems.
2004 passat 1.8t caught fire after a coil pack failed and the catalytic converter overheated. I only drove 5 miles after the coil pack failed trying to limp back to the dealer when the fire started. I put the fire out myself.
The sludge problem that is common in volkswagen 1.8 4 cylinder engines has happened to our car. The dealer has repaired the problem but volkswagen refuses to honor the warranty even though we have jumped through every hoop they can think of. The last one is that they wanted the VIN number printed out on every oil change receipt.
My 2004 vw passat: was driving when noticed a gasoline smell in the car. The car stalled, heard a pop sound from under the hood and immediately saw smoke/orange flame -the engine was on fire.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 volkswagen passat. While driving 30 MPH, the check engine light illuminated and the engine began to shutter. The contact smelled rubber burning and the vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. The cause of failure was diagnosed as a failed ignition coil. The vehicle was repaired. The current mileage is 56,010 and failure mileage was 55,955.
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