One problem related to water pump has been reported for the 2004 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 Volkswagen Passat based on all problems reported for the 2004 Passat.
The vehicle heated up due to a fault in vw's Passat cooling system and smoke started to come out from engine. I was driving at around 25 miles / km only. I towed the car to mechanic and had to do a costly repair for water pump, timing belt, etc. I see there is an open recall for this kind of issue in water pump in Passats, so I truly believe the water pump was faulty from manufacturer side. I would like to be repaid for the money I have already spent on this.