Diesel Engine problems of the 2005 Volkswagen Passat

Our Passat is the tdi (diesel) model. We purchased it used and at around 185,000-190,000 (low miles by diesel engine standards), the vehicle completely shut down while being driven. I lost power steering and brakes. Diagnostics revealed that the chain driven oil pump assembly had malfunctioned. The chain broke and got all up in the engine and oil was no longer being pumped into the engine so the engine was destroyed requiring a complete engine repair. About 16,000 miles later, I was driving and the same exact thing happened. Did some research and found out that this is a very common problem with this model vehicle. Volkswagen has issued an internal technical bulletin telling the service departments how to fix the problem. The fix is changing out the chain driven assembly with a gear driven one. They also never made another model with a chain driven assembly after that model year. So they basically admitted that this is a faulty system yet won't issue a recall. Changing out the assembly is $1500 for the part alone and if you're changing out that part, the chances are good it's because it failed and you now have a destroyed engine as well which is a several thousand dollar job even for a used engine. There is no way to tell when it's going to fail and it's not part of any maintenance schedule. Volkswagen has told me that it's not a common enough problem to issue a recall and yet it's a common enough problem to have to issue a technical bulletin about it. I find it abominable that they know this has and is happening with this vehicle and they are not letting people know about it. Even if they refuse to pay for it to be fixed, the public should be aware that they are driving a ticking time bomb. Someone could get killed if the engine shut down on them while traveling at high speeds on a highway. No power steering. No brakes. It's completely unethical.

Numerous reports of vw bhw diesel engine oil balance shaft / chain failure are reported. Volkswagen of America refuses to acknowledge any responsibility for repair despite the fact that vw has recognized the issue and changed the design. Failure of the balance shaft / chain results in immediate lack of power creating a potential life safety hazard. Vw of canada has acknowledged responsibility in some documented cases. Vw of America should be compelled by government authorities to resolve the matter on behalf of us citizens. I am having the repair done proactively to prevent any serious safety issue but vw should step up and reimburse those of us who have paid for the expensive repair on our own.

Numerous reports of vw bhw diesel engine oil balance shaft / chain failure are reported. Volkswagen of America refuses to acknowledge any responsibility for repair despite the fact that vw has recognized the issue and changed the design. Failure of the balance shaft / chain results in immediate lack of power creating a potential life safety hazard. Vw of canada has acknowledged responsibility in some documented cases. Vw of America should be compelled by government authorities to resolve the matter on behalf of us citizens.

The contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that she could hear a chain noise while driving at any speed. After a year, the noise became louder. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the balance chain would break soon. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000 and the current mileage was approximately 117,000. Updated 01/24/11 updated 04/14/11.

Vehicle affected is a 2004-2005 Volkswagen Passat tdi equipped with a 2. 0l diesel engine. Codedbhw. The oil pump balance shaft module and chain are week in design and are failing without any warning to the driver. When this failure occur the engine is starved of oil and internal failure is imminent. Safety of operation becomes compromised at this point since an engine failure at highway speeds removes all power steering and braking features and the driver is along for the ride until getting the vehicle to a stop by use of e-brake or other speed reducing maneuvers and hopefully avoiding a collision. This failure is being reported at a broad range of mileage starting with 45,000 and up. Its main sign is a loud chain rattle or abnormal vibration while at idle. Volkswagen has issued an upgraded part but no further guidance was issued. There are no recalls or warranty repairs as of right now. All owners are upgrading there vehicles with a gear driven assembly at a price tag for the repair of $3000.

I have not had failure yet, but there are several individuals who own the same exact car I own, a 2005 vw Passat tdi. . Read more...

I have not had failure yet, but there are several individuals who own the same exact car I own, a 2005 vw Passat tdi. . Read more...

This reference a very specific vehicle, I. E. Namely the 2005-2005 vw Passat tdi (diesel) car, both sedan and station wagon version, with the vw bhw engine. What started out as an occasional need to replace the chain that drive the oil pump, became a certainty that the chain would break. If the chain breaks, you loose oil pressure immediate, and the engine is going to seize (not to mention the chain itself flopping around in the crank area which could lodge in the drive system and do the same). In any situation where you are accelerating, that is going to be catastrophic , and certainly any higher speed on a freeway/highway being the same) vw has recognized the issue and has now issued a TSB on the problem, but has not instituted a recall. The change is to remove the chain drive system and convert the engine to a gear driven oil pump. This is extremely expensive. What this does to the counter balancer shaft is unknown (I. E. What caused what to fail has not had any indication from vw). Ww should immediately be mandated to recall all these vehicles with the tdi bhw engine and or issue a recall notice that the vehicle should be brought in before the 100k timing belt change interval listed in the manual and have that TSB changed to a recall and safety repair. Any owner hearing the signatory noise of the failure developing should have that repaired immediately, but it should be replaced not latter than the 100k point. This is based on a survey of a few at 40 to 60k, most have it developing by 100k (if not failed or close to failure at that point. All other vw diesel engine use a gear driven oil pump system.

The vehicle was in for repairs at 42k miles, while under the warranty in 2004. There was an oil leak and the car was running rough. They stated they replaced a flange that was cracked, the oil pump/balance shaft sprocket, chain tensioner. When I got the car back it wasn't running right, very, very rough and loud (it's a diesel but used to be quiet). It turns out they did not balance the balance shaft with the engine, they ordered the part/tool to do this. Nearly 1k miles later, after they told me it was safe to drive, they called me to come in and have it balanced, which I did. At 65k miles, roughly 9-10 months after this initial repair, the chain snapped for the oil pump. The sprocket on the oil pump that they replaced along with the chain tensioner were destroyed. The sprocket had old and new wear, the chain tensioner ended up in pieces, and the chain should have been replaced the initial time but was not. The chain snapped. The original flange that was leaking was also leaking again. This catastrophe led to the crankshaft needing to be replaced as well as the turbo which was immediately starved for oil and burned up too. The engine was rebuilt (bottom end), turbo replaced, new crank, and currently it still cannot be driven due to electrical or mechanical problems associated with the repair and failure. Vw of America stated the parts they replaced did not fail, and if they did they only have a 12mo/12k mile warranty on them. The warranty for the car was up at 50k miles. There are numerous complaints on the forums and message boards in regards to the balance shaft and components (chain, tensioner, shaft, hex shaft, sprocket) being faulty or failing. Many are having problems shortly after the warranty is up.

Ltr from senator murkowski on behalf of constituent who has concerns re the safety of the 2005 vw Passat tdi station wagon. The consumer stated there is a design issue with the engine. The consumer stated vw used an unusual combination of a chain driven oil pump (normally gear drive) and associated with that a counter balancer to reduce vibration in the diesel engine. The oil chain is prone to failure, and the balancer shaft is not a tight enough fit. The consumer stated the repair is costly and there is no real fix for the issue.