Oil Pump problems of the 2005 Volkswagen Passat

Engine oil pump drive failure (tdi engine), causing loss of engine operation including loss of power steering and loss of power brakes.

Was driving home and the check engine light, stop driving light, low oil pressure light and a buzzer went off. Had the vehicle towed to a mechanic and have found that there is no oil pressure. The vehicle with this many miles should never have a problem with no oil pressure. The mechanic tells us that it might be "sludge" or the oil pump is shot. Either of which should never happen on any vehicle especially since it has only 89000 miles. This problem is typical with this motor and was recalled up to the model years 2004. The 1. 8 l turbo motor is and always has been a terrible motor for this and just because they have not received a lot of complaints on this particular year does not mean that there is no problem. One only has to search on line to see that their is and has been an ongoing problem. Vw of America has acknowledged the recall and their culpability up to 2004, in an email to me, but because of our newer VIN has denied coverage.

The contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen Passat. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact heard a clattering sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for routine maintenance where the mechanic advised that the chain drive assembly for the oil pump would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 96,500.

2. 0l vw Passat tdi had a rattling, vibrating chain noise from the oil pump balance shaft module in the oil pan. The oil pump chains/sprockets/tensioners were worn and caused noticeable vibration and rattling noise for thousands of miles; however, it was difficult to diagnose. We had the entire oil pump assembly replaced by a vw dealership at approximately 120,000 miles with oem gear driven pump which includes the balance shafts and oil pump. It was a $3700 repair to exchange the original oil pump with the gear driven pump. Not a cheap service. The sound before and after the module change was much improved because the gears are quieter. The replacement gear driven oil pump/balance shaft assembly uses a similar balance shaft but with a different oil pump and gear drive. The gear drive smoothes out stress on the oil pump hex shaft so runs much better. In summary, I am not happy with having to do such an expensive repair due to a poor design at the low mileage of 120,000 for a diesel that should last to at least 400,000 miles. This is a recurring expensive problem that should be reimbursed by vw.

Tl- the contact owns a 2005 Volkswagen Passat tdi. The contact stated that at engine startup, a noise was heard from under the hood. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic stated to the contact that the oil pump chain was loose. The manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 108,500 and the current mileage was 109,000. Kmj.

The tdi (diesel) engine in the '04 & '05 north american Volkswagen Passats was equipped with a chain driven oil pump/balance shaft module. The chain tensioner fails causing the chain to separate which stops the oil pump and destroys the engine. If a person is lucky, like I was, and hears the chain noise before it fails, the engine can be saved. The fix involves installing a new gear driven balance shaft module which contains a new oil pump. The repairs costs ~ $2,500 parts and labor. Volkswagen has ignored this fault in the us (and canada), denying the problem exists, even though hundreds of cases of failure have been documented. In fact, the new design modules are currently on back order at the vw parts factory. The oil pump chain drive problem is without a doubt a defect. The fact that vw re-engineered and replaced the original oil pump drive assembly is an admission that the design was defective. Reference vw's technical product information no. 2016429/2 dated 29-Jan-2008. I see this as a huge safety concern. I can only imagine what would happen if one of these chains failed, on the highway during freeway rush hour traffic, causing the engine to destroy itself and spill oil and other fluids onto the road surface. Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information.

Oil sludge, oil pump failure, engine failure, now my 2005 vw Passat needs a new engine , this is a vw manufacturing defect in the 4 cylinder 1. 8 turbo engine because the turbocharger gets to hot and cause the expensive synthetic oil breakdown and it sits in the bottom of the oil pan until it gets sucked up by the oil pump and this causes your engine to fail.

Excessive and increased rattling noise noticed on my 2005 Passat tdi. Evaluation revealed that the chain and tensioner driving the balance shafts and oil pump was failing and needed replacement. Service technician states that this is a common problem and vw has issued a gear drive to replace the chain, however there is no recall or TSB therefore the cost of the repair is the owner's responsibility. Over $2000 to repair.

I own a 2005 Passat tdi GLS. My car had developed a very serious noise caused by the oil pump chain unit that was originally on this vehicle. I did talk to vw and my dealer service department about the thrashing chain noise. I got polite denials and blank stares when I told them of this issue. Members of the www. Tdiclub. Com discovered a vw engineered fix for the vehicles involved. Members who have driven their cars beyond the 80k or so seem more likely to have the chain snap during operation which renders the car inoperative and dangerous during the breakage. The fix is not exactly an inexpensive repair as the parts alone are around $1500 and the installation requires extensive disassembly of the vehicle. The repair involves replacing the chain driven oil pump balance shaft assembly with a gear driven assembly. The below link has videos/sound clips of my car before the noise, after the noise and after the fix. . Read more...

I have a 2005 Passat tdi that had its balance shaft module and chain that drive the oil pump fail at 92,000 miles. It happened while I was driving on a two lane road and I had to stop the car on the side of the road. The mechanic that is doing the job is charging me $1500 for the repair and the parts are about $1300. I have started to research this failure and have found out that it is quite common and vw has not done a recall to repair the problem the NHTSA should look into this and force vw to recall these cars for they are a safety hazard on the road.

Balance shaft module, which drives the oil pump, has a chain drive. This drive was getting very noisy. If the chain were to fail the engine would loose all oil pressure. I had a shop replace the balance shaft assembly, which includes the oil pump, with the new and improved geared balance shaft module. (old part is no longer available).

There is a problem with the bhw engine in my 2005 Passat tdi the balance shafts in this engine are driven by a chain off the motor, which also drives the oil pump. This unfortunate design subjects the chain to stresses it cannot withstand. On various tdi forums, especially tdiclub. Com, there are a significant number of chain failures being reported. Of course, when the chain driving the oil pump fails, the engine is starved of essential lubrication. If the failure of the chain causes engine to stop running in the middle of traffic, merging onto a highway, or passing on the highway, this condition could easily cause danger to all citizens nearby, possibly leading to death. Recently, Volkswagen 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. The repair is quite expensive. When the chain fails, the parts to repair cost approximately $1800 plus approximately another $1500 in labor bills to have the parts installed. If the engine is destroyed, it will cost the owner approximately $8000 to replace the engine. This is unacceptable. I believe it is now obvious that all the bhw engines will fail unless the gear driven oil pump modification is undertaken. It is unfair to expect owners of these vehicles to pay for the repairs. The problem originated with a flawed design. This is not a small problem, as this design flaw will lead to total engine failure. My vehicle is currently experiencing severe noise oscillations that is attributed to imminent failure of the aforementioned chain assembly. Thus, I must pay to repair this design flaw before it can cause an accident. So far, Volkswagen of America has not provided adequate support for resolving this design problem.

My vw Passat wagon GLS tdi (diesel) engine has been making a loud noise and vibration at stop over the last year and worsened until I had it repaired. I took it to an independent auto shop and was told the chain driven oil pump and tensioners were making the noise. The brilliant mechanic replaced the parts with a gear driven oil pump and the vibrations and noise stopped. I think this is a design flaw and should be recalled by vw. The mechanic said that the oil pump chain tensioners were close to breaking.

Excessive noise from oil pump, chain unit, and chain (and possibly balance shaft) due to original equipment design. I believe a failure is imminent and within 100 miles. Failure of the 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. My vehicle is still under warranty, however, it is unclear that the extensive parts and labor to repair will be corrected by vw dealer due to the limited number of vehicles such as this in north America.

Imminent failure of major engine component due to poor vw design. This involves the oil pump drive chain mechanism that should be replaced with vws new gear drive via a recall. Broken chain drives are piling up yet vw refuses to acknowledge the potential harm and damage that could occur. . Read more...

I am an owner of a 2005 Passat tdi GLS wagon with 58,000 miles on it. I am writing to seek help in getting Volkswagen of America to recognize there is an inherent problem with the engines balance shaft assembly. I am a tdiclub. Com forum member, which has participants that are career mechanics who work on tdis specifically. Through their experience they noted this problem will sooner or later affect the some 20,000 2004-2005 Passat tdis with the bhw engine code. The balance shafts in this engine are driven by a hex shaft off the chain driven oil pump. This unfortunate design subjects the chain to stresses it cannot withstand. On various Volkswagen (vw) forums, especially tdiclub. Com, there are a significant number of chain failures being reported. Of course, when the chain driving the oil pump fails, the engine is starved of essential lubrication. Recently, Volkswagen 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. Here in the states, you can no longer order the original chain pieces as a replacement. The repair is quite expensive. Parts will cost in excess of $1,400 and labor will be in excess of $1,500. I believe it is now obvious that all the bhw engines will fail unless the gear driven oil pump/balance shaft modification is undertaken. Our own Passat has been getting a bit louder this past year which is the first sign of this imminent failure. It is unfair to expect owners of these vehicles to pay for the repairs. The problem originated with a flawed design which will lead to total engine failure. This could lead to a serious accident if the failure happens while the car is on the road. The NHTSA cannot let this happen to american owners. Volkswagen of America has to recognize and inform the Passat tdi owners of this problem, and help to rectify the situation to the satisfaction of their loyal owners.

Design flaw of 2004-2005 Passat tdi vehicles sold in USA and canada involving the balance shaft module and its chain driven oil pump design. The chain has been reported to fail with no warning. Vw has issued new design to replace the old but has not commenced and recall as of yet.

The balance shafts in this engine are driven by a hex shaft off the chain driven oil pump. This unfortunate design subjects the chain to stresses it cannot withstand. My own Passat had the oil pump and balance shaft replaced 2/16/09 with less than 65,000 miles. Thankfully, a good mechanic detected the problem before I had a catastrophic engine failure. A $3,500 repair is never welcome, but it was better than replacing the engine like the vw dealer recommended. I did a lot of research on this problem and inquired at several vw dealerships and chose the most experienced man to do the job. Recently, Volkswagen 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. The repair is quite expensive. Parts will cost in excess of $1,400 and labor will be in excess of $1,200 at most shops. I believe it is now obvious that all the bhw engines will fail unless the gear driven oil pump modification is undertaken. It is unfair to expect owners of these vehicles to pay for the repairs. The problem originated with a flawed design. This is not a small problem, as this design flaw will lead to total engine failure. My wife normally drives the car and she should not be put through this. If the failure of the chain causes engine to stop running in the middle of traffic, merging onto a highway, or passing on the highway, this condition could easily cause danger to all citizens nearby, possibly leading to death. 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 recognize a problem of this severity and should be communicated to the owners as soon as possible. These engine failures could leave motorists stranded under dire circumstances and their safety is at risk.

Eventual failure of chain driven oil pump and balance shafts, resulting in a sudden loss of power and destruction of the engine, leading to a potential life/safety situation in this 2005 Passat tdi. This method of driving the oil pump and balance shafts is a Volkswagen acknowledged engineering flaw as noted in technical product information bulletin 2016429/2. Not wishing to replace an engine that as a result of said failure, might potentially place myself and passengers in a life threatening situation, I have proactively changed out the chain-driven oil pump/balance shaft module for a gear driven assembly at a cost to myself of $3000. I believe vw needs to step up and issue a recall for this model.

2005 vw Passat tdi had a loud noise coming from the engine like marbles in a blender. The car also shook violently. It got progressively worse over time until it was unbearable. The noise and vibrations were constant - whenever the car was running. I finally took the car into the shop and it turns out the timing chain that drives the oil pump and balance module was bad. The shop had to replace the entire oil pump and balance module due to a redesign from vw. The new design is now gear driven. The old parts are available at the shop that did the replacement. It looks like vw did upgrade the parts back in the early part of 2008 but they have not notified their customer base nor have they issued any recall. If the chain were to break there would be oil starvation to the engine because the chain drives the oil pump. This could lead to catastrophic damage and also life threatening injuries if this were to happen while the vehicle was in motion. I'm very lucky that I repaired my car when I did. Total cost for the repair was around $2400. 00.

The balance shafts in this engine (2005 vw b5 Passat tdi) are driven by a chain off the motor which also drives the oil pump. This unfortunate design subjects the chain to stresses it cannot withstand. Ours let go at speed with my family of five on board. Fortunately no one was injured at the sudden deceleration in traffic. A fix has been mandated in the ecu but not in the us. There is no current official "fix" from vw America. The expectation is the engine will self destruct and the customer will be required to purchase an entire $5000-8000 motor with a replacement gear assembly. Volkswagen technical product information 016429.

I own a 2005 vw Passat GLS tdi sedan diesel and the oil pump balance shaft assembly including oil pump drive chain, tensioner, and sprocket are bad and making a horrendous noise. The vehicle has just over 60,000 miles but, is out of factory warranty. The vw dealer the vehicle was taken to has no idea of such a problem. My research has proven otherwise. It is said that if such a failure occurred at highway speeds, disaster could result. Apparently, there is a fix for this issue which entails the removal of the whole oil pump chain drive assembly and replacing it with a gear driven assembly. I feel this should be considered a factory defect and safety issue to where vw issues an immediate service bulletin followed by a mandatory recall campaign.