Oil Pump Problems of Volkswagen Passat - part 2

I have a 3. 6 engine and the oil pump bolt that holds timing chain and crank chain came loose and cause major engine problems. Dealer says I need to replace the engine and it's going to cost me over $7000. 00 dollars for a used engine or $16000. 00 for a new engine and vw of America won't take any responsability.

See all problems of the 2006 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Vehicle started making a knocking/rattling noise that made the engine sound like it was a diesel. The engine in this car is a 3. 6 v6 gasoline engine. I brought it into my mechanic as soon as possible and he advised against driving it any more as it sounded like the timing chain was loose. After attempting to get at the noise from under the hood he found out he had to get under the cover on the back of the engine to get to the lower chain. This would require removal of the transmission in the front since the car is a 4motion awd. At that point I had to put $2000 down because of the labor to take everything apart. I've searched online and found many other people have had this same issue, due to an oil pump bolt that fails. . Read more...

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.

See all problems of the 2005 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Engine light came on while driving (2006 Passat 3. 6 4motion) followed by epc light (indicating e-gas "limp mode"). Vehicle wouldn't drive any faster than ~40 mph. Car required over $3300 in repairs (excluding rental), covered by a certified pre-owned warranty. Dealership technician informed me that the cause was the oil pump bolt backing out. This issue seems to be widespread and has been well documented with dozens of reported incidents on vwvortex. Com as well as Passatworld. Com.

The oil pump broke and destroyed the motor. I had to be towed to the dealership; they took a month to replace parts and repair the motor. There have been a significant number of such incidents; this has been admitted by vw to be a manufacturer part fault, but they fail to recall '06-'07 Passats and cover the costs. I just saw this site or I would have reported it sooner. I did not otherwise find any other support.

"oil pressure. Stop engine" light came on. After several miles driving and lot of noise from back off the engine. Need new oil pump passable rebuilt engine. It is sitting parked in my driveway.

See all problems of the 2001 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

I own a 2006 vw Passat 3. 6, engine died suddenly after pulling out across a 45mph state route, after engine failed, there was no steering or brakes, had to push car out of traffic with my 2 young sons inside. Young vw, easton PA. Stated the failure as a oil pump bolt that had backed out and sheared off, causing the catastrophic engine failure. . Read more...

Oil pump bolt failure. Bolt simply backed out causing major damage and could have caused the engine to seize. This is a common problem with this model and vw refuses to aknowledge or remedy the problem. After a costly repair in 2011, it appears to have the same problem now.

Was driving 50 mph on highway when engine stopped running all warning lights came on. Shifted car to neutral unable to restart the engine while coasting into a parking lot. I was first told it was a high pressure fuel pump. Then on further inspection I was notified it was a complete engine failure due to the oil pump assembly coming unbolted. Car is in the shop & vw has offered to replace engine with a rebuilt engine. Still being resolved at this time.

See all problems of the 2007 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

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.

Excessive noise from engine - chain driven oil pump. This noise has gotten progressively worse and will lead to catastrophic failure while driving. Oil will cease being fed to the engine and seizure will occur. At 70 mph this will likely lead to death of occupants and possibly others in vehicles behind mine. This has been reported to dealer as well.

See all problems of the 2004 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

Catastrophic engine failure caused by a faulty bolt. The oil pump bolt fails on 3. 6's and the engine self-destructs due to no oil pressure.

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.

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. The mechanic informed the consumer the module and chain drive had not failed, but they were showing signs of fatigue. Updated 04/15/09.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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!.

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 engine in my 1999 Volkswagen Passat 1. 8t appears to be dead. Oil pressure light comes on and won't go off. Volkswagen is aware that they provided bad information on oil chnage intervals for this cars, but still insists owners have docements for every oil change ever on the car. As the second owner of this car, this is impossible for me to prove. Also, I change my own oil, again making it impossible to prove the intervals to their satisfaction. Mechanic has told me that at minimum, they have to pull the engine to replace the oil pump, but that the engine is likely so full of sludge that the engine will need to be rebuilt or replaced, to the tune of about $8000. Volkswagen knows this is a defect that is their fault, look for a memo titled: August 2004 subject: warranty extension for 1998 - 2004 model year Volkswagen Passat sedan or wagon equipped with turbo engine note that after repair the oil spec has changed from the original and the interval between changes is shorter - an outright admission that they desgined the engine incorrectly if ever I've seen one.

See all problems of the 1999 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

9/2002 purchased 2003 Volkswagen Passat 1. 8 turbo. 2005- 48,000 engine failed due to sludge. Towed to commonwealth motors santa ana, CA after 2 mos installed new oil pump, we each paid half even though it is a known design flaw with oil pump. 2007 same thing happened( but I was away and car towed to local garage) mechanic stated that no warranty would cover problem. Estimated 95. Final $2,569 to replace oil pump and turbo picked up car in March 2008, in Dec 2008 engine failed again towed to mesa west who suggested dealer should be called. Dealer accepted responsibility on phone since they had done original repair, 4 months later car needs new engine is still at dealer. Oil pump cannot process properly. Vw aware of chronic problem but won't stand by product unless all receipts from oil changes are available. Car need $6000. 00 of work and dealer doing nothing to assist regardless of promises made.

See all problems of the 2003 Volkswagen Passat 🔎.

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.

Events leading up to failure: none - sudden failure. Was on interstate at highway speed. Power suddenly dropped and dashboard lights lit up. Speed dropped very quickly but was able to avoid incident and go the car to the side of the road. Failure: oil pump drive gear bolt broken. Car was at dealer for 15 days to replace oil pump, timing chain, sprockets, adjuster tensioners. Parts are not available. Car was at second dealer for additional 19 days to correct problems created by first dealer while fixing the engine. (received apology by phone from service manager of first dealer. ) issues: 1. Sudden loss of power at highway speeds could cause an accident. 2. Following instructions in manual, I drove car to nearest dealer ? a distance of 10 miles ? with reduced or zero oil circulation. Longevity of the engine may be significantly impacted. 3. Vw of America declined to inspect the engine in more detail or to replace engine. 4. This is a moderately common failure of this engine. I found 38 almost identical failures at: a. . Read more...