Problems with 2004 Volkswagen Passat ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Vw passat 2004 purchased new from dealer in jan. of 2005. we did our own oil changes following the manual recommended schedule and oil specifications (every 5,000 miles 5w-30 or 5w-40 regular or synthetic oil). we never received a letter from vw nor the dealership about the extended warranty for the known oil sludge problem nor any new requirements for oil changes. most of the oil changes were done at home and recorded in the manual; two were done outside and have receipts. oil pressure light went on at about 45,000 miles, car was towed to dealership. they recommended a new motor. dealership contends that warranty will not cover it because they require synthetic oil only and for oil to be changed at the dealership. vw warranty denied warranty service. car is still at the dealership. *nm

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. *tr

I have a vw passat with less than 30,000 miles on it that has sludge in the motor and have been faithful with my oil changes but i am missing one receipt. vw of america refuses to cover the work under warranty stating lack of maintenance on my behalf for the problem. they are taking no responsibility for the defective engines they are putting in these cars but blaming it on the consumers. i am sorry i ever bought this car and i am now left with no transportation for my kids to get to school and for me to get to work and i have no money to fix the car because i am a single mother living paycheck to paycheck. it is very frustrating that i have to be driving down the freeway with my 3 daughters in the car and have my engine freeze up and almost crash into several cars trying to get over to the side of the road. i then take it to the closest dealer to be treated like dirt and told i did not do enough to take care of my car. they then shuttle me off to some advocate for vw and he treats me even worse and tells me sorry the answer is no have a nice day.. i have never been treated so poorly in my life and i am appalled that i ever bought this car and will tell everyone i know about this issue and warn everyone i know to get rid of their vws. *nm

My 2004 vw passat has 23,700 miles on it when the stop engine light went on. i had it towed to east coast vw where i had leased it. they told me i have the well known 'engine sludge' problem and it will cost between $2700 and $5000 to repair it. i was told that i needed my oil change history documentation. i produced 5 invoices for the time i had the car (dec. 3, 2003). i was told my invoices were not good enough and vw will not honor my warranty. *jb

I own a 2004 volkswagen passat, which i lease from vw. i was backing out of my driveway at no more than three miles per hour into the street. as i cut the wheel to keep the vehicle on my side of the traffic lanes, i ran askew of the driveway and over the rising edge where the driveway rises to meet the curb - a mere 6". i have pictures. i heard a faint scraping noise and lamented the fact i scraped the bottom of the car, but given the miniscule height of the drop from mid-curb edge to the street, i didn't think anything of it and proceeded to my destination and then back home without incident. the next time i used my car i noticed a large puddle of oil and was shocked to find that the oil pan, which was strategically engineered to reside at the lowest and most susceptible place on the engine, had the tiniest crack and was leaking oil. i called vw to inquire about a new part where they informed me that the oil pan is aluminum and cost $158 for a new one, but that because it is bolted to the vehicles sub-frame it will cost me $650 in labor to repair the part. nearly $800 to fix an oil pan? this is clearly an attempt by vw to extort more money from its customers. who would design a vehicle in such a manner as this otherwise? to place an aluminum oil pan at the lowest point of the engine with no protection is criminal. luckily i noticed this leak, but others who may be less observant could easily rupture this oil pan as innocuously as i did and failing to notice the leak, continue to drive the car as it leaks oil - potentially burning up the motor and causing dangerous engine fires or worse, the engine seizing at high speeds. i contacted vw about this issue and that they wouldn't do anything to help me recoup the costs of this repair. this car has a major safety flaw that could make millions of motorists susceptible to serious harm and i hope that the nhtsa will further investigate this issue and help save any future loss of money or life. ...

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. *tr

I have sent information regarding to nhtsa about three weeks ago regarding my 2003 volkswagen passat and engine seizure which occurred september 25, 2004 on a major bridge in newport news va. my car is under warranty. volkswagen of america is aware that they have engine oil sludge problems (2004 volkswagen passat 1.8t engines. however, there position is that i neglected the car. i have had four -five oil changes. i took my car in to joe pecheles, greenville, north carolina, august 25 due to the engine oil pressure light being illuminated. i was told to bring the car back august 26, 2004. i did so. i was given my car back and told the oil had been changed. therefore, i thought my car was in good working condition. i have talked to the area service represeentatives and i was told volkswagen of america would not honor the warranty. i will be happy to forward you correspondences. however, i have sent you information as stated.*ak

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. *tr