2015 Passat failed water pump out of warranty

A run down of my question would be, last September i had the phase 2 emissions completed at 45k miles and as soon as i got the car back it started loosing antifreeze, not bad at first, but progressively getting worse. I had just attributed it to being air that they didn't get purged out of the system from performing the phase 2. But over the last year and 35k miles i have added a total of a gallon of antifreeze. Fast forward to last week when i took the car in at 79k miles to get the headlight and airbag recall done at my local dealer, I had them check where i was loosing antifreeze and lone behold its leaking at the water pump. Altho i haven't noticed any spots on the driveway or garage from it however i do get a strong antifreeze smell when its first shut off. The dealer wrote me up a estimate for 1200 plus tax to do the water pump since it was out of warranty, to which i asked if that included the TB considering that if they are in that far its a no brainer to change that as well considering if its leaking that bad then i have no doubt that it has no doubt lessened the life of the TB. They told me no, and to add on doing the TB with the water pump the new estimate would be 1500 plus tax.
So i called VWoA and over the last week I have been dealing with them to see if i could get anywhere, Since the reason i didn't take the car right back before it ran out of warranty at 50k miles was thinking the dealer just didn't get all the air out of the system. Just found out today that they will not be able to help at all, even with any goodwill money.
So my question would be is does anyone know if (a) do these cars have a problem with the factory water pumps going tits up with relatively low miles, and (b) do the higher under hood temps from regeneration's cause cooling components to fail way before the expected life expectancy?
As for doing the water pump and TB i guess i will try my hand at doing them myself, I ordered the full TB kit with water pump and tools today to do it. Has anyone tackled this on their own yet? How bad was it? how long of job is it? Does anyone have a copy of a service manual?
Thanks, Paul

There are 3 other threads about weak water pumps and failing early on the 2015.

Also many cases of dealer and VWoA picking up the tab for the warranty work as well.

I'd continue to fight it

740GLe, I had seen the others, however they were within the warranty period and i had brought that to VWoA's attn and it makes no difference to them

Even the extended emissions warranty?

Yes, the factory water pumps are a defective design. This should absolutely be covered by the cheating diesel warranty they were forced to implement. Don't let them try to slime their way out of legally mandated warranty coverage.

It's not covered under the emissions warranty. Altho my opinion is it should be considering the regin process is what creates such higher then normal tempetures. So any item connecting with dealing with that excess heat should be covered. Be it unfortunately it isnt

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It is covered. The entire assembled long block is covered. Read the warranty info. All disputes are to be resolved in favor of the owner. If you make yourself a doormat, VW will absolutely walk all over you.

Look at the other threads concerning overheating. The EGR coolers are cooking the coolant in these cars and making solid particles run through the system. I wish I could post a picture on here of the eroded plastic heater hose fitting from my 14 Passat that wore out from the inside due to these particles. They also plug up the heater cores. Solids can’t be good for the water pump seals either. You have an emissions related failure and VW should fix it.

15 and 12-14 have way different EGR designs.

12-14 Manuals couldn't get re-certified prob due to a weak design of cooling and some short cuts that were 6spd manual only.

Not saying a 15 won't have baked coolant syndrome but I'm hanging my hat on a newer design is better.

740GLE said:

12-14 Manuals couldn't get re-certified prob due to a weak design of cooling and some short cuts that were 6spd manual only.

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This is speculation, the engines in manual and auto 12-14s are the same, as far as I know. Fix probably didn't meet criteria because a manual is more difficult to make emissions compliant. You can control transmission operation with programming.

yeah sorry, I should have clarified it was pure speculation.

It prob falls in line with those Gen2 owners who were told not to drive in excess of 80 mph for extended time otherwise the emissions system freaked out.

I am reopening the case with VWoA and see if i can get anywhere farther with them. Ive read thru the extended warranty and altho it is vague on its wording of what is covered i will still see where this can get me. ill keep you all posted.

That vagueness should work in your favor. Nowhere does it state the assembled long block, excluding the water pump.

turbobrick240 said:

That vagueness should work in your favor. Nowhere does it state the assembled long block, excluding the water pump.

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so the same could be said for a failed alternator, or serp belt? just playing devils advocate.

Maybe VW will deem water pumps on these things consumable lol

740GLE said:

so the same could be said for a failed alternator, or serp belt? just playing devils advocate.
Maybe VW will deem water pumps on these things consumable lol

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This article should clear up what a long block consists of for those who may be unsure:

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/long-block-vs-short-block-engines-what-s-the-difference

Sometimes the water pump is considered an accessory when it's driven off of the accessory belt. But it's almost always part of the long block when driven by the timing belt.

Long blocks I've purchased did not include timing belt systems or water pumps.

Unless "long block" is clearly defined in the settlement as excluding the water pump, then this clearly falls under the "disputes to be settled in favor of the owner" language.

Edit: The assembled valvetrain is also listed as covered by the warranty. The water pump/timing belt is part of the valvetrain on these cars. Anything that throws a code not transmission related is also covered.

So what codes were thrown for a leaking water pump?

Again I'm desperately wanting our water pump to go out under the 60K power train warranty and not hang my hat on the emissions warranty.

Unfortunately there are zero codes from that. However I'm still waiting to try anything I can to get VWoA to cover it.

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It seems incredibly shortsighted of VW to fight the settlement around water pumps. That just encourages scenarios where they are on the hook to replace the entire longblock. But, from what I recall, VWoA has generally been honoring the warranty concerning water pumps after they get a little pushback from the affected owners.

740GLE said:

So what codes were thrown for a leaking water pump?

Again I'm desperately wanting our water pump to go out under the 60K power train warranty and not hang my hat on the emissions warranty.

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Rest assured, if all of the coolant leaks out, codes WILL be thrown.

then the warranty will pay for it right!


I agree it short sighted but I think in VW's eyes they risk of fighting each water pump out weights opening the massive flood gates of warranty work, especially now that dieselgate hasn't been in the news for a couple years now.

I heard back from the "region case manager" from VWoA today. they say that they are sorry, and altho they can understand my disappointment on the result that they still consider the water pump to only be included on the 60k mile warranty and will not be covering the cost. I wrote then them back today giving the argument that it should be covered under the "long block" section of the extended warranty. Ill update when i get that answer.

Good work. BS like this is why I'm glad I sold mine back and made VW pay for their poor customer service and lawbreaking ways.

here is the latest response from VWoA:


[FONT=&quot]Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to look into your request. We appreciate that you took the time to reach out to us and we’re sorry that you have been faced with a repair cost outside of warranty.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I truly appreciate the amount of time you have put into researching the coverage for the repairs needed for your Passat. After thorough research the repairs will not be covered as they are not covered under the Extended Emissions Warranty.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I understand this decision may be disappointing. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to give me a call. I can be reached at 800-822-8987; when prompted, press “9” and dial 43802. You can also reply to this email.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
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[FONT=&quot]So there you have it. Extended warranty is not covering, not sure what they actually would cover at this point.
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My hopes is if it threw a rod or ate a valve I hope they don't use that same cut and paste letter.

Also a ton of emissions stuff can throw codes at the drop of hat.

I'm sorry for the bad news but sounded like you were expecting this news by ordering a TB kit already.

Long block from VW should include wp, otherwise tb could not be installed.

thundershorts said:

Long block from VW should include wp, otherwise tb could not be installed.

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Doubt it. Long block I bought from VW didn't have any of the timing belt assembly, including no water pump.

thundershorts said:

Long block from VW should include wp, otherwise tb could not be installed.

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"should" and "does" are two different things

Same could be said for HPFP but yeah that's not on any long block delivered from VW.

No, a long block shouldn't include either. No more than it should include a turbo or timing belt. It's a long block, not an assembled engine.