2005 Passat tdi Goods & Bads

Looking at a 2005 Passat tdi. 140000 miles with auto. Very clean. Looks like it was really taken care of. Are these any good? What can you tell me about these? Thanks

its all here, keep reading and use the search.

Personally, I think they're the best TDI imported to date. Of course they have some quirks with the balance shaft, cam wear, crappy Tiptronic but all those problems are addressed on this forum and are readily fixable to give you a diesel car second to none.

I love the B5s, especially the diesel versions. But you have to ask yourself why are you interested in the car in the first place? They are very frugal compared to the gas versions (I know, I have those as well), but not nearly as frugal as the smaller Golfs and Jettas (I know, I have those as well ).

They are also bigger, heavier, faster, more expensive, and nicer. They will cost more to operate. They have their own things that need attention that the smaller A cars do not, and vice versa.

If they are properly cared for, they are excellent cars. I service a lot of them, have since they were new. They hold up really well. If they get neglected, abused, etc. then they can turn into a pile of junk really quickly.

/\ Ditto! Ditto! Ditto! /\

I have owned B5's in some form or other since 1999 because of their ride, handling, size and above average MPG. When the TDI came out it made a great car even better. I own and drive them because I enjoy driving them.

No offense to the VW A4 and A5 guys, but the B5/B5.5 are much better in all areas except MPG.

That being said, I affirm what OH said that if not maintained, at least to some degree, they will punish you. IMHO that pretty much applies to all late model German cars. The only German car you could get away with really abusing was the air cooled Beetle, LOL.

Just stating this so you will understand what to expect.

A long story short, be prepared to spend almost as much as the price you might pay for the car that you are looking at.
-Transmission ($2-5k)
-BSM/Timing belt ($3k)
-Cam ($1k+)
-Turbo ($1k+)
This does not include potential abnormal tire wear, suspension/steering work, etc., which are not cheap.
Hopefully, you won't have these issues not too far from home.

Are the transmissions,turbos, and cams weak or something? Ive been reading some of this stuff. Lots of reading on here.

The turbos are not, the only time I ever see those needing replacement is if the balance shaft drive chain is allowed to break and the engine loses oil pressure. Otherwise, the stock Garrett turbo holds up well. Far better than the BW units a lot of the newer TDIs got cursed with, that is for sure.

ZF, the company that makes the transmission, says the ATF should be changed at 100k km (about 60k mile) intervals. But since VAG says "lifetime" they rarely do get serviced. I do not think they are a bad transmission if serviced regularly, but as with all conventional automatics, eventually, they will wear out. This particular unit has an issue with the torque converter, there is a TSB about it. Often people replace or try and rebuild the whole thing when all they needed was a converter. I've done lots of those. It is not that big of a deal.

Camshafts on all 8v PD engines are a weak point, as they have no tolerance for anything other than the proper oil, and even then eventually they will wear out. It is not something I would lose any sleep over myself, but if you have no service history it may be something to keep on your mind.

I service some of these diesel B5s that have gone past 300k miles, with the original everything aside from the conversion of the balance shaft module from chain to gear drive. That is really the big one, since they ALL eventually will need that addressed. It is about a $3k job here. Some people take the less expensive way out, and delete the balance shafts altogether. That is an option too, just know that it WILL vibrate more in gear that way. I find it a bit annoying myself, but it is much cheaper. Of course, if cheap is what you are after, you shouldn't be considering a Passat, or any Volkswagen, or any German car for that matter.

i owned few TDi's and still DO including the B5.5 wagon which we sold . Very nice car, COSTLY 2.0L than others, Heavier which makes it High way cruiser for sure but can get finicky fast , Had BSM delete and vibrated little more than the ones with geared BSM but who know's. .

Things to watch for and be aware of :

CAM and Lifers well it's a PD so no running away from that
Tranny issue could get really expensive unless u handy man who like 2 turn a wrench
BSM
Axles go out for some reason , Do not be cheep and go Chinese
Rear breaks like special attention
Suspension is da best
VCDS is your best friend
Motor mount tend to wear quicker / leak than other models
Interior is like all VW's , peels , fade , door panels like to bubble but the head liner stay solid in these B5's .
Watch for sun roof drains ...
I might be missing something here and there but all the major tuff stuff is listed


ASK FOR ALL THE MAINT Record including oil record and oil change intervals , Get a Pre Purchase inspection from a well known TDI tech in your area with full scan print out ( Best money you can spend )

excellent, excellent car I 've owned 2, I don't believe you will be disappointed with this b5 TDI as long as you have the financial where with all to handle the design and age related problems which could easily put you all in at $10K or more unless you can accomplish some of the repairs. My spare is a 15 SE TDI Passat, life is too short to live without all those new electronic gadget's

Great Cars ! We own 2 (05) Passat TDI Wagons.
Well built, well constructed and fun to drive.

Essentially 3 major mechanical concerns besides the TDI maintenance that will be required on these cars

1. Balancer shaft upgrade / concerns

2. Transmission issues / concerns

3. Camshaft concerns

Once these three concerns have been properly addressed and as long as you stay current with your maintenance; you will have a pretty solid car.

Thanks for the good info in this thread. I've been salivating over the B5.5 wagons for a while (i.e. The one below). I'll just have to decide if I want to go this direction.

2005 wagon with 117k.
http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/5438874869.html

bubbagumpshrimp said:

Thanks for the good info in this thread. I've been salivating over the B5.5 wagons for a while (i.e. The one below). I'll just have to decide if I want to go this direction.

2005 wagon with 117k.
http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/5438874869.html

Click to expand...

The ad says "maintained by Volkswagen dealers." For this car, that's a red flag. Many VW dealers did not use the proper oil (505.01) to service the vehicle and even if they did, many later used 5w30 instead of 5w40. Ask for the oil change receipts to verify the oil. I doubt the balance shaft module or the camshaft have been touched at all because most dealers don't have a clue.

On the plus side, it is low mileage and looks good. But the price is high considering what you need to do to it to get it bulletproof.

I couldn't agree more with oilhammer. The transmissions themselves are not bad. I have 2 B5 TDIs (wife's and mine) and the one with the auto has 250K on the original trans which shifts perfectly. The TQ was replaced though and the transmission was serviced regularly (60k fluid change intervals).
This particular car has the geared BSM update and the cam, control arms, and tandem pump were replaced among other more minor repairs and maintenance. This seems to be pretty consistent with the experience of others with this model. I drive this car from GA to IL several times a year without hesitation. Great car and fun to drive!!
I also have an 05 that I bought knowing that the BSM failed. That car ended up needing a complete engine rebuild and the transmission failed within days of the new motor being installed. I decided at that point to do the 5 speed manual conversion and have all maintenance taken care of while it was in the shop including, but not limited to Bilsteins and brakes all around and new control arms. The single mass flywheel makes up for the BSM delete with no vibration at idle. The car is absolutely incredible to drive with the Stage II tune and 5 speed. $17k total cost including the cost of the car and I have a practically new B5 TDI. Some may say I spent way too $$ on an 05 vehicle. But some might consider it money well spent if you appreciate this somewhat unique vehicle and enjoy driving it as much as some of us do.

Ditto Ditto.

Yes, absolutely it costs some heavy money to make them mechanically perfect, but when you get done you have a really solid car. As long as the car is rust free; it will last and drive for a very long time.

If you are an owner that cannot do your own basic maintenance and basic service work and if you do not own tools; you probably should not buy this type of car. This is a car that does need regular attention and basic service. It is not a car that will handle neglect.

You absolutely DO NOT fix one up to near perfection and then get a wild hair and decide to sell it or trade it , because you will lose hefty money.

One club member bought one and had it professionally fixed up and then a year later his family needed a minivan or a larger vehicle to haul kids and he was shocked at the resale value.

The car listed in Richmond on Craigslist looks like a pretty sharp car.
It is a wagon, Shadow Blue Color and it should not be too hard to track
down the service records at the dealership. It also appears to be a low mile car. I am guessing it needs the balancer shaft update and some serious service / maintenance work. VW dealers are not the experts when it comes to the service needs of a TDI. They have absolutely no clue how to properly service them and they often use the wrong fluids.

You are much better off taking your car to a TDI Guru who is a member on this forum.

If you can buy the car affordably; make sure you budget for all the parts and updates it will need. Do your homework !

A good source for parts would be Bora, Kerma, Idparts.com, Worldimpex, Dieselgeek --- etc..

If I were to make an offer on the Shadow Blue car in Richmond; it would be $3500-4000.
Why ? Because I know it will most likely need another $8000-9000 spent to make it "rock solid".

What deming ^^^ said. I was in the same boat for the past few months. Some people on this forum a lot smarter than I suggested not to overpay for a clean, low miles B5 TDI. The reason is that most of them have not had the major repairs done (BSM, auto trans, cam) and the amount of $$$ you will eventually be spending on top of the sale price will be significant.

These smart forum members suggested to look for one with a bad auto trans and buy it for next to nothing. Then use the money you save to do the BSM delete and 5-speed conversion. It will take some time so be patient. autotempest.com does the searching for you if you check it religiously every day. Search the forums. There are several guys who do the 5-speed conversion and one of them is here in Virginia.

deming said:

Ditto Ditto.
Yes, absolutely it costs some heavy money to make them mechanically perfect, but when you get done you have a really solid car. As long as the car is rust free; it will last and drive for a very long time.
If you are an owner that cannot do your own basic maintenance and basic service work and if you do not own tools; you probably should not buy this type of car. This is a car that does need regular attention and basic service. It is not a car that will handle neglect.
You absolutely DO NOT fix one up to near perfection and then get a wild hair and decide to sell it or trade it , because you will lose hefty money.
One club member bought one and had it professionally fixed up and then a year later his family needed a minivan or a larger vehicle to haul kids and he was shocked at the resale value.
The car listed in Richmond on Craigslist looks like a pretty sharp car.
It is a wagon, Shadow Blue Color and it should not be too hard to track
down the service records at the dealership. It also appears to be a low mile car. I am guessing it needs the balancer shaft update and some serious service / maintenance work. VW dealers are not the experts when it comes to the service needs of a TDI. They have absolutely no clue how to properly service them and they often use the wrong fluids.
You are much better off taking your car to a TDI Guru who is a member on this forum.
If you can buy the car affordably; make sure you budget for all the parts and updates it will need. Do your homework !
A good source for parts would be Bora, Kerma, Idparts.com, Worldimpex, Dieselgeek --- etc..
If I were to make an offer on the Shadow Blue car in Richmond; it would be $3500-4000.
Why ? Because I know it will most likely need another $8000-9000 spent to make it "rock solid".

Click to expand...

I agree. My first thought was "that is a nice looking car." The second was "I bet there is a LOT of deferred maintenance there."

Most cars that are for sale in the 110-130k mile range are being sold because the owner would rather put a few grand from the vehicle sale down on a new vehicle, than put thousands into it at a dealership.

I need to decide whether I want to mess with a project vehicle. I've got plenty of tools, but I don't have VAGCOM. I'd need to invest in that if I got a car like this.

Not much more I can add here. The basic mechanical common areas have already been covered and articulated very well.

I like them despite their flaws and less than stellar fuel economy because they are simply very nice cars to drive every day. Very comfortable, well-featured, my long torso fits in the driver's seat better and more comfortably than the Mk4 platform Golf/Jetta. The steering is super smooth. Where the Golf/Jetta feel a little more, shall we say, active? The Passat is just solid feeling. Virtually no torque steer and it doesn't follow little dips and other imperfections in the road as much as the Golf/Jetta do (not that they're bad, they just seem to react to pavement imperfections more noticeably than the big Passat does).

The car is wider as well. There is more space between occupants, which is nice when you're not exactly a small framed person. The extendable Homelink visors are a really nice feature on the GLS models. Covers the side windows much better. I like the steering wheel buttons as well on those higher end models. The interior is much more free of squeaks and rattles than even the following generation of Passats (the B6).

The other nice thing is they are exceptionally quiet highway cars. Sometimes driving even the new, quiet commonrail TDIs, on the highway the old B5.5 has them beat. Seems to quell road noises much better in particular. Very low wind noise as well.

All in all, just a nice cabin to be in and daily drive.