2015 Passat Fuel Pump Noise (I think)

208TDI

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Aug 16, 2018
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2015 Passat TDI SE
Hi all!
My 2015 Passat has made a very noticeable high pitched noise from startup to shutdown, regardless of speed or temperature, since I bought it about a month and a half ago. I didn't think much of it, but recently rode in a friends TDI and his did not have any noise comparable to this, so now I'm curious if it's normal or an issue. I've attached 3 links to youtube videos of audio recordings.
Recording of engine startup with the mic in the cabin of the car, on the floor on the rear passenger side:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUESSErQUgQ
Recording of engine at idle with the mic outside the car, under the edge of the vehicle near the rear passenger side tire (where it's loudest):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpTpHNi1t0g
Recording of engine shutdown with mic in the cabin of the car, on the floor on the rear passenger side:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNiGRVkotZY
Like I said - it has done this since I bought it. Never changes pitch or volume regardless of speed, temp, amount of fuel in the tank. What do y'all think?
Thanks!
 

208TDI

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2015 Passat TDI SE
Related to DEF system? I get a whine from that spot on engine shut-down.
That is what I'm unsure of - fuel pump or DEF pump. As far as I know both are in that general area. Do both the DEF pump and fuel pump run steady-state from startup to just after shutdown?
 

thundershorts

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2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
The fuel pump sound I could not hear on your video. There are no codes for monitoring it except for complete failure, the code will be for low pressure. You could wait till it fails completely fails, which would be a warranty repair or replace it most likely at your expense as I did when it showed intermittent signs of failure in cold weather. My new pump has a different part number than the original, and is virtually silent. Your pump might run forever or it might not. Personally I wasn't willing to chance being stuck on the road somewhere. Others on the forum have reported ocasional abnormal cranking time starting as I did prior to replacing pump. Good luck getting VW to replace it under warranty unless it completely fails.
 

2snakes

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dubuque, iowa
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2015 Passat tdi 25k
My intank pump started whining when the tank was less than 1/4 tank full. It was especially loud in the morning. VW replaced it under warranty last month. Mine is a 2015 with 25,000 miles. I had no extended warranty other than the emission one we all have.
 

thundershorts

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2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
'snakes do you have the part# from the RO that replaced the original pump? The golf pump part# was a new part number with a sufix AN and was made in a different factory. I suspect VW knew the pumps had some problem otherwise why the change. VW wouldn't pay for my pump so you were lucky they did. I think more than a few have been replaced that we don't know about.
 

joshuafail

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2015 Passat SEL Premium
I have the exact same noise. Asked my service advisor about it when I went in for service last week, they said it was "completely normal"....
 

740GLE

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the in tank pump can be run with VCDS, easy way to pinpoint it.
 

thundershorts

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2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
When I changed my golf to the new pump in Mar 2018, there were less than 5 of the new pumps in the whole country.
 

208TDI

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Update:

Had my Passat in the shop getting the timing belt tensioner replaced this week. Picked it up this morning and asked the service manager who drove it this morning to verify my belt chirp was gone if he thought the pump was noisy. Said he didn't really pay attention. We went out and started it and he listened to it. Asked if it was constant or intermittent. I said constant. And he said "Yeah...that's not right. We'll get one ordered under the emissions warranty and it'll be here this week."

Much easier than I thought it'd be!
 

itsmejerry

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I hear a noticable high pitched whine like clockwork every time my Passats reach less than 1/4 tank. It's the rear pump, and I think it's because the fuel acts as some kind of lubrication and/or the fuel dampens the noise that the pump makes.

If the fuel is refilled, it goes away.



I have 2 2015 Passats and they both do this, not all the time, but only as they reach 1/4 tank. I just wrote it off as normal. One passat has 94,000 miles on it, and has been doing this since day 1.
 

joshuafail

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Update- took my car in today for an AdBlue leak. Mentioned the pump noise (again).
I guess the 3rd time is the charm; my SA came back and said they did a fuel pressure test and it showed lower than expected from the tank, so in addition to a new DEF line/injector, I'll also be getting a new tank pump. They think it's also the reason I'm getting some stuttering when pulling away from a standstill. All under warranty!

Here's to hoping the new pump knows how to stay quiet.....
 

208TDI

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2015 Passat TDI SE
Update- took my car in today for an AdBlue leak. Mentioned the pump noise (again).
I guess the 3rd time is the charm; my SA came back and said they did a fuel pressure test and it showed lower than expected from the tank, so in addition to a new DEF line/injector, I'll also be getting a new tank pump. They think it's also the reason I'm getting some stuttering when pulling away from a standstill. All under warranty!

Here's to hoping the new pump knows how to stay quiet.....
My issues with the timing belt tensioner were caused by the leaking DEF line. So I got that fix done as well. New DEF line/connector, new timing belt tensioner and rollers, and new low pressure fuel pump in a 2 week span.

The new fuel pump is a whisper compared to the old one. You can obviously hear it if you really listen, but before it was noticeable over the sound of the engine and now it's (basically) silent. Even at below 1/4 tank. I'm a happy camper!
 

93celicaconv

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Turned in my 2010 Jetta TDI Cup Edition to VW, DSG, Nav, Sunroof / Replaced with a 2015 Passat TDI SEL Premium
Nearly a year since this thread was last replied to, so I will now. I've been noticing this high-pitch whine/humming sound from the fuel tank as well over the last 6 months or so, mostly when the fuel tank is at or below 1/4-full, and it seems to be getting slightly louder as time passes. Yet this symptom isn't reported much in this forum (the water pump issue with a collar failure has multiple threads in this forum, but not this fuel tank lift pump issue regarding sound). Is it fair to assume this is not a "common" issue in that most with 2015 EA288 engines are not experiencing this symptom?

I will be taking mine in to the dealer for a 40k service within the next couple months, and I plan to have the fuel tank very low when I take it in to inquire about this high-pitch whine/hum noise from the fuel tank, and will see how they respond to it. Will advise what happens.
 

thundershorts

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Maybe someone will post the new part # of the new pump. My new pump is almost silent no matter what the fuel level is. Sounds like there has been a TSB generated on the subject otherwise the hardheads at VW wouldn't authorize replacement so readily.
 

93celicaconv

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Please advise what this TSB number is. I can't find a TSB that fits the symptoms stated in this thread.
 

740GLE

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knowing that there isn't the intermittent pump on the '15's (compared to the Gen1 or Gen2 cars) one has to think the tank pump is a new design that may have some faults.
 

93celicaconv

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Turned in my 2010 Jetta TDI Cup Edition to VW, DSG, Nav, Sunroof / Replaced with a 2015 Passat TDI SEL Premium
The newest part number for the in tank fuel pump is 561-919-050-B
Did you have this fuel pump replaced on your 2015 Passat TDI? If so, did it completely fail requiring replacement? Or was it replaced due to the noise it made? Or did the dealership do a pressure test on it and determined it was on the verge of failure?
 

Fixmy59bug

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I found this part number on VW Parts Vortex for the diesel in tank fuel pump: 3AA-919-050-L
I saw that as well on parts.vw.com

However, even ECSTuning doesnt know car that part fits. I'm thinking it's for either the euro market Passat (3AA is typically the prefix for the CC which is the same chassis as the B6 and euro B7).

I checked another resource that I have as a Non-Vw dealership and it says the correct part number is 561-919-050-B
 

Fixmy59bug

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Did you have this fuel pump replaced on your 2015 Passat TDI? If so, did it completely fail requiring replacement? Or was it replaced due to the noise it made? Or did the dealership do a pressure test on it and determined it was on the verge of failure?
I have never had my fuel pump replaced. I just looked up the part number.
 

thundershorts

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I'll post tomorrow what vw shows for my passat. Aftermarket suppliers aren't the best source for latest part numbers but often get stuck with older versions of item they have in stock. The 2015 golf pump # had been superceded twice since the car was built in April 2015.
 

thundershorts

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No recent supercessions, its still the 361919050B
 

740GLE

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I'll post tomorrow what vw shows for my passat. Aftermarket suppliers aren't the best source for latest part numbers but often get stuck with older versions of item they have in stock. The 2015 golf pump # had been superceded twice since the car was built in April 2015.

There's a real good chance that VW doesn't even make the fuel pump in the first place, so technically everything is an aftermarket part, just how much you want to pay for a fancy box. ;)
 
Last edited:

thundershorts

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2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
My golf replacement pump looked identical externally to the noisy failing pump it replaced and was made in a different factory according to the markings on the box. In my experience with lots of lift pumps, fuel level in tank shouldn't make much if any difference in sound. Fuel level may well muffle sound of a noisy pump but a modern well built pump should be virtually silent with fuel flowing through it.
 

93celicaconv

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Turned in my 2010 Jetta TDI Cup Edition to VW, DSG, Nav, Sunroof / Replaced with a 2015 Passat TDI SEL Premium
Took my 2015 Passat TDI SEL Premium to the VW Dealer Friday morning first thing for the big 40k mile maintenance plus the DSG oil change. Not doing the coolant flush (did that last year), or the brake fluid flush (did that last year) or the cabin filter (looked very clean - vacuumed out each pocket to get out what little was there).

Also brought it in with 0 miles remaining on the MFI (ran the fuel down very low so the humming from the lift pump in the fuel tank would be very apparent) and asked them to look at it. Got a call late morning Friday from the VW dealer - they agreed the lift pump needed to be replaced, ordered one expecting it to be delivered this Saturday morning.

The lift pump was delivered this Saturday morning. But it doesn't look like they will be able to complete the lift pump replacement anymore today, so getting a loaner this afternoon and will plan on it being done by after work Monday late-day.

I'll post what the lift pump part number is from the invoice I get early next week. Cost is being covered under my remaining CPO warranty and/or the Emissions Extended Warranty.

Does anyone know the process involved in removing the lift pump from the fuel tank on a 2015 Passat TDI? Some vehicles have access hatches under the rear bench seat, so the rear bench seat comes out and then the hatches to pull the fuel pump. Or does this model require the complete fuel tank removal first? I can't seem to find anything out on the internet regarding this process.
 

thundershorts

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Comes out from under rear seat, not like GM having to drop tank. Its a very easy job.
 

93celicaconv

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Turned in my 2010 Jetta TDI Cup Edition to VW, DSG, Nav, Sunroof / Replaced with a 2015 Passat TDI SEL Premium
Got my Passat TDI back from the dealership last evening. Tank was empty when I picked it up (got 18.1 gallons in it when I got to a station to fill it up). Was silent regarding the humming noise it used to make when the tank was approaching empty.

The part number of the new in-tank fuel pump shown on the invoice is 561-919-050-B.

The extended emissions warranty was used to make this replacement totally free. I still have a CPO warranty in effect, but that would have required a $50 deductible - where the extended emissions warranty doesn't have an owner responsible deductible to worry about. The 40k maintenance cost was more than enough to make the dealership and VW happy and profitable, I'm sure.
 
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