Looking to get a 2015 Passat, what are the pitfalls/gotchas?

My dad is looking get a 2015 Passat after seeing what seems to be incredibly great deals for them. Some background: we are both previous/current TDI owners and long time diesel buyers. We're accustomed to the maintenance cycles on pre2003 era diesel, but I'm just worried about missing something glaring that I haven't read deep enough about. Plus, with the dieselgate stuff, there are bound to be things that we need to check for (and possibly have certified on paper) before we make the purchase. What should I know before buying?

My apologies if there are already forum threads covering this ground.

Well, to be honest.... buying an 2015 Passat TDI comes with 11 years and 164k miles of warranty.... there should be none to worry about as long as you guys dont tune or delete anything until past the mileage. Thats what got me to buy one and retiring my 2011 JSW with almost 300k miles to vw buyback.


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calimustang said:

Well, to be honest.... buying an 2015 Passat TDI comes with 11 years and 164k miles of warranty.... there should be none to worry about as long as you guys dont tune or delete anything until past the mileage. Thats what got me to buy one and retiring my 2011 JSW with almost 300k miles to vw buyback.


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Thanks for the input. The intent was to leave the vehicle stock standard for quite some time. I'm assuming the warranty comes straight from VW directly, correct? Verified off the VIN? I shouldn't have to contact them in any way?


Additionally, if the TDI is being sold at all at this point, then its already been "fixed" following the dieselgate buyback, correct? Is there any paperwork I should ask for to certify this work?


And aside from the paperwork, there was also the general parts life I was asking about. There's a sticky in this forum for the Adblue Heater & Temp Sensor Module, but it seems to be the only thing to look out for. Anything else to look out for?

kagekouen said:

There's a sticky in this forum for the Adblue Heater & Temp Sensor Module, but it seems to be the only thing to look out for. Anything else to look out for?

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If it's had the fix it is covered under the extended warranty.

needs to be CPO

kagekouen said:

And aside from the paperwork, there was also the general parts life I was asking about. There's a sticky in this forum for the Adblue Heater & Temp Sensor Module, but it seems to be the only thing to look out for. Anything else to look out for?

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The adblue heater is built into the tank on the 2015 models. It is not a separately replaceable unit as was on the 2012-2014 models.

Thankfully, we have not seen many failures of the 2015 design.

But even so, it would be covered under the extended emissions warranty.

So far...... I got adblue heater tank failure within 3 days after purchasing my 2015 Passat. So far 3k miles in a week and 3 days. Plus 22k miles purchase on June 6th and now 29k, so far so good.


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No issues with my 2015 CPO Passat.

afarfalla said:

needs to be CPO

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^^^This only applies for the 2yr/infinity miles bumper-to-bumper warranty that VW is offering on many of the fixed Passats (I believe other models too) sold from VW dealers. Even if you go with an independent dealer, you still get the emissions warranty on any fixed TDI.

there will be a sticker near the original emissions certification sticker to verify that it was fixed. Theoretically someone could have sold the car without doing the buyback which would make it one of the few unfixed cars. Due to the newness of the '15s and the generous buyback most chose the buyback if they weren't going to have the fix applied. That being said there will always be people living under a rock.

MichaelB said:

If it's had the fix it is covered under the extended warranty.

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Fixmy59bug said:

The adblue heater is built into the tank on the 2015 models. It is not a separately replaceable unit as was on the 2012-2014 models.
Thankfully, we have not seen many failures of the 2015 design.
But even so, it would be covered under the extended emissions warranty.

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Lincoln said:

^^^This only applies for the 2yr/infinity miles bumper-to-bumper warranty that VW is offering on many of the fixed Passats (I believe other models too) sold from VW dealers. Even if you go with an independent dealer, you still get the emissions warranty on any fixed TDI.

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BJS02 said:

there will be a sticker near the original emissions certification sticker to verify that it was fixed. Theoretically someone could have sold the car without doing the buyback which would make it one of the few unfixed cars. Due to the newness of the '15s and the generous buyback most chose the buyback if they weren't going to have the fix applied. That being said there will always be people living under a rock.

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Thanks everyone for the clarity on these points.



We got into a 2015 over the weekend that has me confused. Body and ride are great, no issues there. But then at idle, it seems to have a pretty bad dashboard/cabin shake.

We took it for a test drive it for a few minutes and parked it. Then we waited for a minute to hear it. At idle, it seemed like it would be totally still, then as you waited, the dash would begin to shake and vibrate (both by feel and sound). I'm relatively certain this was not engine shake. To wit, my beat-to-hell 2003 Jetta doesn't have this kind of shake on the dash.

It was also 100F degrees out that day too, and it does feel like it would only begin to do the shake if the AC was on, but even then I'm still weary. Is this common? My gut tells me its not, but I'm also wondering if thats an issue I can take back to VW on the warranty.

No its not normal. Take it there. Definitely under warranty. My CPO ‘15 Passat TDI don’t make that kind of vibration. Its very quiet. In fact far quieter than my old 2011 JSW TDI.


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calimustang said:

Well, to be honest.... buying an 2015 Passat TDI comes with 11 years and 164k miles of warranty.... there should be none to worry about as long as you guys dont tune or delete anything until past the mileage. Thats what got me to buy one and retiring my 2011 JSW with almost 300k miles to vw buyback.


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Can someone expand on this "11 year 164K warranty" please??? I purchased my 2015 Passat TDI SEL with 18K miles from a local car dealer. He's not a VW dealer. He sells all brands of very low mile cars. So it's not a "VW Pre-owned" covered vehicle. So what does this 11 year/164K mile warranty cover??? Is it strictly the emissions only??? Thank you.

BNSFguy said:

Can someone expand on this "11 year 164K warranty" please??? I purchased my 2015 Passat TDI SEL with 18K miles from a local car dealer. He's not a VW dealer. He sells all brands of very low mile cars. So it's not a "VW Pre-owned" covered vehicle. So what does this 11 year/164K mile warranty cover??? Is it strictly the emissions only??? Thank you.

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Start reading on page 9:

https://www.vwdiesellookup.com/pdf/VWCourtSettlement_Emissions_Disclosure_Gen3_Final.pdf

kagekouen said:

Thanks everyone for the clarity on these points.
We got into a 2015 over the weekend that has me confused. Body and ride are great, no issues there. But then at idle, it seems to have a pretty bad dashboard/cabin shake.
We took it for a test drive it for a few minutes and parked it. Then we waited for a minute to hear it. At idle, it seemed like it would be totally still, then as you waited, the dash would begin to shake and vibrate (both by feel and sound). I'm relatively certain this was not engine shake. To wit, my beat-to-hell 2003 Jetta doesn't have this kind of shake on the dash.
It was also 100F degrees out that day too, and it does feel like it would only begin to do the shake if the AC was on, but even then I'm still weary. Is this common? My gut tells me its not, but I'm also wondering if thats an issue I can take back to VW on the warranty.

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the one I drove was the same, several comments mentioned old fuel, I don't think so, I believe its a by product of the fix so I walked away and bought another 05

kagekouen said:

We got into a 2015 over the weekend that has me confused. Body and ride are great, no issues there. But then at idle, it seems to have a pretty bad dashboard/cabin shake.

We took it for a test drive it for a few minutes and parked it. Then we waited for a minute to hear it. At idle, it seemed like it would be totally still, then as you waited, the dash would begin to shake and vibrate (both by feel and sound). I'm relatively certain this was not engine shake. To wit, my beat-to-hell 2003 Jetta doesn't have this kind of shake on the dash.

It was also 100F degrees out that day too, and it does feel like it would only begin to do the shake if the AC was on, but even then I'm still weary. Is this common? My gut tells me its not, but I'm also wondering if thats an issue I can take back to VW on the warranty.

Click to expand...

I have a recently purchased/repaired 2015 TDI SEL. It doesn't have a what I would call a "shake", but it definitely has an annoying vibration that seems to be coming from behind the dash which sometimes occurs at low idle or more often when the car is lugging (like creeping up the driveway), or idling at an intersection (in drive but brakes applied). I haven't been able to diagnose it, because it only repeatably happens when the car is creeping along.

My 15 SEL DSG doesn't really vibrate/shake persay but I can tell it's a diesel.

No more or less than my older 09 Jetta and much, much better than my 97 B4 Passat.

I think you got to file by 9-1-2018 if it was not "bought back” or had phase1 or 2a already - filing needs to be completed by 12/31/2018. I think if it misses this filing then it's not covered under the 162K warranty. Who knows if you can "catch-up”later — but at least one VW website said it has got to be registered. My 2015 buyback SEL TDI has 2 stickers under the hood from VW stating it had phase 1 and phase 2a already. I like how smooth it drives and there is no discernible diesel smell whatsoever near the car exhaust. The tailpipe is clean inside, like the car has never been started. Actually, I really like how clean the exhaust is because I drove GM diesel dumptrucks doing roadwork during college and I know my wife would not want a TDI if it smelled like those trucks. Makes me laugh a bit about the whole EPA hammering down on the TDI 55mpg cars, meanwhile every florida cracker with a 10mpg F250SD has completely eliminated the EGR and they billow out the black smoke at the pace of 1000 TDi's per F250. In reality, Im jealous of the F250s and will get one as soon as I sell off my gas SUV.

There is a notice on vwcourtsettlement.com. My car is going in for phase 2 this week.

Here is the notice:

The 2.0L Settlement Program ends on December 30, 2018. Please read the below to understand important deadlines associated with participation in the 2.0-Liter Settlement Program and receipt of benefits. For more information, please click here.

September 1, 2018 – Claims Deadline: Deadline to complete a claim, including submitting required documents. You may submit your claim, including all required documents, online via the Online Claims Portal or through mail or fax using the Paper Claim Form or by calling 1-844-98-CLAIM. To avoid significant risk that your claim will be considered untimely, your claim must include all requested information and documents by September 1, 2018. To ensure that you have time to timely correct any document deficiencies, you should submit your documents by August 1, 2018.

December 1, 2018 – Signed Offer Letter Submission: Deadline to return signed and notarized offer letter to Volkswagen via the Online Claims Portal, mail, or fax. If Volkswagen determines your offer letter is complete with the required signatures and notarizations, you will receive notification of that acceptance. We strongly encourage you to submit your signed offer letter to Volkswagen for review no later than December 1, 2018. If you submit your signed offer letter after December 1, 2018, there is a significant risk that your offer letter will not be reviewed and approved in time for you to schedule and complete a buyback or early lease termination prior to the end of the Settlement Program on December 30, 2018. If that happens, you will not receive benefits under the Settlement Program.

December 30, 2018 – Deadline to Complete Buyback, Early Lease Termination, or Approved Emissions Modification: Deadline to complete your selected remedy. If you delay scheduling your closing appointment, we cannot guarantee closing appointment availability on the date and time and at the Dealer you desire, particularly given the December holidays. Volkswagen will be unable to accommodate you if you are unable to find an available appointment due to delay in scheduling. Additionally, if you do not have all of the required paperwork at your closing appointment, Volkswagen may be unable to reschedule your closing appointment if you wait until the last days of the Settlement Program. If that happens, you will not receive benefits under the Settlement Program.