Brakes on 2015 Passat

I recently changed my front and rear brakes and thought I would mention a few things in case it helps anyone. Parts I used are at the bottom.

9/2015 Manual Transmission (with no electronic parking brakes)

Note: There are some differences from what tools are mentioned in here, and also a few gotchas: https://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/nms-vw-passat-brake-diy/

First of all, as stated by others, removing those rear caliper bracket bolts are nearly impossible. I ended up practically destroying 2 of the four triple square bolts and had to replace them with new bolts.

When ordering, I opted not to get all new bolts like many kits mentioned. Looking back, at a minimum, I would suggest purchasing 4 new triple square bolts before starting that job. The rest of the bolts seemed fine to use again.

Also, when removing the caliper itself, you need a slim (1/4" thickness max) open ended wrench of a metric size I'm still trying to determine. I found an antique US 11/16 slim wrench (slimmer than Craftsman which was around 3/8 thickness) to hold the part near the boots while I unscrewed the outer hex bolds. If anyone knows what size this should really be or of a specific tool that would work, I would really appreciate the info. I believe this to be 17mm or 18mm. The write-up mentioned earlier is incorrect in stating that this is 19mm.


For the caliper bracket, use the breaker bar from he bottom only as this is the easiest place to gain access, and even at this you will only get a single click or two of the ratchet.

Also, I wanted to post the part numbers I used in case anyone else wants to buy the same brands. I'm happy with them so far and saved a bundle over buying factory parts, but I believe these are all equally good if not better due to the Z coating on the rotors. Careful as I had a late 2015 manual transmission model with no electronic brakes so it may be different for you!

Textar 2433301 Front Brake Pads
Zimmermann 100.3300.20 Front Brake Rotors (2) - 312x25
Textar 2511003 Rear Brake Pads
Zimmermann 600.3241.20 Rear Brake Rotors (2) - 272x10

Note: The rear braking pads were the trickiest part to find. Many sites including the dealer gave an incorrect part for this. The incorrect part number for me was 5K0698451F. My rear pads needed integrated clips, and this VW part was the correct cross-reference instead 7N0698451A.

I don't believe there is ever been a NMS Passat sold with electronic parking brakes.

Also would you recommend new bolts for the front caliper brackets? What was it about the rears that caused the issues, just bad angle? swivel and extensions didn't help?

Our '15 has some pad deposits on the fronts that's causing some pulsing, I've tried to heat them up and clear the deposits but it seems to just come back. We've been living with it for the past 10K, I'm thinking of pulling the trigger before snow flies and just do front rotors.

Best price I've fond on rotors and i just ordered a set, free shipping

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/au...jetta-passat-eos-gti-cc-zimmerman-1k0615301aa

I just did the front and rear rotors/pad on our 15 EGolf SEL at 15K. They got rusty due to the lack of use with the regenerative braking. It has an electronic parking brake that I released using our Hex-V2 USB. It went well. Our 15 Passat SEL has a manual parking brake. It also has about 15K on the odo but the brakes are fine.



Any way just a few tips. It seems like the brakes are similar on both cars. I had to get a 14mm triple square (3S, my designation) wrench, 1/2" drive for the rears (O'Reilly Auto had a decent set in stock for $13) . I took a pick and cleaned out the heads of the bolts and then blew them our(wear eye protection) before putting the 3S wrench in. I tapped the 3S wrench with a ball peen hammer to make sure it was solidly seated before using a 20" long breaker bar to start removing them. Once they start a 1/2" drive stubby ratchet worked well.


The pads were stuck to the caliper carriers. I cleaned the carriers and used synthetic brake caliper grease sparingly at the contact points between the pads and carriers.


I had an old 16mm open end wrench that I ground down to about -5mm/3/16" thick so it fit the flats on the caliper pins. Then a 13mm box wrench could be used to break the bond and a 13mm socket to remove the caliper bolts. Maybe the passat needs a larger, 17-18mm wrench, I don't know. At any rate when you grind one down don't overheat the wrench and soften it. Quenching it in a cup of water frequently helps.



I'm going to see if I can get the original front rotors turned/resurfaced, for next time. They hardly seem worn just rusty. The rears were junk. We've had the EGolf about 2.5 years. The Passat about 1.5 as we bought it NOS after they were released with the fix. I didn't have to replace any bolts, take the time to clean the heads if necessary before removing them. Hope this helps someone.

Please see my comments below. We both changed brakes for the very same reason.

740GLE said:

I don't believe there is ever been a NMS Passat sold with electronic parking brakes.
Also would you recommend new bolts for the front caliper brackets? What was it about the rears that caused the issues, just bad angle? swivel and extensions didn't help?
Front caliper bracket bolts were regular hex head and much easier to break loose and remove without causing damage to the head. They are also way more accessible than the rear. The triple square heads on the rear seem to be more delicate since they have internal teeth that can start wearing/stripping especially after hammering the breaker ratchet. They are also more tightly surrounded by other parts, making them only accessible directly below.
Our '15 has some pad deposits on the fronts that's causing some pulsing, I've tried to heat them up and clear the deposits but it seems to just come back. We've been living with it for the past 10K, I'm thinking of pulling the trigger before snow flies and just do front rotors.
This is the exact same reason I just replaced all my rotors and pads at only 56k miles. I had the pulsing from the front ever since about 20k miles and have lived with it for too long. I've never had this happen on any of my previous VW (Jettas). I also decided to go with the brands I used in case some of the issues are inherent with the factory parts.
Best price I've fond on rotors and i just ordered a set, free shipping
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/au...jetta-passat-eos-gti-cc-zimmerman-1k0615301aa

Click to expand...

Sounds good, I ordered the carrier bolts just in case, we'll see if the $13 is worth it, not sure if they are the same bolts on our Alltrack but that also runs 312 rotors.

Our is a NOS that sat for 2 years and didn't have the rotors nor pads replaced as they
"passed" the dealers inspection. My guess is they did some repeated high speed stops to clear the rotors then they parked it with hot rotors and the pads then embedded onto the rotor. Rears seem fine though.