Thinking of purchasing VW Passat diesel version

[shahid1973]

Hi thinking of purchasing old B5 passat, my question is how reliable are they and which version should I consider purchasing esp for reliability and what are common faults?

I presently have 115TDI Bora which in my 4 years of owning it have had HG failure and now a possible turbo failure so anxious to avoid buying a car which will costs alot to repair if things go wrong.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[jimbo73]

Like all cars the Passat is not bullet proof. It is however very reliable... Mine is a super reliable. Hadn't been started in 6 months and started first time, and was really smooth.

It has however had a few big things go wrong. Upper arms on suspension, cv boots, discs, track ros. lower suspension arm, and now - which is possibly the worst - sticking brakes.

Lovely car though.

[Peter_HMR]

IMO you need to be a 'DIY Mechanic' to own one of these cars. I use the term fairly loosely but there are a lot of little things that tend to happen to this car that will cost and arm and a leg to fix at a garage that can be fixed easily by yourself with s/h parts.

Don't want to scare you off but if your not in some way technically inclinded it could cost you a fortune. I have a 01 AWX and already had to fix/replace the clutch and flywheel, CV joints, thermostat, temperature sensor, bearings, boot catch, intercooler pipes, front suspension and shocks. Now things like bearings are wearing parts but to get to them theres 5 ball joints to be seperated which takes time, fine if your doing it yourself but costs money at the garage.

Theres also a couple of things like the drains which block up and cause seroius damage to the central convience unit.

Again not trying to scare you most things are fairly easy to fix you just need to be sure. I'm not a mechanic or from that backgroud and have picked up everything I need to know from this forum and others and there really is a tonne of information about these cars and engines online so thats the plus. I love mine and wouldn't trade it for anything in the same price bracket.

[Inspector Beetle]

Hi, I had a B5 1999 110 Tdi with the AFN engine. In the six years I had the car I did over 100.000 with just regular oil & filter changes,Two cambelt changes. The car averaged over 55 mpg and pulled my caravan at 40. In my opinion (and I stress MY opinion!) the AFN engine was just about the best. I only changed because we needed an estate.I have had a lot of trouble with my AWX engined 2001 130 tdi and It is going in to try to sort out a misfire . Also the mpg is not as good.
I am sure that if you can find a good AFN engined B5 you will not be disappointed..
Good luck!!!
H...

[PeteK]

I have a Dec 2004 Passat 130TDi Highline which I bought in Feb 2008 with 96k miles on the clock. It has now done 185k miles and the following list covers the faults I have experienced:

Mar 2008 at 97k miles - airbag warning light came on shortly after buying the car. This was rectified by buying a £15 Vag-Com lead on Ebay which pointed towards a high resistance on the n/s/f seat airbag. I played around with the wires under the seat and cleared the fault code - the fault has never recurred.

Mar 2010 at 147k miles - I noticed some grease on the wing liner under the o/s/f wheel arch and found that the o/s c/v gaitor had split. I had both sides replaced as the other side was also badly perished.

Aug 2010 at 159k miles - The alternator clutch pulley failed whilst on route to the South of France - this caused a strange noise at idle which sounded like the water pump had failed and also made the belt jump about when it was idling. I managed to make it there and back with no issues and had the pulley replaced when I got back home.

Dec 2010 at 168k - The engine developed a misfire when idling and at low revs. This cleared above 1600rpm. I changed the injector wiring loom which didn't completeley cure the fault, however after using Forte injector cleaner and a full tank of fuel later the fault disappeared never to return again. I'm not sure what caused this but believe it could have been a bad batch of fuel or possibly the EGR valve sticking (this was cleaned at a later date).

That is basically all that has gone wrong - the rest of the car is all original other than a radiator which was replaced before I bought it. I did replace a park assist sensor a while ago but since then another 2 have failed so I just do without that feature now as they cost about £60 each, other than that everything else works fine. I service it every 10k miles; it's had a couple of sets of front discs and pads, a new set of rear pads, a remap to 170bhp at 120k, a new windscreen at 133k due to stone chips, 3 sets of new front tyres and 1 set of rears, I regassed the A/C at 150k (this was still working fine though) before the trip to France, I changed the gearbox oil at 176k due to the age of the car and also replaced the coolant temp sensor and MAF sensor at 176k & 181k respectively also due to the age of both components (both the original were still working ok though), I also cleaned the EGR valve at the same time I replaced the coolant temp sensor. My average mpg over the 88k miles i've done since owning the car is 47.8, however since replacing the coolant temp sensor I have averaged 52.11mpg over the last 14k miles.

If you find a good one, they are great cars and very reliable!

[paulthefox]

Hi, I had a B5 1999 110 Tdi with the AFN engine. In the six years I had the car I did over 100.000 with just regular oil & filter changes,Two cambelt changes. The car averaged over 55 mpg and pulled my caravan at 40. In my opinion (and I stress MY opinion!) the AFN engine was just about the best. I only changed because we needed an estate.I have had a lot of trouble with my AWX engined 2001 130 tdi and It is going in to try to sort out a misfire . Also the mpg is not as good.
I am sure that if you can find a good AFN engined B5 you will not be disappointed..
Good luck!!!
H...

mines has had 2 cambelts changes the usaul discs and pads f/r normal servicing plus the passat bugbears suspension ,electric problems due to water ingress into ccm .would not change for anything will run it into the ground

paul:beerchug:

[venetian-red]

I have a 2001 1.9TDi Sport Estate, which I have had for 2 years. Been an excellent car; it was remapped before I bought it and it tows (my rally car and trailer) effortlessly. Had 113k when I bought it on 130k now. Previous owner had the wishbones, gearlinkages and clutch done; I have done the arms, CV gaitors and cambelt/water pump etc. Just come back from the Isle Of Wight (to Swansea) after a weeks trip there, over 600 miles, with 4 adults, Labrador, full luggage and roof rack, no problems at all.
I am going to run it into the ground as it has proved to be a great car. Only issue I have is the drivers door is difficult to open, as it is a common fault with these that the handle cables stretch over time (anyone got a nice easy quick fix??).
Buy a good one which has had the correct servicing and you won't go far wrong in my opinion.

[996jimbo]

I've had my 1.9TDi Sport 130 from 78k miles to the current 160k miles. It has been by far the cheapest car I have ever run. Oil changes every 10k are easy (I've left off the undertray to make it easier still). If you're an average home mechanic you will save loads of money as they are basically fairly straight forward cars to work on - not too many electrical gizmo's. Mine has had most of the standard faults - leaking rad, front suspension components, CV gaitors, window winder, injector wiring loom, errrrrrrr I think that's about it fault wise. I have paid to have the cambelt, water pump, alternator belt + tensioner, CV gaitors / front suspension/steering parts done. Stuff I've done is oil and all filter changes, disks & pads, injector wiring loom, window winder, reverse light switch, boot lock and I also fitted cruise control - next time I'd pay someone else to do that.

Tyres are cheap, fuel economy is good and build quality is good.

[caldirun]

Simple fix to handle cable, move the cable lug one or two notches out!

[caldirun]

Hi thinking of purchasing old B5 passat, my question is how reliable are they and which version should I consider purchasing esp for reliability and what are common faults?

I presently have 115TDI Bora which in my 4 years of owning it have had HG failure and now a possible turbo failure so anxious to avoid buying a car which will costs alot to repair if things go wrong.

Thanks in advance for your comments.
What is a HG failure? why do you think a Passat B5 will be any different from your Bora?

[venetian-red]

Caldirun, picking up on your point above of moving the cable lug, how do you do that please; do you have to take everything on the door apart or is there a straight forward way?

[caldirun]

Remove the round plastic cover in the door inner edge to expose the screw that locks the barrel in position. undo the screw with a torq bit, but do not remove it! Pull the handle a couple of mm out and ease the barrel out, the cable lug is now exposed, use long-nosed pliers to pull it out and push it back in a notch further out, test and repeat if still not right.

[996jimbo]

why do you think a Passat B5 will be any different from your Bora?
In the absence of any knowledge of the Passat would he be right to assume it will be the same as a Bora? And if so, why not just say so?

[caldirun]

He is asking about buying a B5 Passat, I just wondered why he thinks it will be different to his 115 Bora. Try reading the posts before you reply, you were giving him details of your B5.5 in your reply, he was not asking about a B5.5, more effort required!! get you own posts correct before criticising mine

[996jimbo]

He is asking about buying a B5 Passat, I just wondered why he thinks it will be different to his 115 Bora. Try reading the posts before you reply, you were giving him details of your B5.5 in your reply, he was not asking about a B5.5, more effort required!! get you own posts correct before criticising mine
You're right - my mistake - my comments were about my B5.5.

G should be capital in "get" ; <- that's meant to be a wink smilie.

[Peter_HMR]

The Passat is a totally different car to the Bora. Its bigger, more complex suspension, different gearbox and drivetrain, more sound proofing in general its just a little bit better in most areas and nicer to drive, quieter. However it shares a lot of similarities like the TDI engine, radio etc.

[shahid1973]

how do i know if it has AFN Engine?

[Hex69]

Sticker in the service manual, or if it's still there in the spare wheel well gives you all the info about the car (and engine).

[Steven715]

What is a HG failure? why do you think a Passat B5 will be any different from your Bora?

I think HG means Head Gasket

Steve

[paulthefox]

how do i know if it has AFN Engine?

was only available 1996 -2000 models saloon /estate

paul:beerchug:

[yaman]

how do i know if it has AFN Engine?

The towing eye, at the front, will be completely unused lol

Regards
Jim

[John1525]

Mine has done 211000 and just about to click over to 212000, only owned it 6 months and it seems pretty hardy. Only thing is its huge! MPG I only get late 40s though, might have something to do with the old girls age, however I do notice it runs much better when cold.

Temp sensor issue?

And its an AFN which is also fitted in the older A4s if you don't need to drive a barge.

[roadrunnner7691]

Had a 2002 Skoda Superb which was excellent never had any mechanical issues with it at all. The only problem I had was with water getting down into the passenger foot well. This was caused by the seal on the botton of the pollen filter which is located in the bulk head under the plastic cover. Resolved this by applying plumbers mate putty which doesn't dry out. No problems after.

[Lincs Vagcom]

My passat is 2001 TDi. Had it 6 Yrs now. 135k miles. Had it from 55k. Engine barely needs winding over before starting. Bodywork still rust free. Only recuring problem i've had is front suspension rubbers / ball joints. Other than that, it's built like a tank!