Top 20 2004 Volkswagen Passat - Page 7 Questions & Answers

yes, you are in danger of ruining your motor.. check your oil by pulling out the dipstick, wiping the oil of the end of the dipstick and replace it fully down again into the dipstick tube. Pull it out again and check the level of the oil. If it is low, add oil before driving. If it does not show on the dipstick, add 1 quart at time and check the level each time before adding more, until it is to the correct level marked in the dipstick

First you will need to check tii see if you have fluid in the clutch system. (look in your owners man. if you dont know were the rev. is for your car. If it is full you will need to have your clutch checked. It might be the slave cylender in the transmission and not the clutch pads. If the rev. is out use brake fluid and refill it , with the lid off pump your clutch padle about 20 times to reprime the slave. After that check the fluid level again if low refill. But like I said if it is still full take it in for service on the transmission. The reason the car will start if their is just a little pressure on the pads also the clutch is on the clitch pedel.

we have a 2004 passat with the same problem. after many different attempts. what we did was. drain the heater core, blow air through the system and then put a mild solvent in the system and let it set for about 20 minutes. flush the system and refill with coolant. now our heater burns us out. use low air pressure and be very carefull. heater core was full of junk that came out after we flushed with solvent.

That is the Check Engine Light. It indicates there is a problem with the emissions system. Can be as simple as a loose gas cap or more serious. If the engine is not running correctly then have this looked at immediately. If however the engine is running good then you do not have to be in a hurry. Have the ECU scanned at most auto parts stores for free. They will retrieve a code that has been set. This code will tell you what part is being effected and help to lead you in the direction of the problem. Do not just throw parts at the problem. You may in the end be much better off taking it to a professional for diagnosis and repair.

The thermostat housing is to the right side of the engine, mounted under the coil pack location. Look for the coolant hoses going into the housing with the 3 temp sensor harnesses in the front of it. That whole assembly is the thermostat housing. The thermostat itself is inside of it.

If you plan to do this yourself, I suggest removing the battery (for better access) and drain the coolant before you pull the thermostat housing off. Be aware that the housing is plastic and it will need replacing if it is cracked or damaged during removal.

call the VW 800 number in your owners manual. They should take care of it for you.

Replace the ( CTS ) Coolant temperature Sensor. VW oe only...Been updated.

Check the bottle is full. Do not use coolant sealers in this engine! Fix the leak.

if the low oil pressure did not affect your engine-I hope so- you only need to change oil pump and don't try to start engine before that, hope that this help you.

Hi Craig,
I'd suggest that the oil seal which seals between the torque converter neck and the gear box casing is damaged and will need replacing. The job seems simple but in fact can result in breaking the gearbox oil pump, when the torque converter is refitted to the gear box. the neck has to align with the gears inside the gear box and the oil pump, if the torque converter is not fitted correctly the damage I've mentioned will take place when refitting box.
If you would like to proceed let me know.
Regards Johngee10

You need the codes pulled form the vehicles ECU with a scanner. The TDI engine does not do this when running correctly.

There are a number of reasons I can think of why this might happen, some being, Glow Plug/s failure, injection pump problem, such as temperature sensor failed, fuel system air leaks and alternator charging problems..

The alternator has a one way drive pulley that fails often causing unstable idle and belt noise..

Low power indicates the engine is in limp mode needing attention.

Find a garage with a scanner for this VW and allow them to check the vehicle.

Try the crank pisition sensor that is vary likely to be the couse of your misfires its working but its intermintly shorting out telling the pcm that you have a misfire and setting the codes

Regular should be fine (87 octane) or you could use mid grade which contains more cleaners. Both are ok

The air injection pump could have seized.

I found 3 recalls, NHTSA Campaign number 04V586000 Diesel Fuel System; NHTSA number07V063000 Brake Light Switch; #08V156000 Fuel System, Gasoline Delivery. There are also 33 Technical Service Bulletins. These can be found on the NHTSA website or at your VW dealership.

inside the trunk,pull away the trim and look for the wire release for the fuel flap.

check engine for oil.if its good could be oil pump or some underlying electrical problem

It sounds like possible coolant leak, if at fire wall could be heater hoses or coolant gettting on warm exhust pipe causing steam.

It indicated the oxygen sensor at the bank one is reading wrongly or detecting the fault. It must be because the oxygen sensor itself has failed.

power steering pumps can be noisey for years without actually failing but in saying that, the longer you let the pump whine the more metal will be going into your rack causeing premature rack replacing. if the level is ok and it whines then the pumps on its way out

This all depends on if its got coil over plug or sparkplug wires, whichever remove the coil or the sparkplug wire and then remove the sparkplug, this engine may have covers that cover the plugs, just remove the covers and make sure to label any wires you remove to get the covvers off.