Passat B6 2.0 TDI 170 - buying guide?

[zymurgy661]

Hi all.

Currently looking at purchasing an 07 plate B6 estate with 79k on the clock. Its the 2.0TDI 170 and ticks most of the boxes i need in terms of space etc.

Have read up on the engine issues and confirmed that the injector recall (23h9?) has been completed as verified by a sticker in the boot of the car.

The chassis code is WVWZZZ 3CZ 7E159 424 which i believe means it should also not have the chain drive oil pump, is this correct? Looks like there were still issues with the spur driven pump but these were resolved later on but no idea how much later. Is anyone able to advise?

Is there anything else i should be looking for please?

Thanks in advance!

[zymurgy661]

Just to add that the engine code is BMR so i believe this will have the spur type oil pump if i am correct?

[DSG4ME]

It is a BMR, it will also have a dpf as standard on it, personally do yourself a big favour and find something else to buy.

[zymurgy661]

Thanks for the response. Surely there will be no more issues with the DPF than any other modern diesel or are there other known problems?

Are you able to confirm the BMR is a spur drive oil pump?

[DSG4ME]

I'm not sure what pump is in it tbh, I know the 2007-> safe pump is a myth as I've seen 3, 57 plate 140's munch the pump, the engines are known to burn oil so that's £15 PL unless like me you have an outlet you can get it cheap from, burned oil means carbon build up, if you must have a B6 get a newer one with a CR engine in it, these will be found in the Highline models of 2008->

If the car is ultra cheap and by that I mean £3000 to buy or less walk away from it, this car when it goes wrong is a moneypit, if the pump fails it's game over for the engine and turbo, do some reading and see the fault list that goes on and on about this car both here and in America, if you must have one then you can't say you weren't warned and if you do have an AA inspection before you part with anything as this should give you the checks to it's general hidden condition of things you can't see.

[zymurgy661]

I think could be said for any car nowadays when they go wrong though, i'm just looking to understand the common issues.

Looking at the oil pumps, they do seem to still go wrong even post the switch to spur gear due to rounding of a hex shaft. I'd happily replace as a precaution to know its been done. Also issues with the injectors (although these have been replaced under the recall), EPB and DPF (same as most other diesels from what i can tell). Anything else?

[david dey]

Hi.
I'm on my third Passat, 1.9, 2.0 and now a 1.6tdi. I've never had a problem with any of them. I've also had a Jetta and an audi A3 and they were faultless too, I do all my own servicing using genuine parts at the correct intervals.
If you look on any forum you will see plenty of negative comments on any car, try looking on the walksall(vauxall) forum if you want a laugh.

DD

[Teflon]

The advice to walk away and avoid a car with DPF is a little over the top. Before long, every diesel that doesn't already have one is going to get one, even little tin boxes from France and Italy. They are unavoidable and nowhere near as bad as the rep they get. If I was buying one though, I'd have it code scanned to make sure it wasn't about to fall over, because everyone sells a car for a reason.

The advice to try and stretch to a CR engine is very sound. They are smoother, more economical (on paper) and in 5 years of watching I've not seen a single post about an engine problem here. You can get one on an 08 plate but choose carefully, there were still PD engines knocking about up to 58 plate.

Aside from that, it's just the usual stuff. Look for FSH, especially if an auto and it must have had auto oil change at 40k. Check all electrics, make sure both keys work without any signs of problem, make sure clutch is good and free of vibration and/or noise. On a test drive, listen for a droning noise from the rear like a wheel bearing - smooth new tarmac shows this best. If you hear it it is probably only wheel alignment but it needs a 4 wheel set up which ain't cheap cheap and possibly 2 new back tyres. You've spotted the common things that pop up on here.

.

[DSG4ME]

The advice to walk away and avoid a car with DPF is a little over the top.

.

It wasn't actually about the dpf Teffs, it's the whole car in general, it seems the fellas mind is made up anyway and that's his choice, I'm just trying to warn him that his possibly £5k car can turn into a £10k car in a very short period of time and especially as it's getting near the 80k mark which is about where most things start to go south, as you said it'll be getting near DMF time if it hasn't already, I wasn't impressed at how my seat bolsters crumbled away nor the door card splitting and deforming simply cos I leaned on it, add in the epb problems that exist the oil consumption, ign key problem, oil pump, injectors if they haven't been changed yet (you should check that's been done OP) top strut bearings, fuel in oil tandem pump, cold misfire, and potential premature tyre wear (I never suffered that btw)

On the upside they do come with a full sized spare wheel

[DSG4ME]

Hi.
I'm on my third Passat, 1.9, 2.0 and now a 1.6tdi. I've never had a problem with any of them. I've also had a Jetta and an audi A3 and they were faultless too, I do all my own servicing using genuine parts at the correct intervals.
If you look on any forum you will see plenty of negative comments on any car, try looking on the walksall(vauxall) forum if you want a laugh.




DD

1.9 is good, 1.6 is too early to tell and you don't say PD or CR for the 2.0.

VX forum is bound to have issues, VX sell more cars than VW, it's like comparing Man Utd fanbase with Rochdale, one good thing with a VX is you don't need to carry oil with the spare wheel nor wear a bung plug up your botty thinking about all those £1000 noises you keep hearing or feeling, you may just have been lucky, I may just have been unlucky, personally with the amount of cars I use and see at work the B6 is not one that inspires confidence and to back that up another one on our rank did the oil pump trick again a few weeks back, and a 1.9 threw a rod a few months ago but I'm unsure if that was driver related as that engine generally is a good one.