My 2010 VW Passat with the 2.0T TSI engine had the water pump fail...again. This is the 4th water pump failure in the past 9 months. I have filed a complaint here on every one of the failures. The problem is that VW (VERY WORST) uses inferior materials on their engine components. In the case of the water pump, it is a plastic that embrittles and fails when oil contacts it. Possibly a seal on the water pump that swells and splits the casing when oil hits it, but the end result is the same. In this case, my PCV valve failed, blowing out every seal on my engine and leaking oil everywhere (filed as a separate complaint). And yes, here's a surprise...gravity works! oil leaking from up on the engine WILL flow down and contact the water pump because it is positioned to make sure it does. When this happened, the water pump promptly split, again, and I got a coolant leak. On the plus side, the coolant leak was the first indication I had blown out every seal so I guess that's good . I have contacted VW about this problem with their water pumps in the past and got no response. I contacted them again with this failure, but to be fair, that was just today so I have not heard anything back. I will update this complaint if they respond within the next week, or I will update it to let everyone know that VW really doesn't want to hear from their owners. More to come.

Okay...I have identified this problem in two previous complaints. Now, a month after getting both the auxiliary and main water pumps replaced on my 2010 VW passat (2.0T, 6-sp auto), this car is back at my mechanic with the main water pump failed yet once again. The issue is one of engineering. VW put a plastic water pump(s) onto the engine with an o-ring to seal it. If ANY oil drips onto the pump, it leaks into the o-ring cavity and interacts with the material of the o-ring, causing it to swell and crack the pump casing. Apparently right after getting the last water pump replaced I had the oil changed and they spilled a little oil. That's all it took. VW needs to look at using an o-ring that doesn't swell when oil touches it. Or stop using cheap plastic water pumps that will split open like an over ripe melon when the o-ring does swell.