gas tank leaking - can I fix this?

I had this same issue on a 2005 4 motion I bought used in 2013 (issue only affected the 4motion I believe).

Here is the link http://www.passatworld.com/forums/b5-garage/359378-fuel-leak-venting-issue-2.html

The 2 things you'll run into are:

1) they say the recall was "completed" - question them on what "completed" means. Was it just inspected or was the tank actually replaced. Because of the labor involved, VW isn't going to tie up a tech to inspect the tank just to put it back on, I firmly believe 100% of the time, if it wasn't leaking at the time of recall, they called that "complete". Unless the tank was replaced, the recall was not "completed".

2) there is no statue of limitations on recalls

If all else fails, tell them your kids (if you have them) are sitting on 100 lbs of explosives every time you drive the car, usually gets their attention.

They'll replace it, you just might have to go Erin Brokovich on them.

The problem is a vent on top of the tank that fails. Next time you fill up, pull up the back seat, on both sides are access points. Three phillips screws hold on the plates. Take the driver side access port off and fill up the tank, if you see gas coming out on top of the tank, its the venting issue which is the recall.

I found mine 1000 miles from home on vacation, kept the tank 1/2 full until I got home. VW fixed it eventually, only took a week or two, for some reason the tank has to come from Germany.

Thanks for the great info and links. The recall bulletins are no longer online. I checked the access port under the back seat on the drivers side. The pic below shows that one side is rusty. The local VW mechanic thinks it might be this gasket. I need to do more testing to figure out if the gas is leaking from that gasket or if the leak is coming from something else nearby (is the vent located near the drivers side back seat access port?)

The local VW dealer has records showing that they did work on the recall several years ago but, their records don't show what work they did. The dealership tells me that I need to contact VW but they say VW won't do anything unless I have the dealership diagnose the problem which I need to pay for out of my pocket at a cost of between $90 and $120 I used the online chat feature on the VW website and they were very concerned and because it was a potentially dangerous problem, they opened a case to review things and they will contact me tomorrow and let me know.

I think your chances are pretty good they'll give you no issue and fix it. I've seen a lot more "chatter" about this recall since I joined the forum. Like I said, the "completed" recall is just VW rolling the dice (they're not going to pay a tech to drop the tank just to "inspect" and part in question), it seems that now at the 12 year mark give or take that their rolling of the dice is now losing. If they can't prove the tank was replaced, they have to replace it per the recall if it is the part that failed.

your picture, shows rust but that is normal for that part, the gasket they are talking about is a possibility but I highly doubt it, that gasket doesn't usually fail unless that tank is opened up to replace the fuel pump and is reused.

Mine I noticed when gas was leaking after a full tank, I pulled that access port and you could see the gas covering the top of the gas tank. I'm sure there is a degree of failure (its a vent valve on top of the tank) so it might not be gushing like mine but if you can smell gas in the car, there you go.

THANK YOU everybody here who enlightened me that this was a recall issue. I good news is that VW USA paid to replace the gas tank. The dealership, VW of Inver Grove Heights, MN took 8 days to get the job done. No loaner car, I was stuck without a car for 8 days.
The dealership said they would align the rear end of the car but not the front end because the bolts on the front were "frozen". The replaced the front control arms a few months ago and at that time I had it aligned at Precision Tune. They said the front was not aligned and I should pay them $700 (of course I didn't pay).

The dealer ship gave me a list of some things that needed to be repaired on my car, for example, RF side marker bulb needs replacement, which was described as: "A bulb is an electric lamp consisting of a transparent or translucent glass or plastic housing containing a filament that emits light when heated by electricity."

The dealership closed the hood enough for the safety latch to catch but the hood was not completely closed and I noticed it bobbing up and down on the freeway on the way home. When I brought the car in there were no fault codes. When I got the car back, the check engine light was on and I have the codes below. What is going on with the Fuel Level too low code?
4 Faults Found:
16684 - Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0300 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent
16690 - Cylinder 6: Misfire Detected
P0306 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent
16839 - EVAP System: Large Leak Detected
P0455 - 35-00 - -
17658 - Fuel Level too Low P1250 - 35-00 - -

The dealership was not able to find any problems so they cleared the codes and I got the car back. The next morning, driving to work, the check engine light came back on with the code below. According to my preliminary research, this could very likely be related to the gas tank replacement, especially since I did not have the code before the dealership worked on the car. What do you think? I will check with the dealer but, I would like to have more knowledge before I contact them.

Address 01: Engine Labels: 078-907-551-ATQ.LBL
Controller: 3B0 907 551 CG
Component: 2.8L V6/5V G 0001
Coding: 07251
Shop #: WSC 00028
VCID: 6AA7B71C0567
WVWTH63B02P064412 VWZ7Z0A3812543
1 Fault Found:
16839 - EVAP System: Large Leak Detected
P0455 - 35-00 - -
Readiness: 0000 0000

16839/P0455/001109 - EVAP System: Large Leak Detected
Possible Causes
Gas Cap loose/missing
EVAP System Leaking
Possible Solutions
Check Gas Cap
Check EVAP System
Check to make sure EVAP purge valve is not installed backwards
Special Notes
When found in any model with a Gasoline engine that had a replacement in-tank fuel pump installed make sure the brand new or revised fuel pump does not require a cap per the dealer parts catalog! Failure to install a cap (such as part number example: 8E0-201-263-G) when necessary may result in a serious safety concern!


This is a leak at the fuel tank or other parts of the evap system, and is most likely caused by the tank installation.
First check that the gas cap is correctly fitted and not loose.