Please, please assist me with this problem. Like many of the other posters here, I too have had my share of problems with my 1999 Passat. The most recent is this, I rear ended someone and did some front end damage. The car was immediately moved to the side of the road, a few steps and I waited for the tow truck. The car was taken to a VW shop, where they determined and fixed after 3 weeks the damage to the coolant system, front grill, hood, and lights. Okay so here is my question: I picked the car up on July 15, 2005 and drove it for a few 100 miles until, Thursday July, 21, 2005 when after parking the car for several hours (I had driven the car earlier in the day) I attempted to restart the car and large amounts of white smoke began to come out the back. I attempted to drive the car but, the smoke was too much. I contacted the VW shop that had just worked on the car and they came and picked the car up. So today, July 27, 2005 they have deduced that the Turbo on my car is gone along with and oil pump/line. They figured this out after doing a diagnostic test. I asked if this was related to the accident, they said no. I asked them how could they know...and received no real answer. I then asked if a diagnostic was done when the car was first brought in (from the accident) they said no. So, can the turbo be damaged as a result of front end damage? Thanks for the help!!!

Problably not, but anything is possible. If you have over 90k miles on your car than no. Turbos on 98-00 only last about 90k.