Bosch 5.3 ABS fix for VW Passat B5.5

After driving around with the ABS and brake lights blinking in my 2002 VW Passat, I had to get around to fixing the thing. The car was due for emissions testing, and the engine management computer refuses to talk to OBD-II computers when the ABS controller, bolted to the hydraulic modulator unit, fails. It is a problem that seems to affect a large number of Bosch ABS modulators on these cars. I grabbed my socket wrench, Torx bit set, jack and jackstands to get to work.

What we're dealing with here is a Passat with the V6 engine and all-wheel-drive. It is a B5.5 cars. It should be easier on the earlier B5 models.

Here's what I had to do to get the ABS controller out without dealing with taking the hydraulic unit out of my car. Beware, there is some drilling involved.

1. Jack up car and put on jackstands
2. Remove the screws on fender liner using T20 torx bit. Take out fender liners. Really, only the fender liner on the driver's side needs to be removed all the way. Only about 4 screws holding the fender liner to the bumper cover on the right side needs to be removed.
3. Remove screws holder ends of bumper cover to the fenders using torx bit.
4. Disconnect the little latch that is connected to hood latch. You have to get a screw driver down in there to pry up the little metal piece that covers the latch connector and then release the connector from the hood latch.
5. Remove the 2 screws on either side of the grill. Pull grill up and then out to remove.
6. Remove the 4 torx screws holding bumper cover to the radiator support (lock carrier).
7. Remove the bolt underneath the middle of the bumper using a screwdriver
8. Pull bumper cover from car. Watch out for the side marker lights, they are still connected. Gently lower the cover to the ground and simply pull the marker lights out. Give them a firm tug.
9. Focus on the windshield washer bottle. Remove the 4 bolts holding it to the car. It'll require some struggle to snake the bottle out. Not all the bottles are the same. Use good judgement here.
10. After the bottle is taken out, remove the 2 electrical connectors from the ABS controller module. The large connector has a latch that needs to slide to the left towards the front of the car. The smaller connector is at the bottom and requires a small screw driver to pry it loose.
11. Once the bottle is out, there will be more room to get at the 4 torx screws that hold the ABS controller module to the hydraulic unit. I had a lot of trouble trying to get to the last screw on the bottom-right corner of the ABS unit. None of my tools would fit in that corner.


I think Volkswagen meant for the entire hydraulic unit to be removed together with the control module. Either that, or there is a special tool that goes there. Otherwise, they could've easily put a hole right there to get a socket through--that's what I did. It's not pretty, but it works. Rustoleum will take care of the rest.

Ta da! Send it off to cheap-abs.com, and it's done. I chose not to drive my car while in this state, but it won't hurt anything. You'll just cover up the exposed internals of the actuators and go through the hassle of taking everything apart when the control module comes back.