Does the 2004 GLX 2.8 V6 Passat require premium gas?

Yes, the V6 Passat requires premium fuel.

Update: Not sure why I received a thumbs down. VW says premium fuel. They make the car so I'm sure they know what they are talking about.

VW is saying it takes premium, but there is some argument.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2004_Volksw...

/question/index;_ylt=A0LE...

The dealer tells me that the real problem is the life expectancy of the battery and it's high cost. People tend to get rid of them before they need a new battery, so check into how much battery life the one you are looking at is likely to have.

I always used premium fuel in mine, but a few times when premium was unavailable I used the lower grades, nothing happened, maybe a little less power and acceleration.

Generally, it shouldn't need premium fuel unless it's been modified.

It will be cheaper to run if you use premium. It can run fine on regular, but then it retards timing and uses more fuel, so regular costs more than premium to run.

This is actually true with all engines. It would be cheaper for all engines to use higher compression and require premium because it produces more power and saves gas.

But I would warn that the V6 Passat should sell for much less than the Jetta because of the difficulty on working on it. The whole front has to be removed in order to get at the water pump for example. It is not hard to do, but dealer quoted $1800 for timing belt that would be $300 on Jetta. I would recommend the Vr6 instead, depending on year. The Vr6 only has 1 head, so costs much less to work on.

Per VW it does. I can tell you that I have put 100k miles on my 1.8t Passat and only put premium in it 1 time(thanks to cheap SC fuel). I have never had an issue.

I use midgrade and it is great. Just make sure you put that gas pedal to the floor from time to time. It helps!

Is it a hemi?