I'm wondering if anyone else hears a loud knock when they back up then brake. I was told by the dealer that this is normal grabbing for the rear brakes. I need to replace the pads, so maybe the sound will stop. But wanted to see if it is another problem.

Have they been replaced before? It could be poor fitting aftermarket pads or possible missing hardware (I'm not sure if that uses metal shims to hold the pads or not). What usually causes this is the pads moving in their carrier. They shift up & down as the direction of pull changes (forward/reverse). It usually happens the first time you hit the brakes after changing direction, either backing up or pulling forward.

They haven't been replaced before and I don't remember hearing this noise before. It's been happening for about 8 months as far as I recall.

How many miles? Later model (B5) Passats are known for their brakes not lasting long at all (especially the rear).

It only has 33K miles. Is 4 years not a long time for brakes to last?

I've seen posts of less than 13K on the rear. Average seems to be 25K to 30K.

I plan on changing the pads this weekend and I'll let you know what I find. Thanks for all your input!

I changed the rear pads and the back up sound went away. The pads were quite low and it was probably making the sound because the calipers had to go too far to grab. All is well....except maybe a little bleeding to be done! It was my first time changing them myself and I'm not sure that I'll be doing it again!