I've heard of the turbos going out that early actually. It's not common, but it does happen. I'm not real sure on the pipe routing on the passat (it's different from the Jetta/GTI), but you should be able to get to the turbo pretty easy; from the top or the bottom. You'll probably have to pull the air box, but there is an inlet pipe that runs from the MAF to the turbo inlet. Pull that and check the play. Also, get under the car (might have to pull the plastic undertray) and check for oil. That could also be a problem.

Sorry for the paragraph.