VW Passat - A Ticking Time Bomb ! [View All]

[On Par]

We have a leased 2003 VW Passat that ends Feb 2007. It has 30,600 miles and still well within the 4 year – 50,000 warranty.

Thursday, January 12, my wife pulls into the driveway and said, as she was pulling in, a “Stop Engine” light came on stating low oil pressure. I checked it in the garage and the oil stick said “full.” I took it around the block, no light. I told her to take mine the next day, just in case, and I’ll take the Passat to our independent certified BP mechanic that is about “one” mile from our home.

I thought it was a faulty sensor. So did BP when I told them the “Stop Engine” light again came on as I started down the hill to the BP station. They checked the dip-stick. The oil pump was working. Oil all the way up the stick. I was about to leave and call my VW dealership when the car began to spasm. The mechanic said, that’s a bad cam lifter on the turbo. I parked it. Called VW from the service station. No problem, roadside assistance will tow it, and pay for it. The VW dealership is about 10 miles away.

Upon calling the VW Dealership, they said, “you’ll need proof of oil changes.” This was to be the death rattle. While on the phone with VW, I looked at my mechanic, knowing my wife, who drives the car, would never keep them, if they could get them. Shouldn’t be a problem.

Background: Once home, I begin to check this on the Internet. No less than Time Magazine, Newsweek, and AutoWeek have featured stories on the VW 1.8 L turbo engine and the sludge problem that ensues because the turbo gets too hot, prematurely breaks down the oil and the oil filter sump capacity is too small to handle the sludge. It’s sent back to the engine, and the turbo lifters get coked, starve the engine of oil, stop engine light comes on. VW has lost multi-millions fixing this problem. According to Time, there operating profit in the U.S. went from $944 million to $68 million. http://www.time.com/time/globalbusiness/article/0,9171,1101031124-543826,00.html

Oil receipts: My BP station doesn’t keep records of oil changes, but they thought they could “re-generate” a non-numerical receipt and reasonable facsimile of the oil changes. Why? The Passat has a plate that covers the bottom of the engine. You can’t take it to a Wal-Mart or Jiffy lube with a walk down bay because they can’t get to the bolts holding the base plate.

The 17th, I take the ‘re-generated’ receipts down to Three Rivers VW. They copied them and return the originals to me. An hour later the dealership called.

The first words I heard were, "Are you willing to testify in court that these are original documents?" Nice tone, huh? I told the service manager, who wasn’t there when I dropped them off, that I told the other service manager they were "re-generated." "Oh, so they're fake, a fraud" I was told. No, they are facsimiles.

Well, he said, "they aren't numbered." “Yes. Okay,” I told them. “They're re-generated!” My BP doesn’t keep those records.

The service manager replies, "Our field rep. called the BP dealer, and he won't stand behind them." Well, "let's see," I stated. Your rep called and used the same tone that you're using with me? Is it any wonder why a small business would not immediately think they'd need to get a lawyer and go to court, and therefore bail out? BTW, I later found out "no rep" had called the BP. It was the dealership service manager.

From there, the service manager tried to jump on me about the 5w-30 oil. "Oh, it may not be the right kind." I reminded them of the VW pamphlet they gave me a few days prior, stating it was. Plus, BP oil is synthetically reinforced. You see VW, realizing the problem sent out a memo http://www.autosafety.org/uploads/phpHPDpvG_VWOilSludge.pdf to 426,000 owners telling them they extended the sludge warranty from 4 to 8 years, and maintain your present 6mo/5000 mile oil change. 5w-30 is what my VW’s manual states. The new ‘05’s take synthetic only, and they’ve redesigned the engine, and changed to a much larger oil filter.

Operative part of the memo:
What Will Volkswagen Do?
“After listening to you, our valued customers, Volkswagen is implementing an extended warranty for oil sludge related repairs for 1998 - 2004 model year Volkswagen Passat equipped with the 1.8L Turbo engines to 8 years from the vehicle's original in service date without a mileage limitation. This extended warranty is fully transferable to any subsequent owner. This extended warranty does not affect - and is in addition to - any other applicable warranty covering your vehicle. Volkswagen will cover necessary engine repairs if oil "sludge" causes a malfunction in your engine and you can provide documentation of oil changes according to the maintenance schedule for your vehicle.”

My repair, of several thousand dollars, has been denied. In fact,they are all being denied. I called two dealerships that have a total of 7 Passats in their lots in one week, all denied. Multiply that by approx 9500 dealerships, and you see the massive problem)

With his tone, I explained, I have no choice but to stop payment on my lease. Oh, he said, "you better call VW."

I have read online horror story after horror story about the 1998-2004 VW Passat at http://www.myvwlemon.com. Even when people have proper oil receipts, they’ve been denied! Newsweek: This tells about VW's oil sludge problems.
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-132442.html

I called VW Corp and spoke to a representative in Michigan. She took all the information including my explanation of the regenerated oil receipts. I explained to her about the horror stories about people being denied warranty service even with receipts or reasonable facsimiles. I also told her of the accusatory tone of their representatives. After two days, she called and said "denied!."

1. From my perspective, this is not an “oil” problem, but a turbo problem. The oil prematurely breaks down due to the overly hot turbo, now redesigned. The oil filter can’t handle the residue, and passes it back through the engine. The oil sludge is the result, not the primary cause. The “oil change” receipt is a red-herring. They’ve stated they will pay IF you have verification, knowing most, like me, won’t have the originals with numbered receipts. It's Orwellian language of the highest order, and one the Bush Administration is not demanding a recall of 1998-2004 VW's with the 1.8 turbo engine even thought the Nat'l Highway and Saftey administration has received a mountain of complaints.

2. Even when people have done everything correctly with proper receipts, changed their oil within 5,000/6mo, the sludge “still occurs!” That’s fact by every account, including theirs. No one is going to issue an 8 yr warranty if they don’t have a problem. Again, it's not the oil, it's the engine!

So here I sit with a car with 30,600 miles, owing $3600+ in payments, another several grand that could run into 5 figures, and I give it back to them in 12 months. And there's not a freaking thing I can do since VW, without gov't interference, has placed the onus on the customer in an obvious attempt to minimize their liability.

If you have a Passat...It's a time bomb. There will be no warning until the flashing stop engine light appears...Kaboom. It's too late.

If you have this 1.8 turbo engine. Sell it. If you don't have a VW, don't buy one!