VW Passat STOP Motor Indicator

extra80

Hi,

I have 2003 Passast V6 4 Motion Wagon with 29,000 Miles on it. Recently the Stop Motor Light Came on. I have not driven the Car since. I have done oil changes on the recommended 5K intervals Has anyone else had a similar experience with the 2.8 L Motor?

After doing research on google, it appears that this issue is common with 1.8 Liter, and VW has extended the warranty for it. Has anyone heard of this issue for 2.8 L Motor? Also it appears that VW is not very responsive. Google Volkswagen Passat Engine Sludge and related keywords, and there appear to be alot of issues out there in terms of VW supporting their product.

Thanks

shipo

"Also it appears that VW is not very responsive. Google Volkswagen Passat Engine Sludge and related keywords, and there appear to be alot of issues out there in terms of VW supporting their product."

The VW sludging issue is far more complicated than that. By every account that I've heard about or read about, if the owner of a car with a failed engine can prove that they'd had their oil changed every 5,000 miles AND used an oil that was VW 502.00 Certified (or better still, VW 503.01 certified), VW will replace the engine, no questions asked. That said, it seems that lots of folks like to ignore the service schedule and then complain that VW won't buy them a new engine when it fails. "Hey, I drove and maintained my 1973 Chevy Malibu that way for years and that engine never quit. Blah, blah, blah..."

One guy here in the TownHall was posting all over the place a couple of months back, screaming about this very issue. When asked if he had adhered to the maintenance schedule he admitted that he hadn't. He also admitted that he'd gone as long as 19,000 miles on a single oil change and most of the rest were between 8,000 and 11,000 miles. Even still he felt that VW should buy him a new engine, so much so that he was wanting to start a class action law suit over the issue. Pretty funny.

Best Regards,
Shipo

extra80

Thanks for the feedback. But if the posts are accurate in some cases passat owners did perform all of the oil changes, but were missing one or two receipts and their claims was denied leading to very costly repairs.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/vw_sludge.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364- x202530

Do you know if self oil changes constitute a proper oil change by VW Standards for warranty replacement. Also are you aware of any document which specifies the requirement in detail?

Are electronic copies of the oil changes OK, or are originals required?

Thanks

shipo

1) Missing receipts can be a nose bleed, that said, in most cases, especially if the dealership performed the service, records are kept by the servicing entity and can be regenerated.
2) DIY oil changes by law are supposed to be acceptable, however, once again; it is typically a nose bleed, one which the manufacturer will usually win.
3) Electronic copies should be enough proof of proper service.
4) The specific requirements for oil service for all VW and Audi cars are available in the Owner's Manual, from the dealership and many places on the web. The following is a chart of VWoA approved oils, from the horse's mouth as it were:

http://www.vw.com/vwcom/content/objects/pdf/service_maint/oilchart.pdf

Keep in mind, for turbocharged engines especially, the above chart is the MINIMUM acceptable specification. Oils certified to meet the far more stringent VW 503.01 specification (by definition a super-set of 502.00) would be the only oils I would use in any VW or Audi. In fact, I am so impressed with 503.01 compliant oils, I've used them in every car and van we've owned since the spec first came out. Errr, well that's a little disingenuous, 503.01 oils also meet the BMW LL-01 spec which is why I originally started using them. FWIW, the only two oils that I know for sure that meet this later specification AND are readily available here in North America are the German made (i.e. says "Made in Germany" on the label) Castrol Syntec 0W-30 and Mobil 1 0W-40. Accept no substitutes. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

extra80

The more I research, the more depressing this is getting:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050514/news_lz1d14sludge1.html

Anyways I have two backup cars, so I can take my time to properly research this before approaching VW.

Thanks

shipo

Do you actually know what the problem with our car is? Given that you have the Audi V6 (an engine that isn't anywhere near as hard on the engine oil as a typical turbocharged engine), I think it's highly unlikely that your engine is sludged and requires replacement, and as such, the repair might could well be fairly trivial.

Best Regards,
Shipo

extra80

Thanks,

I'll keep you updated. Good to hear the V6 may not be experiencing the same issues.

vwhater3

what is the easiest way to bleed the cooling system? I have a 2000 vw Passat 1.8 turbo, that overheated. I replaced the t-stat, but can't seem to bleed the system. any suggestions would be great. Thank You