2002 Volkswagen Passat: engine failure

Filed Dec 24, 2010 · Engine · 00

I had a 2002 vw passat with 1.8t engine. Its original engine was dead due to oil sludge 3 years ago; and its replaced engine was dead today again. I think volkswagen should pay back my money, about $6000, for replacing 2 engines; and recall this engine immediately.

Filed Dec 13, 2010 · Brakes · 113,000 miles · MA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. When the contact started the ignition and attempted to engage the brake pedal, there was no response as a result of a frozen brake line. The failure would occur during cold weather temperatures. There was an opened and closed defect investigation associated with the federal safety agency action number pe07018 (service brakes, hydraulic: power assist: vacuum). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. In addition, on a separate occasion, the engine stalled and emitted blue smoke from the exhaust system after a rain. Also the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was previously repaired for the engine failure. The failure mileage was 113,000.

Filed Feb 27, 2009 · Engine · 54,818 miles · CA

Oil pump sludge on my volkswagen 2002 1.8t passat engine light came on. Engine quite working in the middle of the freeway. It only had 54,818 miles. I had to pay 10,000 out of my own pocket to replace the engine.

Filed Jun 16, 2008 · Engine · 80,000 miles · NY

Engine was running rough, engine light came on (flashing), I was advised engine was missing on a cylinder and could drive 'slowly' to the mechanic. On way to dealership warning light came on (stop - no engine oil). Mechanic changed vacuum hose and reset computer, engine not loosing oil. Week later - warning light (stop - no engine oil). Mechanic confirmed engine was not loosing oil. Took to vw dealership. Dealership advised vacuum hoses were 'bad'. Original mechanic changed vacuum hoses. Week later - warning light (stop - no engine oil). Took to vw dealership - dealership advised "after market parts" (vacuum hoses) causing issue. - changed hose. Day later - warning light (stop- no engine oil) - took back to vw dealership - dealership advised hoses are 'bad' - replaced 3 other hoses. About 2 weeks later - engine running poorly, delay when pulling out from stops, took to vw dealership. Dealership took apart engine. Advised that they 'scraped carbon deposits' from the filter leading to the oil pump. (cost $500+) car ran well for approx 2 weeks. Spoke to original mechanic about 'carbon deposits'. Mechanic advised 'carbon deposits' are 'engine sludge' - vw will not replace engine under 'sludge' recall because I do not have all oil change receipts for the last 6 years.

Filed Mar 21, 2008 · Electrical, Engine · 86,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 volkswagen passat. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle began shaking violently and shut down in the middle of an intersection. The vehicle then skidded into an intersection and almost struck a child. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the ignition coil housing burned. The dealer would not repair the vehicle or allow him to pay $785 with a credit card to repair the ignition coil. The turbo coil also failed; however, the dealer does not agree with this diagnosis. The manufacturer was unable to assist. The contact also smelled electrical wiring burning. He stated that oil breaks down prematurely, which caused the engine to seize and the vehicle to overheat. The manufacturer stated in writing that they see no reason why they should offer any assistance, and that there was a previous recall on a case by case basis related to other engine failures. The federal trade commission complaint number was 13323205. The current mileage was 101,222 and failure mileage was 86,000.

Filed Feb 6, 2008 · Engine · 55,000 miles · NY

Oil sludge -- need new engine.

Filed Nov 16, 2007 · Engine · 84,000 miles · NY

I pay $1500 for used 2002 passat vw two years ago now dealer wants to charge me $ 6700 for new engine. Old engine was damage due to engine sludge. I submitted regular oil change receipts and was denied warranty. My passat has 84,000 mile and only two years of riding enjoyment. My car sitting at dealership for almost two weeks. Please help car needed for work.

Filed Jun 17, 2007 · Engine · 87,000 miles · MN

I'm religious about changing the oil in the car, about the maintenance and care of it. I love my volkswagen passat. I had the oil pressure light came on once or twice over the last two years, but always took it into a shop for regular maintenance. The light always went off and nothing ever happened. However, there has been a lot of sludge buildup in the engine, despite the best efforts. So much so that the oil pump was blocked and the engine seized as a result. I had the oil pressure warning come on the day my car died. It was a few miles after it went on it stopped running and I had to push my car into it's parking spot at home. Volkswagen dealers @ the burnsville location told me that they had started with a 100,000 mile warranty on the passats, but that it had become cost ineffective and so cut the warranty to 50,000. My car seized at under 87,000. I've not been able to afford to fix it, as yet. Had to take time off work and so my paycheck was greatly reduced. Haven't been able to make the car payment on it either, as a result, which has a balance of near to $10,000.00.

Filed Nov 12, 2006 · Brakes, Engine · MD

I owned a 2002 vw passat v6 for 2 years. Three times within that time during rainstorms, the engine died and all the electrical equipment, including the power brakes , failed. I have just found out that the air intake for the engine is either near a wheel well or behind a headlight, as is apparently common for sporty cars. The water gets sucked into the engine. Vw charged me $9000 after the second event, blaming it on pine needles in drainage wells. Five days later, I went through a small puddle and it happened again. I sold the car. I think this warrants investigation as a major safety hazard.

Filed Apr 21, 2006 · Engine · 55,256 miles · SC

Customer was driving from mississippi when light come on reading stop. Customer stopped vehicle. Nothing found wrong. Drove to south carolina without anymore incident. Took vehicle into dealer in columbia, sc when got here to have oil changed, and check out vehicle for light coming on. Dealership performed oil change, said they could not duplicate problem. Sold customer on replacing both front cv joint boots and repacking bearings. Two weeks later light came back on reading stop, oil pressure. Turned vehicle off, had towed to dealership. Dealer said they were checking car, would have to order new oil pan. Called dealer when didn't hear back for several days, told engine had oil sludge, would need to get all receipts for oil changes to get covered under warranty. Called three dealerships, all said would fax records. One faxed records, but the service manager that had them was no longer working there when we went to dealership and records were gone. Records were faxed from all 3, no oil changes now existed. After talking to vw america, got some oil changes sent, said that was our responsibility to provide. Asked dealer what the actual problem was with engine, not sure, but I needed to buy a new or remanufactured one though. I requested to speak to tech who worked on car, he said they found the problem when brought car in for oil change first time, said bearings burned out in engine, when they used the synthetic oil that was now recommended by vw, it would have freed up the sludge in the engine and caused it to clog up the oil pump and the bearing to be burned as they were. I know that customer having problem locating three oil changes from various facilities, 55k mi on car, vw not even considering any assistance in engine replacement. Strongly advise against engine repair only replacement, denial of any responsibility on vx part.

Filed Apr 5, 2006 · Engine · 51,000 miles · OH

I received a letter from volkswagen (vw) of america, dated august 2004, detailing an engine malfunction being reported by some vw owners. The problem is described as "oil sludge." as a result the letter states that my warranty on the 2002 vw passat is being extended to 8 years regardless of mileage. It goes onto state that, "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." on march 18, 2006, I was returning from a conference in wisconsin when my engine light and oil lamp appeared on my car. I had my car towed to hatfield vw. I was shocked to find out that vw would not even diagnose the problem until I could produce "documentation" of oil changes. While my husband was outraged, I was confident that all would be resolved. My husband changes the oil in both our vehicles from products purchased from autozone; however, he did not realize that I began keeping documented records on my computer at home detailing the date and mileage of our oil changes. I began doing this as a result of the august 2002 letter from vw. I soon found out from the hatfield vw service department that my oil change log was not sufficient "documentation." I spent the next 2-3 days working with chase bank in order to get my bank statements. I found the purchases to autozone, and each corroborated with the log. I took them to the hatfield regional manager on saturday, march 25, 2006. He felt confident that the matter would be resolved. As soon as we got home, we received a call from the hatfield service manager stating that the documentation was insufficient. The service manager told us we needed itemized receipts. I went to autozone that evening and was able to reproduce the last oil change receipt. I was then informed that I needed a new engine costing $4000-5000.00, yet they had no diagnosis.

Filed Mar 14, 2006 · Engine · 91,000 miles · NJ

My wife purchased a 2002 passat with a 1.8t engine. All was well (except for the very expensive maintenance on this vehicle) up until a couple of weeks ago. My check engine light came on so I took it to the dealer. They told me they were going to clean the throttle body and replace an axle boot. This was a friday morning and I had my car friday night, $512 later. Saturday I took the car for inspection and it failed due to emissions. On monday (2 days later) the check engine light came on again. I took it back to the dealer tuesday morning. Wednesday I picked it up. Belts were changed, including the timing belt, the water pump was changed, and various other repairs not properly explained to me. This time it cost me an additional $1,087.00. So far in less than a week I had spent $1,600.00. Thursday morning I drove to work and I called the dealer to report that I still felt a "twitch" in the engine. He said that was "strange" and asked me to bring it in. On thursday I was driving to a lunch meeting with a colleague when all of a sudden a loud rattling noise was heard coming from the engine. I immediately pulled over and discovered engine oil all over the ground. I called the dealer who was "shocked" and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. Turns out the engine threw a rod right threw the block and oil pan. Basically my engine is toast. Coincidence? I have a hard time swallowing that. This is less than one week after I originally took the car in and they worked on it. Now I have to spend upwards of $4,000.00 to fix this and no one, not the dealer and certainly now vw, is willing to help me with this. Vw totally dismissed me because while the car is only 4 years old it has 91,000 miles. I have kept up with the maintenance and an engine should not throw a rod after 90,000. This is obviously a defect of some kind or something the mechanic at the dealership did to it.