My car consumes an over abundant amount of oil about 1 quart every 1000 to 1500 miles. There is a civil lawsuit right now about the piston rings having low tension and my car has every symptom of this. This could lead to turbo issues, and several thousands of dollars in repair costs. I’ve already had to replace my oil pan, timing cover, and pcv and the car only has 80,000 miles on it.
Volkswagen Passat oil consumption problems
46 of the 7,709 owner complaints about the Volkswagen Passat describe excessive oil consumption, most of them for the 2014 model year.
- owner complaints
- 46
- worst model year
- 2014
- typical mileage
- 54,000
Is there a fix? There are 5 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20222
- 20181
- 20164
- 20154
- 20148
- 20133
- 20121
- 20101
- 20091
- 20084
- 20071
- 20061
- 20051
- 20042
- 20033
- 20022
- 20011
- 19994
- 19982
Often reported together
Check engine light 8Engine failure 5Misfire 4Loss of power 4Stalling 3Fire or smoke 2Won't start 1Slipping 1
What owners say
The vehicle experienced repeated catastrophic engine failures, including failure of a replacement engine. Approximately six months after purchase and at around 80,000 miles, the engine failed and required a complete engine replacement through Volkswagen and the MaxCare service contract. Approximately one to one and a half years later, at around 120,000 miles, the replacement engine also failed. The vehicle developed rough idle conditions, check engine light warnings, timing chain and camshaft-related issues, lubrication-related concerns, and severe engine performance problems. Volkswagen later recommended another complete engine rebuild or replacement along with additional engine-related repairs. The vehicle became non-operable and could no longer be safely or reliably driven. The repeated failure of both the original engine and replacement engine suggests an ongoing defect-related condition rather than normal wear or an isolated mechanical failure. The problems were confirmed and documented by Volkswagen service personnel. Similar engine-related concerns involving oil consumption, lubrication issues, timing system concerns, and engine performance problems are also reflected in Volkswagen Technical Service Bulletins involving this type of engine.
Manufacturers defect. Known excessive oil consumption of the 2.0 Turbo 4 cylinder engine.
Local dealership requesting for Volkswagen to authorize an inspection at no charge due to excessive oil consumption. Please see attachment from dealership.
There has been an excessive oil consumption in this vehicle , and reading other reports there maybe an issue, also this vehicle has been part of several recalls previously and I am concerned and I don’t feel safe to drive it . I would like for VW to inspect the car free of charge for this particular issue.
Gas and Oil comsumption is way too high … Almost every 600-1000 the low oil lights turns on! Check engine on almost all the time due to an error with the oxígen sensor. EPC light gets on very frequently and the car loses speed. Also vehicle has a constant rattlesnake sound when speed is low. Issue was reported some years ago to a local VW dealership in Georgia but they never took care of the issue. Ongoing for a couple of years!. No additional details
The contact owns a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving a 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where she informed the mechanic that she had to top off the oil reservoir with 1 to 2 quarts of oil every two weeks. The mechanic informed her that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil and referred her to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where she was informed that the upper timing chain cover and transmission oil cooler needed to be replaced. Upon investigation, the contact discovered the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V182000 (Power Train) which she linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and she was informed that her vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle had yet to be repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 149,000.
I bought an extended warranty on this car and it does not cover ESC light coming on . Car is burning oil. I’m afraid to drive due to the ESC also car misfires hardly
The oil light/message comes on, the engine burns oil excessively about 1 quart every 1,000 miles or so. Our biggest fear is that this will continue to get worse and the engine may seize up at some point due to this issue and cause a loss of power and/or a severe accident for us or anyone operating one of these VW vehicles with the same issue. VW indicated that this is "normal" but it does not seem "normal". We have never owned a vehicle (even older vehicles back in the 80s/90s) that had an issue like this, and this is a newer (2015) vehicle that we bought brand new. We had the shop look at the vehicle and they said it is burning oil and there might be a class-action against VW for it burning oil. It did not have this issue until some time after 30,000 miles which tells us that something changed in the engine at some point. With all of the burning oil, this cannot be good for air quality and the environment - not sure how many of these engines are on the road currently, but multiplied out it has to be contrary to any clean air acts that may exist in various states or at the federal level. Additionally, the oil is special "european" and is relatively expensive - the manufacturer indicates up to 10,000 miles between oil changes, so that could be up to 10 quarts of oil burning into the atmosphere (and costing money) for a single VW vehicle every few months, not to mention the safety concern if someones engine seizes up as a result causing a loss of power, loss of power steering, loss of power brakes, etc. The date shown for 'incident' is the most recent date that we had to add oil due to this issue.
The car burns an excessive amount of oil and the problem seems to be the same as those that VW settled a class action for on it’s early year model of the same car. Basically I burn a quart of oil every 500 miles and the engine isn’t leaking any oil.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling: engine
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Jetta, Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Passat, Golf and Golf SportWagen vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the camshaft lobe that drives the brake vacuum pump may shear off, resulting in a loss of brake assist.
- Risk
- If the camshaft lobe shears off there would be a loss of brake assist, lengthening the distance needed to stop the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volkswagen dealer will update the engine control module (ECM) software. The recall began March 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1‑800‑822‑8987. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 23R1.
Recall number 15V705000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- Volkswagen is recalling 4,079 my 2008 passat and 2,500 my 2009 tiguan passenger vehicles equipped with 2.0t fsi ulev ii engines. These vehicles have an engine control module (ECM) containing software that may not properly control engine idle with the air conditioning turned on. In rare cases, the ECM may unexpectedly increase engine RPM.
- Risk
- An engine surge caused by an unexpected increase in engine RPM may surprise the vehicle operator and can result in a crash without warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and update the ECM software free of charge. The recall began on may 30, 2008. Owners may contact volkswagen at 1‑800‑893‑5298.
Recall number 08V235000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: cooling system
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. If the engine backfires during a cold-start, an air screen which is loosely seated in the air flow meter can become damaged.
- Risk
- Screen pieces could enter the intake air flow system and prevent the throttle plate from returning to its full idle position.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a retaining ring to hold the air screen in place.
Recall number 98V134000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: cooling system
- What is wrong
- In the event the engine overheats and the vehicle is operated continuously in that condition, the coolant pressure will rise to a level at which the heat exchanger could leak.
- Risk
- A leaking heat exchanger will allow hot coolant to escape causing injury to the driver's feet or could steam up the interior of the vehicle temporarily impairing the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a vehicle accident.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the heat exchanger on these vehicles.
Recall number 96V115000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: cooling system: fan
- What is wrong
- Improper material was used in manufacturing the radiator fan motor shaft causing the shaft to wear and become noisy.
- Risk
- A worn and noisy fan motor shaft can seize renderingthe fan motor inoperative, eventually causing the engine to overheat and stall. A stalled vehicle in traffic can increase the potential for a vehicle accident.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the complete cooling fan assembly on vehicle having the potential shaft material problem. Dealers will install a new fan blade including a new lock nut on vehicle with loose fan blade lock nuts.
Recall number 95V178000 · Recall details
Questions about the Volkswagen Passat oil consumption
Which Volkswagen Passat years have excessive oil consumption problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2014 (8 complaints), 1999 (4 complaints) and 2008 (4 complaints).
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