2004 Volkswagen Golf tdi 1.9 I noticed the fuel mileage started to decrease and the vehicle started to produce excess smoke. The problem continued to get worse over the course of the next 2 months. The oil changes were conducted with 0W40 synthetic oil recommended by the manufacture. The fuel filter was changed at 20K, 42K, 50K and 70K to help reduce the sluggishness of the engine. Nothing appeared to correct the problem. At 73500 mile the engine began to lose power during acceleration and under a load. The engine also developed a skip resulting in the engine light indicator turning on. I drove the vehicle to the Volkswagen dealer and indicated all of the above problems to the service representative. The service section checked and replaced the mass air flow sensor and oxygen sensor. Informed me the problem was corrected. I picked up my vehicle and drove less than one block and could not stay in the flow of traffic because of the lack of power. I returned to the service section and dropped the vehicle filling out the paperwork reinforcing the same problems as above. The vehicle had extreme hesitation, lack of power and excessive smoke under acceleration and load. The service tech check the engine and found that the camshaft had no lobes on the 1 and 2 cylinder and the number 3 cylinder was beginning to lose the lobe or rounded. The lack of the lobe prevented the intake and exhaust valves to properly open and close to allow fuel mixture into the cylinder and the exhaust to be removed from the cylinder. This problem could only be corrected by replacing the entire head. The wear on the camshaft is very noticeable and above the number 1 cylinder the camshaft has a deep scratch or gouge in the middle of the lobe. The service technician had no explanation for the rounding of the lobes or the scratch or gouge in the lobe.

- Glennville, GA, USA

Failure to warn.for safety reasons, 2004 Volkswagen vehicles equipped with a 100-hp tdi diesel engine option require use of a special engine oil for all oil changes and topping off of the oil level. Volkswagen has stated that for these engines, "failure to use engine oil for your engine that expressly conforms to Volkswagen oil standard $505.01 can cause engine failure on the highway that can cause a crash and serious personal injury" however, this information was not conveyed to me by Volkswagen. The owner's manual supplied with the car acutally requires use of a non-conforming oil specification, and contains no safety warning. Other owners have received the correct information either in their owner's manuals, or by means of an adhesive yellow and red warning label affixed in the engine compartment. My vehicle also lacks the warning label. Volkswagen has issued a service bulletin 17-03-01 dated Sept 17, 2003 which discusses the requirement for the special oil, but only in the context of warranty coverage and not safety. To attempt to obtain safety warning labels for my vehicle, I have made several contacts with both the dealer and Volkswagen customer care. At this time the dealer is attempting to obtain the stickers for me. The label is identified by Volkswagen as: 241.oilsticker.diesel.pdengine.21 (copyright) 2003 Volkswagen of America, Inc however, while researching the oil information it became apparent to me that there are other Volkswagen owners with the same engine series who are also unaware of the safety warning, and will be until Volkswagen takes the initiative to provide the information.

- Lindsborg, KS, USA