At around 60,000 miles the low oil light came on. When I checked the oil it was 2 quarts low. Oil was added and all was well (Castrol 5w-30). The oil and filter has always been changed at the normal oil change intervals (5 to 7 thousand miles). At about 85,000 miles the low oil light came on again. This really surprised me as the current oil change was less than 3,000 miles old. 2 quarts were added. Since then the oil consumption has increased to the point that now at 108,000 miles the engine is burning more than 2 quarts per 1000 miles! We really like the car but this is totally unacceptable. Our average car is sold or traded at 200,000 plus miles. This is the first VW product we have owned. The fit & finish is awesome. It drives and rides and performs beyond expectation. After very little research I have found this is an extremely well known issue with this generation of the 1.8 and 2.0 turbo engines. It's an engineering miscalculation that is centered around the piston rings. When I contacted VW directly I was pushed to review their website. There is nothing on their website about this. However, I was informed the warranty is no longer in force. When I read between the lines I see the unwritten fine print: Tough luck! I can replace the engine myself or rebuild it myself. I am more than capable of accomplishing this yet I feel I have been "brushed-off" by the company. We have owned Fords, Nissans, Toyotas, Dodge and Kia products. All of them went to at least 200,000 miles. The Toyota went past 300,000 miles and is still going. We sold it at 220,000 miles after we bought the VW. It does not burn (or leak) a drop of oil. We truly like the VW but hate the engine oil issue. If VW would at least work with us on this issue I would be glad to work it out with them but so far it's simply ignore and obfuscate.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
At around 60,000 miles the low oil light came on. When I checked the oil it was 2 quarts low. Oil was added and all was well (Castrol 5w-30). The oil and filter has always been changed at the normal oil change intervals (5 to 7 thousand miles). At about 85,000 miles the low oil light came on again. This really surprised me as the current oil change was less than 3,000 miles old. 2 quarts were added. Since then the oil consumption has increased to the point that now at 108,000 miles the engine is burning more than 2 quarts per 1000 miles! We really like the car but this is totally unacceptable. Our average car is sold or traded at 200,000 plus miles. This is the first VW product we have owned. The fit & finish is awesome. It drives and rides and performs beyond expectation. After very little research I have found this is an extremely well known issue with this generation of the 1.8 and 2.0 turbo engines. It's an engineering miscalculation that is centered around the piston rings. When I contacted VW directly I was pushed to review their website. There is nothing on their website about this. However, I was informed the warranty is no longer in force. When I read between the lines I see the unwritten fine print: Tough luck! I can replace the engine myself or rebuild it myself. I am more than capable of accomplishing this yet I feel I have been "brushed-off" by the company. We have owned Fords, Nissans, Toyotas, Dodge and Kia products. All of them went to at least 200,000 miles. The Toyota went past 300,000 miles and is still going. We sold it at 220,000 miles after we bought the VW. It does not burn (or leak) a drop of oil. We truly like the VW but hate the engine oil issue. If VW would at least work with us on this issue I would be glad to work it out with them but so far it's simply ignore and obfuscate.
- Gregory D., Seneca, SC, US