VW sludge problem

[ProStreetCamaro]

Originally Posted By: Mucho_MPG
And once again, that's why VW rates at the bottom in reliability ratings. Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.



HAHA somebody else said it already! Thank you sir your spot on.

 

[momomeister]

Mobil 1 0w-40 is on the list.

You'll need to get it at an Autozone or store like that. Mercedes Benz dealers should carry that too as it's an oil the MB uses.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Supertech Synth has the Euro A3 spec which VW 502 is based on. Our 2.Slo was run on 15w40 it's whole life, until I recently changed to 5w30 for short trip city driving. It can use any oil. I might even try 5w-20 Havoline in winter.

 

[JosephH1]

This is a common topic on the VW Vortex form. The light brown sludge on your cap is a result of condensation from normal engine heating/cooling cycles. It is very common in VW's especially in the winter. It is not necessarily an indication of a problem. I have a 2006 GTI with a 2.0t motor which IS tough on oil and I have the same brown goo under my cap. Subsequent UOA's show no problems, no coolant in the oil. I suggest that you wipe it off and keep an eye on it, my guess is that you won't see it again until this winter.

 

[JosephH1]

Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro
Originally Posted By: Mucho_MPG
And once again, that's why VW rates at the bottom in reliability ratings. Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.



HAHA somebody else said it already! Thank you sir your spot on.

VERY helpful posts, obviously a couple of VW experts!

I am on my 5th VW, none has gone less than 225,000 miles. My current 2006 GTI has 46,000 trouble free miles. Sure VW made stupid cost cutting moves (window regulators, coils, headlights) but by and large most VWs are reliable. As with most European cars, they are maintenance sensitive. Anyhow, the 2.0 in the Beetle is a engine that has not had sludge problems, but Auto Rx certainly won't hurt anything. Good luck!

 

[lovcom]

Originally Posted By: JosephH1
Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro
Originally Posted By: Mucho_MPG
And once again, that's why VW rates at the bottom in reliability ratings. Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.



HAHA somebody else said it already! Thank you sir your spot on.

VERY helpful posts, obviously a couple of VW experts!

I am on my 5th VW, none has gone less than 225,000 miles. My current 2006 GTI has 46,000 trouble free miles. Sure VW made stupid cost cutting moves (window regulators, coils, headlights) but by and large most VWs are reliable. As with most European cars, they are maintenance sensitive. Anyhow, the 2.0 in the Beetle is a engine that has not had sludge problems, but Auto Rx certainly won't hurt anything. Good luck!


According to ConsumerReports, OWNERS of VW's have proven that VW is the brand that ranks the lowest in reliability/durability. In addition, VW's generally get mediocre reviews by the experts reviewing cars. VW cars generally drive fantastic, but what good is that if they are problemmatic? In contrast to VW, which you claim is very maintenence sensitive, a Honda Civic can be neglected, and treated like craap and it will often take a lot of neglect for it to be unreliable...you have to work hard to make most Japanese models unreliable....with a VW, one can OFTEN maintain it by the book and it still is very problemmatic. Our family has owned 5 VW's all new and every single one of them had major issues throughout the time we owned them. For us, never again will we trust "german engineering"...Japanese all the way!

 

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted By: lovcom
Originally Posted By: JosephH1
Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro
Originally Posted By: Mucho_MPG
And once again, that's why VW rates at the bottom in reliability ratings. Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.



HAHA somebody else said it already! Thank you sir your spot on.

VERY helpful posts, obviously a couple of VW experts!

I am on my 5th VW, none has gone less than 225,000 miles. My current 2006 GTI has 46,000 trouble free miles. Sure VW made stupid cost cutting moves (window regulators, coils, headlights) but by and large most VWs are reliable. As with most European cars, they are maintenance sensitive. Anyhow, the 2.0 in the Beetle is a engine that has not had sludge problems, but Auto Rx certainly won't hurt anything. Good luck!


According to ConsumerReports, OWNERS of VW's have proven that VW is the brand that ranks the lowest in reliability/durability. In addition, VW's generally get mediocre reviews by the experts reviewing cars. VW cars generally drive fantastic, but what good is that if they are problemmatic? In contrast to VW, which you claim is very maintenence sensitive, a Honda Civic can be neglected, and treated like craap and it will often take a lot of neglect for it to be unreliable...you have to work hard to make most Japanese models unreliable....with a VW, one can OFTEN maintain it by the book and it still is very problemmatic. Our family has owned 5 VW's all new and every single one of them had major issues throughout the time we owned them. For us, never again will we trust "german engineering"...Japanese all the way!


2nding what he said. My step father owned a 02 Passat (1.8T), the engine failed at 60K. It was oil sludge that built up because he was using non-synthetic oil.

Interior accessories, coils, headlights, and a host of other electrical gremlins are not maintenance items.

 

[Volvohead]

We currently have an '06 Jetta 2.5 that has had ZERO problems after 30k (other than a wee one kicking in the rear console vents). Not even a rattle in the dashboard. And it's made in Mexico, of all places.

According to CR, the Jetta is one of their "recommended" used car picks for high reliability. And they're spot on. Ours is very well assembled, and has held up. It is a lot more fun to drive and according to CR, VWs tend to road test with them better than comparable Japanese models.

So VW can produce a very trouble-tree vehicle.

We're replacing it with a SportWagen TDI (at double the MPG) in a couple months, but regretfully so.

 

[ARB1977]

I dont care what CR's says or anyone in that matter. They do cost alot to maintain other than that my wifes 97 2.0L has been great.

 

[ctrcbob]

Back in the early 90's, I worked in a VW shop. The technicians all would tell me that the most troublefree VW of the day, was the one made in Brazil, called the VW Fox. Did not look like much, but it was trouble free.

I saw so many other problems with VW's back then,

(rear "solid" axles that were machined wrong and would wear out rear tires) (heater cores that the US government forced VW to recall) (A Passat that blew an engine as it was being removed from the truck)(valve guides that wore out quickly because they were too short and would cause the valve stems to chatter - US Government forced VW to recall)(etc. etc. etc.)

that I swore I would never buy one. If you like them, fine, but for me, the cost is more than the value.

 

[Audi Junkie]

The problem with the rating of VWs is that a lot of people come from other makes that are not so forgiving, plus issues like the bad batch of coilpacks makes for bad reviews from owners who might not share the same insights as myself.

My older female cousin is one example, she had easily maintained VWs: Rabitt, Fox ana Jetta all in killer Maine climate, driven 250k until they even saw a fresh strut, starter or wheel bearing. Then she got a Passat 1.8T and killed the engine 3 times before that point. She still likes her car and replaced it with a V6 Passat Wagon 4Mo.

One source of info I cite is something called "low-speed crash tests", which involves light bumps into a angled wall, back into a pole, etc. The total repair costs are added up. Some cars like KIA and Focus are $3500 in repairs, where VW Beetle, Golf and Audi A6 end up at ZERO or $50-$150. I saw the slow-mo film of the Mazda 626 vs A6 going into the angled wall. The Mazda looked like it was packed with explosives inside the bumper while the A6 just rippled a bit and returned back to orig position. How can you compare that???

 

[JDD]

I've owned my last VW. It was a mid 90s Jetta for my wife. One of the few vehicles I bought new and was in the shop a total of 3 months the first 2 years. I should have applied for lemon law status but didn't. They never did find the problem. Wouldn't start when cold without cranking for at least 30 seconds. I have owned 4 other VWs before that and they all were troublesome. The best one I owned was the first gen diesel and even that one had problems with AC (seized) and injector pumps. 50% of the people I know who have VWs love them and the other 50 hate them.

 

[Volvohead]

Despite my moniker, I've owned VWs for close to 30 years. I mentioned the trouble free Jetta 2.5, but we also had a 1980 Rabbit diesel that wasn't a good car until I literally rebuilt the entire thing from the wheels up. Then it was great. Our machinist, who had been at it for over 40 years at the time, thought the little VW diesel was a better block than what Mercedes made at the time. That it needed grade 12 metric bolts to reliably hold an AC compressor aboard it (that VW didn't specify) was another issue.

I think with this particular vehicle maker, based on the engineering and the materials and manufacturing price point, is that the cars operate very well until they break for the FIRST time. I believe that related parts and subsystems are so engineered and stressed that an ancillary failure often times stresses them past the edge, and they soon malfunction, too. It's a domino effect. A strange theory? Perhaps. But I've seen it with too many VWs. For more money, the better German makers can engineer a larger performance margin before failure.

Perhaps the trick with a VW is not to get too much candy and not to go overboard on performance options on the order sheet. Plain jane and base level VWs seem to do much better. Just my 2c.

 

[Drivebelt]

Wow. A real love or hate for VW.

VW had some issues in the mid to late 1990's (Mark III Jetta/Golf) which drove down their "reliability' ratings. My understanding is they had a narrow range of components that caused problems on a lot of vehicles, contributing to low ratings. With the Mark IV in the early 2000's I think VW has improved a lot. The Mk IVJetta was rated excellent. I think the overall long term durability of the major components on VW's tends to be very good. Over at the TDI forum people are running their VW's 100,000's of miles. I don't know Consumer Reports methodology in rating vehicles and how they calculate reliability ratings. I'd rather have a few small problems than a major component blow out. I don't know if that is reflected in their ratings.

The 2.0l VW engines are not prone to sludge. You can run any SM conventional 5-6k miles changes and the engines should go 300k miles easy. The oil level needs to be checked regularly and topped up on these engines -- particularly if you use the lighter 30 weight oils 5/10W-30 (as opposed to 40 weights). The SOHC 2.0l's can use oil and may use the lighter weight oils at a fairly good pace. The lighter weight oils won't hurt the engines, but the oil level may need to be checked more often.

Quote:
They have been taking it to have its oil done at a shop-i believe the oil they have been using is conventional-with a champ e-core filter(YIKES)-My sister drives …

Hopefully whoever is changing the oil on that vehicle is providing good service with a quality oil (lots of shoddy service stories around). I much prefer to change my own oil, as I know it's being done right with good quality oil, although, I realize this may not be practical for evryone.

Quote:
This is a common topic on the VW Vortex form. The light brown sludge on your cap is a result of condensation from normal engine heating/cooling cycles. It is very common in VW's especially in the winter. It is not necessarily an indication of a problem.

I agree.

 

[artificialist]

I have seen plenty of nasty goo inside an engine where a gasket failure caused coolant to enter the oiling system.

Of course most of those cases were GM V engines with poorly designed intake gaskets.

 

[rangerfan24]

Manual says 5w30. Should I go with rotella 5w-40 or M1 0w-40? Or should is tick with the synthetic 5w30 plan.


ps. The M1 filter has an extremely odd bypass valve-look inside and you cannot view the media or center tube. i will stick with pureone or aatgs for this application.

 

[Drivebelt]

I think if you are going to do 5k mile oil changes, any SM rated 5w30 will be fine. You could go longer with a synthetic -- those 2.0l (have a timing belt) aren’t particularly hard on oil.

 

[fendertweed]

our 98 Passat 1.8t ran for 130,000 miles w no sludge issues, no problem (was totalled unrelated to engine issues), always used 5W30 Mobil 1 and it ran great ... VWs are not the most reliable but I disagree that you can abuse & ignore your Honda and have it last a long time, the 130k Passat was a much tighter car than any 130k Honda I've seen (and I have nothing against Honda, have owned them & will again probably).

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

For those defending VW after a few comments were made about how unreliable they really are here is what I have personaly seen of them.


1. My best friends GF has a passat with 80,000 miles on it now.
Here is a list of the problems she has had.

1. Transmission is now slipping like crazy and needs rebuilt
2. Coil went bad
3. thermastat housing blew out (what moron thinks is a wise idea to use plastic for a THERMASTAT housing? Hot, cold, hot, cold etc etc DUH!!!!!!!! I had to go put it on my car trailer and tow it home for her so my friend could fix it.)
4. BOTH drive axles flew apart
5. There is more but i cant remember everything off the top of my head


2. Now my fiances best friends passat turbo that had 90K when she couldnt take it any longer and got rid of it

1. Blown head gasket
2. bad coil
3. The flipping fuel line broke under the car and stranded her on the highway!!!!!! COME ON PLASTIC FUEL LINE UNDER THE CAR???????
4. Window fell off the track and crashed down in the door
5. Traded it for a new Cobalt and has been super happy ever since.


Another guy I knew from our car club bought a new GTI or something like that and after a year he had to sell it. It was in the shop litteraly more than on the road.

Another guy from our car club bought a new tourage or what ever they are called. Again the same story. He owned it a little over a year and couldnt stand all the problems so off it went for some other poor idiot to buy it.


So dont sit there and tell me that VW's are reliable when in fact they are complete and utter JUNK. None of these people abused there cars but they were falling apart with less than 90K on them.


Sorry about the rant but the truth is the truth even if it hurts somebodys pride.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: ProStreetCamaro
For those defending VW after a few comments were made about how unreliable they really are here is what I have personaly seen of them.


1. My best friends GF has a passat with 80,000 miles on it now.
Here is a list of the problems she has had.

1. Transmission is now slipping like crazy and needs rebuilt
2. Coil went bad
3. thermastat housing blew out (what moron thinks is a wise idea to use plastic for a THERMASTAT housing? Hot, cold, hot, cold etc etc DUH!!!!!!!! I had to go put it on my car trailer and tow it home for her so my friend could fix it.)
4. BOTH drive axles flew apart
5. There is more but i cant remember everything off the top of my head


2. Now my fiances best friends passat turbo that had 90K when she couldnt take it any longer and got rid of it

1. Blown head gasket
2. bad coil
3. The flipping fuel line broke under the car and stranded her on the highway!!!!!! COME ON PLASTIC FUEL LINE UNDER THE CAR???????
4. Window fell off the track and crashed down in the door
5. Traded it for a new Cobalt and has been super happy ever since.


Another guy I knew from our car club bought a new GTI or something like that and after a year he had to sell it. It was in the shop litteraly more than on the road.

Another guy from our car club bought a new tourage or what ever they are called. Again the same story. He owned it a little over a year and couldnt stand all the problems so off it went for some other poor idiot to buy it.


So dont sit there and tell me that VW's are reliable when in fact they are complete and utter JUNK. None of these people abused there cars but they were falling apart with less than 90K on them.


Sorry about the rant but the truth is the truth even if it hurts somebodys pride.


Not to be argumentative, but would me condemning all GM products as junk because of the number of engines I've seen die due to intake gasket issues be fair in your eyes? After all, this is pretty much what you've just done with VW.........

For every one of your friends, I can think of somebody who has had spectacular luck with VW's, one of them being my old Automotive Mechanics teacher....... Two Jetta TDI's, 1 million on the 1st one..... have no idea how many miles he put on the 2nd.....

No automotive manufacturer has a perfect track record, but if some were as bad as some seem to feel, they would not still be in business. Remember, VW, Porsche and Audi are much like GM, Pontiac and Cadillac.....