"Keep on Plonkin'" <Plonk (AT) plunk (DOT) com> wrote

The car has done over 4,000 miles (it's now at just over 50k miles) since
the first oil-pressure warning incident (when the sensor was replaced) - are
you saying the engine could have survived that long whilst oil-starved?
Also, with the new sensor, there was no warning, so do I assume that the
first sensor was NOT faulty and that the new one IS? ;o)

It's been serviced by Audi whenever required by them, but if you look at my
subject line, you'll see it's out of warrantee now anyway...

And are you seriously saying it needs a complete oil-change every 5,000
miles???

"Marcus Redd" <read (AT) it (DOT) com> wrote

When these engines "sludge", they do not lose all oil flow-- it is reduced
to some marginal level for some period of time, which causes insufficient
lubrication and increased wear. The engine runs, but the bearings
experience increased wear (VW checks the cam bearings for wear for this
problem, and replaces the entire engine if wear is out of spec). Given the
known problems with this engine, it is unwise to keep driving them for any
length of time when you get a low pressure warning without pulling the pan
and checking for "turbo turds" (hard coked bits of oil) in the oil screen
and pickup tube. Given your mileage (and possibly your service history)
your motor is a prime candidate for this problem.

If you get an oil-starvation failure you may need a new engine. Because of
this problem, VW/Audi extended the drivetrain warranty against sluding,
provided the owner has proof of proper oil changes. Even today, some
VW/Audi dealers continue to use the wrong filter and oil in these engines.
capacity by about 0.5 quarts) and the use of synthetic oil meeting VW/Audi
502 specs. This was outlined in TSB in 2004--check with your dealer's
service department about this. I know the relevant VW TSBs are 17-04-01 and
17-04-02. (engine oil warning) and engine oil and filter specs.

Just enter the following into Google, you'll find plenty of info:
+VW +Audi +1.8T +sludging +larger +synthetic

A few results:
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/arch.../t-132442.html

http://www.grumblemutterspit.org/vws...64 1cbf2a058b

http://www.automotiveforums.com/t255...ure_alarm.html

http://experts.about.com/q/Automotiv...ter-Passat.htm


VW Passat and Audi A4 use essentially the same engine mounted in the same
way, so 1.8T info for either applies to both.

Yes.
It's not out of warranty for the Sludge issue. (Warranty was extended for
this)
See my story at
http://members.cox.net/ambox/audi_sludge/

Of special note is that the Audi dealer claimed a faulty sensor for mine
(they screwed around with me replacing the LEVEL sensor even though it was
the pressure warning that lit).

The pressure warning will light when the pressure gets bellow 20psi at
speed. That's enough pressure for the car to run for a long time. Changing
the oil may restore some oil pressure by removing some large particles that
are temporarily blocking the oil pump suction screen, giving you some
reprieve.

GET THE PRESSURE CHECKED

First, you yourself can simply look in your oil filler cap and see how
things look.

Hope it's not sludge

--Art



"Marcus Redd" <read (AT) it (DOT) com> wrote

"Art M" <Xarthurruhtra (AT) netscape (DOT) netX> wrote

"Art M" <Xarthurruhtra (AT) netscape (DOT) netX> wrote

Art - thanks for this info.

Is there any official Audi site where this extended warranty is mentioned?

I've looked at the letter you received - is it possible this only applies in
the US? I'm in the UK.

"Marcus Redd" <read (AT) it (DOT) com> wrote

I never received the warranty letter. It's possible that the previous owner
did. That link on my site is to someone elses site.

It's possible that it only applies in the US. Here Audi (of America) paid
for oil changes at 10000 mile intervals, but they allowed and used mineral
oil at those long intervals instead of synthetic which I'm told was a bad
idea in a turbo.

So, have you verified that you do have an oil pressure / sludge problem?

I'm always interested in hearing about the oil change history that led to
that. If you want to tell me more you can send me a message at arthurruhtra
at netscape dot net.

It's an understatement to say I'm not a big fan of AoA. It's bad enough they
didn't cover my sludge problem under warranty at 36k miles, but they negated
the warranty and refused to cover anything as unrelated as a broken radio
and refused to do the 40k service work at no charge.

--Art

"Art M" <Xarthurruhtra (AT) netscape (DOT) netX> wrote

Ok, just got the car back from Audi as it finally developed bad noises from
the top-end on Christmas Eve - nice...

They confirmed it WAS a sludge issue, dropped the sub-frame, removed the
sump and cleaned it all out. It now has fully-synthetic oil in it.

The engine appears to be fine - the contact guy at Audi commented on what a
lovely quiet engine it is. It's pulling like a freight-train again and
sounds just as inaubible as it did before the incident.

Regarding the warranty being extended - that appears only to be true for
Audi in the US. I emailed Audi UK and got this response:

Total bill was 370UKP. Ironically, I was intending taking it to Audi in the
days immediately following Christmas to get the oil pressure checked, as I
was really not happy about it continuing to beep after having a second
sensor replaced. Just as a quick recap, we had the pressure-sensor replaced
back when we bought the car in April '06, as well as a full oil-change and
new filter, which made the problem go away until November. I find it hard to
believe that the car has been suffering from low oil-pressure for all of
that period and yet the engine still sounds as quiet as it does.

Anyway, thanks for your interest and taking the time to reply.

They negated your warranty??? How could they do that?

"Marcus Redd" <read (AT) it (DOT) com> wrote


The dealer said Audi was calling it a "neglected vehicle" because the
previous owner went 12,400 miles before the second oil change (with mineral
oil and the small oil filter the dealers were using back then). From cases
I've heard of around here VW is much more accommodating than Audi on the
sludge issue.

I bought the car directly from a friend. He asked the service manager to
make sure the warranty would still apply to me and to find out if there were
any problems with the car. They had to know it had a sludge problem. Anyone
who knew about the sludge issue and who looked in my oil filler cap could
tell. I got free service work at first, but once they diagnosed and admitted
it had sludge I was denied coverage on anything. The only work they covered
since then was replacing the recalled fuel pump.

--Art

....if they didn't clean the engine head and valve cover you'll probably have
to do some frequent oil changes now.

"Marcus Redd" <read (AT) it (DOT) com> wrote

Gee, sometimes you do get good advice on Usenet.

Did they check the cam bearings for excessive wear? That is where the wear
shows and is what VW/Audi uses to determine to replace the entire engine.

"Marcus Redd" <read (AT) it (DOT) com> wrote

Gee, sometimes you do get good advice on Usenet.

Did they check the cam bearings for excessive wear? That is where the wear
shows and is what VW/Audi uses to determine to replace the entire engine.