2003 Audi A4 Sludge. Need suggestion.
 

My friend owns 2003 Audi A4 1.8T and she has the engine sludge problem.
She has been getting all of her car's oil change at Audi dealership since 2003 and changed her oil ONCE at a shop in langley. Few months back, her car had the engine light on so she took her car for check-up. They said there is a sludge problem and the car has been running with not enough oil and there is a sludge problem with the engine. (BTW, she had her last oil changed at Audi dealership as well.) She asked them how much it would cost and if this can be covered by warranty. They checked all of her paperwork and asked her to bring an invoice from the shop in Langley. She changed her oil in Langley in March,2008. She went to the shop and asked for the invoice. But they didn't have the original invoice so they wrote her one. However, now the Audi Capilano guys are saying that because of missing information on that invoice (such as VIN number and part#), it will not be under warranty. They also think that the oil change that happened in March,2008 can cause the oil sludge problem she has now. Therefore, she needs to pay for the full repair which is engine replacement. Now I never owned an Audi before but I did some googling and found out that the sludge problem isn't rare for older Audi A4s. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.

Not all sludged engines need a replacement. if the cam bearings are not worn out, PCV system and oil pickup replacement, + chemical flush is ok. Sludge may have caused the cam adjuster to be starved of oil and turn the engine light on.

The sludge doesn't happen over night. Oil change every 15000k is just too much for the 1.8T even with synthetic, but that's the recommended service interval.

If you don't agree with a dealership decision regarding warranty repairs you can always ask to speak to the district manager. If that doesn't work out, you can take your issue to VW of Canada. Often times, an agreement can be reached (split cost 60/40 for example).

Personally I never heard of engine sludge issues on that motor. I always thought of the 1.8T as a reliable motor.

The dealership will usually not repair an engine. They will usually replace it. 1.8Ts rarely have sludge problems but they do lose oil every month due to it burning the engine oil. Like what others have said, talk to the manager and maybe the western office for an agreement, but the favour is in VW's side.

nm

I thought it was the other way around where the V6 are reliable and the 1.8T were notorious of having sludge problems.

Anyways, there should be a TSB on this but I can't seem to find it now. I also don't remember on the top of my head but it is how the engine was designed that causes the sludge buildup and not because of that one oil change. It takes time for sludge to build up to a point where it causes engine problems.

This problem also affected VW as well since they shared the same motor.

Agree on not needing an engine replacement
but it seems just like this dealership is just fucking around

btw if there isnt enough oil in the engine wont a light come on?
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It did, if you read the whole post it said the car's CEL came on.

Your friends' car is out of warranty anyways. I don't think you will get much out from them, unless you are a long term, multicar customer.

Take it to any 3rd party shops, most shops have something like this: http://www.bgprod.com/products/engineoil.html

You should be able to find it here: http://www.bgfindashop.com/locator/index.php

It is quick labour intensive, taking the valve cover, pan etc.

The best way is to go get the car VAGCOM'ed to see what exactly is the problem.

i guess dealerships always wonna bs their way out by saying oh u didnt do this and that therefore now ur warranty is void. pile of bs if u ask me :rolleyes:

My MB has an oil level indicator that goes on when the level is - 1L. I would expect the Audi to have the same.

Not enough oil might cause sludge, since the oil would wear faster. Yet I doubt this happened cause of one oil change, sludge builds up over time.

Was Mar 2008 her last oil change? If so, then she probably needs to change her oil more often. The recommended change interval is 15K or 1 year, whichever comes first. I'm coming up on 1 years with only 7K kms on since moving here, time for a change.

If the engine is still running I suggest doing a 2-3 oil changes more often (1-2K kms) to flush the engine. Then drive it till it breaks or trade it in.

Wow, Audis have a oil change interval of 15kms?! I don't trust that even with synthetic oil....

If you don't trust it, get an oil analysis done, then you'll know exactly how long you can run oil. I've read some test results and realized they can get 20K kms.

werd +1

There are also chances the dealership fuked up her engine over the indie shop. Ever heard of bmw stealership doing oil/filter service and ended up not changing the oil nor filter? i have! it's better for them if your car breaks and they'll need to repair it in the future. Dealership recommendations for oil change intervals are not reliable. 10-15k intervals and 'lifetime' tranny fluids are just ways for manufacturers to slowly mess up your car to ensure they can rape you when you bring it back to them for future repairs.

What kind of magical oil analysis are you guys talking about? I get my oil tested every other time I change my oil and the test results sure won't tell me sludge issues! Oil test is not magical! It only tells you about moisture wear, strain of oil and component wear. BTW you are inferencing the status of your engine by the content of the oil.. it doesn't give you a total picture.

Oil analysis can be misleading because it only samples flowing areas... unless you drop the pan or valve cover and do a visual inspection.

BTW it is 10-15k or 1 year whatever comes first.

yet we got some dumbass members on this board believing EVERY words coming out of these so called OEM dealerships

:rolleyes:

go figure

Why not? It is plausible eg the tech at the indie shop dumped say 250ml of coolant into the tank by mistake? That can cause the oil to curdle pretty good.

March,2008 wasnt her last oil change. I know she had her oil change regularly. I will try to contact the regional office and see what they say. I will keep you guys updated. Thanks for all the inputs.
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Okay. Regional Office and the Audi(VW) of Canada has denied her warranty. What options does she have now?

reset the CEL, trade it in and buy a new Audi and let the next sucker deal with it

that is such a douchbag move... but it is a solution :haha:

Park it outside the dealership with a huge sign that says "Capilano Audi sold me a lemon."

For the 1.8Ts I'd recommend changing them from 5-8K, 8K being max regardless if it's synthetic. I run the exact same engine.