I should have known better. The dealer strikes again.

VW of Inver Grove in Minnesota decided that it was okay to put twice the amount of oil in my old 2013 Passat. Apparently one tech had filled it and another accidentally put the oil in my car from another car that was not 501 spec. 180 miles later and the tow truck had to pick me up....

Regardless, the dealer ended up trying to give me a 50 dollar gift card for my troubles but I declined that and turned into a royal pain in their ass until they allowed me to trade in my car for a new one.

It sounds like a great deal, but it really wasn't. The dealer would only allow me to trade for a 6MT from my DSG so I lost a couple of thousand there... but I have the satisfaction of knowing I am less likely to break down in the middle of a cross country trip.

I feel sorry for the sap that they sold that "certified" car to.

Gee...HDNERI...how about the "sap" that drove the car for 180 miles without checking the oil level? Did he even get a dope-slap? Sounds like you should have accepted some of the blame for this, instead of passing it on to the next "sap"...

tdiatlast said:

Gee...HDNERI...how about the "sap" that drove the car for 180 miles without checking the oil level? Did he even get a dope-slap? Sounds like you should have accepted some of the blame for this, instead of passing it on to the next "sap"...

Click to expand...

How many people do you actually know (other than yourself) and some other members here that have had issues with dealer service that actually check the oil AFTER an oil change if there are no lights on the dash? How many actually measure the hash marks to say "oh, it's a 0.8L overfill!" This forums represents a microcosm of VW owners that drive their vehicles as commoditized transportation, the only thing they might do is refill windshield washer fluid or when a light comes on, they bring it into the dealer.

IMHO, sounds like HDNERI did the right thing if I understand the story, the dealer jacked up his ride so he said get me a new one since you messed it up. What am I missing? That checking the oil and saying it's overfilled and going back would have solved it? What if the damage was already done and they drained the overfill gave him back the carand then later on he still had an issue? Would they correlate the two incidents? Most dealers I know wouldn't put that amount of thinking into it.

Roishe Cheng: You're right. I forget that this is primarily and "enthusiast" forum, and far from average. I've taken care of many cars over the years, and anytime ANYONE works on the fluids in my car, I check before I leave their property.
The best dealerships I know around here do the same...the SA checks before the car drives away.
I apologize for sounding harsh. You're right, he got a new car, and, sadly, has passed the (possible) damaged car onto someone else.

In my opinion, if you spend 28,000 dollars on a car which includes a free-maintenance period as a part of the price, a person should be able to have work done at the dealership and not worry about them making obvious mistakes. I would assume that a good majority of people buy new cars with offers like that for the ability to drive without worry. This is the reason that at the age of 26 I have already purposefully bought 3 new cars, if you count this last one it's 4 total. I know that this sounds like a smug remark, but I have much more important things in life the think/worry about than checking my oil after a dealer oil change. If I had brought it to the quick lube down the road, it would be a different story.

As far as accepting part of the blame myself, that idea just ludicrous. Why should I suffer because a piece of the package deal that was contractually agreed upon when the car was purchased failed, potentially causing long term damage to the the vehicle that I bought for the soul purpose of not having to worry about it?

Tdiatlast, I think the saying goes, "don't hate the player, hate the game?"

You can have that opinion HDNERI, but it's not the case. And FWIW, this issue isn't limited to VW dealers. I've had Toyota dealers fail to perform maintenance they charged me for, and Honda dealers completely botch routine service. Fact is any repair shop can be careless or uncaring when it comes to taking care of something you own. If you don't check and follow up it can cost you.

That's why I like to use independent mechanics I can trust. They aren't infallible, but it's a much better arrangement: You can talk to the person turning the wrenches on your car, and they can diagnose correctly and fix what's actually broken, the first time.

I think the bigger issue here is that they MADE you trade it on a lesser model. I would have gotten a lawyer, or called VW customer service.

I am curious as to what finally failed 180 miles later, and did it have any signs before that? Other than draining the oil, what else should be done from a process standpoint if somebody was to keep the car in this situation to check things out?

IndigoBlueWagon said:

You can have that opinion HDNERI, but it's not the case. And FWIW, this issue isn't limited to VW dealers. I've had Toyota dealers fail to perform maintenance they charged me for, and Honda dealers completely botch routine service. Fact is any repair shop can be careless or uncaring when it comes to taking care of something you own. If you don't check and follow up it can cost you.

That's why I like to use independent mechanics I can trust. They aren't infallible, but it's a much better arrangement: You can talk to the person turning the wrenches on your car, and they can diagnose correctly and fix what's actually broken, the first time.

Click to expand...

...and I bet you check the fluids AGAIN before leaving the indie's shop...

It worked out this time, besides the ultimate unfortunes of the individual of family that bought the car in question. If this is such an issue, maybe it's time for me to look into brands that cater to individuals like myself who invest in a new car for the soul purpose of reliability. I wonder what would have happened at a Volvo dealership?

This is my opinion, but I feel that too many people are willing to roll over to the dealerships. What would have happened if I had been that type? I could have been on a trip in the middle of Wyoming during -30 degree night when a seal that was damaged due to their mistake finally goes out in the turbo.... then what? Then I am stuck in a potentially life threatening situation (I tend to be the type to take the lesser traveled path when driving through the West in order to see more of the country/terrain).

From what the service manager said, there was so much pressure that the oil "most likely found its way through a seal into the intake tract." I had been driving in St. Paul when smoke started rolling and I lost all power... we'll not talk about the fact that it was in the afternoon rush hour traffic.

My take away from this is: It will be very hard for me to go back to VW due to the borderline insulting stance the dealership and VW's customer service took on the situation. What happened to the customer is first? That's an easy answer, the bottom line...

If you want reliability (and GOOD customer care), think Japanese Brand.

They don't sell yet a diesel in the USA, though Mazda is working hard to jump through the regulatory hoops.

LokiWolf said:

I think the bigger issue here is that they MADE you trade it on a lesser model. I would have gotten a lawyer, or called VW customer service.

I am curious as to what finally failed 180 miles later, and did it have any signs before that? Other than draining the oil, what else should be done from a process standpoint if somebody was to keep the car in this situation to check things out?

Click to expand...

I agree. I'd be interested to know what it was that failed from the overfill. As far as the dealer trading cars over this issue....well......let's just say that they're under no obligation to do so, only to fix what broke on the car as a result of the oil overfill (and, from reading "HDNERI"'s post, let's hope it wasn't 501 oil). That (and warrantying any consequent damage) would be the extent of the legal concept of "making whole" the person whose car had been messed up.

tdiatlast said:

...and I bet you check the fluids AGAIN before leaving the indie's shop...

Click to expand...

Picked up my son's car at my local guru's last night, one thing he did was change the oil and filter. Promptly drove it 100 miles to swap my son for my Passat. Never checked the oil. Didn't even occur to me.

And one of the non-service but service charge experiences I had was with a Volvo dealership.

180 miles on 501 oil isn't going to do anything. The overfill is the concern. Drain all the oil, put 507 in, done as far as that. The overfill is the issue, where did it get to and do damage. It should have been running weird. Didn't either tech check the fill level after they started the car, and ran it briefly. Morons!

Rico567 said:

I agree. I'd be interested to know what it was that failed from the overfill. As far as the dealer trading cars over this issue....well......let's just say that they're under no obligation to do so, only to fix what broke on the car as a result of the oil overfill (and, from reading "HDNERI"'s post, let's hope it wasn't 501 oil). That (and warrantying any consequent damage) would be the extent of the legal concept of "making whole" the person whose car had been messed up.

Click to expand...

My guess is that the engine sucked in a ton of oil from the breather hose. I would pretty much guarantee it was the DPF that clogged up so much from the engine burning all the oil that it would need replacement. This would set of a whole load of codes and potentially put the car in limp mode.

I certainly don't check my oil after having it serviced at the dealer.

pparks1 said:

I certainly don't check my oil after having it serviced at the dealer.

Click to expand...

...sigh...I guess I just have a lower level of trust for those that work for me. Trust, yes...but always verify...
There's a reason pilots always do their OWN walk-around before rolling...

Yeah, sorry to disappoint. But I'll keep that receipt and if the car fails me and the dealer is at fault, I'll make a lot of noise.

TDI2000Zim said:

If you want reliability (and GOOD customer care), think Japanese Brand.

They don't sell yet a diesel in the USA, though Mazda is working hard to jump through the regulatory hoops.

Click to expand...

Mazda's problem is not with the regulatory hoops, but with their insistence on reinventing the diesel engine... not working out so well for them at the moment.

Anyway, yes, you should be able to buy a $30,000 car and have the service performed at the dealership without worrying about it. However, Volkswagen seems to be quite proficient at proving otherwise time and time again. This isn't new... it's been going on for years.

...and it's NOT just VW dealerships. I can tell you some real horror stories about...gee...let's see...4 (four) different Honda dealerships in the DC area. All 4 of them told me the front-end vibrations on my 2007 Odyssey, at 18k miles, were caused by brake rotor "delamination", and I needed to change them, at my expense. The proof of this "delamination" was the pad-shaped rust stains on the rotors, which were caused by excessive use of the parking brake (on the FRONT rotors!).

Oh...and by the way...I always re-torque my lug bolts after any wheel change. There's nothing more annoying than having to stand on a lug wrench when you're on the side of the road trying to change a tire.

To each his/her own.

tdiatlast said:

Oh...and by the way...I always re-torque my lug bolts after any wheel change. There's nothing more annoying than having to stand on a lug wrench when you're on the side of the road trying to change a tire.

To each his/her own.

Click to expand...

Oh gawd, you will love this. I don't change my own tires either. I have AAA roadside assistance because of my wife and kids. So, since i pay the $75 a year, when I had a flat last year on the side of a very busy highway when it was 20 degrees outside, I called AAA and watched them put on my tire.

Oh, for sure, I let AAA work for me when necessary. 20f out? You betcha!!! I'll gladly watch, bite my tongue when the bolts are over-torqued, and then...well...make the correction ASAP.

tdiatlast said:

Oh, for sure, I let AAA work for me when necessary. 20f out? You betcha!!! I'll gladly watch, bite my tongue when the bolts are over-torqued, and then...well...make the correction ASAP.

Click to expand...

I took the car up to Discount Tire the next day, who repaired it, put it back on and tightened the bolts to whatever they deemed was necessary. Since I get free rotations and balancing from them, they are the only ones taking them off and on.

Just wait until they charge you extra when they break the lug nuts while citing 'corrosion and fatigue' that they won't cover.

Then you'll demand to watch them use the torque wrench. BTDT too many times and just had to replace 3 studs on an '07 Kia due to it.

TDI2000Zim said:

If you want reliability (and GOOD customer care), think Japanese Brand.

They don't sell yet a diesel in the USA, though Mazda is working hard to jump through the regulatory hoops.

Click to expand...

I switched to my 2013 Passat TDI after my 5 year old 2008 Toyota Highlander basically became worthless. Changed oil every 5k, did all maintenance. However a failed VVTI Gear killed it. Toyota dealer and corporate said well, good luck you can pay us $6500 and we can try to fix it. They have major issues they are not being truthful about.

Japanese brands are not what they used to be, most recalled manufacturer is Toyota..after 23 years of em never again...