20K mile service - never taking my car back to a dealer again!

May be I am over reacting, but I asked if I can take a picture of the fuel filter housing and also see the oil they are putting in my car - and the tech got pissed off. He told me he is not changing the fuel filter and I told him he is. He then looked at me and asked why i wanted to take a picture as the fuel on this side of the filter is clean - I told him it gets recirculated on diesel cars and if there are any metal flakes, I wanna see it.
Then he lifted the car up and saw my dieselgeek skid plate (I told the service manager before it went in) and said he can't take it off as he doesn't have the tools. I told him to put the car down and I will be on my way. Then he "found" a 30mm socket in his upper drawer and took that off and I went back to the waiting room.
After a while, I asked if I can get the old fuel filter and I was told it was thrown away.
After about 2 hours, the car comes out. Engine oil is overfilled by atleast .5 quarts, maybe more. I really didn't feel like going back and arguing with that same technician to take the skidplate off and drain some of the oil out of there. So I just left.

I am going on a long trip on Friday and don't know how to take that extra oil out. I don't have a pella or anything to take it out and don't really feel going back to that dealership. Would it be OK to keep driving with the overfill?
At 10k service, it was about .5 quart short (which wasn't too bad) but now it is about .5 over. What does it take to get the right amount of oil in your car other than doing it yourself?? Is that really that hard to do for the dealer techs??

I get it... Its a matter of principal but I did not think that .5 quart will do any harm to your engine... I am not sure a dipstick can be that accurate anyway... You have to be on perfectly level ground..

Perhaps your are over more then .5 quart?

Your story is frighteningly familiar. Not all dealers are this bad, but apparently many are. Your best be is indeed to do the service yourself, or to find a real expert (these "experts" usually do not work at the dealerships). A Pela oil extractor is a good investment both for doing your own service and for correcting overfills like you have seen. Perhaps there is someone in your area with an extractor who can help you.

Have Fun!

Don

I asked the service person for the empty oil bottles, as I wanted to make sure they put in the correct oil. The service person was offended because after all, they are a VW dealership!

When they were done with the oil change, they handed me 4 bottles OF THE WRONG OIL.

If I didn't ask for the used bottles, I wouldn't have known and ended up running the wrong oil over the next 10,000 miles.

The fuel filter change resulted with an engine bay full of oil... but that's another story.

Just had my 30K service done along with the fuel line recall. No problem; car was washed for me.

Now that sucks. Not sure of the laws in your area but where I live you have the right to ask for any used parts. That includes filters. Oil, fuel, air etc. I can kind of see where the tech would/could be offended. But it's your rig. And as owner you have the right to ask for any replaced parts. Just getting back the empty wrong oil bottles would be enough proof for me that looking for another service provider may be the way to go. I did a little test on my VW dealer about 3 weeks after I bought 2 2011 Golf TDI's. I went in and asked for a bottle of oil for my Golf's. The parts guy brought me a gold bottle of Castrol SLX LL something or other that had 507.00 on the back. Now that was the parts guy. Hopefully when I have my first oil/filter change the tech(most likely an apprentice)will use the correct oil. Most shops use apprentice's for the oil changes. They don't like using licenced techs for the small stuff. My VW shop has a policy that you can request a specific tech to work on your rig. There are only 2 techs there that are trained to work on diesel's. One of them will be requested for all work done on my rigs.

I asked for my fuel filter at 20K. I asked prior to the service when I dropped off the car and provided a large ziplock for them to place it in. It was in the floor board when I picked the car up, no questions asked.

I also ask for the partially used 5th liter of oil (car holds 4.5L) at each oil change, again as a courtesy I explain all this upfront when I drop the car off and it is always done just as I ask; no questions asked.

What is the proper procedure for checking oil? I can't remember what it is off the top of my head but maybe that's why the oil is off by a .5 ltr

Wait, I may have blamed them for overfill for nothing. I thought full was the top of the hash marks (top of range B in the manual). They have it at top of Range A (just below the top bulb), which the manual says where full should be.

VW needs to work on their manuals - and a whole lot of other stuff.

Sorry for the alarm.. I hate it when that happens.

All the same, I think I am going to invest in Pella and do my oil change myself.

Upon requesting the bottle of engine oil containing the unused fraction, my Dealer expresses unwarranted anxiety and doubt, yet afterwards they have given me the right stuff both times. At my Dealer at least, I'm thinking that they are reluctant because it's expensive oil and they make a profit charging the next guy for oil I've already paid for.

Stallhorn said:

All the same, I think I am going to invest in Pella and do my oil change myself.

Click to expand...

One minor correction.

Pella makes windows (like for a house)
Pela makes oil extractors.

Have Fun!

Don

AlcoC420 said:

Upon requesting the bottle of engine oil containing the unused fraction, my Dealer expresses unwarranted anxiety and doubt, yet afterwards they have given me the right stuff both times. At my Dealer at least, I'm thinking that they are reluctant because it's expensive oil and they make a profit charging the next guy for oil I've already paid for.

Click to expand...

I waited until my second oil change to ask for it so I could examine the work order, it clearly shows they checked out 5 liters of oil.. So upon my second oil change I preemptively, but very politely, pointed out to the service writer that they checked out and were therefore reimbursed from VW for 5L on my previous service and that "could I please have it". I could tell from his facial expressions that he was about to offer resistance, but as soon as I hit him that that last statement, he had a look of defeat in his eyes but acted as though it was no problem at all. Precedent set; they do it no questions asked now.

Sun Tsu. Always leave your enemy a graceful way out.

Not all VW service departments are clueless. When I bought my tdi and they did the little tour where you go around and meet the different people in the dealership, the service manager repeated like five times that the tdi takes special oil, that I shouldn't just add any old oil if it is low, said that they sold it at the parts counter, etc. For the guy in charge, it was a really big deal -- but whether or not that gets communicated to the techs, who knows?

Tinfish said:

Not all VW service departments are clueless. When I bought my tdi and they did the little tour where you go around and meet the different people in the dealership, the service manager repeated like five times that the tdi takes special oil, that I shouldn't just add any old oil if it is low, said that they sold it at the parts counter, etc. For the guy in charge, it was a really big deal -- but whether or not that gets communicated to the techs, who knows?

Click to expand...

You do know that most dealers require mechanics to fix their problems at no charge, don't you? My brother-in-law works for Subaru and he really doesn't want to see cars coming back for do-overs.

If you want to follow a technician around and look over his shoulder and take pictures etc.....why dont you just save the wasted time at the dealer and griping here and just do it yourself?

You walked in trusting nobody....so why go through with it? Drama 101? Its pretty obvious you studied up on this service pretty thoroughly..I mean, you instructed them.

Its been said 1,000,000,000 times....if you cant handle the thought of mediocre work, break down and spent $50 on an oil extractor. Save yet another "I can't believe the dealer did this" thread and save yourself tons of time.

I brought my car in for fuel line dampers a while back. After chatting with my service writer about the car, asking specific questions and letting him know I was engaged in the process, he went out of his way to get the work performed and have me on my way in a timely fashion. Soon after I received a survey plus follow-up emails from VW and from the dealer. I responded with the best possible ratings, and included a personal note mentioning the excellent service I got from my service writer.

Today I brought my car in for the 10K service. I spent a few minutes chatting with my service writer and reminded him that I gave him the highest ratings. In return, I asked if he could have his best tech work on my car. A few moments ago, I was looking into the shop when one of the techs asked if he could help me. I told him who I was and he said that he was the one working on my car. He introduced himself and gave me his card. It turns out he is the shop foreman. We talked about the car for a few minutes; he showed me the oil he was putting in; advised that all wheels were torqued, etc. Of course, I will check the oil level, tire pressure, torque, etc. later today. I suspect everything will be squared away (and if it's not I will be on the phone ASAP with the service manager).

The point: treat the service writer with courtesy and respect and you enhance the probability of being treated well in turn.

rtn1911 said:

I brought my car in for fuel line dampers a while back. After chatting with my service writer about the car, asking specific questions and letting him know I was engaged in the process, he went out of his way to get the work performed and have me on my way in a timely fashion. Soon after I received a survey plus follow-up emails from VW and from the dealer. I responded with the best possible ratings, and included a personal note mentioning the excellent service I got from my service writer.

Today I brought my car in for the 10K service. I spent a few minutes chatting with my service writer and reminded him that I gave him the highest ratings. In return, I asked if he could have his best tech work on my car. A few moments ago, I was looking into the shop when one of the techs asked if he could help me. I told him who I was and he said that he was the one working on my car. He introduced himself and gave me his card. It turns out he is the shop foreman. We talked about the car for a few minutes; he showed me the oil he was putting in; advised that all wheels were torqued, etc. Of course, I will check the oil level, tire pressure, torque, etc. later today. I suspect everything will be squared away (and if it's not I will be on the phone ASAP with the service manager).

The point: treat the service writer with courtesy and respect and you enhance the probability of being treated well in turn.

Click to expand...

Good story. I believe most people want to do a good job. A little effort and thoughtfullness on everyone's part goes a long way.

Did I miss the part where you said the name of the dealership that didn't want to fuss with your skidplate or deal with the customer?

Stallhorn said:

May be I am over reacting, but I asked if I can take a picture of the fuel filter housing and also see the oil they are putting in my car - and the tech got pissed off. He told me he is not changing the fuel filter and I told him he is. He then looked at me and asked why i wanted to take a picture as the fuel on this side of the filter is clean - I told him it gets recirculated on diesel cars and if there are any metal flakes, I wanna see it.
Then he lifted the car up and saw my dieselgeek skid plate (I told the service manager before it went in) and said he can't take it off as he doesn't have the tools. I told him to put the car down and I will be on my way. Then he "found" a 30mm socket in his upper drawer and took that off and I went back to the waiting room.
After a while, I asked if I can get the old fuel filter and I was told it was thrown away.
After about 2 hours, the car comes out. Engine oil is overfilled by atleast .5 quarts, maybe more. I really didn't feel like going back and arguing with that same technician to take the skidplate off and drain some of the oil out of there. So I just left.

I am going on a long trip on Friday and don't know how to take that extra oil out. I don't have a pella or anything to take it out and don't really feel going back to that dealership. Would it be OK to keep driving with the overfill?
At 10k service, it was about .5 quart short (which wasn't too bad) but now it is about .5 over. What does it take to get the right amount of oil in your car other than doing it yourself?? Is that really that hard to do for the dealer techs??

Click to expand...

Would you like to enlighten us as to which dealer in MD this occured at??

My car was in at Martens VW yesterday and the service rendered to me was simply Outstanding. It had the recall done and 40,000 mile service!

rtn1911 said:

I brought my car in for fuel line dampers a while back. After chatting with my service writer about the car, asking specific questions and letting him know I was engaged in the process, he went out of his way to get the work performed and have me on my way in a timely fashion. Soon after I received a survey plus follow-up emails from VW and from the dealer. I responded with the best possible ratings, and included a personal note mentioning the excellent service I got from my service writer.

Today I brought my car in for the 10K service. I spent a few minutes chatting with my service writer and reminded him that I gave him the highest ratings. In return, I asked if he could have his best tech work on my car. A few moments ago, I was looking into the shop when one of the techs asked if he could help me. I told him who I was and he said that he was the one working on my car. He introduced himself and gave me his card. It turns out he is the shop foreman. We talked about the car for a few minutes; he showed me the oil he was putting in; advised that all wheels were torqued, etc. Of course, I will check the oil level, tire pressure, torque, etc. later today. I suspect everything will be squared away (and if it's not I will be on the phone ASAP with the service manager).

The point: treat the service writer with courtesy and respect and you enhance the probability of being treated well in turn.

Click to expand...

glad you said that and this happend.

It sucks that a few bad apples mess it all up for us in the service industry.
From what I am aware of, no customers have asked to have the left over oil, not that I think we would deny them the oil or make up some thing so they wont take it. But for that matter, thers only 2 techs, myself included that keep the left over "gold bottle" oil in the shop, and you dont wanna know how much I have now, its stupid.

Also for the skid plate, usually when I see one I always think " why dont I have this already, and look at the build quality"
no one really complains, and the Eos and Convrt Beetle are WAY worse.

I do have to ask though, why is it everyone wants the last little bit of oil, its usaully not even half of the bottle, usally less. And for a warranty service, it would take you a while to get a full bottle if that is what your after. I can see myself since I get multi tdi oil changes a day, so that I just keep filling up and it adds up quickly, but just to have that little bit I dont understand.
With that said, did anyone think its a free warranty service, so why do you want or need to oil? that I dont understand either.
further, I see the bad apples that hurt people from wanting to get service work done, but if you have no warranty or service history and never take it to the dealer, then why would they want to help you out if there is an issue. warranty or not.
(yes I know if its warranty they kinda have to)
not being mean, or take it the wrong way, just asking.

KraftwerkB6 said:

Also for the skid plate, usually when I see one I always think " why dont I have this already, and look at the build quality" no one really complains, and the Eos and Convrt Beetle are WAY worse.

Click to expand...

That was my experience. When I went in for my "free" 10k service, I gave written instructions for the torque values for the skid plate nuts. The tech actually came out and asked me where I got the plate, because he wanted to buy one for his car. I told him to look closely at the plate, where it says: "dieselgeek.com". I also supplied my own oil (VW 507.00 approved) so they couldn't use the wrong oil. They were happy because they got to bill VW for 5 bottles of oil which they didn't have to use. Not all dealer's service departments are terrible, but unfortunately some are (and this is true for other makes besides VW also).

Have Fun!

Don

I would like to give the dealership the benefit of the doubt and would not publicly state their name here. I went to them because they have one of the best ratings in the area. I had a very good conversation with the service adviser and treated him and everyone with respect. So he had no problems there with the skid plate or anything else I asked.

The problem was with the tech. As soon as he sees me in the back, he was pissed off. He said VW is not paying him for all the extra work he needs to do to take off the skid plate. He said he is not changing the fuel filter, and I said yes he is. He told me the fuel before the filter should have no metal flakes as it is before the filter - I asked him if diesel engines recirculate their fuel and he said yes.
I myself am a techie.. a UNIX guy at that I don't like people trying to tell me what to do and how to do it... we have very little customer service skills. But I wait until customer is out and take it out on my boss for letting them get in my business.

So, as someone above said, it might be a case of just one bad apple..

KraftwerkB6 said:

[snip]
I do have to ask though, why is it everyone wants the last little bit of oil, its usaully not even half of the bottle, usally less. And for a warranty service, it would take you a while to get a full bottle if that is what your after. I can see myself since I get multi tdi oil changes a day, so that I just keep filling up and it adds up quickly, but just to have that little bit I dont understand.
With that said, did anyone think its a free warranty service, so why do you want or need to oil? that I dont understand either.

[snip]

Click to expand...

Two reasons:

1) Primarily so I can verify that they used the correct oil.

2) I've gotten exactly half a liter back on each of my last two oil changes, which tells me a) they used the correct amount of oil (4.5L) and b) now I have a full liter of oil for top offs down the road. The 507.00 spec oil isn't cheap and one way or the other I paid for that oil i.e. those three 'free' services are built into the selling price of the car. i.e. Nothing is free these days.

3) most importantly, it tells me that they are reasonable and want to earn my ongoing business.

So at the rate of oil consumption (very little) that liter will probably last me a few years for top offs.

I'm new to the area and very happy with the dealer (Bob King VW) where I bought my car and have told them so, they've been straight up with me, done great work so far, happily honored all my special requests, etc. They understood the three reasons I just gave you for wanting the oil containers back. I was polite and respectful to them, I explained to them that I'd had some bad experiences with other dealers in other states, but that I had no preconceived notions about them and that I was evaluating my options on where my post 'freebie' services would be done (i.e. with them or an independent shop) I explained that I'm an engineer, have worked on my own cars and aircraft and that I had a few request of how I'd like my car serviced, I asked them if they were OK with that and if so they were definitely in consideration for my ongoing business. They had the option to say no, but they didn't, I was straight with them, told them upfront what I expected and I have no intention of nit picking them; I wouldn't like it and I don't treat others that way.

My request were simple.

1) That, were practical, I'd like to develop a relationship with the tech(s) that work on the car and have a little of his/her time to discuss things both prior to and after any work and that I would be glad to pay for this time.

2) See the training history, certifications and other credentials of the techs working on the car.

3) I'd like to have the option to inspect any parts that they might replace or to keep them if there wasn't a core charge/credit for returns.

4) That if I developed a preference for or against a tech's work that we could try and schedule work accordingly, again, where practical.

So far they've honored all these request and all is good, they've been respectful of my wishes and I intend to be respectful of their right to make a profit.

I have to say, after seeing their quotes for Timing belt replacement, Brakes, Parts, etc. Their prices are competitive and I'm having a real hard time justifying taking my car to my regular guru that is a 3 hour drive each way. I'll do the Oil and filter changes (fuel/oil), but at this point I'm pretty sure I'll be letting them do all the other work that comes up, given I'm happy with the work (so far) I think it makes good sense especially considering the HPFP issue that's still hanging out there and that dealers have the discretion to, and have, replaced several HPFP on cars that were outside of the 60k power train warranty. I figure the more of a relationship I have with them and history of doing business the more likely they are to go to bat for me, especially when they know I usually trade up cars every 4-5 years.

I have to ask , where did the 4.5L of oil come from? After I got my 10k OC done the remaining 1/4 liter of oil was in my trunk and I thought it was over filled.... When I checked my oil after my ride home it was right at the full line at on the dipstick !!! Seems my car takes 4 3/4 liters and like kraftwork said its less than 1/2 a bottle left over . I now am sure my dealer uses the right oil amid will not hawk over them for a 1/4 liter of oil .
Enjoy a frozen charge air intercooler free holiday everyone

Softrockrenegade said:

I have to ask , where did the 4.5L of oil come from? After I got my 10k OC done the remaining 1/4 liter of oil was in my trunk and I thought it was over filled.... When I checked my oil after my ride home it was right at the full line at on the dipstick !!! Seems my car takes 4 3/4 liters and like kraftwork said its less than 1/2 a bottle left over . I now am sure my dealer uses the right oil amid will not hawk over them for a 1/4 liter of oil .
Enjoy a frozen charge air intercooler free holiday everyone

Click to expand...

I can't speak for the 2011, but the 2010 holds 4.3L (4.5qt) to be precise. There was an addendum/supplement dated 5/2010 mailed to me a couple months after I purchased my car that replaces page 343 in the owner's manual stating this. My oil is just a hair high on the dipstick which jibes with the fact that I got .5L back..

Stallhorn said:

I would like to give the dealership the benefit of the doubt and would not publicly state their name here. I went to them because they have one of the best ratings in the area. I had a very good conversation with the service adviser and treated him and everyone with respect. So he had no problems there with the skid plate or anything else I asked.

The problem was with the tech. As soon as he sees me in the back, he was pissed off. He said VW is not paying him for all the extra work he needs to do to take off the skid plate. He said he is not changing the fuel filter, and I said yes he is. He told me the fuel before the filter should have no metal flakes as it is before the filter - I asked him if diesel engines recirculate their fuel and he said yes.
I myself am a techie.. a UNIX guy at that I don't like people trying to tell me what to do and how to do it... we have very little customer service skills. But I wait until customer is out and take it out on my boss for letting them get in my business.

So, as someone above said, it might be a case of just one bad apple..

Click to expand...

Yes, but it may not be and a casual warning to others living in the same state as you would be nice.

I bought, and have had my car serviced at King VW in Gaithersburg with ZERO problems. If its not to far for you you may want to take it there for your 30k.

When I brought mine in for the 6k check up, I asked for the alignment issue I'd been experiencing to be taken care of first, before the recalls, and for my car not to be washed. Needless to say, niether happened. I will be trying a different dealer for my 10k service and if that doesn't pan out, I'll just have to start doing my own service 20k early is all.

My experience

We own a 2010 JSW TDI and a 2011 Jetta. We just had the fuel line recall take care of as well a bad MFD in my JSW. Our experience with our dealership has always been pleasant and we have been going there since 1999. Infact we have now purchased 7 cars from this dealership ourselves and referred a couple of family members as well. From the looks of it we are not the only ones who keep going back there as every dealership this group owns is either number one in the state or nationally. Hard to understand why the rest of these guys refuse to step up and take care of their customer's.

m_skena said:

Yes, but it may not be and a casual warning to others living in the same state as you would be nice.

I bought, and have had my car serviced at King VW in Gaithersburg with ZERO problems. If its not to far for you you may want to take it there for your 30k.

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I took it there for 10K service, dropped it off and came back to pick it up. They didn't say a word about the skidplate - they took care of it - which is excellent.

But there was oil all over the engine, the oil was about half way up the hash mark, and they told me they filled it from a bulk container and if I need it topped up they can do it from the same bulk container. The part number on the work order is the SLX 1L bottle and yet they put bulk oil in it. So I didn't like that at all.

Are you sure they put the right oil in?

Stallhorn said:

Are you sure they put the right oil in?

Click to expand...

No, probably not.