2015 Passat owners: check your oil level - incorrect spec in manual!

waltzconmigo

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atlast---thank you for looking into the oil pan possibility, with that (probably out of the way) we are left with the wrong amounts in certain manuals (which ones?) and/or an incorrectly sized dipstick. hopefully, Bigworm will eventually chime back in with any information his cousin was able to gather.
 
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dbias

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I didn't see this as an oil burning thread at all. Found my oil at the top of the little ball at the end of the dipstick upon arriving home just after purchase.
So I added a liter of the oil I bought before leaving the dealership and it brought it up to the 3/4 area of the dipstick.
Do I feel better now? No. Was the oil right and dipstick a little short?
Was the dipstick right and the oil low?
Since filling it is it right now or have I overfilled it?
When doing an oil change do I follow my manual and put "about 4.5" in?
 

tdiatlast

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These are the questions for VWoA, NOT members here. No one has the answers except the guys that understand which engine is in the Passat, not the folks that printed the owner's manual
 

armstrongtrucks

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I didn't see this as an oil burning thread at all. Found my oil at the top of the little ball at the end of the dipstick upon arriving home just after purchase.
So I added a liter of the oil I bought before leaving the dealership and it brought it up to the 3/4 area of the dipstick.
Do I feel better now? No. Was the oil right and dipstick a little short?
Was the dipstick right and the oil low?
Since filling it is it right now or have I overfilled it?
When doing an oil change do I follow my manual and put "about 4.5" in?
On my oil change with on my 2015 the right dipstick with 4.5 quarts level is at bottom line on letter C. This is why I started this post.
 

dbias

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After 4k miles in first 35 days if ownership this is the oil level. Exact same spot it was after adding a liter of oil upon arriving home from the dealership.


Thing is my dipstick doesn't look like either of the examples in the book. The black gap at top of the hash marks makes no sense to me. How could you tell where the oil is on a black surface.
 
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tdiatlast

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If you're new to VW diesels, you're learning about the awkwardness of reading the dipstick.

A proven method is to remove the dipstick, wipe it completely dry, reinsert, remove it slowly, and lay it on a clean paper towel. Roll the dipstick and observe the oil stain on the paper.
 

eats1963

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So, when the dealer did my oil change, I needed to extract 1/2 quart to get the level down into the cross hatched area of the dipstick. When I called them and complained, they sent me the following and said that they are following the capacities that VWOA is telling them to use.



So, I told them that my owners manual tells me to use about 4.5 qts. They didn't have an answer for me on that. So, the difference between the owners manual, and the capacity chart is 1.3 qts. Which one should I believe???
 
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Matt927

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Not a Passat, but just took delivery of a 2015 Golf TDI. Owners manual states capacity at 5.5 liters. Oil level was to the full mark at delivery.
 
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Rumblesis

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My check engine light came on at 980 miles, and when I did a Car-Net check, it said I had too much oil in my car! Took it to dealer, and sure enough, he said several new 2015's were coming in with that error code. Be careful!
 

TurboDieselPoint

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So, when the dealer did my oil change, I needed to extract 1/2 quart to get the level down into the cross hatched area of the dipstick. When I called them and complained, they sent me the following and said that they are following the capacities that VWOA is telling them to use.



So, I told them that my owners manual tells me to use about 4.5 qts. They didn't have an answer for me on that. So, the difference between the owners manual, and the capacity chart is 1.3 qts. Which one should I believe???
That chart calls for 5.5L. Oil comes in 1L bottles. I'll bet they poured in all 6 bottles and didn't bother stopping at 5.5L. They figure most owners never check their oil so its better to have too much oil than too little, and don't want to deal with having a 1/2L left over from every oil change.

This would indicate that the true oil capacity of the engine is indeed 5.5L and would explain the roughly 1/2 quart over fill.
 

eats1963

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That chart calls for 5.5L. Oil comes in 1L bottles. I'll bet they poured in all 6 bottles and didn't bother stopping at 5.5L. They figure most owners never check their oil so its better to have too much oil than too little, and don't want to deal with having a 1/2L left over from every oil change.

This would indicate that the true oil capacity of the engine is indeed 5.5L and would explain the roughly 1/2 quart over fill.
The quantity on my invoice stated 5 units. Not sure if that meant 5 quarts, or 5 litres?
 

TurboDieselPoint

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The quantity on my invoice stated 5 units. Not sure if that meant 5 quarts, or 5 litres?
I would think that means 5 bottles. 507.00 oil comes in 1L bottles, so that would be 5L in theory.

Using only 5L of oil contradicts the chart they gave you, which they used to justify putting in whatever amount of oil they put in. I'm having trouble believing they decided to put only 5L when the chart they gave you to show how much oil they decided to put in showed 5.5L.

Perhaps the service writer billed VW for only 5 bottles instead of 6 bottles out of habit or ignorance since all previous CR TDIs took 4.3L of oil, when in reality the tech who had the updated chart used 6 bottles. The only way to figure out how much oil was poured in is to ask the tech who did your oil change.

Just speculating. This mess is a bit confusing.:eek: I wasn't there, but I do suspect the oil capacity for the CVCA is indeed 5.5L.
 
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armstrongtrucks

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Shame I have never heard anymore from VWoA on this oil level problem.

The oil I purchased is in qt bottles, not liters.

I am still running 4.5 quart in my Passat. I have printed all the e-mail VWoA has sent me hoping it does not hurt anything.
 

JDSnead

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I bought a new 2015 Passat TDI 6M yesterday.

Build date 12/2014.

My owner's manual shows oil capacity of 5.8 q.
 

tdiatlast

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Shame I have never heard anymore from VWoA on this oil level problem.

The oil I purchased is in qt bottles, not liters.

I am still running 4.5 quart in my Passat. I have printed all the e-mail VWoA has sent me hoping it does not hurt anything.

So, (according to your original post) you're driving around with the oil barely showing on the bottom of your dipstick?

That's certainly not what I would be doing, regardless of any official word from VWoA re: a possible misprint in your owner's manual. I would use the dipstick as my guide.

FYI: I just had my JSW serviced by Digi Performance Sports in Denton, TX. The owner, Brian, has many years of experience, and is highly respected in this area as being very TDI knowledgeable.

His comment re: 2015 EA288 Passat TDI? "Same engine oil pan as Jetta/Golf...5.5l/5.8qts. capacity"
 

NSTDI

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Has there been any real issue identified with the dipstick (some are not correct or are any a different length?) or are we to assume the dipsticks are all correct and should be used to determine when the car is full of oil?

Don
 

tdiatlast

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NSTDI: no clarification from VWoA. The only way to determine true capacity/dipstick accuracy, in the field, is for a few 2015 owners to drain and measure and replace oil.
 

NSTDI

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Maybe we could get some dipstick measurements?
From the stop at the top to the full mark?
From the stop at the top to the tip at the bottom?

This would show if any are a different length?

If they are all the same length and are full at 5.5/5.8, its just a paper mistake.

Don
 

VeeDubTDI

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^^^same engine...same sump capacity...5.5 liters/5.8 quarts
They are in the same engine family (EA288), but they are not the same engines (CRUA for the Golf vs CVCA for the Passat). The oil capacity may or may not be the same between the two; I don't know.
 

tdiatlast

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^^^thanks for the clarification. You are correct, they are not the same engines.

Parts manager at Autobahn confirmed the oilpan part number is the same for all EA288 engines.
 

jimbo1mcm

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Careful Oil Measurement EA488 Engine

Purchased Passat TDI SEL PREMIUM in January. I now have about 4,900 miles on it. I decided to do a topside oil change, without the filter which will be done at 10,000 miles. ( if you want to yell at me for doing it early, do it in another thread!).

I carefully marked 2 Gallon containers at the quart mark. The dipstick showed oil about 80% up in the crosshatched area on the dipstick.

I used my oil evacuator and took out 5.2 Quarts. I added 5.2 Quarts back. With the residual in the filter which I could not get to, I believe that 5.8 Quarts is the amount that will bring the oil up to the bottom of the ball on the dipstick.

Note: EA 288 engine
 
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tdiatlast

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Aw, c'mon, jimbo1mcm, why can't we yell at you here? Every thread needs some yelling.
Thanks for putting in the effort to measure what you removed from the engine.

Although you are a single example, I will continue with the assumption that the discrepancy in oil capacity is a printing/publishing typo, and predict that before too long, VWoA will be sending a printed insert to be placed in the owner's manuals of early production 2015 Passat TDIs with the EA 288 engine.

ALL 2015 Passat TDI owners should continue to keep the pressure on their respective dealerships to correct this potentially dangerous issue.
 

big_ole_truck

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The first oil change was done at the dealership without discussing the oil refill quantity error directly with the service writer. Checked the dip stick afterwards, the oil level was exactly at the top of the hatch. For the DIYers, definitely verify/check the oil level.
 

TEXAS715

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Picked up a new 15 Passat. Haven't checked the manual yet but I did quiz the service rep. They gave an answer of 5.2qts. Having heard about an issue with the correct number he looked up on his computer and confirmed 5.2 qts.
 

tdiatlast

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TEXAS715: 5.2 qts. is STILL WRONG. It should be 5.5l, 5.8qts.

Help out your fellow 2015 owners and double check this, and your owner's manual, as well.
 

jimbo1mcm

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TEXAS715: 5.2 qts. is STILL WRONG. It should be 5.5l, 5.8qts.

Help out your fellow 2015 owners and double check this, and your owner's manual, as well.
Everything is bigger in Texas, so maybe 5.2 Texas Quarts is the same as little old Connecticut 5.8 Quarts!!
 

NSTDI

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2018- has this question been settled?

So I bought a new 2015 in June 2017, now due for the 45,000km oil change but am in Ottawa so was looking up oil capacity and found this old thread. My manual says “about 4.5 quarts”.

I assume the 5.5 litres is correct, but I’ll check at the dealer.
 
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