Engine good, belly pan now missing.

Thanks for all of your help with this.
My 2005 Passat 1.8T wagon is fine now, and it thrums like a satisfied woman under my tender grasp. The sludge inspection showed that it was clean, and not only that, the VW tech found that the timing chain tensioner seal was leaking, so the Toyota dealership is going to cover the whole thing under warranty.

The VW dealer caught the sunroof drain nipple, pollen filter seal, and heat shield recall items, so they're all done. Separately, I've had the coolant changed, fuel injector system cleaned, fuel, pollen, and air filters changed.

But, of course, there is always something. I looked under the car today while filling up. Evidently, the garage that did my oil change "forgot" to put the belly pan back on. Aaargh. They are trying to find it. It just isn't that hard to be competent- what gives?

Seals replaced

Here are the seals that were replaced. The camshaft tensioner adjuster unit seal was leaking and needed to be replaced- we'll see if they'll cover it under warranty. According to Greg Shin of VW Durham, the Valve Cover does need to be replaced in order to fix this leaking gasket.

Duh, camshaft seal leaking is a warranty defect

Duh,

Should've realized that this work is covered under warranty, too. We'll see how Toyota of Concord reacts.

Dear Toyota of Concord,

When I had the VW dealer remove the valve cover to inspect for sludging, the tech noticed that the cam shaft seal was leaking oil. The cost for the replacement of the cam shaft seal "which was found to be leaking" was
Labor $284
Gasket set $19.57
Gasket set $45.34
Tax $5.14

Total $354.05

Refer to the reapir invoice I faxed to you earlier today.

I would like Toyota of Concord to reimburse me for this expense I paid out of pocket. You already have the repair invoice.

My limited warranty states that "The dealer will pay 100% of labor and 100% of the parts for the covered systems that fail during the warranty period."

Warranty systems covered include "Engine: All internal lubricated parts, water pump, fuel pump, manifolds, engine block, cylinder heads, rotary housings, & flywheel". I believe that the leaking cam seal repair qualifies.

Please add this amount to the $319.14 from the previous claim.
That brings the total to $673.20

Regards,
Rob

Alls well that ends well, I hope

,

Well, the car came back from the VW dealer. The engine is clean with NO SLUDGE thank gods.

Hopefully Toyota of Concord will reimburse me quickly and painlessly for the $320 it cost to fix the damage from the rear caliper mounting bolt that fell out.

Also, the rotors, though "turned" when they supposedly shouldn't be, were within specs.

As for my out of pocket, so far it is:
$80 fuel filter change
$80 air filter change
$250 for fuel injector cleaning, air pollen filter renewal, synthetic oil change
$90 for plugs and oil filters not yet installed

Dealer comes to their senses

They relented, though they got this nastygram about the same time they called me to tell me they would be honoring the warranty.

I did not run over anything or have any impact occur to the vehicle in the 500 miles I have driven it. There is no reason to deny my warranty claim.

Here are photos I took right after the Passat broke down. I looked up what a brake backing plate is. I do not see any way that a broken backing plate would have anything to do with a brake caliper being rotated up 1/2 of the way off of the rotor. The backing plate could have been damage when the partly loose brake caliper smashed into it. The brake caliper was free of its mount, or its mount itself was defective.

Your techs had the brakes apart at 61,094 miles- they resurfaced the rear rotors as part of the internal used vehicle reconditioning (7/28/2008). They were the last ones to install the calipers on the rotors, 500 miles before this happened.

Your techs resurfaced these rotors. VW does not recommend resurfacing these rotors. VW dealers will not resurface rotors, they only replace rotors. I am having VW of Durham measure the thickness of the rotors to make sure that your techs did not resurface them below spec thickness.

Also note that your techs should have used loctite to secure the brake caliper bolts to the mount. See discussion at passatworld.com. If they did not, the brake caliper bolt can work loose.

Other issues:
Your techs also did not use the correct oil during reconditioning. VW specifies VW-502.0 standard FULL SYNTHETIC is the only oil that can be used in this vehicle because of horrible oil sludging problems in the 1.8 turbo engine. There is a readily available TSB. According to your service techs when I called, they used normal oil. Also, when I inspected the car when buying it, it was clear that the techs had NOT changed the oil filter. It was abused and old looking, and the techs installed a new Fram filter. I subsequently paid myself to have full synthetic Castrol 5w-40 and a VW OEM filter installed.

The car had to have its belly pan replaced during the reconditioning. Why, I don't know. Prior impact?

The front right CV joint failed during my 10-minute test drive before purchase on 8/20. Your techs replaced it while I waited.

If your techs milled the rotors below spec during reconditioning then they are defective. I expect to have them replaced if this is the case. I will be double-checking the thickness myself after I get the car back.

Also, I am having VW of Durham pull the valve cover and do an oil sludge inspection. I had no idea when I bought this car that this engine was subject to sludging. I am having them take digital pics to show the condition. VW has extended the sludging warranty to 8 years & unlimited miles on this car if you can prove the oil service history. It is a fully recognized problem. Attached is the Audi TSB that covers the same engine type (ATW).

Regards,
Rob P

Can't they tell a caliper mounting bolt is gone?

OK, blood pressure boiling. I get a call from Tracy Wease of Hendrick Toyota of Concord. They talked to the service manager at Southern States VW in Durham, Jeff Goldstein, and he said that the reason the brake was damaged is that there was impact damage to the "backing plate". This would not be covered under warranty. Up to now I've been too nice. Forget it.

This piece of shit broke down at the dealer- they had to replace a CV joint after a 10-minute test-drive. I waited for 3 hours while they replaced the axle. Now this. I just looked up backing plate- how could that have anything to do with a rotated caliper that is 1/2 off the rotor?

The car looks great. Too bad if it is a piece of crap in the end.... we'll see

Caliper mounting bolt gone left rear rotor

Check it out. Caliper is half-rotated off of rear rotor. I just bought a 2005 Passat 1.8T Wagon, 61,000 miles. This morning, on the way home from the store, I braked at a stop sign, and.... screeeeeeee. Huh? Stop. Move again. Screeeeeeee.

I get out and check- the driver's side rear brake caliper has broken loose and is rotated 1/2 way off of the rotor. Anyone ever see anything like this? Bizarre. Thank god I'm within the 1000 miles of initial warranty, and I'll be jumping on that extended warranty like a pig on grits.