180 T5.1 2010 Oil results are in.......

[CaliGem]

Hi everyone. Just had my oil results back.

Aluminium present

I've put together a legal letter to VW. This 2010 van has JUST reached 60k. has a full VW service and only used decent fuel through its life. In summary the can has wanted for nothing.

I'm furious

What next? I'm sending this letter to VW tomorrow. They can't deny it isn't a manufacturing issue.

 

[sidepod]

Good luck with that!

 

[WelshGas]

Hi everyone. Just had my oil results back.

Aluminium present

I've put together a legal letter to VW. This 2010 van has JUST reached 60k. has a full VW service and only used decent fuel through its life. In summary the can has wanted for nothing.

I'm furious

What next? I'm sending this letter to VW tomorrow. They can't deny it isn't a manufacturing issue.

View attachment 153070

View attachment 153071

So the vehicle is 16 yrs old. Covered 60,000 miles in that time so has been standing around, unused, for the equivalent of some 10 of those 16 yrs in total.
If VW even respond I’ll be very surprised.

 

[CaliGem]

No, it hasn't been 'standing around' at all. A presumptuous and very negative tone you take.

It was previously owned by an older couple who would put on a ferry to take it to Spain. In the time I've had it it has been used not only daily for motorway work commute but also many adventures. Eg... it's just completed 750miles around Northumberland followed a few days later by a 300mile round camping trip. Not that I need justify the way I use my van.

It has had all the regular upkeep / work and then some to keep it in pristine condition. Every time It goes into the garage or electrician they ask me to sell It to them as they admire it's condition greatly. That in itself speaks volumes.

It only gets filled with Shell low sulphur fuel as well so no, it hasn't been 'standing around' or neglected.

 

[pjm-84]

I know how you feel but I wouldn't bother. If it makes you feel better do it, but don’t expect a resolution. You've caught it early (300+ levels can be common), so just Tamfet the egr, and add in an additional oil change.

 

[WelshGas]

No, it hasn't been 'standing around' at all. A presumptuous and very negative tone you take.

It was previously owned by an older couple who would put on a ferry to take it to Spain. In the time I've had it it has been used not only daily for motorway work commute but also many adventures. Eg... it's just completed 750miles around Northumberland followed a few days later by a 300mile round camping trip. Not that I need justify the way I use my van.

It has had all the regular upkeep / work and then some to keep it in pristine condition. Every time It goes into the garage or electrician they ask me to sell It to them as they admire it's condition greatly. That in itself speaks volumes.

It only gets filled with Shell low sulphur fuel as well so no, it hasn't been 'standing around' or neglected.

Not presumptuous, just fact. You might be using it but the previous owners not so much.
My California had the same engine and covered 150,000 miles in the 10 yrs I owned it. It is still going strong. Oil test prior to selling showed minimal Aluminium level.

As noted in your Oil Test narrative “ some 180 engines affected “ . You have a 16 yr old vehicle/engine.

 

[Perfectos]

“We’ll known Egr cooler” was the exact phase used by Millers. I.e they’ve seen loads of shagged 180s !

 

[WelshGas]

“We’ll known Egr cooler” was the exact phase used by Millers. I.e they’ve seen loads of shagged 180s !

If that is the case I don’t think they would have used the phrase “ sometimes seen with the VW 2.0L Biturbo engine “.


Sometimes is an adverb meaning on some occasions, now and then, or occasionally, rather than all the time or continuously

 

[pjm-84]

But its a known issue and for that reason I have annual oil changes and the oil tested.....at 44k I had enough. I'm now on 94k and it uses zero oil between services (which are still annual)

 

[Danish_David]

Hi everyone. Just had my oil results back.

Aluminium present

I've put together a legal letter to VW. This 2010 van has JUST reached 60k. has a full VW service and only used decent fuel through its life. In summary the can has wanted for nothing.

I'm furious

What next? I'm sending this letter to VW tomorrow. They can't deny it isn't a manufacturing issue.

View attachment 153070

View attachment 153071

I think the only way that VW will start to consider claims for the EGR is if a group of people succeed in a class action and this is more likely initially in the US. Have you had the compression tested ? There are two limits. A low limit for each cylinder and a relative limit across the four cylinders. If the compression is already a fail then you have an immediate problem to solve. If the compression is a pass, then consider fitting a new gen Pierburg EGR valve and cooler

 

[CaliGem]

So some on here think we should roll over but I'm of the mindset that if all affected cause a fuss it gets awkward for VW!
I personally like to stand up and shout about it when there's an injustice, not just moan, roll my eyes and let them get away with it and try to belittle those who prefer to use their voice.

I haven't had a compression test so good shout. I'm prepared to fight for this as it is abhorrent that there's an obvious design flaw which is costing people a lot of money for something which was not cheap to begin with.

Thanks for the constructive reply David

 

[CaliGem]

But its a known issue and for that reason I have annual oil changes and the oil tested.....at 44k I had enough. I'm now on 94k and it uses zero oil between services (which are still annual)

Absolutely. A 'known' reason is enough for me to fight for them to do the right thing

Sadly mine has had annual oil changes too. I've done everything to keep this engine happy!

 

[CaliGem]

If that is the case I don’t think they would have used the phrase “ sometimes seen with the VW 2.0L Biturbo engine “.


Sometimes is an adverb meaning on some occasions, now and then, or occasionally, rather than all the time or continuously

Wow, this sounds like a FB debate.

 

[dspuk]

Open question - do VW offer lifetime warranties on these engines?

If not I’m confused about the kerfuffle and waste of blood pressure.

I’ve never heard of any vehicle having a 16 year warranty on an engine, known issues or not.

I’m aware they have a 3 yr 60K on these (and most) engines, whichever is first, and there are (?) anecdotes of some goodwill shortly after, but 16 years?

Not sure if this is a post for irate support and further anecdotes for the OP to take to VW.

 

[CaliGem]

So firstly, blood pressure is just fine but thanks for your concern.

A commodity, regardless of age which is perfectly maintained to the manufactures recommendations, and beyond which then goes on to develop a KNOWN fault, experienced by many, many others is worth standing up and shouting about, regardless of how many years have passed.
The age of vehicle here is not the issue. The fact many also suffer with this around the 60k mark points towards a design/manufacturing c#ck-up mark, I'm just facing this later than most.

That is worth getting 'irate' about. I'd describe it more as being 'pi££ed off' though, to be fair.

It is inherently wrong that VW don't own the fact this engine is designed badly. That is well worth standing up for. It's a shame others feel they have to just shut-up and put-up.

Yes, I may very well get nowhere but I'll be proud for standing up to the big guns anyhow. The more people who stand up the more they HAVE to listen.

I won't be mugged off. Nothing wrong with that and anyone who does is a fool. These engines SHOULD be better. That's the point.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Best of luck, let us know if VW even respond.

 

[CaliGem]

Best of luck, let us know if VW even respond.

Worth a shot

 

[WelshGas]

So firstly, blood pressure is just fine but thanks for your concern.

A commodity, regardless of age which is perfectly maintained to the manufactures recommendations, and beyond which then goes on to develop a KNOWN fault, experienced by many, many others is worth standing up and shouting about, regardless of how many years have passed.
The age of vehicle here is not the issue. The fact many also suffer with this around the 60k mark points towards a design/manufacturing c#ck-up mark, I'm just facing this later than most.

That is worth getting 'irate' about. I'd describe it more as being 'pi££ed off' though, to be fair.

It is inherently wrong that VW don't own the fact this engine is designed badly. That is well worth standing up for. It's a shame others feel they have to just shut-up and put-up.

Yes, I may very well get nowhere but I'll be proud for standing up to the big guns anyhow. The more people who stand up the more they HAVE to listen.

I won't be mugged off. Nothing wrong with that and anyone who does is a fool. These engines SHOULD be better. That's the point.

Define " Many ".
The damage is caused by Aluminium particles - Not disputed.
The Aluminium particles are presumed to come from the EGR cooler which is not mechanical in nature just a heat exchanger bathed in oil.
The " Many" are in fact a minority compared to the number manufactured and no one has yet to prove why this happens, but the majority are in fact low milage compared to age so maybe related to driving style and use, over which VW will have no control.

 

[vbk1975]

So firstly, blood pressure is just fine but thanks for your concern.

A commodity, regardless of age which is perfectly maintained to the manufactures recommendations, and beyond which then goes on to develop a KNOWN fault, experienced by many, many others is worth standing up and shouting about, regardless of how many years have passed.
The age of vehicle here is not the issue. The fact many also suffer with this around the 60k mark points towards a design/manufacturing c#ck-up mark, I'm just facing this later than most.

That is worth getting 'irate' about. I'd describe it more as being 'pi££ed off' though, to be fair.

It is inherently wrong that VW don't own the fact this engine is designed badly. That is well worth standing up for. It's a shame others feel they have to just shut-up and put-up.

Yes, I may very well get nowhere but I'll be proud for standing up to the big guns anyhow. The more people who stand up the more they HAVE to listen.

I won't be mugged off. Nothing wrong with that and anyone who does is a fool. These engines SHOULD be better. That's the point.

I would be extremely annoyed as well and have tested the oil in my van as I dread a massive bill.

I do think mileage is overstated measure when it comes to wear / expectations.

No of drive cycles (inc. Average duration/length of drive cycles), overall vehicle age are all equally valid measures, engine wear is much more effected by no of cold starts / driving style than pure mileage. The EGR is clearly a weakness and probably effected more by the drive cycles than pure miles.

You will find all car warranties have a Age & Mileage condition and are designed around 10 years / 150k Miles for cars and higher mileage for commercial.

I will be interested to see if VW come back and what they say, if was a safety issue there is no limit regardless of age/mileage in terms of them addressing it.

 

[sidepod]

These engines SHOULD be better. That's the point.

Don’t blame VW blame EU regulators.
Emissions laws have forced manufacturers to produce engines unfit for purpose but fit for low emissions.
Just be thankful you don’t own a later model.

If you want bomb proof buy a T4.

I wouldn’t waste your time arguing with WG. He will go all day long arguing black is white, he’ll always have the last word regardless. Pointless.

 

[pchmlk]

Caligem, there are a lot of engines out there with known weaknesses. I used to have a 911 and they had a weak spot too (RMS), it
Was something you went into the purchase with it in mind.

You’ll likely get nowhere with vw but I wish you luck. I’d temper your emotions a bit though if I were you, they won’t help.

 

[cangyroo]

FYI: based on the figures reported by AUTO BILD* …the reported 11,800 failures against approximately 140,000 affected vehicles. That's roughly 8.4% of the production population,. And that was the number of failures known to VW, not necessarily the final number.

​

* Note Auto Build is a recognised motoring publication, rather than an independent engineering organisation. Its investigation is useful evidence, but ideally its claims should be checked against VW technical documents and other independent sources.​

There is a technical bulletin… covering this, but the only one I can find as a pdf is in Russian!!!!

 

[vbk1975]

FYI: based on the figures reported by AUTO BILD…the reported 11,800 failures against approximately 140,000 affected vehicles. That's roughly 8.4% of the production population,. And that was the number of failures known to VW, not necessarily the final number.

There is a technical bulletin… covering this, but the only one I can find as a pdf is in Russian!!!!

If you open a PDF in Google Docs, then it opens a google PDF viewer, select edit in Google Docs, you can then use translate tool.

 

[cangyroo]

Yes, thanks.... also .... a report was published in 2025 here: https://www.autobild.de/artikel/vw-...behebung-28040351.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
In German, but 'translate' does a pretty good job

Here's the main body (text) of the technical bulletin from 27.04.2015
TITLE: CFCA engine - too high oil consumption

(translated by Russian by google translate)

​

By measuring oil consumption according to summary TPI 2028426, the need to replace the engine due to too high oil consumption was confirmed. Select oil​

All components on which the oil circulates (oil radiator, turbocharger, etc.), except for the engine, were excluded as the cause of the malfunction.​

According to the results of the analysis performed by the service company, it is required to replace the engine with the cylinder head not assembled.​

Technical justification​

Wear of cylinder mirrors​

The solution in production conditions​

​

Starting from the 06th calendar week of 2015 (chassis number, plant Hanover: WV2ZZZ7HZFH105579), for cars with open (model 7F*) and closed (model 7E*) types, optimised engine control unit software is used in serial production.​

Solution under service conditions​

Replacement of the following components:​

1. The engine with the cylinder head is not assembled
2. Neutraliser and particulate filter
3. Lambda probe.
4. Updating the software of the engine control unit through the software update system (SVM)
5. Part number, old
6. Software version, old
7. Part number, new
8. Software version, new

 

[BerndRos]

Mine is a March 2010 180BHP twin turbo, one of the first as the engine was introduced at that time. In 2015 mine started using oil at a rate of a litre every few hundred miles, quite suddenly on a trip from U.K. to Germany. Mileage about 45K.

I complained to VW customer services and they offered a new engine fitted by a VW dealer, with me paying 30% and VW 70%. I proceeded on that basis.

I was told at that time that I was one of the last that they agreed to help out.