Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Volkswagen and Audi have agreed to pay sludge-related maintenance costs for nearly 480,000 vehicles as part of a proposed class action lawsuit settlement preliminarily approved in federal court. All current and former owners and lessees of certain Audi A4 model years and Volkswagen Passat model years are eligible to file a claim for the class action settlement.
The VW and Audi oil sludge class action lawsuit alleged that the 1.8 liter turbo engines in 1997-2004 Audi A4s and 1998-2004 Volkswagen Passats were overly prone to the formation of oil sludge and coking deposits. These deposits cause engine performance to deteriorate and cause abnormally high incidences of engine failure even when maintained according to the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations. The class action suit further charged the auto companies with failing to honor an 8-year unlimited warranty extension issued in 2004 by denying claims brought by vehicle owners with sludge-related engine failure. The extended warranties were offered by the auto companies after they began receiving consumer complaints about the sludge problems in August 2004.
The class action settlement affects all current and former owners and lessees of 1997-2004 Audi A4 models and 1998-2004 VW Passat models with 1.8-liter turbocharged engines. As part of the settlement, VW and Audi have agreed to cover 100 percent of the maintenance costs for owners/lessees who have proper documentation of required oil changes, and 50 percent for those without proper documentation. The class action settlement also provides owners and lessees eligibility for a 10-year/120,000 mile enhanced oil sludge warranty. In addition, all class members who currently own or lease the covered vehicles will receive revised oil maintenance recommendations.
A settlement notice for the VW and Audi oil sludge class action lawsuit will be mailed and published in USA Today on or before December 29, 2010. The final approval hearing is scheduled for March 11, 2011.
UPDATE: The Settlement Administrator website for this class action lawsuit settlement is now available! Check out our more detailed breakdown of how you can claim benefits from the VW Audi oil sludge settlement here, or visit the Settlement Administrator’s website at www.VWOilSludgeSettlement.com.
Updated September 28th, 2010
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
25 thoughts onVW Audi Oil Sludge Class Action Settlement
I own a 2014 Passat which has 71,000 miles on it. Unfortunately I need another seat which is supposed to be leather. VW was not willing to replace the seat when I had to get the 2nd seat because it cracked in 5 or 6 places. I wound up paying $600 of the $2,200 that was quoted for the seat by the VW dealership. This time around I went to VW in June, 2020 to inform them the seat that was brand new and replaced about 2 years was cracking again. Almost 2 months later I was told by a rep from VW that there was nothing they could do to assist me with getting another seat because my car wasn’t under warranty and I reminded him that VW told me when my warranty was active they wouldn’t replace the seat. I would not recommend VW to anyone they don’t stand behind their vehicles.
Not surprised…Audi lied for 3 years about 1/2 million coil packs…and now the emissions lies to the Government…