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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.Â
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Updated September 28th, 2010
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25 thoughts onVW Audi Oil Sludge Class Action Settlement
I too had a 2004 Passat and the engine failed and I was never informed of any issues. They made me feel like I did something wrong. They wanted to charge me $7K for a new engine. I bought a 2006 Audi and last week the same thing happend. The oil pressure light came on and the engine shut down! I was just told it would cost me $10,000 for a new engine. I called Audi Corp office and they said there is nothing they can do because it is no longer covered under the warrenty! I will NEVER buy a VW or Audi!!!!
I filed my claim back in Sept 2011 for my 2004 Audi, my oil pump failed due to sluge build up.I had no warning.
The claim was approved. I still have not received my settlement. Come on Audi. Whats it going to take to get my hard earned money back? I paid a $1000 to car my car repaired.
I bought a 2005 Passat with 33K mi on it back in March. It now has 41K mi and it needed a valve cover gasket replaced. When i opened the engine i discovered how much sludge there was inside. I now have it in a dealrship to have it completely flushed, but i am looking at a $1K bill. DOes anyone know why my car isn’t covered by this settlement, since the engine is the same ???
Regretably, I too will never consider purchasing a VW. The experience has been a nightmare as has been the reimbursement process. I have yet to see so much as a promise on the return of my hard earned money.
My ’99 Passat died in 2006 from oil sludge. I had to buy a new car and my mechanic told me it wasn’t worth repairing (- new engine). I found out about the sludge problem but my VW dealer admitted to no problem. I had a economic loss not dealt with then and now that there is ‘a’ settlement, still does not cover me. I also will never buy a VW again.
2002 VW Passat w/ 94k miles died. It died the day I sold it… Al Johnson VW dealer in Dalton, GA is going through the engine right now to see if it’s sludge related. All I can say is that… this seems like Remington going through a firearm they made to see if it misfired. OF COURSE NOT, needless to say I’ll be surprised if they say yes. So anyways… I appreciate all the comments. Wish us luck. Anyone know a good lawyer?
VW Audi Oil Sludge Class Action Settlement
I actually filled out the paper work mailed in my information. I had to replace my own turbo engine out of pocket due to the sludge. I will never buy VW again.#regrettingmypurchase#
VW Audi Oil Sludge Class Action Settlement
I concur with MK’s comments of the restriction to the eight year extension especially when you buy a used 2000 1.8L Turbo Passat and only owned it for six years when the sludge problem cost me over $1K. I too will never purchase a VW ever again and do not regret trading this lemon.
VW Audi Oil Sludge Class Action Settlement
Unfortunately they’re not honoring their 8-year warranty extension (until 2012) because they just denied our repairs which were made in 2010! This whole situation has been outrageous from start to finish. My entire family loved VW, but now I will never buy another one again. Your quality and sense of business has spiraled down so badly it would never be worth it. No wonder they’re selling the new Jetta for so little… treating your customers like this hurts business!
VW Audi Oil Sludge Class Action Settlement
hi i just wanted to know if claim 336 is going to recieve to recieve a rembersment