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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 have a 2003 Audi A4 1.8T that had to have the engine replaced in 2008 at 56K miles due to sludge. The Audi dealer said it was a maintenance issue caused by us!! We were never informed of any class action lawsuit or else I would have been all over this! I am wondering if you had to be apart of the original class action suite to be reimbursed? Audi should still pay out.
I+have+a+2003+Audi+A4++1.8T+that+had+to+have+the+engine+replaced+in+2008+at+56K+miles+due+to+sludge.++The+Audi+dealer+said+it+was+a+maintenance+issue+caused+by+us!!+We+were+never+informed+of+any+class+action+lawsuit+or+else+I+would+have+been+all+over+this!+I+am+wondering++if+you+had+to+be+apart+of+the+original+class+action+suite+to+be+reimbursed?+Audi+should+still+pay+out.
I need help like the rest of you. 2016 and I only have 102,000 miles on the car, but oil sludge ruined my pump and screen is clogged. Just because the car was not driving much it took longer for this issue to happen. Single mom with 11 year old, whom has moderate autism (aspergers). No money to fix car, can’t even get any t9 help us with housing. I say let’s ge the word out. Let’s give VW more bad PR especially now after their bad PR with the diesel engines. Maybe someone will now listen. Does anyone know anyone who can get this story out there for us. We should all be getting reimbursed
I need help like the rest of you. 2016 and I only have 102,000 miles on the car, but oil sludge ruined my pump and screen is clogged. Just because the car was not driving much it took longer for this issue to happen. Single mom with 11 year old, whom has moderate autism (aspergers). No money to fix car, can’t even get any t9 help us with housing. I say let’s ge the word out. Let’s give VW more bad PR especially now after their bad PR with the diesel engines. Maybe someone will now listen. Does anyone know anyone who can get this story out there for us. We should all be getting reimbursed
1998 Passat GLs, bought off the showroom floor, 32k miles later and the engine seized, due to oil sludge, car was sold for parts, called VW they did nothing.. NEVER BUY VW
Anyone aware of any class action for the 07-09 models of the a4? There’s a lot of chat in the forums about the same issue. Personally I’ve had to replace my turbo 3 times in under 50K mileage. Audi 2007 a4 first and likely last time owner. Not happy.
I have a 2007 A4 2.0T with 54K miles. Engine and turbo need to be replaced due to oil pump failure which i am guessing is related to this sludge issue. This is the second time in this car’s life that it has needed major engine work. Is anyone aware of this issue or any class action suits for this model/issue? I find this whole thing hard to believe! Thanks
My engine died (2005 Audi A4) in July 2007 as a result of the oil sludge problem.
I lived in NYC at the time but I was up in Ottawa when it happened. I had to leave the car in Ottawa for an entire winter at Mark Motors of Ottawa. They took everything apart and quoted me over 8K to fix! They wouldn’t fix it under warranty even though it was a known oil sludge issue. The mechanics at Manhattan Audi (where I bought the car) said they would fix it under warranty if I could get the car to them. Of course, Mark Motors of Ottawa said they would have to put it back together so I could throw it on a flat bed truck and transport – and it would cost me $$ for them to reassemble it first.
Result? I said screw it and let them gouged ne for over 8K. I’m not sure who screwed me more – Mark Motors of Ottawa or Audi Canada – but both took advantage of the fact that they had the car of an American resident and the car was far from home!
I joined a class action with Chimicles as a representative of a new class related to the original, but I never learned the result.
I’m bitter to this day!
I have also not recieved my check. We had to replace the engine in our VW due to the oil sludge and then just a year later the 2nd engine had the same problem. Everytime I call the VW oil sludge administrator, they can’t give me any information or timeline. It’s been three years since I filed my claim. Does anybody know what is going on here or what we can do to get our money back?
Has anyone received a check yet from the settlement administrators? Apparenlty my appeal was approved for the full amount back in Nov. 2012 but I still haven’t gotten a check.
My 2005 Passat Wagon’s turbo engine blew up inside of the engine. I had a choice to replace the engine or buy another car. I ended up with a 2007 passat that is working so far so good. When the 2005 blew up, I was left with $16,000 in car payments, the dealership bought it from me and I was left with $10000 in payments which they rolled into a new car loan. Since my car was a 2005, I was ineligible for any lawsuits because that year they realized the problem and rewrote the auto’s manual saying that you must only use synthetic oil!!!! Its so frustrating!! I hope that answers your question #8 Emil!
2005 Audi A4… I provided all my records of using synthetic oil (And using Audi servicing) and they still denied me.
Had this problem with my 2008 Jetta. the dealership told me that the wrong oil was being used and it caused the sludge build up. $6000 later I got my car back.