NHTSA Complaint #10191792 — 2007 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

WITH JUST 12,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER THE 2007 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 3.6L 4-MOTION WAGON, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON A BLOCK FROM THE HOUSE. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP RIGHT AWAY AND BROUGHT THE CAR IN THE NEXT MORNING. TURNS OUT THAT MY CAR'S ENGINE HAD A FAIRLY RECENTLY DISCOVERED KNOWN ISSUE WITH SOME SORT OF BOLT IN THE OIL PUMP THAT IS SOMEHOW RELATED TO THE TIMING CHAINS. APPARENTLY, IT'S A NEWLY DISCOVERED DESIGN DEFECT THAT ALLOWS THIS BOLT TO BACK ITSELF OUT AND CREATE BIG PROBLEMS - EVEN CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. AT FIRST, THE DEALERSHIP ORDERED A REPLACEMENT OIL PUMP AS A FIX BUT THE MASTER TECH WHO WAS WORKING ON MY CAR WAS CONCERNED THAT OTHER UNSEEN DAMAGE MIGHT HAVE BEEN DONE AN APPEALED TO VWOA FOR A TOTAL ENGINE REPLACEMENT. VWOA MUST HAVE AGREED WITH THE VALIDITY OF HIS CONCERNS AND AUTHORIZED A FULL ENGINE REPLACEMENT. MY CAR'S BUILD DATE WAS 11/05 . I HAVE ALSO READ FORUM POSTS FROM SEVERAL OTHER OWNERS WHO HAVE ALSO HAD THIS PROBLEM (HTTP://FORUMS.VWVORTEX.COM/ZEROTHREAD?ID=3193697). *AK