NHTSA Complaint #11327161 — 2015 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

MY CAR HAD SUDDEN ENGINE FAILURE WITH NO EXTERNAL SIGNS OF TROUBLE (OIL LEVEL, BELTS, EVERYTHING APPARENTLY OK). THE CAR RUMBLED FOR A FEW SECONDS AS I WAS PULLING ONTO AN EXIT RAMP OFF A HIGHWAY. AS I WENT TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE MANUAL INSTRUCTED TO TRY STARTING AGAIN BUT THE CAR WOULDN'T. THE VW SERVICE DEPARTMENT I TOWED THE CAR TO FIRST ASKED ME ON THE PHONE, "IS IT A 1.8 LITER TURBO?" WHEN I TOLD THEM THAT IT WAS, THEY TOLD ME THEY HAD NO TIME TO LOOK AT MY CAR. SINCE IT WAS ALREADY EN ROUTE BEING TOWED THERE, THEY VERY RELUCTANTLY TOOK A SUPERFICIAL LOOK AND SAID THE ENGINE IS LOCKED UP FOR NO APPARENT REASON AT LESS THAN 90,000 MILES. THEY BEGAN TO IMMEDIATELY SUGGEST FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE PROBLEM WAS GOING TO BE A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY BY MAKING STATEMENTS, SUCH AS, "OH, IT WOULD COST AT LEAST $1200 JUST TO OPEN THE ENGINE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM AND THEN IT WILL MOST LIKELY MEAN GETTING A NEW ENGINE... AND YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT THOUSANDS...." THEM NOT WANTING MY 1.8L TURBO IN THEIR GARAGE, THEIR RESOLUTION THAT THE ENGINE IS A "GONER" WITH JUST A SUPERFICIAL LOOK, AND THEIR GENERAL MOOD OF RECOMMENDING I TAKE NO FURTHER REPAIR ACTION MADE ME RESEARCH THIS ENGINE FURTHER. I FOUND NUMEROUS PEOPLE WHO ALL SAID, "OH, THAT.ENGINE IS CRAP! THEY ALL BLOW OUT UNDER 100K MILES!" THAT'S WHEN I CALLED A VW EXPERT I WAS REFERRED TO. HE ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, "IS IT A 1.8L TURBO?" AND THEN TOLD ME, "OH, I'M SO SORRY TO TELL YOU THIS BUT THOSE ENGINES HAVE AN INTERNAL ISSUE THAT MAKES THEM BURN EXCESSIVE OIL AND THEY JUST DON'T MAKE IT MUCH PAST 80K. I WOULDN'T EVEN RECOMMEND PUTTING IN A NEW ENGINE BECAUSE IF YOU DO, IT MIGHT RUN YOU ABOUT $4000 BUT THEN YOU GET ANOTHER ENGINE NO BETTER THAN THE ONE YOU HAD. BASED ON MY RESEARCH, THIS PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE WELL KNOWN BY VW AND AUDI. *TR