I took my 2005 passat wagon to the vw dealership for an oil leak and check engine light fault. Work completed was replaced valve cover gasket and tensioner seals plus replaced check valve. When technician did test drive, he stated that the oil light illuminated. This indicator light has never illuminated in the five years (mileage 140,000) of vehicle ownership. Dealer stated that it may be from sludge build up, service invoice states that check of engine after test drive "found possible sludge build up. Drove vehicle 4 miles to residence, when parking vehicle, oil light flashed and "STOP Engine" illuminated. Turned vehicle off, restarted after 3-5 minutes, idle for 5 minutes, reved engine 2000 - 3000 RPM, no oil light. Let idle for 5-10 minutes, oil light flased once then went out. Please advise.

You may have a leaking valve cover gasket and oil is making it's way down to the exhaust or something else that gets very hot. Check your cylinder head for excessive oil dripping down off of the base of the valve cover. Check your power steering pump and hoses for leaks. After you get to where you're driving, look under the car and see where the oil spots are, if there are any. If it's dark or black in color, it's engine oil. If it's more like a red-ish color, it's transmission fluid. See where the oil spot is on the ground and check the engine and see about where it could be leaking.

could be time for a tune up also check the spark plug holes for oil if the valve cover gasket are leaking into there can also have a bad coil if the check engine light is on have it scanned at a auto parts store (most do it for free)the code can lead you to the bad cylinder exp code p0301 is cylinder number one p0306 is cylinder number six and the same for p0302-p035

I have a 2000 Passat V6. They told me that same thing. To replace the gaskets is easy. You just remove the covers and the air filter box and unscrew the 6 bolts holding the valve cover on it and there you go. You want to clean around the gasket service and add a little bit of sealant to the edges. Replace the old gaskets and put everything back together, be careful not to overtighten the bolts, can flatten out the gasket and cause oil leak again. On the right side of the engine, you have to remove the coolant box to get to it. Same procedure....

8.5 hrs + parts sounds about right. But why would a 7 year old cars oil pump fail? They usually last a lifetime. Has there been a lubrication problem? Low oil, cheap oil, wrong oil? But then again my daughters 04 Toyota needed a valve job, head gasket and water pump recently. I'm doing 90% of work and it still cost about $2000. Her problem was bad oil!

Could be just the OIL COOLER. VW IS CORRECT.
If the oil cooloer fails internely you will have a mix of coolant and oil. In the engine and in the Radiator,

But not to say the other guys were wrong...

Gasket need replacing and New Spark Plugs (NGK Orginal). May need Coils! If any, replace all at once, My 2000 Passat Wagon runs Great, 1,8T Wagon!

White smoke from exhaust indicates burning coolant. Blue smoke from the exhaust indicates burning oil. In replacing the valve cover gasket for an oil leak, some smoke from residual oil is normal but it would be excess oil burning off on the manifold from the engine compartment, not the exhaust. Hope this helps with your question.
Greg

This is probably a head gasket problem and not an oil cooler problem.

The oil cooler is fairly easy to test.

Remove the cooler from the engine but do not disconnect cooling lines and then pressurize the cooling system. You can use a radiator test tool to put pressure on the cooling system and look for leaks. If it leaks, replace it.

You may also be able to bypass the oil cooler altogether if it leaks.

The head gasket is another story.

Get a 1/4" pipe to spark plug fitting and put a male air coupling fitting in it.

Then you can charge the cylinders with air from your compressor.

Make sure each cylinder that you test is at top dead center so that the valves are closed.

If air bubbles into your coolant, you found your problem.

If air leaks out your intake you have a bad intake valve

If air leaks out your exhaust you have a bad exhaust valve etc.


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Tim

Sounds like valve cover gaskets need to be changed - they're a common failure on the 30v engine. Fortunately, they're also relatively inexpensive ($25 per cylinder bank - you need two - from www.ecstuning.com). They're also easy to change. They'd easily explain your oil smell - oil leaks onto hot valve covers and burns. Also, the misfire could be (not a guarantee, but it's possible) a result of valve cover gaskets as well - there's the main gasket which seals around the edge of the valve cover, and a second gasket shaped like three rings. This trims and seals the openings around each of the spark plugs, where the plugs are inserted through the valve covers. If you're leaking there, you can drown the top end of the plug in oil. If that gets into the spark wire boot, it can cause a misfire.

my first suggestion is to go to a car wash and power wash the the engine all the way from top to bottom. remember to let it dry before you start it this will keep the altenator from shorting out. next check the engine throughly for the oil leak around the gaskets. you must note that silicone should never be used with gaskets on the valve covers. if your only 3/4 of a quart low this would indicated that your valve seals are most likely seeping the oil into the cylinders.( this is typical over time the seals become hard and leak, they should be soft and thus prevent leakage of oil. please rate this and post the results. I'm a mechanic and i will give you the best advice cuz that's my job aside from this site.