Volkswagen Dipsticks
German automaker burns trust even faster than oil
This Week In Blunders – Jan. 4-10
“We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?” – Lee Iacocca
Volkswagen Tiguan owners are suing the automaker because their compact SUVs are burning through more oil than a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise.
VW claims a quart every 1,200 miles is normal.
On Thursday, a judge dismissed VW’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit covering 2022 and 2023 Tiguans with EA888 turbocharged engines.
VW has already settled similar claims with its other oil-burning models but the Tiguan is its best-selling vehicle in the U.S. and the stakes are much higher if it is ordered to issue a recall.
VW never disclosed to its customers how much oil they’d be buying but an internal technical service bulletin that VW reissued in 2024 declares “normal” at up to 0.5 quarts every 600 miles.
