T6.1 oil level warning: Reduce Oil Level!

[DXX]

If you still want a running van in a years time I suggest you don’t cover the dash warning lights with tape.
Try phoning VW Customer Services and explaining the lack of resolve at the dealer, keep a record of all communication and make it clear that you want a solution, don’t accept compromise.

 

[JonriceT6]

I spoke to VW again yesterday, they said there still isn’t an update for this issue. I told my concerns of if causing damage, and whether it could be a hardware issue rather than software. They said no, it is solely a software issue which needs updating. They will contact me when it’s available.
anyone else had any joy?

 

[DXX]

I spoke to VW again yesterday, they said there still isn’t an update for this issue. I told my concerns of if causing damage, and whether it could be a hardware issue rather than software. They said no, it is solely a software issue which needs updating. They will contact me when it’s available.
anyone else had any joy?

Get it in an email

 

[GMAC]

First post but been following this thread for a while now.
I have been enjoying the same issue for a while now. T6.1 new in jan this year with 5.5k kms to date.
First time the warning came up i went straight to local vw main dealer. First they tried to tell me it was a build up of condensation from the filler cap! Then on sharing some of the findings I've read on here they insisted they had never heard of anything like that. I must add too that my oil levels have indeed beem increasing as shown on the dip. I've since tripped them up and they have admitted they have seen it it other t6.1's and crafters. 3 times id been back for them to drain/change oil to reduce levels to remove fault. Today was the forth and they have now said that the official fix from VW is to lower the oil level in from just over 7litre to 6.4 litre to allow room for the diesel so the sensor wont be affected amd have assured me this is perfectly fine for the life of the engine.
This sounds absolutely rediculous to me and am not convinced at all and have requested this statement in writing from Vw straight to me.

 

[DaveD]

First post but been following this thread for a while now.
I have been enjoying the same issue for a while now. T6.1 new in jan this year with 5.5k kms to date.
First time the warning came up i went straight to local vw main dealer. First they tried to tell me it was a build up of condensation from the filler cap! Then on sharing some of the findings I've read on here they insisted they had never heard of anything like that. I must add too that my oil levels have indeed beem increasing as shown on the dip. I've since tripped them up and they have admitted they have seen it it other t6.1's and crafters. 3 times id been back for them to drain/change oil to reduce levels to remove fault. Today was the forth and they have now said that the official fix from VW is to lower the oil level in from just over 7litre to 6.4 litre to allow room for the diesel so the sensor wont be affected amd have assured me this is perfectly fine for the life of the engine.
This sounds absolutely rediculous to me and am not convinced at all and have requested this statement in writing from Vw straight to me.

Their approach to the issue sounds to me a bit like, "This is the cheapest way for us to keep the vehicle on the road throughout its warranty. After that it's not our problem, if we have to replace a few engines outside the warranty period due to premature failure caused by oil dilution the customer is paying the big bucks".

The "fix" of putting less oil in the engine to make more room for contaminants is genius! (not)

 

[Howzat]

I've got a t6, only had it 4 months, and did my own oil change and oil filter change a couple of months back. Used CASTROL EDGE 5W-30 which was delivered on 6 May 2021 so the oil change was done on the weekend of the 8th. I purposely only added about 6l which was showing minimum on the dipstick as too much oil has caused me problems in the past with other van makes. After a week I topped up further until the dipstick was half way. Today I checked the oil expecting to top up further and was surprised when the dipstick was showing the oil level as max. The oil was black and looked runny like old oil after only a couple of months. Never known the oil level to increase, ever! So I came here and find this thread mentioning fuel getting past the crank due to regens. Ever since I've owned this T6 I've always thought the regens were causing strain on the engine but never expected this. Diesel in the oil is just gonna kill engines and the only solution I see is to change the oil every 3 months or 4k miles and never fill to more than half way on the dippy when refilling.

I'm genuinely dumbfounded and have no confidence this van is gonna last me to 70k, never mind the 100k I'd hoped for.
I'm seriously considering whipping off my koni/H&R suspension to get it through the eligibility check for the extended warranty @ £800 to save me losing £1000's down the line.

 

[Pete C]

Given the warnings that VW make in the owners manual about only using the specified oil, then it’s unbelievable that they think it’s OK to run the engine with diesel in the oil.

Pete

 

[DaveD]

Given the warnings that VW make in the owners manual about only using the specified oil, then it’s unbelievable that they think it’s OK to run the engine with diesel in the oil.

Pete

Some oil manufacturers talk about a safe or acceptable level of oil dilution caused by diesel finding its way into the oil, of about 3%.
When you've got people on this forum describing the oil level rising so much that a litre of contaminated oil has to be removed in an engine which should hold about 7 litres, that's far in excess of 3%.
In reality a 3% dilution would cause only a very small increase in the level as seen on the dip stick, barely noticeable.
I'm quite sure that some members of this forum are describing dilution well in excess of 10%.
Of course, just draining some oil out and continuing to drive the van is only going to result in the concentration if diesel in the oil increasing!
If the oil level goes above the max mark it needs a full oil change, anything less is a bodge IMO.

 

[Jezzah]

I wonder if it is just a particular batch of T6.1s or whether it is all of them? Surely not every T6.1 is having this issue?
For info, mine is a March 2020 T28 2.0 TDI 110 Highline.

 

[jack454]

and another to add to the list
70 plate 150 manual 35k on the clock
first time its done it, and strangley, it happened after i checked the oil level saturday morning before heading off on a long run to devon
never check any levels normally.
first time i checked, all levels bang on, and this crops up
didnt happen on the 300mile drive down, just came on whilst hammering it back up the m5 about 1am sunday morning??

got home, opened bonnet, and low n behold, the lights gone off
will update when it comes back on again lol
ps, no sign of any increased levels showing on the stick??

 

[jack454]

and another to add to the list
70 plate 150 manual 35k on the clock
first time its done it, and strangley, it happened after i checked the oil level saturday morning before heading off on a long run to devon
never check any levels normally.
first time i checked, all levels bang on, and this crops up
didnt happen on the 300mile drive down, just came on whilst hammering it back up the m5 about 1am sunday morning??

got home, opened bonnet, and low n behold, the lights gone off
will update when it comes back on again lol
ps, no sign of any increased levels showing on the stick??

update

96 miles and its back on again
levels still the same as it was
surely this must be a sensor issue somewhere?

bonnet open n closed again, lights off lol

 

[GMAC]

First post but been following this thread for a while now.
I have been enjoying the same issue for a while now. T6.1 new in jan this year with 5.5k kms to date.
First time the warning came up i went straight to local vw main dealer. First they tried to tell me it was a build up of condensation from the filler cap! Then on sharing some of the findings I've read on here they insisted they had never heard of anything like that. I must add too that my oil levels have indeed beem increasing as shown on the dip. I've since tripped them up and they have admitted they have seen it it other t6.1's and crafters. 3 times id been back for them to drain/change oil to reduce levels to remove fault. Today was the forth and they have now said that the official fix from VW is to lower the oil level in from just over 7litre to 6.4 litre to allow room for the diesel so the sensor wont be affected amd have assured me this is perfectly fine for the life of the engine.
This sounds absolutely rediculous to me and am not convinced at all and have requested this statement in writing from Vw straight to me.

So the oil was replaced during scheduled service to 6.8l i was told. But the very next day the alarm came back during a motorway journey. that eve i dipped it again and was indeed high. I was told by the VW garage this must have been 'a particularly big regeneration'. Like wtf??
Anyway the drained and replaced with less again showing at the mid point on the dip.
One week later, and it was back. Oil level only reads slightly higher than it was and not at high level yet. So now they tell me that the oil level issue must have been resolved somehow and now they gonna book it in to replace the sensor and take a punt on that.
To say im getting tired of this is an understatement.

 

[GMAC]

update

96 miles and its back on again
levels still the same as it was
surely this must be a sensor issue somewhere?

bonnet open n closed again, lights off lol

At least the bonnet trick gives us some relief!

 

[jack454]

update

96 miles and its back on again
levels still the same as it was
surely this must be a sensor issue somewhere?

bonnet open n closed again, lights off lol

update 2

4 miles this time lol

called marshalls vw commercial in lincoln and spoke to service reception,
before i had even finished explaining the issue, she was fully aware of it and promptly booked me in for friday 8.30 am for a drain and software update which is available for the issue

she also explained a tech bulletin issued ref opening n closing bonnet to cancel warning ( although a temp fix )

lets see if this sorts it

 

[jack454]

At least the bonnet trick gives us some relief!

only if youve got severe OCD like me, and warning lights upset your fragile balance

 

[DXX]

Ctl + Alt Delete, that recognised engineering fix

 

[jack454]

Ctl + Alt Delete, that recognised engineering fix

sounds like the story of my life mate

not just an engineering / tech fix lol

 

[GMAC]

update 2

4 miles this time lol

called marshalls vw commercial in lincoln and spoke to service reception,
before i had even finished explaining the issue, she was fully aware of it and promptly booked me in for friday 8.30 am for a drain and software update which is available for the issue

she also explained a tech bulletin issued ref opening n closing bonnet to cancel warning ( although a temp fix )

lets see if this sorts it

Do let us know if it works. There's been rumblings of a software update for a while now so hopefully its that

 

[jack454]

update

software update done
oil level reduction done
was hoping for an oil change n new filter, however during the reduction process, they have picked up a weeping crank seal, so now booked in for the 6 sept to have that replaced under warantee as well, so new oil n filter then they have said, and the leaking n/s roofbar will finally get sorted whilst its there

quick response times from marshall van centre lincoln

seems they have had a few through with the oil level AND crank seal issue
seems like the reduce oil level issue ( over fuel passing rings in regen? etc) is being promoted as a priority, as i assume VW dont really want to be replacing engines all over due to this problem
apparently, all vans that have been back and had software updates have been fine, and none returned
heres hoping

 

[DXX]

update

software update done
oil level reduction done
was hoping for an oil change n new filter, however during the reduction process, they have picked up a weeping crank seal, so now booked in for the 6 sept to have that replaced under warantee as well, so new oil n filter then they have said, and the leaking n/s roofbar will finally get sorted whilst its there

quick response times from marshall van centre lincoln

seems they have had a few through with the oil level AND crank seal issue
seems like the reduce oil level issue ( over fuel passing rings in regen? etc) is being promoted as a priority, as i assume VW dont really want to be replacing engines all over due to this problem
apparently, all vans that have been back and had software updates have been fine, and none returned
heres hoping

If they have needed to reduce the oil level then it is diluted with fuel. Waiting until the crankshaft seal is replaced on 06 Sept before changing the oil is risking engine wear, not that VW will care as it’s your engine.