That's frightening.

After only 10,000 miles? Did she have a leak? Was she using oil she bought at the Dollar store?

Yeah 10K? What was she doing -- driving on the freeway/highway in 2nd gear?

@Josh_G:

I'm not trying to blame the OP, I'm just curious

It would seem that to do that sort of damage she'd have to either be way low on oil, using crappy conventional oil, or flogging that thing to within an inch of its life all day every day.

Looks nasty though, glad it's his problem and not mine.

I personally spend the extra money on Mobil1 and change oil every 6 months or 7500 miles, whichever comes first.

Still gotta pull the dipstick occasionally and make sure there's some in there though o_O

It all depends on the oil and the car.

My new VW CC's recommended service window for oil changes is actually 10,000 miles. In my Nissan Frontier I had previously, with Mobil 1 synthetic oil, I routinely went 7500 miles between oil changes.

You know, I used to run my Nissan for 6k w/o an oil change, and never had any damage(she finally got into a bad enough crash my parents refused to fix it, even though it ran). I wonder like others if this car had a leak and/or had a change and someone didn't add oil. I'd also like to see what the pan looked like.

I'm also not a mechanic, but I have been under the impression that sludge does happen, and has to either be scraped off, or run with something like pure varsol or similar to dissolve it. I do see a sheen on the parts, so it doesn't look like this car/engine was run dry.

I go to school with someone who works for an oil change company, lets call it iffy dube. I've been trying to talk him into saving some of the oil from newer cars (say under 25K miles) who go 3K between changes. At least half of the life is left in the oil, I could change oil for the cost of a filter and environmentally it would be the right thing to do. The oil change interests have people changing way to ofter (btw I am in need of an oil change on my car, w/ 180k miles, after 14 months and 6K miles).

Looks like a VW 1.8 turbo- notorious engine for sludge buildup. A turbo engine, that one in particular, requires frequent oil changes and synthetic oil.

While I've seen worse, this does seem like a lot of damage for only 10,000 miles. My guess is that the radiator was low/empty and it overheated prior to blowing. Either that or the wrong oil was used for the climate (or both).

@tator: Correct me if I am wrong, but oil/grease is acidic. Also, you'd be introducing possibly contaminated oil into your system. Do you plan on scrubbing the oil for any metal shavings/particles? B/C in most of the oil filters I buy, when they clog, they just open up and let oil pass through them w/o filtering. But if you want to screw up your car to save pretty much no money, more power to you.

@Josh_G: She probably used non-synthetic oil and maybe had some small leaks. Non-synthetic oil in an engine with a turbocharger is dicey anyway, and running it for 10k without a change means that a sludged-up engine is a sure thing.

It may be the original break-in fluid, which on some turbo vehicles is supposed to be changed after 1000 miles with synthetic or regular oil.

Wow, that's gruesome. My guess is that she used full conventional (non-synthetic) oil and never checked it. It says she has a car with a turbocharger, which are notorious for being little sludge factories when conventional oil is used. Anyone who has a turbo at least needs to use a blend, if not full synthetic!!

Hey, some Toyota cars do that even with regular oil changes. Check this link from the autosafety.org place or google toyota sludge.
[www.autosafety.org]

+1 for non-synthetic oil on a turbo car. You don't have to flog the car for this to happen (although city driving is certainly tough on a turbo vehicle). Engine oil runs through [most] turbos to lubricate them. Turbos get insanely hot (hot enough to glow if run really hard). Standard oil suffers from thermal breakdown, therefore it doesn't last very long in a turbo car. So city driving for 10k on dino oil could definitely do this...

I am very suspicious of these recent photos. I manage a fleet of vehicles and we have to be fairly religious about oil changes, but sometimes a vehicle goes longer than it should. But I KNOW that we change alot of oil that is perfectly fine. I've seen oil tested after being in a engine and the oil usually passes the test and could be used again. Also, much of the contamination in the oil can be filtered ( let the oil dribble past a rare earth magnet and it will clear up remarkably ). We have also abused our delivery truck with oil changes around the 10K mark with no problem.

If I was to see this kind of sludge - I would think contamination and sabatoge. Someone might have introduced something into the oil - such as sugar or something else that would carbonize with the heat of the engine - but what is there is NOT oil...

I don't know what oil they're using, but a certain synthetic oil that i use has a 25K mile interchange recommendation. I only have to change my oil once a year.. granted it costs me about $100 in the oil and filter.. but i've never had this issue in any of my vehicles.

Yeah, newer turbo cars don't really like conventional oil, and once oil starts breaking down, it goes downhill fast.

I've got a MKV GTI. Full synthetic (Mobil 1 0W-40) every 5K miles. Also end up having to put in around a half-3/4 of a quart due to oil consumption between changes.

Also, change your oil at home, people. It takes no mechanical knowledge, very little in the way of tools, and saves you a ton of money. Not to mention that it doesn't give Jiffy Lube or Walmart or wherever a chance to destroy your car.

Ramps are like $35, get whatever wrench your filter takes (another $10) and a drain pan for 10$. That's it for initial costs.

For my oil change I spend around $40 on oil (6 quarts) and $14 on a filter. It takes me about 25 minutes to do. The dealership charges nearly $100 for the same service.

Wow, these pictures are scary.

I just had my oil changed like last month or two ago but now I wonder if the Nissan dealership would even bother to tell me if the engine was looking bad.

Maybe I should take a look under the hood.

Sigh.

@tator (reply not working)

Umm, you might want to rethink that idea. You wouldn't believe the amount of metal shavings in old oil from a new vehicle! Those will tear your engine up pretty badly. Its definitely not a good idea to skimp on car maintenance! Just buy inexpensive conventional oil and use that. It doesn't cost that much.

Its the same thing with automatic transmission fluid; my 1992 Pontiac Bonneville STILL has a quantity of metal shavings clinging to the magnet in the pan after 109K.

@anAdmetus: Looks like it to me, too. We actually just replaced a water pump on one and were horrified to find out that they used a PLASTIC impeller. The thing just disintegrated one day and nearly trashed the engine. This was only at 40,000 miles!

That's VW 'quality' right there...

Something is wrong here. That is not what you should see after only 10,000 miles without an oil change. Please don't get paranoid about oil changes. They're relatively cheap and easy, so it's painless to do them every 3000-5000 miles, but not necessary.

That looks like the pan I cooked last night's dinner in.

The OP's sister must have been using olive oil, too.

True oil story. My grandmother had my little sister drive her and her car into an oil change place for an oil change. She was worried because she had not changed the oil in 18 months. The mechanic looked at the dip stick and told her that the oil was new. My grandmother, 85, insisted that it was old. They discussed it, with the oil change people not wanting to change her oil. They looked at her old receipt and checked the mileage. She had driven 279 miles in that time. She still made them change it- you can't argue with her at all!

That's a VAG 1.8T for sure. They're prone to oil seepage, which leads me to believe this car was not well-taken care of considering the wealth of information available on 1.8T sludge-ups.

@RamV10:

I agree about the Mobil 1. It may cost twice as much as conventional oil but you can leave it in twice as long. I also run it in my motorcycle because of the hight RPMs.

Sounds fishy to me. I had a VW with a 1.8 turbo engine. VW has very specific oil recommendations for their engines and I'm guessing it's to avoid this kind of thing. Open you owner's manual people.

Oh, and change your own oil! It's simple, but won't save you much money. More importantly, you'll know your oil was changed properly and with the correct oil.

I call BS. Poster probably works for Jiffy.

NO engine requires synthetic oil. It is highly recommended though due to its higher resistance to thermal breakdown and loss of viscosity over time vs. MOST non-synthetics. However, oils like Castrol non-synthetic are excellent oils, and to be honest, almost any oil driven 10,000 miles is asking for trouble, synthetic or not.

In the VW 1.8T motor, thanks to the turbo and placement, the engine endures much more heat than a normal naturally aspirated motor. Also, there's a lot of variation in results based on how she drove the car. If she drove it hard, I can see the results being this way.

@Schwartz: My garage charges $30, and that includes topping up the other fluids (windshield, antifreeze, etc). Why go to a dealership that charges $100? In college I did change the oil once myself, but it was a minor pain, and by the time I disposed of the oil, I didn't come out ahead on the costs versus taking it to a garage (NOT a dealership or Jiffy-Lube, though).

@Schwartz:

At home cost for me about $15
Get someplace to do it about $25

My wife has a '02 Chevy Cavalier, so I will never change that car's oil at home. My wrist simply doesn't bend that way. I've yet to actually take it somewhere that didn't bitch about the location of the oil filter. It's almost impossible to get a grip on that POS with any leverage at all. So to me the $10 I spend not doing it myself it well worth it.

I've done my Outback at home, but again the $10 I would save just isn't worth it since I only change the oil twice a year.

I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a dear-but-clueless friend. She called in a panic because 'something is wrong with my car!'; after a few minutes, I was able to calm her down and start working through possibilities. When I got to 'When was the last time you had you oil changed?' her response was '. . .my oil changed? What do you mean?' -- well, ma'am, I think we've found the problem!

It had been quite some time since she'd bought the car and she hadn't had the oil changed once. Fortunately, the car survived (how I do not know) and now she gets it changed regularly.

@Josh_G: Why wouldn't you blame the op? She's the dumbass that didn't change her oil...

@rysar: I have a 2002 VW with a non-turbo gasoline engine, and the recommended oil-change period is also 1 year/10k instead of the typical 6mo/5k. Now that the mileage is getting up I'm needing to change it more often, but for 80,000+ it was perfectly happy on that schedule.

@ilovemom: Read the comments above...it's because it's a Volkswagen engine. That explains it all.

I am surprised Consumerist is pushing over-changing of oil-- The Jiffy Lube's of the world, who recommend 3K, are close cousin to the "shampoo rinse repeat" crowd--

You do need to do a 3K oil change on a new car/engine. Otherwise, 6K as described by some posters works just fine.

@Schwartz: Don't forget people like myself that live in apartments. I have the knowledge to change my own oil, but doing so in our parking lot is a violation of my contract.

@tator: i'm with gitemsteve on this, yes you could save money by using "pre-loved" oil, but for $20 i wouldn't take the risk (unless you do have the ability to filter it adequately)

@Inail:

ZZ-FE really is tops, after all! :)

@Inail: Chevrolet Prizms, aka rebadged Toyota Corollas, also have the oil sludge problem, which I am not facing. The crappy part about buying a used Prizm recently is that Consumer Reports recommended them over a year ago for being fuel sippers. I still love you Consumers Union, but I wish the labs would have done a Google search on inherent problems.

@PageEris: You are extremely WRONG in your opinion that no engine requires synthetic oil. The only oils approved for VW diesel engines from 2004 on are VW spec 505.01 (2004 - 2006 PDs except the V-10 which uses 506.00) or 507.00 (2009 CRD and all PDs except V-10). Non synthetic oils would kill these engines.

Furthermore, in the 2002-2003 timeframe, VWoA retroactively changed the oil requirement, making synthetic oil the only oil now approved for use in the 1.8T.

As for the newer gas engine, the VW 2.0T, the oil requirement is synthetic only - 502.00 or 507.00.

I am sure she had more then a few missed oil changes. I had a 1.8T and I would drive it 10,000 between each oil change.

She probably pushes the car really hard and never changes the oil in it. My car was fine for about 4 years. But it is a VW and it died. Not from oil, but from being a 2004 Jetta.

I have that exact same 1.8t engine in my Audi TT, they are know for being excessively hard on engine oil. Turbocharged cars are the most susceptible engine types to experience oil breakdown and sludge buildup due to the heat generated at the turbo. Turbos are oil lubricated and often oil cooled. As the turbocharger heats up past 1,000 degrees f, (They actually glow red if ran hard) it breaks down the oil very quickly.

To make matters worse, many people run their cars hard just moments after starting. Engines must be brought to proper operating temperature prior to hard driving, as the lubricant's viscosity is much lower when cold. Until the engine and oil heat up, the engine is not properly lubricated causing excessive wear. Once at temperature, everything should run fine.. So with a Turbo Car, you get both extremes, the damage from Cold Running and Damage from excessive heat.

Further danger can occur from seals either internal to the engine or the turbocharger allowing cross-contamination between the coolant and oil system. When you check your oil, look for small "bubbles" in the oil, that typically indicates coolant in the oil. Also check your coolant, if it goes from clear/yellow/green to Brown/Black, then you have a leak as well.

Finally, when checking engine oil, it should appear as maple syrup, light to mid brown. Engine oil is worn if it is coal black.

Consumer Reports tested oils in heavily used New York Taxicabs and found no significant loss of viscosity after 6000 miles. Their recommendation was to follow the owner's manual's requirements for normal duty use which is typically changing every 7500 miles. So to see an engine this clogged up with muck at 10,000 miles seems highly suspicious to me.
Ref: [www.moneybluebook.com]

Quote:
"The bottom line. Modern motor oils needn't be changed as often as oils did years ago. More frequent oil changes won't hurt your car, but you could be spending money unnecessarily and adding to the nation's energy and oil-disposal problems.

Even in the severe driving conditions that a New York City taxi endures, we noted no benefit from changing the oil every 3,000 miles rather than every 6,000. If your driving falls into the "normal" service category, changing the oil every 7,500 miles (or at the automaker's suggested intervals) should certainly provide adequate protection. (We recommend changing the oil filter with each oil change.)"

I have been skeptical about synthetics, but my wife's 1zzfe (the infamous Toyota Corolla sludger; 110k miles) is at 7k with Mobil1 extended life and the oil still looks great.
It really has lasted a lot longer than the previous oil. I am going to change it out of religion, not because it looks bad. (I have a bunch of experience with being able to do a visual check for bad oil, though it is obviously not a perfect science.)
I should also note that I just regasketed the engine prior to the oil change, so it is pretty tight--I also topped off the oil a month ago and had changed the oil filter at 3k miles.
Anyway, I am amazed that the synthetic (which I had only bought on a whim/sale) really did seem to be better!

@rbb: @gttim: Actually, the oil should have been changed sooner than 18 months, even with the low number of miles put on the odometer.

Given the low number of miles, I doubt the engine ever was completely warmed up enough. When that happens, moisture and unburned fuel can contaminate the oil.

@FooSchnickens: Hmm. I have a 2.0T and have not had any issues. My friend owns a 1.8T and loves it. He's got about 100k on the thing and it still purrs like a kitten.

@discordance: I recommend not doing it until the warranty (the major warranty) is expired myself. I had a Buick (the only GM I've ever owned) Skylark that, in the first year of ownership, had the clutch assembled "backwards" and a head gasket blow. I brought my car into the dealer every 2400-2600 miles like clockwork to have it changed. They wanted to charge me for a split second saying it might have been related to "improper oil change techniques" to whit I responded they could train their own employees better in that respect.

Heh.