The 2014 VW Passat that would not die

[Hovannes]

We had just gotten our 2014 Passat serviced a little while ago and this week we drove to Lake Tahoe for some much overdue R&R. About 50 miles from our destination the instrument panel lit up like a Christmas tree. We dug out the owner's manual and the code told us something was wrong with the computer control module and to drive carefully to the nearest VW dealer. There isn't a VW dealer at Lake Tahoe and the closest was in Reno, about an hour on the other side of Lake Tahoe and over 7,146' Spooner Summit and it was getting late, so we checked in to our hotel and early the next morning drove in a light snow to the dealership in Reno, NV to diagnose the problem.
It turned out there was no oil. Not even enough to register on the dip stick.
For a car with no history of oil leaks or burning oil the only reason the dealer could give was that they must not have added enough oil at the last service.
They couldn't give us a reason why the check oil light didn't tip us off.
They serviced the car for us and amazingly it's been running fine all the way home. No burning oil either, so the cylinder and rings might not have suffered, nor are there any distressing noises coming from the motor.
That we didn't blow up the engine after nearly 200 miles of highway and mountain driving without oil has to be some kind of miracle!

[sweetandsour]

That sounds pretty wild. I've heard this type of story before, but something is just not right.

[Hovannes]

That sounds pretty wild. I've heard this type of story before, but something is just not right.

I know, right?
The shop in Fresno hasn't been inspiring my confidence lately---during the last servicing, they wanted $111 to change the cabin air filter,
I bought a genuine VW cabin air filter for $20 and installed it myself in about five minutes.
My lesson learned is to check the oil more often, which is my failure, which I've developed with these modern automobiles.
I need to get back in the habit of weekly checking the fluid levels and tire air pressure.
I'm pretty sure the Passat should be considered for "Venerable" even though she hasn't died yet.
I'll have to ask my bishop next time I see him.

[FredS]

My lesson learned is to check the oil more often, which is my failure, which I've developed with these modern automobiles.
I need to get back in the habit of weekly checking the fluid levels and tire air pressure.

New vehicles have indeed spoiled us. Still, I check the oil level after every oil change whether it's done by me or a shop. I check the ground at our usual parking spots for drips a few days later. Our vehicles are less than 5 years old, so even a single drop is unusual and would be spotted at a glance. I rotate my own tires every June and that's the only time I bother checking air pressure unless something looks or feels obviously out of whack.

[EDIT] And, for the record, German cars older than 5-8 years suck. They start having issues, and issues with German cars are expensive. Hov's Passat gave no low oil level or pressure warning until it decided to light up like a Christmas tree, and even then it offered no indication what was actually wrong. I know that Passat was built in TN, but it's still a German car. A German car built by hillbillies.

[Hovannes]

My lesson learned is to check the oil more often, which is my failure, which I've developed with these modern automobiles.
I need to get back in the habit of weekly checking the fluid levels and tire air pressure.

New vehicles have indeed spoiled us. Still, I check the oil level after every oil change whether it's done by me or a shop. I check the ground at our usual parking spots for drips a few days later. Our vehicles are less than 5 years old, so even a single drop is unusual and would be spotted at a glance. I rotate my own tires every June and that's the only time I bother checking air pressure unless something looks or feels obviously out of whack.

[EDIT] And, for the record, German cars older than 5-8 years suck. They start having issues, and issues with German cars are expensive. Hov's Passat gave no low oil level or pressure warning until it decided to light up like a Christmas tree, and even then it offered no indication what was actually wrong. I know that Passat was built in TN, but it's still a German car. A German car built by hillbillies.

Yeah.
The idiot lights indicated the need for thorough diagnostic testing---not inexpensive.
Ironically what was actually needed was to just check the dipstick.