[Snarl Mayhem]

My 2007 Passat Wagon 2.0T. 150,000 miles, puts white smoke out the back when it reaches cruising speed. My mechanic proposes replacing the oil separator as a first fix. He says the smoke is not coolant smoke, but oil smoke. he also says there are no hydrocarbons in the coolant. He says if the new oil separator does not fix the problem he will then look into the turbo, but he doesn't think there is a blown head gasket or anything internal to the engine. Car has always used a quart tor so of oil every 500 miles since we got it a year ago. It has never overheated in our 15,000 miles of driving.

Does the oil separator on this car perform the same function as a CPV valve? Are they the same thing?

One more thing: Mostly we have felt that the car had the appropriate amount of power, but there was one occasion a few days before the smoking started when my wife was driving up a hill and had a sudden power loss. She pulled over and didn't have the problem again, so we didn't do anything about it except continue to add oil.

 

[VAGguy]

PCV (positive Crankcase Ventilation) and yes, the oil separator could be causing the VERY excessive oil consumption, but it shouldn't be a guess. NO engine outside of a rotary engine would one consider 1 qt per 500 miles anywhere near acceptable.

After that, I'd look at the turbo, but also possibly valve stem seals or stuck piston ring(s)