When they checked the oil pressure in the shop did they use an oil pressure gauge. This is the only way to tell if there is a problem with the actual oil pressure or just with the oil pressure sensor (bad sensor).

If the problem is intermittent, then another way is to tee in the oil gauge with the sensor using a coupler for diagnostics purpose. When the warning light comes on, check the gauge to verify.

 

When they checked the oil pressure in the shop did they use an oil pressure gauge. This is the only way to tell if there is a problem with the actual oil pressure or just with the oil pressure sensor (bad sensor).

They used the readings of the car's sensor, not an oil pressure gauge. But it was after changing the sensor (i hope that they changed the correct sensor).
Maybe a foolish question. Do we ever change the plastic oil cap? Can this in any way be related to the oil pressure? :roll:

 

Oil pressure is built up between the oil pump and the resistance provided by the engine bearings. Therefore the plastic oil cap will not affect the oil pressure. My plastic cap traps a little oil under the rubber gasket so that after you wiped it and turned it over some will still leak down onto the valve cover. VW should redesign this cap.

Do you notice any external oil leak on the engine?

I have a later 2007 V6, and the oil pressure sensor is on the oil filter housing. If you are not getting oil pressure there, then it can be very serious for the life of the engine. Wiring connection and the actual pressure should be checked with an oil gauge, IMO.

On my V6 engine there is the possibility of the oil pump bolt backing out and dropping the oil pressure to zero. This can damage the entire engine quickly. So much for VW's German engineering. I do not believe this is a problem with the 2003.

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/oil-pump-20882-2.html#post766370

 

Golly, was that one caught in time or not?

 

In that case no damage other than having to pull the engine to replace the $2 bolt on the 2007 V6.

 

Thanks a lot for all the valuable information. I will for sure check the pressure with an oil pressure gauge to be sure that it is not a real, continuous, problem of low pressure.
Today i drove some 20km without having the "Oil Pressure Stop Engine" message coming out. It seems that the engine starts to come over the "shock" of the oil change..... :lol:
If i come out to get the message very rarely and only for a few seconds (this is what has been happening the last 10 months, before the oil change) i may take the risk to continue driving without starting throwing parts on it, given that the car is 11 year old with 150k(km) and i don't want to start spending a lot on it.
I will just try to make a another guess for the problem, which will be like a question for the knowledgeable fellows of this forum. Having a timing chain in the 3.2v6, which i understand that (among other) drives the oil pump, could the problem be there? I mean having an old chain with 150k(km) on it, could there be a sporadic problem of not driving the oil pump as initially designed?
One more question. If i am not wrong the oil specifications for a 3.2v6 engine yield to SAE 0w30 or 5w30 or 5w40 oils. I am getting 0w30. Would a 5w30 or 5w40 (ie thicker) oil improve the situation?
Thanks again. Regards from the sunny Greece (winter is not here yet....)

 

In the U. S. I use a VW 502/505 oil, Mobil-1 0W-40.

It is correct to say that your oil light may come on while driving, and not just on start up?

Because the 3.6L may also suffer from oil drain back into the oil pan while sitting, causing low oil pressure and shaking on start up. This is due to a faulty oil check valve in the metal oil filter housing assembly. This engine is a real beauty of VW enginnering.

 

In my 3.2v6 i get the "Oil Pressure Stop Engine" message always while driving with normal engine temperature (not cold start). It usually appears on mountainous roads and a couple of times when taking a curve to leave a highway. In my case it is not something often, about 10-12 times in 15k kms. I'll keep an eye on it and we will see....
It is very strange though that both times started to come out right after an oil change.

 

At the oil change, did you use a real VW oil filter or an aftermarket one? If the latter, I would change it immediately for a genuine VW oil filter.

 

Well, i was not present, but it is a VW shop so i hope that the used the correct filter. I will ask them. Thanks for pointing this out

 

The real question is what is the oil pressure?

I would suggest you put a T in between the engine and the oil sensor. Run the t to a real oil pressure gauge and leave the gauge in place until you can figure this out. Oil gauges can be have for very little money and you can velco it in place until this is resolved.

 

Hello, i just changed my oil on my 2006 touareg v6 3.0 tdi, and i was able to drive the car for a couple of minutes until the oil pressure, STOP ENGINE turned on. It was the first time i changed the oil by myself on this car, so i am guessing it probably is the exact same problem as yours. It has been turning off sometimes, but it always came back on again. I was curious to know if you finally figured your problem out, or if you continued to drive with the error message.

 

I forgot to say that of course the oil is at the correct level, i used the 5w40 oil and replaced the oil filter with a RIDEX filter (which is not VW parts i guess), and i’m guessing the oil pressure sensor is working correctly because it never showed this error message before the oil change.