# what type of oil does VW use?



## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

i searched and came up with nothing,
i'm trying to find out what brand oil and filter the dealership uses for their oil changes.
since it's only necessary to go to the dealership every 10k, i'm changing it myself inbetween the visits and i'd rather not switch brands every other oil change.


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## SpiderX1016 (Jul 22, 2008)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (MKVJET08)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKVJET08* »_i searched and came up with nothing,
i'm trying to find out what brand oil and filter the dealership uses for their oil changes.
since it's only necessary to go to the dealership every 10k, i'm changing it myself inbetween the visits and i'd rather not switch brands every other oil change.

I'd say ask them yourself. They all probably use different ones.
I heard some use Castrol though.


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (SpiderX1016)*

My local dealer uses Castrol (GTX for dino oil changes and Syntec for synthetic changes). Audi/VW has a published list of oils that meet the warranty requirements (VW 5XX spec) and the're all synthetic so if you want "bulletproof" waranty back up documentation..make sure you save receipts (dated and noted with mileage) for exactly the correct oil and amount 6 quarts etc...if you have an oil related problem (say internal engine part fails) VW can and will ask dealer to check your service records very closely! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (spitpilot)*

well this is going to be inbetween warranty services so i'm not even going to cause the headache of telling them that i'm changing the oil myself.
but thanks to the both of you


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (MKVJET08)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKVJET08* »_well this is going to be inbetween warranty services so i'm not even going to cause the headache of telling them that i'm changing the oil myself.
but thanks to the both of you
My plan exactly...I"m not gonna sit on oil for 10K miles no matter how special it is! I'm plannin on DIY change @ 15K, 25K....and do dealer change at 10K, 20K and 30K..which along with the dealer change I did @ 5K should give me bulletproof oil maintenance records for warrranty isssues up to 40K miles and peace of mind that I didn't poop around town with same oil in the car all year long (I only do about 10-`12K/year unless we go on some big road trip). http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (spitpilot)*

yup! lol
i came from a car that needed 3k OCIs. its hard enough to make it 5 before i change it, much less 10.
i don't doubt vw, but i just feel better


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (MKVJET08)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKVJET08* »_yup! lol
i came from a car that needed 3k OCIs. its hard enough to make it 5 before i change it, much less 10.
i don't doubt vw, but i just feel better









This may be about Mobil1 in particular, and an American V8 engine, but I think the principles apply quite well more broadly.

http://neptune.spacebears.com/....html
I think VW is actually being conservative even with a 10K interval when I consider that our 2.5L engine isn't heavily stressed, has a rather huge 6qt capacity, a large efficient filter AND an oil cooler.


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## shipo (Jan 3, 2006)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (MKVJET08)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKVJET08* »_i came from a car that needed 3k OCIs. its hard enough to make it 5 before i change it, much less 10.

A car that _needed_ an oil change every 3,000 miles? What was it, a 1962 Dodge?


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## SpiderX1016 (Jul 22, 2008)

I don't think anyone here does 10k intervals unless they don't care about the car.
I go with 5k intervals with Mobil1 Synthetic.


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## shipo (Jan 3, 2006)

*Re: (SpiderX1016)*


_Quote, originally posted by *SpiderX1016* »_I don't think anyone here does 10k intervals unless they don't care about the car.
I go with 5k intervals with Mobil1 Synthetic.

Why would you say that? Based upon the UOA results that I've seen posted on BITOG, the 2.5 engine when run on a 502.00 (or better) oil does very well with 10,000 mile oil changes. Saying otherwise without any scientific support is simply an uniformed opinion.


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## VAGMeister (Sep 7, 2005)

My dealer uses Castrol Syntec 5W-40.


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## vdubbed81 (Dec 14, 2000)

*Re: (VAGMeister)*

I recently bought my car, and after the initial 5k and 10k oil changes, I'll be changing mine every 10K and yes I do care for my car. Obviously the oil and engine has been tested at that interval, hence why it's the recommended service. Plus I drive about 30 - 35K a years, so oil changes every 5K would get very expensive, very quickly.


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (shipo)*


_Quote, originally posted by *shipo* »_
A car that _needed_ an oil change every 3,000 miles? What was it, a 1962 Dodge?

a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage. around that time just about every car on the road recommended/required a 3k OCI


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (MKVJET08)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKVJET08* »_
a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage. around that time just about every car on the road recommended/required a 3k OCI

I don't know about Mitsubishi Mirage but Nissan recommended 7500 mile OCI for my 2001 Maxima (and at that they didn't require synthetic!)...I'm now running it at 10K intervals with Mobil1 PAO synthetic. I think GM at least had been recommending 6K intervals for most of their fleet for a long time before that.
It's a myth that auto mfr's require 3k OCI's now, and it has been for quite some time. It's the oil change shops, including dealers, that have been sustaining the myth by play to people's gullible nature along with inate desire to maintain things in 'like new' condition. 
Several studies have shown that the an engine will sustain the most wear in the first 3k miles following an oil change! So a maintaining a 3k oil change interval is actually more damaging than extending the drain interval with high quality oils!
Ironic...


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (SpiderX1016)*


_Quote, originally posted by *SpiderX1016* »_I don't think anyone here does 10k intervals unless they don't care about the car.
I go with 5k intervals with Mobil1 Synthetic.

Then you would be wrong...I and many other's go the full 10K on VW 502 oil.
I care about my car...I want to limit the number of high-wear periods immediately after oil changes....you're doubling yours.


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## Audi4u (Jun 29, 2002)

The oil cap on the car says castrol.
In an unmodified car I would do 5k OCI
heavily modified will be 3k OCI


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## zach_mkv_rabbit (Jun 29, 2008)

My dealership has a promotion where you get free oem replacement tires for life as long as i do all of the vw scheduled service at no more than 1000 under or 1000 over the mile schedule. But they still recommend that i get oil changes every 5k. And if i do get an oil change every 5k it won't void the promotion.


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## shipo (Jan 3, 2006)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (MKVJET08)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKVJET08* »_
a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage. around that time just about every car on the road recommended/required a 3k OCI

To be quite honest, I don't believe you. Said another way, I'd lay dollars to donuts odds that the Owner's Manual for that Mirage DOES NOT recommend a 3,000 mile OCI for basic engine maintenance.


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: what type of oil does VW use? (shipo)*


_Quote, originally posted by *shipo* »_
To be quite honest, I don't believe you. Said another way, I'd lay dollars to donuts odds that the Owner's Manual for that Mirage DOES NOT recommend a 3,000 mile OCI for basic engine maintenance.

http://pdftown.com/PDF-Mitsubi....html
Chapter 1 - General Info and Mantinence, page 33, section 1-34, Oil & Filter Change, first paragraph specifically states...
The oil and filter should be changed every 7,500
miles (12,000km) under normal service and every
3,000 miles (5,000km) under severe service.
100% City driven miles was classified as severe service so in order to keep from voiding my factory warranty or causing damage to my motor i *NEEDED* to change my oil every 3k.



_Modified by MKVJET08 at 8:41 PM 9-7-2008_


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## SpiderX1016 (Jul 22, 2008)

w.e I say one thing and everyone gets on my ass.
I will stick with my 5,000 mile change for all I care.


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: (SpiderX1016)*


_Quote, originally posted by *SpiderX1016* »_w.e I say one thing and everyone gets on my ass.
I will stick with my 5,000 mile change for all I care.

lol who's getting on your ass?
my last comment was directed towards shipo
i'm right there with you on the 5k OCIs for this car


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## fierostetz (Nov 19, 2007)

:shrug: on my srt-4 I used to send my oil for spectral analysis every 3rd or 4th change - it *did* incur the most wear during the first 3k miles, the oil was only marginally dirtier after a 10k change than a 3k change- as long as you aren't tossing any additives in the vw, you should be fine. I'd me more concerned if the engine were actually tuned to run closer to the ragged edge of extreme performance, but that is not the case. if you really want to know, send your oil out for analysis and get real world facts, rather than just assuming. safer that way


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## vwgman86 (Jun 11, 2008)

*Re: (fierostetz)*

The vehicle will give you a countdown by mileage until the service is due. I live in Houston and traffic is stop and go all the time, as you may know that type of condition is hell on your engine so I stick to castrol GTX full synthetic and change my oil every 6,000 miles. My car runs like the first day I bought it and it has 45k miles on it. Hope this helps.


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