# Oil change intervals



## turbomonkeyexpress (Nov 26, 2004)

I bought my Rabbit back in February of this year, and had my first oil change done at 5,000 miles as recommended. The sticker says, change on December 18'th or 10,000 miles. It's almost December 18'th, and i'm rolling up on 8,000 miles. 
Now, I know an early oil change wont hurt anything, but 2,000 miles early; Is that necissary due to physical age of the oil, less the mileage? Oil changes aren't exactly cheap, so I was wondering How long I should wait it out if at all. Any opinions on this guys?


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## spdfrek (Feb 28, 2002)

*Re: Oil change intervals (turbomonkeyexpress)*

I do mine every 5,000 miles.


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: Oil change intervals (spdfrek)*

every 6 months or every 5k, whichever comes first. if it's time to change it, reguardless of the miles driven on that oil, it needs to be changed.


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## sagerabbit (Aug 14, 2007)

can o worms. Driving style, air quality, abuse, and belief should dictate your intervals. It is synthetic, not dino oil, and there isn't sludgging like on older oils/motors. You could string it out and get your oil tested for metal bits to be sure.


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## gunnr0991 (Aug 1, 2006)

*Re: (sagerabbit)*

Been doing mine every 8k-10k, averaging about every 8k so far, do it myself, easy, and a hell of a lot cheaper at about $35. The required interval is 10k anyways.
Used to change in other cars religiously every 3k even if that was once a month. But without a turbo, I don't feel that this engine needs a 5k oil change interval. Thinking I might go ahead and send off for an Oil Analysis this next oil change. 
Have 31k on it, no problems at all, and as long as it's changed every 10k it's covered by warranty, no matter who changes it as long as it's changed with proper oil and filter. And VW has the burden of proving that the oil wasn't properly changed as well.


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## MattWayMK5 (Dec 17, 2006)

*Re: (gunnr0991)*

I drive my car hard and change it ever 3k


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## turbomonkeyexpress (Nov 26, 2004)

*Re: (sagerabbit)*


_Quote, originally posted by *sagerabbit* »_can o worms. Driving style, air quality, abuse, and belief should dictate your intervals. It is synthetic, not dino oil, and there isn't sludgging like on older oils/motors. You could string it out and get your oil tested for metal bits to be sure.

Driving Style: Grandpa & grandma
Air Quality: Dallas area.. sort of dusty
Abuse: None
*Shrug*
by mileage, I'm 2,000 miles short of needing it changed. But due to time, I "should" change it. it's also colder out and that may affect things?


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: Oil change intervals (turbomonkeyexpress)*

We have to use a very high quality synthetic and even 10k miles is well before it's used up. But not driving it enough is worse than mileage because of contamination that doesn't get burned off, hence the time limit to encourage you to change it even if you've not put the full 10k on it.
I get my oil changed every year, when I get my annual safety/emissions inspection, regardless of mileage. So far, it's been right at 10k...
VW has given us pretty wide tolerance (10k interval) so long as you use VW502+ oils so in the end it's personal choice. But I'd hope part of the decision includes a little concern for the environment. 
I'm not a tree hugger but it sure bugs me to unnecessarily add my old oil to the waste stream just to delude myself into thinking I'm doing something good for my engine. Which it doesn't.


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## turbomonkeyexpress (Nov 26, 2004)

*Re: Oil change intervals (BuddyWh)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BuddyWh* »_We have to use a very high quality synthetic and even 10k miles is well before it's used up. But not driving it enough is worse than mileage because of contamination that doesn't get burned off, hence the time limit to encourage you to change it even if you've not put the full 10k on it.
I get my oil changed every year, when I get my annual safety/emissions inspection, regardless of mileage. So far, it's been right at 10k...
VW has given us pretty wide tolerance (10k interval) so long as you use VW502+ oils so in the end it's personal choice. But I'd hope part of the decision includes a little concern for the environment. 
I'm not a tree hugger but it sure bugs me to unnecessarily add my old oil to the waste stream just to delude myself into thinking I'm doing something good for my engine. Which it doesn't.


Oil change interval is every 10k, but for the first 5,000 miles (factory oil) it needs a change, then again at 10k, then 20, 30 etc. I take my car to VW, my dealership is pretty good to me, and I know they wont just "Say" they are using the right oil. so what if it costs me another few dollars. Anyhow, I too dont want to change my oil any more often then absolutely nessissary, due to cost, and environment, but I also wish to keep my brand new car running brand new.


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## 08Rabbit1 (Jun 30, 2008)

No reason to pay any attention to a sticker. Service book says to change it at 10k.


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## daemontrym (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: (08Rabbit1)*

OCI really depends on the load your putting on your car and how much the car sits.If I didn't drive the car for a year to six months and it only has like 2-3k on it I would change it and the filter before I drove the car.
If I raced, drive spirited all the time, or a lot of stop and go traffic I would change it sooner then 10k miles. Even with the burly filter and extra quart its cheap insurance. 
Now that I am out of the Army and am a full time student I change mine every 7k because I am in constant stop/go traffic. Before my miles were mostly Highway road tripping or driving from ft campbell,ky to the chicagoland area.


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## turbomonkeyexpress (Nov 26, 2004)

i drive the car Daily or every other day to work and back, sometimes take it on a trip to the lake, so the car never sits for extended time. I'll just sched. an oilchange for january. I'll be fine stringing it out till 10k, but for peace of mind i'll do it a little early. this is only oil change number 2..


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

i dunno where you guys are getting this info that you only need to service your car every 10k. that's a really long time with the same oil in the car. i have a service book in my hand right now that clearly says the oil should be changed EVERY 5k. then a bigger service every 10k (which would be every other oil change).
not only does the book say to do that, but the service manager also says every 5k, and my car tells me to do it every 5k


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (MKVJET08)*

5k is for the first two changes...then it's 10k thereafter, reread your service book. Ignore the service manager he's more motivated by his ability to lighten your pocket than anything else.
10k is a very conservative OCI for this car considering it's lightly stressed NA engine, huge oil capacity, size of the filter and high quality synthetic. 
All you gotta do is remember to check levels and add make-up oil and 20K would probably be safe for this car (not suggested to maintain warranty) as people who have oil analysis performed have found out.


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## MKVJET08 (Feb 12, 2008)

*Re: (BuddyWh)*

well, i re-read it, it clearly states _every_ 5k. then goes into a big paragraph on why it should be changed every 5k. but anyways, i was just curious where you guys were reading this, i'm not gonna start this whole argument up again
to everyone their own..


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (MKVJET08)*

It is in the Maintenance section of the owner's manual. It gives the required service items and checks at each 5K or 10k interval...it says to _change_ oil and filter at 5k, 10k, 20k, 30k, and so on. It probably says to _check_ oil at 15k, 25k and so on. 
You can safely IGNORE any additional pamphlet the dealer gave you if it in any way disagrees with the owners manual. That's their 'recommendations', which is not based on engineering nearly so much as greed.


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## gunnr0991 (Aug 1, 2006)

*Re: (BuddyWh)*

Same here, 
Booklet 1.1 Maintenance
Starting on Page 6, first 5k change oil and filter, then at 10k, and every 10k after that.
10k miles really isn't very much when you look at the advances in machining and lubrication. My last three cars all had oil change intervals from 7500 to 12k miles, as recommended by the manufacturer. And those were conventional oil engines.
Who knows more about the "recommended" intervals, the people who designed, built and will pay for any repairs under warranty, or the service writer at the counter who gets paid by the dealership, and gets his raises out of how many jobs he writes?


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## Scratchmaster_J (Jan 18, 2007)

*Re: (gunnr0991)*

I dunno if I really believe that whole 10K oil change is BS, maybe if your driving it like a granny. But every single time I do an oil change at 5k, I wonder how in the world is this oil going to make it to 10K. It doesnt look horribly black, but it doesnt look like it would protect an engine till 10K either. BTW I use Mobil 1.


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## turbomonkeyexpress (Nov 26, 2004)

well logically the more oil you have and the higher capacity filter will allow for longer mileage. Think about this;
18 wheelers change at 100,000 mile intervals...
If they changed oil every 3 thousand, they'd have to do it just about weekly.


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## the_humeister (Sep 25, 2008)

*Re: (Scratchmaster_J)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Scratchmaster_J* »_I dunno if I really believe that whole 10K oil change is BS, maybe if your driving it like a granny. But every single time I do an oil change at 5k, I wonder how in the world is this oil going to make it to 10K. It doesnt look horribly black, but it doesnt look like it would protect an engine till 10K either. BTW I use Mobil 1. 

Whether you believe or not is irrelevant. Do an oil analysis to give you hard data to base your decisions on. As for me, I'm just going to follow the manual.


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## DUSlider (Nov 15, 2007)

*Re: (Scratchmaster_J)*

The Mobile 1 is probably the crappiest of the synthetic oil that is vw spec that you can put in there. Get the Castrol German Syntec if you can. The reason most technicians recommend 5k oil changes is because no one checks their damn oil levels so by the time they come in for that 10k change the engine is running on 1qt of oil.
As our resident VW tech says over on VWROC, "go ahead and change it at 10k, but make sure you check the oil level and top it off. I'll change mine at 5k because I want my car to last longer than the manu warranty..."
Ever since VW changed the warranty to 3/36 and offered free maintanence, even the first change they say is at 10k...
I want my car to last awhile, and for the amount I drive, I refuse to go 1 year without a change, so the oil gets changed every 5k in my Rabbit...


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## the_humeister (Sep 25, 2008)

*Re: (DUSlider)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DUSlider* »_The Mobile 1 is probably the crappiest of the synthetic oil that is vw spec that you can put in there. Get the Castrol German Syntec if you can. The reason most technicians recommend 5k oil changes is because no one checks their damn oil levels so by the time they come in for that 10k change the engine is running on 1qt of oil.


Is it really though? The data from these guys seem to indicate that Mobil 1 isn't really that bad.


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (the_humeister)*

Terrific article. People have known this for a while, check out http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ for more stories although nothing as good as this one.
Most revealing is the fact that frequent oil changers may actually do more damage than good. That's an interesting finding I seriously doubted until I read that both Ford Motors' labs and SAE have reported similar results in their tests.
It's about time more manufacturers get on the bandwagon, the higher apparent cost of synthetic is well outweighed by the longer OCI's...it only needs mfr. recognition and warranty coverage or I'd have used it before. Thank you VW!


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## Bob Weaver (Jun 14, 2006)

*Re: (DUSlider)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DUSlider* »_
Ever since VW changed the warranty to 3/36 and offered free maintanence, even the first change they say is at 10k...


The first change has always been at 10K and then every 10K after that.


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## Bob Weaver (Jun 14, 2006)

*Re: (MKVJET08)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKVJET08* »_well, i re-read it, it clearly states _every_ 5k. then goes into a big paragraph on why it should be changed every 5k. but anyways, i was just curious where you guys were reading this, i'm not gonna start this whole argument up again
to everyone their own..

Not sure what you're reading but we're just reading our manuals.


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## the_humeister (Sep 25, 2008)

*Re: (Bob Weaver)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Bob Weaver* »_
The first change has always been at 10K and then every 10K after that.









Depends on the year actually. My '08 Jetta manual says to change it 5k and then 10k, and then every 10k thereafter. For '09, VW's giving free oil changes so the first change starts at 10k. I wonder why...


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## Bob Weaver (Jun 14, 2006)

*Re: (the_humeister)*


_Quote, originally posted by *the_humeister* »_
Depends on the year actually. My '08 Jetta manual says to change it 5k and then 10k, and then every 10k thereafter. For '09, VW's giving free oil changes so the first change starts at 10k. I wonder why...

Yeah I said that wrong. It is 5k, 10k and then every 10k. I was reading his post wrong.


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## snowshoe (Jan 11, 2008)

The VW/Audi techs at my local dealership practically got down on their hands and knees and begged me not to wait until 10K miles to change the oil. During my 10-19K mile interval, I noticed significantly increased oil consumption after 5K miles even with Castrol Syntec. I'm sticking with 5K.


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## daemontrym (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: (snowshoe)*

This forum needs to put in a smiley beating a dead horse lol
OCI IS PERSONAL PREFERENCE!
If I do my oil change myself it costs me about 45 dollars for mobile 1 0w40 and a purolator filter.(Used them on every car/motorcycle I own)
I change my oil every 6k because its my personal preference to and I do mostly city driving because I am a full time college student. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com is a very thorough site and a great place to look up oil facts, reviews, and other people's oil analysis results.
In my opinion it depends on the load you put on it and how long the car sits without driving. Most of the time regardless of miles OCI's are dependant on time as well. If I had my car sitting for 6 months first ting I would do is change the oil even if it was fairly new before it sat. Same thing with my Honda VFR 750 I change the oil at the beginning of every riding season because of it sitting for a long time through the winter.
OCI's are highly dependent on how long the car sits and the load you put on it. I can see 10k in highway miles but city driving and that I personally wouldn't do it.
Bottom line its all about personal preference, common sense should tell anyone that if you drive it like you stole it 10k is too long. But under normal load/driving conditions 10k should be fine.
As for rigs and diesel stuff thats like comparing apples to oranges. The load on the engine deals with the driver not the car itself driving. Diesel oil is a bit different then gasoline oil when it comes to additives and that. Rigs do mostly highway driving unless they run a regional route dropping off different things at warehouses. They can handle mileage like that because they are designed to along with the oil, it contains High levels of zinc and other anti wear additives. Thats why lots of people like running Rutella synthetics in their vehicles and its big amongst motorcycles to. The high levels of zinc cause great wear characterstics over time.
Again it boils down to personal preference


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (daemontrym)*


_Quote, originally posted by *daemontrym* »_This forum needs to put in a smiley beating a dead horse lol
OCI IS PERSONAL PREFERENCE!
....


That's cause there's massive ignorance about what's happening and no one wants to read about it and learn from those who've at least made the attempt to approach it rationally.
Another way to say it: it's all about religious beliefs.


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## daemontrym (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: (BuddyWh)*

wow I lit the fuse on someone's tampon


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (daemontrym)*

naaa...just makin' an observation...
If you really wanna see fuses light up click over to the Oil and Lubrication forum.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=1079 
You'll come to understand just how passionate people are about their particular religious belief...err...oil change regimen. You'll have to lurk a while 'cause the most interesting exchanges manage to disappear for some reason.


_Modified by BuddyWh at 7:58 AM 1-4-2009_


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## Audi4u (Jun 29, 2002)

*Re: (BuddyWh)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BuddyWh* »_
That's cause there's massive ignorance about what's happening and no one wants to read about it and learn from those who've at least made the attempt to approach it rationally.
Another way to say it: it's all about religious beliefs.

That's the problem! It's ignorance if it's not your way. What you need to understand that it is human nature to be loyal to something. religion, people, liquor etc.. You will never get anyone to listen to you argument if you to listen to theirs. 
Im sure alot of people have been to the site you posted. What you need to do is start you own thread with your own documentation. send out your oil have it tested and report in the thread. That way the readers in the forum can have something they can relate to as a baseline. not these guys do it this way so its the only way it should be done.
If i lease a car i will follow the manufactures OCI but i refuse to change my oil every 10k miles in a car i own.
The bottom line is oil changes should not be the same for a completely stock car vs a modified car vs a race car.


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## MattWayMK5 (Dec 17, 2006)

*Re: (Audi4u)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Audi4u* »_
The bottom line is oil changes should not be the same for a completely stock car vs a modified car vs a race car. 

Well said Dre


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## turbomonkeyexpress (Nov 26, 2004)

wow... heated discussion... lol


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (Audi4u)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Audi4u* »_
That's the problem! It's ignorance if it's not your way. What you need to 
...
The bottom line is oil changes should not be the same for a completely stock car vs a modified car vs a race car. 


First: Don't tell me what I need to do.
Second: I certainly as hell don't need to do anything that many, many others have already done for me many times over. 
Third: Your refusal to consider an alternate approach is full of the kind of religious fervor no wise person should make any attempt to argue with.
Fourth: Call it 'personal preference' if that makes it more palatable








Fifth: Since I and the vast majority of owners don't have a modified and certainly not a "race car" your point is moot.
Last: If I DID spend thousands on significant engine mods on my car I WOULD spend the extra 30 dollars every 5K to have an OA performed to determine optimum change intervals and not follow a regimen out of semi-religious fervor. Why? just because I have a little more concern about some things than others do, I guess.


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## Audi4u (Jun 29, 2002)

*Re: (BuddyWh)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BuddyWh* »_

Fifth: Since I and the vast majority of owners don't have a modified and certainly not a "race car" your point is moot.
Last: If I DID spend thousands on significant engine mods on my car I WOULD spend the extra 30 dollars every 5K to have an OA performed to determine optimum change intervals and not follow a regimen out of semi-religious fervor. Why? just because I have a little more concern about some things than others do, I guess.


umm ok


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## Audi4u (Jun 29, 2002)

*Re: (daemontrym)*


_Quote, originally posted by *daemontrym* »_This forum needs to put in a smiley beating a dead horse lol


I'll vote for that
here is a link


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## daemontrym (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: (Audi4u)*

BuddyWh your just crying out for a hug with all this nonsense...
Go rub one out then come back with something relevant


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (daemontrym)*


_Quote, originally posted by *daemontrym* »_Go rub one out then come back with something relevant
















Please make your comment relevant...


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: (Audi4u)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Audi4u* »_
I'll vote for that
here is a link









Actually...my point is/was the same...


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## turbomonkeyexpress (Nov 26, 2004)

PPPPPPPPPPAAnnnnnnnnnnnncaaaaaaaaaakes!


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## Stroked1.8t (Jan 9, 2004)

*Re: (BuddyWh)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BuddyWh* »_
Fifth: *Since I and the vast majority of owners don't have a modified and certainly not a "race car" your point is moot.*
Last: *If I DID spend thousands on significant engine mods on my car I WOULD *spend the extra 30 dollars every 5K to have an OA performed to determine optimum change intervals and not follow a regimen out of semi-religious fervor. Why? just because I have a little more concern about some things than others do, I guess.


your contradicting yourself....first it is moot and now your talking about it, all in the same post, and you speak of ignorance, nice.


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