# DIY Maintenance following VW's Schedule



## It’s Accrual World (May 31, 2019)

I purchased the 2019 SEL Premium 4Motion at the end of May. My goal is to map out the next 10 years/100k miles of maintenance but the VW schedule included in the manual is not a 100% clear. 

Can anyone comment on whether this schedule looks good? Also, is there anything you would only trust the dealer on? I prefer to do as much maintenance at home as possible. Lastly, does the car have either the AWD clutch or front axle differential lock or both? 






































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## vwman53 (Mar 6, 2003)

I'm in the same boat, 2019 SE 4Motion. I agree with your reading of the manual, it's not the clearest. 

I also agree with your schedule, though I am going to do some further reading on the 4motion fluid. 3 years irregardless of miles probably works for a low mileage crowd, but I put 20K plus on in a year. I know I've seen 30K referenced on the Golf R service interval, though I don't know if it applies here.


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## It’s Accrual World (May 31, 2019)

The 4motion fluid is confusing. I wish they would take the time to have a model specific schedule instead of combining everything into one document.


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## jjr57 (Sep 17, 2018)

*Front Differential Lock?*



It’s Accrual World said:


> The 4motion fluid is confusing. I wish they would take the time to have a model specific schedule instead of combining everything into one document.


New 2019 4 Motion owner here. I see reference to changing the 'front differential lock' fluid every 3 years. Is similar to what I know as the Haldex unit at the rear diff? Actually, does my vehicle even have the front differential lock or is that only there on the FWD versions?


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## kamicrazy99 (Sep 17, 2020)

jjr57 said:


> New 2019 4 Motion owner here. I see reference to changing the 'front differential lock' fluid every 3 years. Is similar to what I know as the Haldex unit at the rear diff? Actually, does my vehicle even have the front differential lock or is that only there on the FWD versions?


Going to bump this instead of starting a new thread.... did you ever find the answer?

Trying to figure out my own service schedule, and OPs is a good start, but doesn't quite match up with the canadian "schedule" which is a joke in itself... a few questions:
-Trying to figure out if there is a rear diff in addition to the Haldex, or if that is the same system?
-There is no front diff service interval, seems odd?
-the 8 speed tranny is not a DSG, correct? DSG service shows at 60k km, not dsg at 120k km, yet my dealer just pushed a tranny flush on me...

Thanks, I did search, a lot actually, sorry if I missed something.


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## VWmechatronic (Dec 17, 2019)

kamicrazy99 said:


> -Trying to figure out if there is a rear diff in addition to the Haldex, or if that is the same system?


 The Rear Diff is in the same cast housing as the Haldex AWD Gen 5 unit, but they take different fluids & of course have different drain & fill holes back there. VW says to "never drain" the rear differential fluid, but the Haldex AWD needs draining every 3 years.


kamicrazy99 said:


> -There is no front diff service interval, seems odd?


 The Front Diff is inside the automatic transmission, lubricated with the same ATF. Consider it part of the automatic transmission. ... There is however a front "Bevel Box" transfer case which VW says "never drain", although we might & can.


kamicrazy99 said:


> -the 8 speed tranny is not a DSG, correct?


 80,000 mile service intervals. .... Our MQB TIguan 8-speed automatic transmission is designated "09P", which is an Aisin AWF8F35 conventional torque converter automatic transmission, and it's not a VW-Audi DSG "Direct-Shift Gearbox" Direktschaltgetriebe dual-wet-clutch automated manual transmission. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10159424-0001.pdf


Maintenance Schedule on the drivetrain for an MQB Tiguan (2018-2020):

1. Change brake fluid once at 3 years old, and every 2 years thereafter.

2. Change Haldex Generation 5 rear AWD fluid (no filter exists for ours) every 3 years. It uses a special Haldex Fluid only.

3. The "Bevel Box" in the front (aka "Transfer Case") and the rear differential NEVER need fluid, according to VW. Check level every other year or so and look for leaks.

4. Transmission fluid every 80,000 miles. Spark plugs at the same time.

5. Engine oil with anything that says "VW 508" somewhere on the label, every 10,000 miles or 1 year whichever comes first. That automatically implies it is 0w-20 too. Dealership VW 508 engine oil (parts counter) is about as cheap as anything and might be very good Exxon-Mobil brew too, so recommended. An "HU 6013 Z" Oil Filter is my favorite there, amazon or autoparts sites or stores carry them.

Comments:

I'd change the Bevel Box & the rear differential fluid out about every 50k to 100k miles. VW says they are 'Forever Fluids' though. You can go with what a random person says in this forum, or do what VW engineers say (they look a bit nutty, just sayin'):









The rear Haldex AWD fluid has a separate fluid reservoir circuit than the Rear Differential, and they take different fluids. More related to that below.

The Bevel Box and the Rear Differential each take 1 quart fluid. Haldex AWD unit takes less than 1 quart, & is separate and not the same kind of fluid as Rear Diff fluid.
Haldex Gen 5 AWD fluid is part number "G 060 175 A2" unless VW is now demanding something thinner, less viscous, for more MPG that is. (More on that below.)
Both the Bevel Box front transfer case, and Rear Diff, both use a good name-brand synthetic GL-5 75w-90 fluid or VW "G 052 145 S2" fluid unless VW has switched to something thinner.

Also, make sure you drain and fill the Rear Differential separately from the Haldex AWD fluid. They have similar looking drain & fill paired plugs, so make sure you don't mix them up.
In the picture, Haldex Fluid goes in fill plug #1 (drained in #2). Plugs #3 & #4 are for the differential fluid only.








Always loosen the fill plug first, before the drain plug. Always replace the aluminum or copper soft-metal "crush" washers (if they have those crush washers) with new crush washers.

Our Tiguan front (open) differential is housed inside the 8-speed transmission, lubricated with tranny fluid, which is fine since it's a transverse engine with no hypoid gear creating the need for any GL-5 oil with more EP. Transmission fluid does it OK. Nothing to do there. Included with tranny fluid changes.

Our Tiguans don't have the "Front axle cross lock", a bad German-to-English translation our Owner's Manuals blessed us with, a part which only goes on GTI & GLI sports cars, not our Tiguans. VW is too lazy to make a custom Maintenance Schedule for Tiguans so that gets in there to puzzle us.

You might want to check & clean the screen next to the Haldex AWD pump every other time you change the fluid, as some gunk can gather on it. VW says never look at it. A mechanic on youtube showed how the Haldex pump drew less amps after a screen was cleaned, meaning you replace your pump less often with a clean screen. Pump longevity is cheaper! ..... Also, VW says 3 years is the only consideration, time only, for the Haldex fluid change; ... but maybe not let that exceed 50,000 miles for high-miles drivers out there. Those clutch packs & gears inside do shed some metal based on miles, not just time degradation.

There is an unconfirmed rumor going around that VW has switched to thinner fluids for both the Haldex Generation 5 AWD rear unit, the rear differential, and the front Bevel Box transfer case.
------ If somebody can confirm this with the official read-out from an official VW Dealership's computer screen, with all the fluid part numbers, I'd appreciate that.
-------The rumor might be correct, since VW got more City EPA MPG in 2020, partly due to less-viscous (aka "thinner") fluid in the drivetrain, and maybe partly due to changing the 8-speed transmission shift points (algorithm) and/or engine computer maps, not sure what happened there. (?)

A TSB to watch for Bevel Box (front transfer case) leaks: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10178574-0001.pdf

The "09P" 8-speed transmission in our MQB Tiguans uses either "G 055 540 A2" or "G 055 025 A2", depending on who you ask. Either should work fine, I think. I would stick to these fluids, in official VW-Audi bottles, since transmissions sometimes are finicky about coefficients of frictions working with clutch pressures & materials.

Haldex Generation 5 in our MQB Tiguans: 




Fluid build lists from Liqui Moly & Fuchs:





Oil guide: LIQUI MOLY







www.liqui-moly.com









Lubricant advisor







fuchs-eu.lubricantadvisor.com





Sounds like the front axle Haldex torque vectoring electronically controlled hydraulic clutch pack (NOT on MQB Tiguans, BTW),
is called by the following names:
1. Front axle differential lock
2. Front axle cross lock
3. VAQ
4. Thingamabob
5. Vorderachsquersperre
6. eLSD
7. eDiff


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## IbsFt (Dec 15, 2018)

It’s Accrual World said:


> I purchased the 2019 SEL Premium 4Motion at the end of May. My goal is to map out the next 10 years/100k miles of maintenance but the VW schedule included in the manual is not a 100% clear.
> 
> Can anyone comment on whether this schedule looks good? Also, is there anything you would only trust the dealer on? I prefer to do as much maintenance at home as possible. Lastly, does the car have either the AWD clutch or front axle differential lock or both?


It’s odd that VW doesn’t have a coolant change interval.

Something to consider is that many manufacturers have different maintenance schedules for “normal” and “severe” usage. Many short trips where the car doesn’t get to fully warm up or the majority of miles driven are city stop and go or towing are all typically considered severe usage and many of the maintenance intervals are reduced, sometimes cut in half. I look at VW’s service intervals as absolute maximums for “normal” usage and will reduce them depending on the actual conditions.

For example, there are dusty dirt roads where we live so 60,000 miles to change the engine air filter is way too long (way too long under any conditions imo). The wife’s daily commute to work is less than 5 miles, so the oil gets changed between 5 and 6K miles.

If you keep your cars well past 100K miles, like we normally do, other maintenance items like belts, hoses, coolant change, etc. become considerations. Then there is the prospect of intake valve cleaning. I haven't yet decided whether to be proactive about it or just take a wait and see approach. Being proactive means another maintenance item to do at regular intervals.


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