Bought used VW Jetta with 2.5 - should I dump the oil

FordSVTGuy

FordSVTGuy

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Nov 17, 2003
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New Hanover, PA
Hi all. Just bought a used 2013 Jetta for my teenage son. Was freshly serviced and seems really well maintained, but I’m not sure what oil the used car dealer put in... car has 40,000 miles on it. Should I do a preventative oil change and put in the Castrol 0w-40 I have in the garage? Always heard that VWs were hard on oil, but the 2.5 non turbo was kind of an anomaly to that... thought
 
What does the oil look like that's in there now, dirty? Some VWphiles use only Castrol 5W-40, but your 0W-40 should be fine. Check your plugs, I think the 2.5 service spec is every 40-45k miles.
 
Egg_Head said:
What does the oil look like that's in there now, dirty? Some VWphiles use only Castrol 5W-40, but your 0W-40 should be fine. Check your plugs, I think the 2.5 service spec is every 40-45k miles.
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Oil is clean and fresh, but I have no idea what it is... makes me lean towards doin a change. I should check the plugs too I suppose.

It’s a really nice car. Someone really took care of this thing...
 
Any way to find out what oil was put in there? If purchased from a VW dealer they may have used the proper oil.
 
Yes. I would change out the filter as well. Castrol 0w-40 would be fine. If it's an automatic, the transmission fluid as well w/pan drop and new strainer. Idemitsu LTS-LV on sale @ Autozone $4 a qt. The 2.5L engine is not finicky about oil. Just make sure the oil is VW 502 rated oil. I hope you got the manual...I'll really dislike the auto transmission tendency to lug the engine. (6 gear @ around 30 mph.) Other than that, I really like my Golf 2.5 Base.
 
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I changed the factory installed Bosch plugs @ 30K w/NGK's. What a difference! Easy to do. As long as you the cover off, change the air filter.
 
sparky123 said:
I changed the factory installed Bosch plugs @ 30K w/NGK's. What a difference! Easy to do. As long as you the cover off, change the air filter.
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Thanks for the tip. I bought this from a Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealer, so I’m thinking they didn’t use xw-40. They did however put on new General Altimax tires, new pads and rotors and left me the owner’s manual.
 
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FordSVTGuy said:
Hi all. Just bought a used 2013 Jetta for my teenage son. Was freshly serviced and seems really well maintained, but I’m not sure what oil the used car dealer put in... car has 40,000 miles on it. Should I do a preventative oil change and put in the Castrol 0w-40 I have in the garage? Always heard that VWs were hard on oil, but the 2.5 non turbo was kind of an anomaly to that... thought
Click to expand...
Any “new to me” used car gets all its fluids replaced (oil, trans, coolant, etc) as well as a plugs/filter/pvc. Two reasons: One, it gives me a new starting point on my maintenance and two, I get to really know the car.
Besides that, it’s kinda fun to tinker with a new car!:p
 
For 40k I wouldn't stress too much but like others above said maybe a fresh start for maintenance.

Engine air filter I believe VW still calls for 40k changes so put that on your list. If the 6th gen Jetta 2.5 was like the 5th gen the air filter is built into the engine cover and has a bunch of fussy torx screws to remove, its not bad but more of a PITA than "normal" designs.

Brake fluid - VW calls for exchange every 2 years regardless of mileage.

Cabin filter - not too terrible to change outside of the weird contortioning you have do to maneuver around the passenger footwell. Just remove the foam cover piece (1 cam lock screw) then the filter is in a housing with a slide to remove door.

2.5 is a nice engine and very stout. Its like the old dusty 2.0 that it would probably be fine on any oil. There were some timing chain issues in the first few years ('05-'06) but those were resolved in '07 with the boost in power (150 to 170HP) that must have had some other enhancements/refinings. I don't recall any noteworthy issues with the 2.5 outside of the first couple years.

I will say while the 2.5 is not amazing on paper for power or fuel economy it really is a nice engine. It has that amazing 5 cylinder growl that is somewhat intoxicating, excellent low end torque and mid range power.
 
shouldn’t a brand name car dealer have a work order record of what was serviced on a used car that it sells? i always ask for it on any used car that i’m looking at. if the dealer wont share this info (odd) then phone or check the dealer’s website for its oil change special, which we may assume is the standard for its used cars. my nearest chrysler dodge dealer advertises a $30 pennzoil semisyn express oil change. word on the street is vw’s 2.5 five cylinder engine is rather forgiving, which is why i chose a 2013 vs. 2014 cpo passat. if the o.p.’s dealer uses a decent semisyn for its routine oil changes i might run it to 3-5000 miles if the jetta is doing okay.
 
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Great tips all. Been looking it over in the garage this afternoon. There is a note (written in sharpie) on the brake fluid reservoir that the brake fluid was changed in Feb 2020, so that is good. The air filter looks brand new, also good. The plastic oil filter housing looks like it was man handled by someone who did not have the correct cap wrench. I checked my tool bin and actually have an old filter wrench cap that fits this! Also noticed that the oil drain plug looks a bit old, so looks like I will dump what is in there and fill with with fresh Castrol 0w-40, new filter and drain plug/crush washer...
 
I'll add a few pics for fun when I am finished. This is a really nice little car. Very impressed with how it looks inside, out and underneath
 
Those are good cars. If you bought it at a Chrysler store my guess is it's bulk 5w20. Change it.
 
Definitely change it. When I bought my 2008 Jetta 2.5 used from Carmax apparently they put in 5w20 at the Georgia location it came from. That's a no go for VW's... I always used a Hazet 2169 oil filter tool, but the Motivx one would work nice as well, same one fits our Mercedes with the 4 cylinder.
 
incognito_2u said:
Any “new to me” used car gets all its fluids replaced (oil, trans, coolant, etc) as well as a plugs/filter/pvc. Two reasons: One, it gives me a new starting point on my maintenance and two, I get to really know the car.
Besides that, it’s kinda fun to tinker with a new car!:p
Click to expand...
This. (y)
 
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