Change oil every *10,000* miles in my 2001 Audi A6?
- Thread starter SlumLord
- Start date
- Status
In a nut-shell....the free "schedualed" maintenance program that your car originally came with. If they recommended a more frequent OCI, they'd have to pay for it while the car was in the warranty period.
[ December 22, 2004, 05:59 PM: Message edited by: Brikhead ]
The iron is the only thing that looks a bit on the higher side of all those numbers. TBN is a bit low, but acceptable still nevertheless. Is this car, by any chance, primarily used for a lot of shorter trips? 9k isn't a lot to put on in a year, but I would say its a completely appropriate interval.
I drive a 2001 Passat with a 1.8T. My OCI, even with Mobil 1 0W-40 and the larger filter, is 3.5K miles / 6 months, because my wife does alot of urban driving. A 5K mile or longer OCI makes sense only under ideal conditions, such as cruising open highways at 65mph.
VW/Audi should have specified separate OCIs for "severe" (urban) and "normal" (highway) driving; every other automaker does!
VW/Audi should have specified separate OCIs for "severe" (urban) and "normal" (highway) driving; every other automaker does!
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2003
- Messages
- 23,591
From my '96 A4 manual:
If you drive mostly short distances, or if you operate the vehicle in dusty areas or under predominantly stop-and-go traffic conditions or when the temperatures remain below freezing for extended periods, the engine oil should be changed more frequently.
Do newer Audi manuals not state anything like this, or does nobody actually read their manual?
Before getting excited about doing long drain intervals in a VAG product, have a look at this thread showing sludge is a low mileage Passat:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=009115
John
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=009115
John
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2003
- Messages
- 23,591
Look what it says in that post that you linked. The dealer used dino oil. The 1.8T requires oil that meets VW 502.00. There is no dino oil that meets the requirements. I told my dealer back in '96 that they were negligent when they wanted to use cheap 20W-50 dino oil in my back-then new Audi, which required VW 500.00. Why is so hard to read the manual?
Unfortunately for naive customers, although my 2001 Passat manual does say to do more frequent air filter and oil changes if driven in dusty and/or hot environments -- it makes no mention whatsoever of short trips or stop-and-go, which affect alot more cars than "hot-and-dusty" conditions do.
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2003
- Messages
- 23,591
That's a shame. I guess they are increasingly dumbing down their manuals.
Yes, the wording of the conditions for "severe service" is the cause of many (most?) of VW's powertrain warranty issues. Instead of specifying a 5K mile OCI for everyone who doesn't live in Phoenix or Las Vegas, they would have been way ahead requiring 3K miles for urban driving and 6K miles for rural/highway. Their other big problem, of course, was in saying that API SL petroleum-based oil was acceptable.
The manual in my 2003 Dodge Stratus calls for 3K miles for "severe service" driving and 6K miles for "normal," but goes on to point out that MANY or even MOST cars fall under the severe service rubric.
True. That's what bicycles and walking or jogging shoes are for!
Per mile traveled, short-distance driving is VERY expensive, indeed.
Yeah, but some dino HD and semis meet A3, the basis for VW 502. It's a shame so few people, even in the industry, don't know c r a p about oil.
Which ones? For the next six years, I have to work off of the 502 list to keep my much-needed (love these Hungarian engines!
I am the person that originally posed this question. I got my oil analyzed by Blackstone labs after my last dealer paid oil change (50,000) and thought I'd follow up here.
First off, the folks at Blackstone Labs did a nice job of providing all the data, but also adding in their comments for the layman. I called the guy who did the analysis and he was great.
Bottom line, he said the oil lasted 10,000 miles just fine...the only thing he saw was a higher iron level which he expected with oil going 10K. The important thing is that there was no sign of the bearings wearing.
He felt I am well served by a 10,000 oci and that changing it any sooner would be overkill. He understood why I was squeamish saying that we're so used to 3000K oci, but that Audi knows what they're doing when they make these recommendations. I will retest the oil after 100,000 miles to see if I should change the oci at that point.
Thanks to everyone for their comments and thoughts on this thread.
Regards,
Eric
First off, the folks at Blackstone Labs did a nice job of providing all the data, but also adding in their comments for the layman. I called the guy who did the analysis and he was great.
Bottom line, he said the oil lasted 10,000 miles just fine...the only thing he saw was a higher iron level which he expected with oil going 10K. The important thing is that there was no sign of the bearings wearing.
He felt I am well served by a 10,000 oci and that changing it any sooner would be overkill. He understood why I was squeamish saying that we're so used to 3000K oci, but that Audi knows what they're doing when they make these recommendations. I will retest the oil after 100,000 miles to see if I should change the oci at that point.
Thanks to everyone for their comments and thoughts on this thread.
Regards,
Eric
Its great you reported back and also great you stuck out the OCI. Audi as most manufacturer's know what they are speaking about when people follow their spec. Its hard to break people of
old habits.
I am performing "blasphemy"
to the conventional wisdom of this board running conventional(dino) as Subaru recommends in my WRX with a turbo engine.
old habits.
I am performing "blasphemy"
I just want to add how much I love my "new to me" 2001 Audi! Love the way it rides, the audio system (cool feature of adjusting sound levels when you open/close windoes) AND that I can rest easy going to what for me is a HUGE oci of 10,000!
A3 on the label, on a budget, means Valvoline Durablend 10w-40, Chevron Delo 15w-40 and my pet, WalMart SUPERTECH Synth 10w-30, $2.40/q. If you find a a diesel-rated 10w-30 HDEO (rather than 15w-40) like Motorcraft (Ford dealer, MUST be for diesels)..that would be a good cheap chioce, but w/o A3-spec.
Please post the UOA. We'd love to see it.
- Status
Similar threads
