Changing Brands of Oil in my V.W. Tiguan

Cherrybomb · Jan 14, 2021

My Tiguan used about 1/3 of a quart of oil in its first 1,000 miles while breaking in.Up to 8,800,it hardly moved .Changed at Dealer.Again at about 18,000 I had it changed at Dealers.Again hardly moved off the high mark.The factory oil was Castrol Edge Professional 0w-20.in the greenish quart.This is to VW 508.00/509.00 spec.Now VW has changed to a new supplier,Mobil I believe.It comes in a black quart,says VW-Audi High Performance on the jug.Now 3,000 miles later I'm down a 1/2 quart.I'm a bit miffed that Mobil 1 cannot keep up.I have the 6 yr-72,000 warrenty, wish they would of kept Castrol.Anybody else have this experience?Thanks guys.

TmanP · Jan 14, 2021

Sometimes engines will use a bit of oil for the first few changes with a new brand/formulation, and that's nothing to worry about - it just seems to happen sometimes. At any rate, a quart in 6,000 miles is nothing to be concerned about and isn't a sign of an unhealthy engine by any means. I'd stay the course on the new formulation for a few changes and see if consumption stabilizes. If not, you might reevaluate later, but I probably wouldn't change brands a bunch in hopes of finding one that doesn't burn.

kschachn · Jan 14, 2021

And it has a lot to do with your driving habits during the OCI.

I know you’d like to blame ExxonMobil (if they are even the supplier) but that’s going to be hard to do between two 508 00 approved oils.

gregk24 · Jan 14, 2021

kschachn said:
And it has a lot to do with your driving habits during the OCI.

I know you’d like to blame ExxonMobil (if they are even the supplier) but that’s going to be hard to do between two 508 00 approved oils.

The latest supplier is ExxonMobil. OP, I would use the new OE supplier of 508.00 with confidence. It is top notch.

edyvw · Jan 15, 2021

Cherrybomb said:
My Tiguan used about 1/3 of a quart of oil in its first 1,000 miles while breaking in.Up to 8,800,it hardly moved .Changed at Dealer.Again at about 18,000 I had it changed at Dealers.Again hardly moved off the high mark.The factory oil was Castrol Edge Professional 0w-20.in the greenish quart.This is to VW 508.00/509.00 spec.Now VW has changed to a new supplier,Mobil I believe.It comes in a black quart,says VW-Audi High Performance on the jug.Now 3,000 miles later I'm down a 1/2 quart.I'm a bit miffed that Mobil 1 cannot keep up.I have the 6 yr-72,000 warrenty, wish they would of kept Castrol.Anybody else have this experience?Thanks guys.

You can use any VW508../509.00 oil in that engine. Nothing stops you to switch brands.

ARCOgraphite · Jan 15, 2021

Cherrybomb said:
My Tiguan used about 1/3 of a quart of oil in its first 1,000 miles while breaking in.Up to 8,800,it hardly moved .Changed at Dealer.Again at about 18,000 I had it changed at Dealers.Again hardly moved off the high mark.The factory oil was Castrol Edge Professional 0w-20.in the greenish quart.This is to VW 508.00/509.00 spec.Now VW has changed to a new supplier,Mobil I believe.It comes in a black quart,says VW-Audi High Performance on the jug.Now 3,000 miles later I'm down a 1/2 quart.I'm a bit miffed that Mobil 1 cannot keep up.I have the 6 yr-72,000 warrenty, wish they would of kept Castrol.Anybody else have this experience?Thanks guys.

I had a similar experience when I went to MOTUL 508 00/ 509 00, My lease VW Jetta 1.4tsi used a 1/2 qt, and the oil was too thin as there was rod bearing clatter when the engine was fully warmed.
It so happened that I had a litre of M1 0W40FS reserved that I was going to use in my Generac whole house gen, So I topped off with that. The engine did not consume any noticable oil after that, and the engine sounded and performed excellent all the way to its next OCI.
I would call that accidental good luck.

The Castrol is good stuff, bring your own oil - if the burn off continues - and have the dealer install it for you next OCI.

KCJeep · Jan 15, 2021

Like TmanP mentioned sometimes a brand switch can cause that, particularly when switching to Mobil for some reason. It will likely slow down and/or stop altogether with time. I am however surprised it is doing it at such low miles.

My Passat is on dealer Mobil for the first time after 39k of Castrol. No notable consumption yet at 2,300 miles but I am keeping an eye on it.

Cherrybomb · Jan 15, 2021

I'm not blaming Mobil,I'm just very careful and observant about my car.I have the hood open frequently. I also do oil analysis, just because its a good way to watch and study.Thanks for all the responses,I'll just carry on.

edyvw · Jan 15, 2021

If anywhere in that manual states that you can use VW504.00/507.00, move from water like oils to real stuff.

KCJeep · Jan 16, 2021

edyvw said:
If anywhere in that manual states that you can use VW504.00/507.00, move from water like oils to real stuff.

Pretty sure the 2018+ models are VW 508 only. VW 504 would be my choice as well once warranty was up.

ARCOgraphite · Jan 16, 2021

KCJeep said:
Pretty sure the 2018+ models are VW 508 only. VW 504 would be my choice as well once warranty was up.

Car runs terrible on 5W40. Two grades higher in KV100 and HTHS is too much of a hurdle.
My VW Dealer put that in and it almost killed it. Even the cat started stinking due to sluggish running.
I bet it would do well on 5W30 Dexos1 Gen 2. Why would it not?
I unless the the engine is made made of garbage materials ....

MattPersman · Jan 16, 2021

You got the 1.4 not a 2 liter. 2.0 are fine on 0w40 as well as 5w40. They are not 508 for warranty if you care about that.

Honestly I would believe you could run anything on that 1.4 as well, but I know you have gone on and on about it not working to your liking

edyvw · Jan 16, 2021

ARCOgraphite said:
Car runs terrible on 5W40. Two grades higher in KV100 and HTHS is too much of a hurdle.
My VW Dealer put that in and it almost killed it. Even the cat started stinking due to sluggish running.
I bet it would do well on 5W30 Dexos1 Gen 2. Why would it not?
I unless the the engine is made made of garbage materials ....

Really? Almost killed it? s that why that engine is recommended for ACEA C3 in EU?

ARCOgraphite · Jan 17, 2021

edyvw said:
Really? Almost killed it? s that why that engine is recommended for ACEA C3 in EU?

C3 is a Diesel spec this is petrol. Many VAG 508 meet C5-16.

But remember my engine only had 6K miles on it so it wasn't fully worn in; there there were certainly many factors at play.
My car, my professional opinion and experience.
Doubt me at you car's peril.

gregk24 · Jan 17, 2021

ARCOgraphite said:
C3 is a Diesel spec this is petrol. Many VAG 508 meet C5-16.

But remember my engine only had 6K miles on it so it wasn't fully worn in; there there were certainly many factors at play.
My car, my professional opinion and experience.
Doubt me at you car's peril.

VW says to go easy on it (my words) for the first 1000 miles per the manual, I think it's broken in by 6,000 miles. I know you have said it ran poorly on the thicker oil multiple times on this forum. Maybe it did to some extent, I find it hard to believe there would be any real notice difference in going up to a Xw40 at operating temp. Maybe you would notice a difference in very cold climates.

To those saying "you can run anything" I also have doubts about that. VW did change the oil pump and turbo for the 2019+ 1.4 TSI, which is also when they started using 508.00 (0w20), coincidence? I personally don't think so. If you can't run 0w20 in the previous gen 1.4 TSI but can in the current one, there must be a reason.

ARCOgraphite · Jan 17, 2021

gregk24 said:
VW says to go easy on it (my words) for the first 1000 miles per the manual, I think it's broken in by 6,000 miles. I know you have said it ran poorly on the thicker oil multiple times on this forum. Maybe it did to some extent, I find it hard to believe there would be any real notice difference in going up to a Xw40 at operating temp. Maybe you would notice a difference in very cold climates.

To those saying "you can run anything" I also have doubts about that. VW did change the oil pump and turbo for the 2019+ 1.4 TSI, which is also when they started using 508.00 (0w20), coincidence? I personally don't think so. If you can't run 0w20 in the previous gen 1.4 TSI but can in the current one, there must be a reason.

I think it's the HTHS going from ~2.6 to 3.5cP+. KV100 would go up much greater than 50% from mid Mid 7's to mid 12's cSt
I state again, two grades up is a but of a hurdle for most any modern application. It ran o.k. at full boost at high RPM(4500-5500), it just really struggled in the daily conservative driving of 1700-2500 rpm with light throttle. Real boggy.
Surprised me a bit to. I was also surprised that the DEALER put in oil that was not approved.
Its just an HONEST observation. A data point.
-Ken

edyvw · Jan 17, 2021

ARCOgraphite said:
C3 is a Diesel spec this is petrol. Many VAG 508 meet C5-16.

But remember my engine only had 6K miles on it so it wasn't fully worn in; there there were certainly many factors at play.
My car, my professional opinion and experience.
Doubt me at you car's peril.

LOL. C3 is not "diesel" specification. It is Mid and Low-SAPS specification. European manufacturers use ACEA C3 since 2009 instead of A3 in EU. That engine is older generation engine in EU, it is developed around heavy oils. Simply changing oil pump or turbo does not mean anything.
You might had different issue with engine that was less obvious with lighter oil.

ARCOgraphite · Jan 18, 2021

edyvw said:
LOL. C3 is not "diesel" specification. It is Mid and Low-SAPS specification. European manufacturers use ACEA C3 since 2009 instead of A3 in EU. That engine is older generation engine in EU, it is developed around heavy oils. Simply changing oil pump or turbo does not mean anything.
You might had different issue with engine that was less obvious with lighter oil.

You are correct C range is low/mid saps for engines with aftertreatment devices and low sulphur fuel.

I haven't read the newer 2016 ACEA spec as I don't have a need to know - other than curiosity,

But they are typically spec for diesels with heavy aftertreatment, as Stateside until in recent years there has been little assurance of very low sulphur Gasoline.

Sorry to anyone reading if I was misleading.

edyvw · Jan 18, 2021

ARCOgraphite said:
You are correct C range is low/mid saps for engines with aftertreatment devices and low sulphur fuel.

I haven't read the newer 2016 ACEA spec as I don't have a need to know - other than curiosity,

But they are typically spec for diesels with heavy aftertreatment, as Stateside until in recent years there has been little assurance of very low sulphur Gasoline.

Sorry to anyone reading if I was misleading.

I understand what you trying to say, but US issue with high sulfur gas has nothing to do with intent of ACEA C3 oils. In 2004 they were introduced for vehicles with DPF, but in 2009 EU moved to ULSG, which allowed manufacturers to switch from A3 to C3.
My point is, that that engine you had is actually designed from beginning for heavy oils (as all Euro engines are, even today). So, if that particular engine in your car had issue with heavy oils, issue was somewhere else, not with oil. If catalytic converter behaved differently, why? What happened? Oil was made out of ZDDP alone so it clogged immediately? IMO, nothing to do with oil, but engine was lemon. Light oil was just hiding real issues more successfully.

gregk24 · Jan 18, 2021

edyvw said:
I understand what you trying to say, but US issue with high sulfur gas has nothing to do with intent of ACEA C3 oils. In 2004 they were introduced for vehicles with DPF, but in 2009 EU moved to ULSG, which allowed manufacturers to switch from A3 to C3.
My point is, that that engine you had is actually designed from beginning for heavy oils (as all Euro engines are, even today). So, if that particular engine in your car had issue with heavy oils, issue was somewhere else, not with oil. If catalytic converter behaved differently, why? What happened? Oil was made out of ZDDP alone so it clogged immediately? IMO, nothing to do with oil, but engine was lemon. Light oil was just hiding real issues more successfully.

Why is it that US and Japanese automakers seem to run 0w20 and thinner with no issue but apparently Euro can’t?
I personally don’t believe VW wouldn’t have specified 508.00 if it was going to cause damage. This oil is also used overseas so I guess that puts a hole in the CAFE argument.