I have 9480 miles on a '12 VW Jetta Sportwagen with 2.0 CR TDI engine. My first 10k, no-charge service is coming up, but I have a ~600 mi. road trip coming this weekend.
Do I have the oil changed before or after the trip?
I've seen both sides of the argument in numerous posts on this forum and others. I guess I'm asking for yet another go-around on it. Here are the pros/cons (or WAIT / change NOW) that I've come up with:
WAIT until I get back:
1. The oil is factory synthetic VW 507.00 diesel oil (therefore heavy duty), it'll be fine.
2. This trip will just bring you up to the specified change interval (±500 miles, OK by dealer).
3. The car's running fine now - this FIRST trip to the dealer for FREE oil change means the "new guy" might get it and screw something up (over/underfill, leave belly pan screws off, etc.). You don't want to have your first problem away from home.
Change NOW:
1. Changing oil a little early will never void your warranty.
2. The car will get a dealer service "once over" and check everything else, too.
3. This is the FIRST oil change, and probably the most "critical".
The other wrinkle is that this trip is NOT all "easy" highway miles. We're going to have the car fully loaded, there are some long hills on this trip, and some stop and go driving through towns along the way. But there are sections of the drive that are highway cruising.
Am I overthinking this, and should just get back to work, or am I not overthinking this and these are valid concerns? Should I just flip a coin?
Do I have the oil changed before or after the trip?
I've seen both sides of the argument in numerous posts on this forum and others. I guess I'm asking for yet another go-around on it. Here are the pros/cons (or WAIT / change NOW) that I've come up with:
WAIT until I get back:
1. The oil is factory synthetic VW 507.00 diesel oil (therefore heavy duty), it'll be fine.
2. This trip will just bring you up to the specified change interval (±500 miles, OK by dealer).
3. The car's running fine now - this FIRST trip to the dealer for FREE oil change means the "new guy" might get it and screw something up (over/underfill, leave belly pan screws off, etc.). You don't want to have your first problem away from home.
Change NOW:
1. Changing oil a little early will never void your warranty.
2. The car will get a dealer service "once over" and check everything else, too.
3. This is the FIRST oil change, and probably the most "critical".
The other wrinkle is that this trip is NOT all "easy" highway miles. We're going to have the car fully loaded, there are some long hills on this trip, and some stop and go driving through towns along the way. But there are sections of the drive that are highway cruising.
Am I overthinking this, and should just get back to work, or am I not overthinking this and these are valid concerns? Should I just flip a coin?