Originally Posted by BurntMusic
I have the same engine, 1.8T EA888 Gen 3 (yours might be gen 2 though).
Any 5w40 is OK as long as it has the VW502.00 approval will work. Technically, ANY oil weight with the 502.00 approval will be OK. With the Rotella T6, I'm sure it works just fine but since it doesn't have the approval for it, I'd make sure and do a UOA after 5000 miles or so to make sure nothing is wearing.
OP's is from 2000. It's not a Ea888 engine at all. it's a 20-valve, multi-port fuel injected engine with a K03 engine.
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back to the OP. The owner's manual back then was pretty loose in their requirements.... it was a bunch of "or" requirements:
5w40 or 5w30,
VW502.00 or ACEA A3/B4 or API SJ
... until the Longitudinal 1.8T sludge fiasco hit, which then VW clarified to meeting 502.00 only, with 5w40 preferable or 5w30.
that being said, Shell Rotella T is a solid oil with plenty of HTHS to meet the 502.00 requirement. Plus the OCI back then was 5,000 miles.