This incident is a few weeks old, but it's still worth sharing.
I had dropped by the local Wheelworks to get a quote for some tires. While waiting in line to speak with the assistant manager, I noticed that another rep was finishing a transaction for an oil change. Recognizing the filter part number, I knew that the car was a Passat 1.8T. I then noticed that they had installed Kendall GT-1 5w30 Synthetic Blend into the car.
But the Passat 1.8T requires a VW 502.00 approved oil!!! When I asked him why a 502.00 approved oil wasn't used, he looked rather clueless and the assistant manager said, well, it is a blend.
See, that brings me to my point. I think VW dug their own grave when it comes to this sludge mess. They asked for it. Because of the way that they worded the oil recommendations in the owner's manual, it is very easy to assume that any 5w30 or 5W-40 engine oil is acceptable. As an example, I looked up two 2004MY VWs in Amsoil's look-up system, a Passat 1.8T and a Jetta 2.0.
When you look-up the Passat 1.8T, you see "SEO" listed under engine oil, followed by this note:
"Models with 1.8L Engine codes AEB, ATW, AUG, AWM only
use engine oil that conform to volkswagen oil standard
VW 502.00 (with viscosities of SAE 5W-40, 5w30 or 0W-40). "
When you look-up the Jetta 2.0, you see this:
"All Temps......5w30, 5W-40"
Both of those engines require a full synthetic, VW 502.00 approved engine oil. Notice that with the Passat, the shop software mentions the VW 502.00 oil standard. Most consumers and repair shop owners have no clue what that standard is, instead, they brush off VW 502.00 as some rip-off and unneeded specification. Seeing 5W30 as one of the listed viscosities, they then proceed to installing 5W30 conventional oil. If VW had put the two words "full synthetic" in their owner's manual and on the oil cap, they would've saved themselves a lot of trouble.
At least GM did it correctly. On the Corvette, they put the Mobil 1 logo on the oil cap. They also put GM 4718M in the owner's manual. But people got the message, they saw Mobil 1 on the cap and they knew that the car needed a full synthetic oil of some kind. VW should have done the same by putting "synthetic oil required" or something along those lines on the cap. Even if the car did not receive a 502.00 approved synthetic oil, any full synthetic oil would've prevented those sludge problems.
Would you folks agree with me that VW handled this poorly? Just a few words could have saved them a lot of trouble and their reputation.
I had dropped by the local Wheelworks to get a quote for some tires. While waiting in line to speak with the assistant manager, I noticed that another rep was finishing a transaction for an oil change. Recognizing the filter part number, I knew that the car was a Passat 1.8T. I then noticed that they had installed Kendall GT-1 5w30 Synthetic Blend into the car.
But the Passat 1.8T requires a VW 502.00 approved oil!!! When I asked him why a 502.00 approved oil wasn't used, he looked rather clueless and the assistant manager said, well, it is a blend.
See, that brings me to my point. I think VW dug their own grave when it comes to this sludge mess. They asked for it. Because of the way that they worded the oil recommendations in the owner's manual, it is very easy to assume that any 5w30 or 5W-40 engine oil is acceptable. As an example, I looked up two 2004MY VWs in Amsoil's look-up system, a Passat 1.8T and a Jetta 2.0.
When you look-up the Passat 1.8T, you see "SEO" listed under engine oil, followed by this note:
"Models with 1.8L Engine codes AEB, ATW, AUG, AWM only
use engine oil that conform to volkswagen oil standard
VW 502.00 (with viscosities of SAE 5W-40, 5w30 or 0W-40). "
When you look-up the Jetta 2.0, you see this:
"All Temps......5w30, 5W-40"
Both of those engines require a full synthetic, VW 502.00 approved engine oil. Notice that with the Passat, the shop software mentions the VW 502.00 oil standard. Most consumers and repair shop owners have no clue what that standard is, instead, they brush off VW 502.00 as some rip-off and unneeded specification. Seeing 5W30 as one of the listed viscosities, they then proceed to installing 5W30 conventional oil. If VW had put the two words "full synthetic" in their owner's manual and on the oil cap, they would've saved themselves a lot of trouble.
At least GM did it correctly. On the Corvette, they put the Mobil 1 logo on the oil cap. They also put GM 4718M in the owner's manual. But people got the message, they saw Mobil 1 on the cap and they knew that the car needed a full synthetic oil of some kind. VW should have done the same by putting "synthetic oil required" or something along those lines on the cap. Even if the car did not receive a 502.00 approved synthetic oil, any full synthetic oil would've prevented those sludge problems.
Would you folks agree with me that VW handled this poorly? Just a few words could have saved them a lot of trouble and their reputation.
