7500K service - who's getting it done?

[Diesel_vert]

Changing the oil and oil filter isn't hard and sure it's gratifying to do it all yourself but I'd rather have a history that my car was getting serviced just for warranty sake.

Just to clarify, I meant doing the 7.5k oil change yourself, whilst leaving the 15k service to the workshop.

I've been advised a few times by different mechanics that oil is cheap and changing it regularly is great preventative maintenance. I wouldn't think that it's a 'waste' to change the oil every 7,500 km if that's what you want to do.

It all depends on what sort of oil you're using. Changing 504/507 oils more often than is necessary is not cheap, nor particularly useful in his case. Changing Castrol Edge Sport 5W-30 (502/505) every 7.5k is certainly cheaper, at $33 a bottle, but then you'd have to change it every 7.5k because of the performance difference.

[dopey]

Well my dealer was the opposite, they were trying to talk me OUT of getting the 7500km service saying it's really not that necessary. I enquired whether changing the oil at 7500km myself would affect the warranty - they said no it will not as long as genuine or approved parts are used. I could probably use Castrol Edge Sport 5w30 without issue but technically it doesn't meet VW's "approved standard" therefore I'm opting to buy the genuine oil and filter from VW for around $150 in total. This way, if an issue does arise, I have my receipt for the genuine items as backup. Still a good saving over the price they want for the oil change at the dealership and it really doesn't take very long to drop the oil and put some fresh stuff in.

[brad]

My dealer specifically told me that Skoda(VWA) had directed that no oil change was to be done until 15,000km.

If you are concerned about metal in the oil then you really should have the first change done within the first 500-1000km.

I'll probably keep this car for about 150,000km (like most of my others) and the only benefit I have seen doing extra oil changes is for the next owner. I've got 40,000km on it already.


BTW: I would have thought the oil filter would capture any dangerous particles.

[brad]

Changing Castrol Edge Sport 5W-30 (502/505) every 7.5k is certainly cheaper, at $33 a bottle, but then you'd have to change it every 7.5k because of the performance difference.

Has the oil requirements changed for the MK6 series? Because on the MkVs, Edge Sport 5w30 is 502.00 approved & is fine for 15,000km service intervals.

If someone could post a scan of the relevant pages of the manual & warranty/service book please? I have a professional interest in looking at Maintenance Manuals as I edit them as part of my job - it's interesting to see good/bad examples of relatively simple instructions.

[Transporter]

Out of curiosity on my T5 I've set my servicing interval to variable (50,000km or 2Years) instead fixed time 12months/15000km and it wanted oil change much sooner than 7,500km!!! I do very short trips every day.
So, I suppose that everyone's driving conditions are different and changing the oil every 15,000km is purely economical decision since it will not affect the life of the car too much in first 3-5 years (a lot people don't keep the car for more than 5 years).
So, if you plan on keeping your Golf for longer than 5years and or do a lot of km's changing the engine oil every 7,500km will greatly extend the life of the engine and engine components for example the turbocharger. Especially if you drive under severe driving condition. If your daily driving is mainly hwy and long distances you don't have a reason to change the engine oil sooner than 15,000km.

I change my oil in every our cars no later than 6-9months or 5,000km-7,500km because I don't know for how long I will keep them.

[Diesel_vert]

Keep in mind, extended drain intervals have been made possible through the combination of;

1. New or revised engine designs.
2. Use of newer & advanced lubricant technologies.
3. Introduction of low sulphur fuels (95/98 is capped at 50 ppm from 01-01-2008, down from 150 ppm. Except for 91 - no wonder why it's so cheap).

If all three conditions aren't met, then on face value one should reconsider if your car is suitable for extended drain intervals .

Has the oil requirements changed for the MK6 series? Because on the MkVs, Edge Sport 5w30 is 502.00 approved & is fine for 15,000km service intervals.

Not as far as I know, but personally I'd be hesitant to use that oil over a 15k interval, despite VW's blessing, not to mention that not all 502/505 oils are equal.

Since the original post pertains to a new Mk6 Golf, if using the latest 504/507 oils and fills it with 95 or 98 as required, 15k intervals should be fine (considering the oil can potentially last for 30k under ideal conditions).

Of course, to confirm this one should take regular oil samples every 1k to establish a wear trend. But going on evidence from the TDIClub forum, 15k is certainly manageable, at least on Golf TDI's (as FSI/TSI UOA's seem hard to come by).

Remember, horses for courses.

[prise]

My driving style and route to and from work is such that for the last four cars I've owned, I've bettered the official combined fuel consumption by between 10 and 15% so I reckon my useage is at the kinder end of the spectrum (yes I do use full throttle and revs on occasion such as overtaking).

I'm still skeptical as to whether I'll achieve the same feat with the Golf as an average fuel consumption in the 5's would be truly impressive and the other vehicle were 'performance oriented' manuals where driving style has a big influence. I don't exactly fall into the 'harsh' operating conditions category.

If I ever feel like doing an intermediate oil change myself, can anyone point me in the direction of the correct torque setting to use for the drain plug (its a german engineered product so I'm sure they have torque settings for just about every fastener in the vehicle )?

[gregozedobe]

My dealer specifically told me that Skoda(VWA) had directed that no oil change was to be done until 15,000km.

I'll be very impressed if you can get your dealer to commit that to writing and give you a copy.

My dealer told me the same story, with an additional claim that the intial fill was "special running-in oil". But when pressed he admitted that this info came out of a meeting of Oz service people and does NOT appear to have the official support of either VW or Skoda Head Office (ie Germany or Czech Republic). He was unable to say what you are supposed to do if you drive mostly short trips (ie "severe service" which according to the owner's manual requires oil changes every 7,500Km/6 months).

[Diesel_vert]

Just to reiterate, for those who haven't seen this before;

LongLife Regime
To obtain the most benefit from the LongLife service regime, the car should to be generally driven in a style/condition of use listed below:

• Mainly longer distance journeys
• Limited number of cold starts, engine is kept at operating temperature over a longer period of time
• Daily mileage above approx. 40 km
• Constant speed
• Vehicle used regularly

Service Interval - Variable, between 15,000 km/12 months and 30,000 km/24 months

This is the regime Europe follows, with the option to revert to a fixed interval (as below) at the customer's choosing.

Time/Distance Regime
It your car is driven in a style if listed below, it may be more appropriate to opt for the Time and Distance regime:

• Extremely uneconomical driving style ie continual maximum acceleration ie. ‘foot to floor’
• Vehicle fully loaded
• Mainly short journeys
• Frequent cold starts
• Frequent hill climbs
• Frequent towing
• City centre driving

Service Interval - Fixed, at 15,000 km/12 months

Australia already follows this regime for severe conditions, with no option to go on the LongLife regime (well, not easily).

Again, must emphasise that these regimes are based around the use of 504/507 oils. Use any other oil and all bets are off, naturally.

[Transporter]

Variable service interval is actually up to 2years or 30,000km whichever come first. And ECU will decide when is need for the oil change. It could be even 3,000km and 3 months
So, to get an idea how long I can go on the oil I switched to variable interval and let the software decide when to change the oil. Only the reason for the fixed interval in OZ would be our lower quality fuel but my experience with switching to variable service interval is showing that 15,000km oil change is not suitable for my driving and I believe that it would be case for a lot of drivers driving in heavy traffic conditions.

But hey the good thing is that many of us don't keep our rides for more than 5years anyway. Which is the life of the car by German TUV. So they have it spot on actually with the oil change every 15,000km/12months. You will be safe with changing the oil like that, at least for the warranty period and a bit over.