Engine Oil?

[mehanee]

Hi everyone

Just recieved my mk6 118TSI golf and the dealer told me I would have to purchase my engine oil from vw or audi because the engines required a certain type of oil

Thought it sounded a bit funny. Any thoughts?

[GolfAtom]

This topic has been discussed in great depth already, do a search on Golf and engine oil and you will get all the answers you need. Also visit the maintenance section. Effectively, you need to use certain synthetic oils specificed by VW, which select commercially available oils are also compliant with. Use anything else, you will lose your car warranty from VW.

[Guest0608]

Castrol SLX professional powerflow III 5w-30...................VW.....

[Jmac]

Penrite have also had the go ahead from VW , the oil they use is the exact equiv to Castrol SLX, they use Penrite Enviro fully signed off by VW and saw the letter myself. Covers a wide range of the new engines
Cheers
Jmac

[Maverick]

Castrol SLX professional powerflow III 5w-30...................VW.....

x 2

[kimiraikkonen1a]

I bought Castrol EDGE Sport 5W-30 as I was told it was the recommended engine oil. How does it compare to Castrol SLX professional powerflow III 5w-30? and should I change to powerflow III?

[Diesel_vert]

Thought it sounded a bit funny. Any thoughts?

Lol, welcome to ze world of ze German automobil - where rules & regulations for every little thing is a way of life!

... you get used to it, eventually.



Yes, it's true, there are VW specific oil specs which must be adhered to if you don't want any engine-related warranty claims to be denied.

Castrol SLX Professional III Powerflow 5w-30 meets the newer 504 00/507 00 specification, which is a tougher test because it places lower limits on engine wear whilst reducing the amount of traditional anti-wear additives the oil is allowed to contain. And on top of that, long-drain requirements as well (i.e. 15,000 - 30,000 km). This is what the dealer tends to use (check!), though you can use any 504 00/507 00 approved oil, such as Fuchs Titan GT1 Pro C3 5W-30, Mobil 1 ESP Formula 5W-30, Penrite Enviro+ 5W-30, Shell Helix Ultra Extra 5W-30, etc.

In contrast, Castrol EDGE Sport 5W-30 meets the rather less strenuous 502 00/505 00 spec (though it doesn't say if it meets 502 00 (1997) or the uprated & updated 502 00 (2005) version - probably the former since there is no mention). These oils tend to have a drain interval of up to 15,000 km for most VW's.

The difference in performance is reflected in the price.

Penrite have also had the go ahead from VW , the oil they use is the exact equiv to Castrol SLX, they use Penrite Enviro fully signed off by VW and saw the letter myself. Covers a wide range of the new engines
Cheers
Jmac

Yes, it is indeed listed on the official list of approved oils - I was flabbergasted! Boutique oil manufacturers tend to conduct their own in-house tests to see if a product will pass a certain specification (which is what the term "meets and exceeds" implies) but rarely do they submit the product to be verified by the car manufacturer itself (in which case, the term "approved" is applied) - many enthusiasts speculate it is due to price that the car manufacturer charges for the test, which the bigger oil companies have no problems meeting of course. So kudos to Penrite!

I bought Castrol EDGE Sport 5W-30 as I was told it was the recommended engine oil. How does it compare to Castrol SLX professional powerflow III 5w-30? and should I change to powerflow III?

Let's just say, if it were my car, I personally wouldn't use Edge Sport, even though it is an approved oil. What I would do is buy a 1L bottle of Powerflow from the dealer and keep it in the boot, as it is very important to keep fluid levels topped up.

For those who are unfamiliar with European servicing regimes - even though VW stipulates 15,000 km/1 year service intervals, this doesn't imply that one never has to open the bonnet between services! The owner should be vigilant in maintaining fluid levels (especially the engine oil) because even small amounts of top-up oil can significantly extend the life of the oil - and at very little cost to the owner in terms of money and time. Your car and your wallet will thank you in the long run.