15K service interval ?

[kam]

This is my first euro car (6R Polo), and i was shocked to see the first service was 12 months\15,000km's

Surely this cannot be a good thing ? Especially being a turbo engine, the oil needs to be in top form

Previous cars have been toyota's, honda's holdens etc, which i service every 5000km's

I just dont think i can drive for a whole year and then service my car

Maybe this is why new cars fall apart after 3 years

[Andypoo]

I have asked many people about this including VW head office and because it's fully synthetic long life it can handle the km/s and dirty-ness that comes with it... I trust the Germans when it comes to this but 12,500 might be a better number in my opinion.

[brad]

This is my first euro car (6R Polo), and i was shocked to see the first service was 12 months\15,000km's

Surely this cannot be a good thing ? Especially being a turbo engine, the oil needs to be in top form

Previous cars have been toyota's, honda's holdens etc, which i service every 5000km's

I just dont think i can drive for a whole year and then service my car

Maybe this is why new cars fall apart after 3 years

I did 15,000km services for the first 75,000km without issue. I even had the oil analysed at 60k (a beautiful set of numbers). I did interim services at 82500km & 97500km because I had some 502.00 sitting in the garage that I wanted to use before it went off.

I'm at 108,000km now & seem to manage my 500km a week with the vehicle intact. I don't use oil. I've averaged 6.7L/100km for the 108,000km & I've had an ECU remap for 3 of the 4 years I've had the car.

If you are still concerned, the owners manual has a list of driving conditions that are regarded as "severe service" if you tick any of those boxes then by all means do interim changes, otherwise you are probably just wasting your money.

PS: We run Toyotas & Holdens at work. Recommended service interval is 10,000km.

[gavs]

I still change out my oil at 7500kms but I do at times subject the car to harsher extremes than most other owners would in how it is driven. That being said, most of the old style mechanical thoughts regarding engines these days are redundant due to the advancement in modern technologies. No more soft running in, longer service intervals, long term spark plugs (60,000kms) no running in oil etc.

[Umai Naa!!]

15,000klms (or 12 months, whichever comes first) is perfectly fine. They're designed with that in mind.

There's plenty of VWs out there with 200,000+ klms on them, with the original engine being at 15,000klm intervals.

As for other manufacturers, the invtervals vary from model to model. Some Holdens are at 15,000klms, while others are at 10,000. Same goes for Toyota. Mitsubishi is the same. 10,000 or 15,000 depending on the car.

[Hail22]

15,000klms (or 12 months, whichever comes first) is perfectly fine. They're designed with that in mind.

There's plenty of VWs out there with 200,000+ klms on them, with the original engine being at 15,000klm intervals.

As for other manufacturers, the invtervals vary from model to model. Some Holdens are at 15,000klms, while others are at 10,000. Same goes for Toyota. Mitsubishi is the same. 10,000 or 15,000 depending on the car.

Unless you own a Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes SLS , High end Porsche, etc etc then 15,000km is fine.

The reason higher end vehicles/super cars need regular attention is that their units are weak as pee and require replacements/changes once every 3,500kms especially Ferrari clutch plates.

So its all good

[nomadx38]

That's right, but at this rate I'm changing clutches every 15k and mechatronics every 30k in my polo Haha. But seriously I would do it all again just for my car becuase it's a beauty to drive.

I would struggle to explain why but my polo feels so much more refined than my friends Holden sv6 but it is...and a lot cheaper to buy as well! And I love the sound and pull of the turbo, I don't think I could get another naturally aspirated engine again - unless of coruse it was a a C63 AMG!!! XD

[brad]

because Holden SV6 are unrefined pieces of junk with a basic engine design that first saw light of day 50 years ago? (My wife had a Calais 3 years back - I know exactly what they are like)

[GTD_XU1]

I have a GTD and have had the first three services at 15000km intervals and now at 49000+ km. I have no issues with the motor that the dealer or myself can detect. After initial "run-in" from new, about 5000km, I drove BrisVegas to Mt Gambier and return in a month, including two round trips Mt Gambier to Broken Hill return in a week (kids),about 3300km in very high temperatures and quick time - all on "dirty oil". Relax, I have. As part of my driving regimen I try to not switch off until the motor has been warmed, apart from that I flog it regularly. Hope that helps, good luck.

[nomadx38]

Yeah that's so true, though it's about time they go to FSI, only 10 years behind the Europeans. Does that mean its another 10 years till they go to TSI? HaHa