1.8T Oil issue -- cost

Why does the fact that the problem is being addressed *now* mean that you shouldn't pay for it? Suppose the current oil requirements had been in place when you bought the car. Would you have expected not to pay for your oil changes then?

-- Mike Smith

It's my understanding that synthetic oil doesn't need to be changed as often. When did the dealer tell you to come back for the next oil change?

Jim B.

Is this a new notice that VW recently issued?? Our New Beetle is a 1.8T and I haven't gotten a notice from VW regarding synthetic oil...granted, I've used Mobil 1 since the 8K service...but I'm just being nosy.

Let's see at our shop the 1.8t oil change with regular oil is $35 and with VW's synthetic it's $50. The VW oil has a list price of $5 per quart so your dealer shouldn't be charging any more than that, if they are bring your own oil in or shop elsewhere. I bet most of us waste more money on beer each year.

The issue is that the *new* requirements were *not* in place when I bought the car. I *expected* to maintain the car as it was delivered to me by the manufacturer -- synthetic oils were not part of the maintenance standard at the time of purchase. I now have the first

*additional* cost of changing over to synthetic -- $78 for the Passat, likely a bit more for the Audi -- plus additional costs for synthetic oil changes. The cheapest approved oil is $12.75 per quart. You've made up a scenario different than what's actually happening *now* -- it would be silly to waste time discussing suppositions.

The notices were sent in early August. FYI -- Mobil 1 0W-40 does not meet the new requirements. It meets VW505.00, not the new 505.01 requirements.

"Will"

The car was delivered to you by the dealer I presume. Not by the manufacturer. So you have a case with the dealer in the first place, no?

Ok. Your maintenance cost increased.

Do you have Audi warranty or a third party warranty? 5k miles and 6 mos does not at all sound like VW/Audi's service plan. There have been numerous threads in the recent past asking the famous oil question and if it would be ok to go as far as 30.000 km between oil changes. That is what VW/Audi recommends in many cars now.

Who issued these notices? VW, Audi or the dealer?

Did you ask Audi or VW about their opinion? You could just sell the car if it's too expensive for you now.

Regards

Wolfgang

Didn't the owner's manual originally specify 5W-40 oil, which only comes in synthetic in the US? If so, shouldn't oil changes have been done with 5W-40 synthetic before? Granted, non-VW 502.00 rated Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 at Wal Mart may be about $7 cheaper for an oil change worth of oil than a VW 502.00 rated 5W-40, but that isn't a doubling of cost.

||I'm posting to both groups because I own two cars: a 2000 Audi A4 1.8T ||Avant and a 2003 VW Passat 1.8T. I haven't seen much discussion on the ||*cost* of the synthic oil issue. || ||I got both notices regarding the synthetic engine oil issue (one for ||each auto) on the same day. However, it wasn't until my VW dealer did ||the change over on the Passat that I began to realize the cost issues. ||The oil changes using synthetic are going to be at least twice as much ||as for a regular oil change. So, the oil maintenance costs have ||effictively DOUBLED for the life of each vehicle. || ||Needless to say, I'm a little ticked. But, I'm not too car savvy (I'm ||now seeing the error in having two vehicles with the same engine). Is ||this just a problem I'm going to have to such up? If it's their ||mistake, why do I have to undertake the additional costs? || ||Can anyone enlighten me? Or offer suggestions or remedies?? || ||Thanks for any help, ||Libby

Texas Parts Guy

Strange, I just saw a bottle of Valvoline Synpower 5W-40 with the VW 502.00 rating for US$4.59 per quart. Next to it were bottles of Mobil 1 0W-40 with the VW 502.00 rating for US$4.99 per quart. And some web stores (and VW dealers) sell Castrol Syntec 5W-40 with the VW 502.00 rating (that VW dealers are supposed to use) for a lot less than US$12.75 per quart.

lol more like each month - if not each week ;-)

First, if you post the text of this notice from VW, that may be helpful, but I do believe that much of the following information should still apply

Consider why synthetic oil is being recommended. Turbo-charged engines are capable of producing much higher temperatures than naturally aspirated engines, but is your driving style also conducive to higher engine temperatures? If you are spending most of your time on the highway, it may not be so important to use synthetic oil year-round.

Ask your dealership which oil they usually use. I have had my own Audi dealer tell me that they use a regular motor oil for most oil changes, unless synthetic oil is requested by the owner. This was on a 2000 Audi S4, where the manual explicitly states that only synthetic oil should be used.

Does the use of synthetic oil also increase the interval between oil changes? Remember, oil technically only needs to be changed when it is dirty or begins to break down (loss of multi-viscosity property). This break-down results in "sludginess", and also causes gum and varnish to form (hence the darker color of "old" oil). Of course, color is not the best judge of when to change motor oil either. I have found that the best test is to place a single drop of the current oil on a flat paper towel or napkin, and see how the oil spreads. This will show the content of the oil (dirt) and color. Once you find a ballpark figure on how often you need to change your oil now, you can usually use that each time. Never hurts to check it, of course.

Hope this helps. Also hope that none of this is wrong information. If it is, please do correct it.

So you've dropped more than 50 grand on two cars in three years and the problem is that the right oil costs significantly more? I must be missing something here ...

sd

Did you seriously know that? Did you ask the dealer what kind of oil was required? If you did know then that synth was required (as if I'd ever put anything other than synth in a new car anyway), would you have walked away?

-- Mike Smith

Lol :), you driving a mclaren F1?

You are. My frustration is having to undertake the expense of compensating for VW's manufacturing mistakes. The fact that I have money doesn't mean I'm going to just hand it out to companies.

Libby

easy solution, sell your cars and go find something else to whine about, as long as its in another group. Anyone not gladly using sythetic oil in a decent performing engine when its recommended/required by the manufacturer is juat a fool.

Libby, I think the thing to consider, is that using dino oil, isn't going to break your engines, esp. if you are always changing every 5000km. I understand where your frustation with VW is comming from, but I would suggest that this isn't some sort of manufacturing defect. It's just that VW has decided that synthetic is better in the long run. This is something that a lot of people have decided on thier own many years ago. Most of us woudn't put dino oil in our new cars. Your Audi must almost be out of warranty, when that happens you can put whatever oil you think would be best. Hell, you could even put whatever you want to in now, and just hope nothing goes wrong. Even if its unrelated, I would bet money they would blame it on the oil. (BTW, thats a gamble I shoudn't even joke about. Getting screwed on a warranty issue would be way more expensive, than the right oil) If you still have a lot of anger directed at VW and dont want to pay them for thier "mistake" then maybe you can take your cars to some minute lube place that "protects warranties" and pay them instead, then at least VW wont be collecting on the extra cost of synthetic.