'03 Passat GLS first service

There is no service interval warning on US Passat models.

You could always buy the oil and have your dealer use it! At our place that would save you about $15...

What's the reason for syntetic oil? For the warranty you need to change it every 5k miles anyway. Mineral oil still looks very decent after 5k miles, so why waste the money?

I believe synthetic oil makes a huge difference especially in the winter time, besides being superior overall. I'm also thinking of increasing the service interval, just like the EU customers do:

"The LongLife Service Regime is so called because there are no set service intervals and, depending on how you drive your vehicle and the conditions of use, a service will be required anywhere between 9,000 miles or 12 months (whichever occurs first), up to a maximum of 30,000* miles or 24 months (whichever occurs first)"

--from

Here is a link to more detailed document from a credible source (VW itself): It demonstrates how advanced the lubrication technology has gotten, and at the same time "destroys" the myths common here in America about how long one should wait between oil changes. I actually have access to the oil (Castrol SLX Longlife II) mentioned in the pdf...

QUESTION: Does anyone know if that oil (Castrol SLX Longlife II) is what VW puts in the car at the factrory for the US VWs?

I have called a local dealer, and they absolutely had no objections to my bringing my own oil. They'd do the oil change with my own oil for $18.99. I will actually do the first oil change at the dealer, since it seems to be more difficult to get to the oil filer and the pan in the VWs than it is in other cars (I'v serviced Acuras, Hondas and Nissans, but it seems in the VW you have to remove some extra cover under the car - maybe the dealer will let me look how they do it, so the next time I can do it myself ;) )

Cheers,

-Paul (remove _nospam from email address)

Yes, things are retarded here when it comes to changing oil. But before increasing your service interval I would ask for a letter from VW that it wouldn't void your warranty. That was my point, not the fact that 5k (or even 3k) miles service intervals are useless, wasteful and even undo current successes in Iraq.

I don't think it's so much a question of dino vs. synth per se, but more about whether you can get the required viscosity grade (5W40) in dino form. (It's hard enough to find even as synthetic!)

-- Mike Smith