had my oil analysed

[brad]

Have you been told when your chain is due for replacing? Since the belts are done anyway instead of just inspecting I'd be curious as to what gets done at 60k

no replacement schedule on the chain - i guess when it becomes a noisy mofo. One of the reasons I swayed to the 1.8TSI was the chain. Based on previous chain driven engines I've had (Nissan, Suzuki, Lancia & a couple of others), it should be good for 150,000-250,000km.

edit: my 60k service was oil+ filter, fuel filter, pollen filter (because my dog ate the old one), various checks. Not a great deal involved.

[brad]

I remember reading on tdi.com that people were doing UOA regularly. Right up to 80,000km engine and oil samples came OK and then suddenly engine had massive wear in the valve train components and some even worst than that (these were TDI engines and they were not using VW approved oils).

They were silly sausages weren't they!

Unfortunately UOA don't monitor other important things like deposits inside the engine, sludge, varnish and particlesand contaminants trapped in the oil filter. Also VW test the oils for approval bit differently than the oil companies usually do, so sticking to VW approved oil is vital, IMO.

At no point was i suggesting not using VW approved oils. That was the point of my thread.

Of interest was that my (independant) mech used an engine flush at the 60,000km. The dealer never did that. When i get a chance, i'll ask him what his reasoning is for it.

[woofy]

Mazda tend to do engine flushes at Major services, for some reason the 60k service for an RS is a bit more than the normal major.

[Ozsko]

MAN trucks used to change oil (Euro 4) at 70K and it analysed perfectly, it could have run a lot longer in fact. The only reason they were serviced at 70K was to get the truck in to see what had fallen off it. Modern oils are so good that the most pressing reason to change them is to see if everything is still attached to the car and if it is driven short distances fuel dilution. Mind you at the cost of the stuff it ought to be good.

[tlli]

Hi All,

I've got a 2010 Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI, purchased in June this year. At around 4000km my wife saw the indicator light for 'low engine oil' come up.
Luckily she was 5mins away from the dealership, and they were still open. They were happy to put more oil in as it was low.

Now our car is just over 10,000kms and tonight the 'low engine oil level' indicator came on again!!
So before I get the car thoroughly checked out, has anyone else experienced this with their Skoda?

I will be making a complaint to the dealership tomorrow, and hope they will look at the car without cost.

Also I will need to add oil tomorrow, so can anyone please decipher what grade of engine oil to use - the book says VW 504 00?

Thank you.

[brad]

Hi All,

I've got a 2010 Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI, purchased in June this year. At around 4000km my wife saw the indicator light for 'low engine oil' come up.
Luckily she was 5mins away from the dealership, and they were still open. They were happy to put more oil in as it was low.

Now our car is just over 10,000kms and tonight the 'low engine oil level' indicator came on again!!
So before I get the car thoroughly checked out, has anyone else experienced this with their Skoda?

I will be making a complaint to the dealership tomorrow, and hope they will look at the car without cost.

Also I will need to add oil tomorrow, so can anyone please decipher what grade of engine oil to use - the book says VW 504 00?

Thank you.

Both subjects (oil usage when new & what is VW 504) have been extensively covered throughout this & all the other VW forums.

because I'm a nice guy & you have the best engine of the group ;-p

1) If you take the time to read your manual it will tell you that initially the engine will use oil (up to 1L/1000km) & the oil level should be checked every fuel fill.
Personally, I just checked mine until I could see a pattern & now check it every 5,000km. [wrist slap mode] If your light came on at 4000km then common sense (and the silly dealer) would tell you to check it every 2000km until you knew what the average usage was. [/wrist slapping now over]
You will find oil usage will reduce as the engine beds in. This could take up to 25,000km. This is normal for many modern engines with low tension rings (reduced friction). Tell your wife/yourself to give it a bit more throttle & ride the torque curve (it's a mesa actually) between 2000rpm-4000rpm. You might have to manually change gears (assuming you have the DSG).
Subarus had the same issue in the Gen4 model.

2) 504.00 is the special VW spec. You can also use VW502.00 for top-ups (even for a complete change but that upsets folk around here, so forget I said it). VW 502.00 is readily available in your Auto1, Supercheap, Autobarn type shops. Castrol Edge 5w-30 is the most common & will cost you $35-$50 depending on if it's on special.
VW504.00 can be had from retailers as Shell Helix Ultra Plus (most common on the shelves), Mobil1 ESP 5w-30, Penrite Enviro+ 5w-30, Fuchs Titan GT1 Pro3. There are a few others out there too.

It is imperative that the oil you use is either VW502.00 or VW504.00 - make sure it is written on the bottle or you sight it in the manufacturers Technical Data Sheet

[brad]

MAN trucks used to change oil (Euro 4) at 70K and it analysed perfectly, it could have run a lot longer in fact. The only reason they were serviced at 70K was to get the truck in to see what had fallen off it. Modern oils are so good that the most pressing reason to change them is to see if everything is still attached to the car and if it is driven short distances fuel dilution. Mind you at the cost of the stuff it ought to be good.

I used to buy them for stationary compressors. The V8 had a 70L sump; the V12 was 90L & the V16 was 110L??? Am I near the money? I never realised they were good for 70,000km. That would be about 1500 hours wouldn't it? Geebuz, we were changing every 200hrs (not my area, so I had no say in it) - we did lots of short run-times though.

[tlli]

Both subjects (oil usage when new & what is VW 504) have been extensively covered throughout this & all the other VW forums.

because I'm a nice guy & you have the best engine of the group ;-p

1) If you take the time to read your manual it will tell you that initially the engine will use oil (up to 1L/1000km) & the oil level should be checked every fuel fill.
Personally, I just checked mine until I could see a pattern & now check it every 5,000km. [wrist slap mode] If your light came on at 4000km then common sense (and the silly dealer) would tell you to check it every 2000km until you knew what the average usage was. [/wrist slapping now over]
You will find oil usage will reduce as the engine beds in. This could take up to 25,000km. This is normal for many modern engines with low tension rings (reduced friction). Tell your wife/yourself to give it a bit more throttle & ride the torque curve (it's a mesa actually) between 2000rpm-4000rpm. You might have to manually change gears (assuming you have the DSG).
Subarus had the same issue in the Gen4 model.

2) 504.00 is the special VW spec. You can also use VW502.00 for top-ups (even for a complete change but that upsets folk around here, so forget I said it). VW 502.00 is readily available in your Auto1, Supercheap, Autobarn type shops. Castrol Edge 5w-30 is the most common & will cost you $35-$50 depending on if it's on special.
VW504.00 can be had from retailers as Shell Helix Ultra Plus (most common on the shelves), Mobil1 ESP 5w-30, Penrite Enviro+ 5w-30, Fuchs Titan GT1 Pro3. There are a few others out there too.

It is imperative that the oil you use is either VW502.00 or VW504.00 - make sure it is written on the bottle or you sight it in the manufacturers Technical Data Sheet

Hi,

I rang the dealership and he confirmed that it's 5W-30, which was available at my local car specialist shop (after trying 2 petrol bunks). It was steep at $68 - as you said I might have to buy some when it's on sale. I used about 1ltr for the car.

The dealership also mentioned that oil usage would be high initially.

I'm taking the car in tomorrow also because we seem to have a lot of squeaking from the front passenger dash area of the car.

I'll monitor the oil level every 2000km as you suggested, thank you.

[brad]

Hi,

I rang the dealership and he confirmed that it's 5W-30, which was available at my local car specialist shop (after trying 2 petrol bunks). It was steep at $68 - as you said I might have to buy some when it's on sale. I used about 1ltr for the car..

The cheapest 504.00 you will get is the Shell for ~$60 on special; max price is about $90 for the Mobil1 (which is a better oil IMO).

It isn't that expensive considering the quality of the oil & the technology behind it. 15,000km of driving with a turbo engine with almost no change in viscosity is pretty good in my opinion.

edit: NB: All 504.00 oils are 5w-30 but most 5w-30 oils don't meet the 504.00 specification.

[dArK5HaD0w]

i thought we're only supposed to use 504/507 oils. i didn't think 502 was recommended.
here is a list of VAG Approved 504/507 Oils

[kaanage]

we did lots of short run-times though.

That's probably a big factor in how the trucks get away with such long oil change intervals. Heat cycling and startup running would have to contribute to oil breakdown (bit like tyres).

[SKODA vRS147]

Hi,

I'm taking the car in tomorrow also because we seem to have a lot of squeaking from the front passenger dash area of the car.

Check that a mouse hasn't got in the dash (only kidding)
I have the same issue on mine so i would be interested in the feedback from the dealer on this.

[Transporter]

i thought we're only supposed to use 504/507 oils. i didn't think 502 was recommended.
here is a list of VAG Approved 504/507 Oils

I agree.

There is a small problem with using oil with VW502.00 on the label. The spec is so old, that any VW502 oil could probably pass the VW approval process. That small problem is that these labels would be saying made or meet VW 502.00, which has a different meaning than approved by VW for 502.00 So, they're probably not even approved.

European car manufacturers go by different specs than SAE or API, even ACEA is not always what you can go by.
euro oil test.pdf
Castrol oil for VW PD Unit Injector TDi.pdf
So when you start using an unapproved oil in your brand new car engine put some money you saved aside, you may need them. I personally don't mind spending extra $20 per year on right oil.

In Europe dealerships are closely monitored by VW and can't buy the oils they like. It seems to me that the same is happening in Australia and I know why.

[brad]

i thought we're only supposed to use 504/507 oils. i didn't think 502 was recommended.
here is a list of VAG Approved 504/507 Oils

502.00 is technically fine for 15,000km (QG1) service intervals (it says so in my service manual).
504.00 is actually for variable (QG0/QG2) 15,000-30,000km service intervals.

Most people either can't or won't read the service manual & wrongly believe that they have to run 504.00 on 15,000km change cycles. My personal take on it is that for the extra $30, you may as well run 504.00 for the extra protection & then you don't have to worry about any of the "severe service" issues that are listed in the manual. But from a warranty point of view, you can run 502.00 on 15,000km intervals & all is fine.

[Brycem]

Tlli/Skoda vRS147 re. your squeaking dash - remove the fuse box cover which sits at the end of the dash and give it a spray round the edges with a liberal amount of silicone lubricant - WD40 or the like and I suspect the squeaking noise will disappear.