Question about servicing

[GTI_racer]

Just a quick question about servicing and what you would do if you were in my position.

My car has just passed the 15000km mark yet there is no reminder for the service. So I checked the distance to service and it is still displaying 4800km ???

What should I do?
I am tempted to get it serviced but I also have a Mercedes in the family with variable servicing intervals so am thinking does the ECU know best.


Thanks
Ben

[Maverick]

Just a quick question about servicing and what you would do if you were in my position.

My car has just passed the 15000km mark yet there is no reminder for the service. So I checked the distance to service and it is still displaying 4800km ???

What should I do?
I am tempted to get it serviced but I also have a Mercedes in the family with variable servicing intervals so am thinking does the ECU know best.

We don't use variable servicing in Australia, the service requirements for the GTI (and others) are a service every 12 months or 15,000km whichever comes first. Personally an oil change in between at 6 months gives you that extra peace of mind.

Variable servicing may be ok with some models but I would never use it with something like the GTI.

[chrisgti]

i never agreed with this 15k oil change thing especially on a turbo car. I called castrol and they recommended I change the oil at 7500k intervals especially if your doing a lot of stop start or hard driving. My last oil change cost me $40 for castrol type r 5-30 $16 for a filter element a few bucks for a sump plug washer and 50 bucks labour from vw.. At almost 20 000ks your oil would be like black water.

[vw poster]

i never agreed with this 15k oil change thing especially on a turbo car. I called castrol and they recommended I change the oil at 7500k intervals especially if your doing a lot of stop start or hard driving. My last oil change cost me $40 for castrol type r 5-30 $16 for a filter element a few bucks for a sump plug washer and 50 bucks labour from vw.. At almost 20 000ks your oil would be like black water.

I'd appreciate you posting the evidence that supports your statement.

[glenn1959]

Oil is like Religion!

People have very firm ideas about oil - which one to choose, how often to change it, which one to use running in and so on. The fact is lubrication is a highly complex subject and few of us owners really understand the facts very well.

Back to the topic at hand, Many European cars have very long service intervals. Some have 30,000 km intervals. I would not go that far in Australia because our fuel is high in sulphur and degrades the oil. I seem to remember reading that the Mazda 6 has a 20K interval in England but it has only a 10K interval here. On the other hand oils are sent out from the factory with chemical balance that is not ideal for wear. The manurfacturers know that the engine will pollute the oil with acids and they create it with an alkaline bias to compensate. For this reason brand new oil actually causes more wear than moderately used oil. I remember seeing a magazine article where they sampled the oil at different points in its life and this showed wear started our high when the oil was just put in.

I think if your vehicle use is short journeys you really should change the oil much more often because short trips contaminate the oil alot. The rest of us should generally be fine with the manurfacturers recommendation.

[Greg Roles]

Glen is right on the money. Contentious topic, often driven by smart marketing more than anything else!

Only thing I'd add, is an oil cooled turbo, as in VW, adds tremendous stress to the oil, thus the long held belief that changing more often than recommended is a good idea. All I see it hurting is your wallet a little more.

Do what you are happy with, personally I do every 7500k.

[THR]

My car has just clicked over 4,000 km. I've had it since February.

The oil is starting to look a little low when I check it. Should I take it in for a six month service?

[TSi2NV]

My car has just clicked over 4,000 km. I've had it since February.

The oil is starting to look a little low when I check it. Should I take it in for a six month service?

I would suggest getting it serviced every 6 month, it is recomend by most oil companys to do and oil change every 6 months,

I personally will be service my TSi every 6 months reguardless of KM travelled

[VW Convert]

i never agreed with this 15k oil change thing especially on a turbo car. I called castrol and they recommended I change the oil at 7500k intervals especially if your doing a lot of stop start or hard driving. My last oil change cost me $40 for castrol type r 5-30 $16 for a filter element a few bucks for a sump plug washer and 50 bucks labour from vw.. At almost 20 000ks your oil would be like black water.

Forgive my scepticism but asking Castrol whether to change your oil at 7,500 or 15,000 is a bit like asking the Pope if he is a Catholic! How else would they respond?

Cheers

George

[VW Convert]

My car has just clicked over 4,000 km. I've had it since February.

The oil is starting to look a little low when I check it. Should I take it in for a six month service?

I would pop in to the dealer, they will top it up for you (most likely at no charge) or buy some of the correct oil and top it up yourself.

Cheers

George

[THR]

Might drive out there this afternoon and see if they have any oil then. Thanks for the advice.

[GTI_racer]

Booked for servicing on Monday 11th

[idaho]

Just a quick question about servicing and what you would do if you were in my position.

My car has just passed the 15000km mark yet there is no reminder for the service. So I checked the distance to service and it is still displaying 4800km ???

What should I do?
I am tempted to get it serviced but I also have a Mercedes in the family with variable servicing intervals so am thinking does the ECU know best.


Thanks
Ben

We don't use variable servicing in Australia, the service requirements for the GTI (and others) are a service every 12 months or 15,000km whichever comes first. Personally an oil change in between at 6 months gives you that extra peace of mind.

Variable servicing may be ok with some models but I would never use it with something like the GTI.

Maybe this has changed with some engines.

The service section in our Owners Manual says if the car has QG0 or QG2 PR codes then Time and Distance servicing is used. Our car has QG1 which is described as Service Interval Prolongation.

The car (1.4 Twin Charger) has done just under 12000km in just over 11 months and the Service indicator is displaying Service in 18000km and 23 days. So it looks to have the earlier of 12 month or flexible distance (if driven accordingly) servicing.

To have 18000km available must mean the service indicator system thinks the car is getting an easy time. I imagine the converse is that if GTI's had QG1 then some of the flashed cars might want servicing earlier if they are regularly driven in a spirited fashion.