Interim Oil Changes

[jdw]

Hi, what is the view on the need for interim oil changes between the 15,000 scheduled services. The car is a 2016 GTI PP.

[3timesagolfgti]

I’ve always been a fan of a midway service as long as I do it myself. I’ll always use the right Castrol oils and VW filters.


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[gregozedobe]

IMO opinion it depends on usage. If lots of short trips where the engine doesn't get properly warm (look at oil temp, not coolant temp), and/or lots of stop/go driving in heavy traffic, and/or hard usage on track then a midway oil change is a good idea. If mostly gentle cruising then an extra oil change is not really neded (as long as good quality long life oil that meets VW specs is used).

[Lucas_R]

15,000km is a long time IMO, so yes i do support the interim DIY oil change. In my case, i do a lot of short drives (and only about 8,000km per year in total) which is not good for the oil, so i do an oil and filter change every 6 months to keep it fresh. It only costs about $100 so its a small price to pay towards keeping the engine running well.

[Kachingg]

I agree i have a diesel and with the regeneration every 400 kilometres it dumps fuel into the oil not good for a motor you want to last
So i change oil and filter every 7.5k

[GolfRWag]

Yeah, I'll be planning a 6 month oil change in between the annuals with VW spec 504/507 oil and suitable filter. Cheap insurance.

[aprr32]

Changing oil earlier than 12 months or 15K is a waste of time and money.The oils are so good these days that they are probably good for over 30k.Unless you live in the outback sucking in bulldust just stick with wheat VW say. They worked out that the interval is fine otherwise it would be changed for reliability.

[Transporter]

Changing oil earlier than 12 months or 15K is a waste of time and money.The oils are so good these days that they are probably good for over 30k.Unless you live in the outback sucking in bulldust just stick with wheat VW say. They worked out that the interval is fine otherwise it would be changed for reliability.

Hmm....Based on what I know, somehow I don’t believe you.

[nat225]

Changing oil earlier than 12 months or 15K is a waste of time and money.The oils are so good these days that they are probably good for over 30k.Unless you live in the outback sucking in bulldust just stick with wheat VW say. They worked out that the interval is fine otherwise it would be changed for reliability.

it makes sense for anyone owning 9 cars at the same time :p

[jdw]

I’ve always been a fan of a midway service as long as I do it myself. I’ll always use the right Castrol oils and VW filters.


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What Castrol oil do you use ?

[tigger73]

What Castrol oil do you use ?

DPF compatible long life one as it’s the only VW approved one for Mk7

This one: EDGE 5W-30 LL | Castrol EDGE - Car Engine Oil | Castrol™ Australia

There are other brands you can get also with the VW 504 00/ 507 00 approval. There's a difference between "approved" and "meets" - one will potentially void your manufacturer warranty and the other one won't.

There's also a Penrite 5W-30 Enviro+ that is an approved oil - possibly slightly better than the Castrol (as it's usually a bit more expensive) but also available at most decent Auto shops.

[gregozedobe]

Nulon also make a VW approved 504/507 oil, and this one is a proper true synthetic base (some claim to be "synthetic" but aren't really).

[Ozsko]

Hmm....Based on what I know, somehow I don’t believe you.

Have you had any oil tests done since we last had this debate to prove or disprove your belief that VW do not know what they are doing?

[tigger73]

Have you had any oil tests done since we last had this debate to prove or disprove your belief that VW do not know what they are doing?

I think Transporter sees plenty of oil changes to be able to make an informed opinion.

However it’s not only VW with extended service intervals. Pretty much all manufacturers are doing it - looking to push for longer service intervals and lower running costs for the first owner. Who is the one deciding which brand of new car to buy.

For some people they think 6 month/ 10,000km service intervals are just a money grab by dealers and will buy a car based on longer service intervals of 12 months/15,000km.

So it comes down to marketing having a big influence over how the vehicle gets maintained rather than proper engineering.

Often there’s a number of factors influencing what the service intervals is and it’s often not based on what is best for the vehicle (but what’s best for the manufacturer).


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[Kachingg]

Yep i will go with Transporter he sees first hand what we only speculate on!