Servicing advice 2008 VW Passat 3.2 Petrol Highline 60,000km

[Bauhaus]

Hi All,

It has been a while since I posted - I guess that means everything has been going well!

At the end of 2013, I bought a 2008 VW Passat 3.2 Estate with 40,000km on it, and a dealer history.

I then had it serviced at 50,000km by an indy garage which specialised in European cars, but not the VW marque specifically. He basically gave it an oil/filter change. It has now hit 60,000km, and is 8 years old.

Can anyone advise whether I need to consider any major service items for this next service, or can it have another light service?

Excuse my ignorance - I know Alfa V6s back to front from a servicing perspective (mainly out of necessity - broken cambelts cause expensive damage), but I haven't delved into what to look out for in an 8yo VW V6.

Thanks in advance

[Umai Naa!!]

A 60K service on this one is:

Engine oil & fitler
DSG oil & filter
Spark plugs
Haldex oil

You should also consider doing the cabin filter and brake fluid if they haven't been done in the last 2 years.

[Bauhaus]

Thanks for the advice!

I will request all of those things.

Since my car has done low miles for the year, do you think there are any time-based service items I should consider?

Or does the last two items mentioned cover the time-based requirements?

Thanks

[Umai Naa!!]

VW says everything is time/distance-based, depending on which comes first.

The 60K service is recommended every 4 years.

I would suggest doing it as per above, with the brake fluid and cabin filter, and using that as your new baseline as everything besides the air filter (every 45K/3 years), will be up to date.

[Bauhaus]

Brilliant, thanks again!

[Creampuff]

not sure if you have DSG or not but, they need servicing every 60,000 also.

[jimmy jonkers]

its going to need the full major service just like i have to do next week, its a costly one aswell.

[3C4M Guy]

60,000 km is a major service. It's probably the biggest. Like Umai Naa says, you need to do DSG oil & filter + Haldex oil + spark plugs. It will be expensive but you'll have a lot of fun driving ahead of you before you hit 120,000 km and have to do it all over again!

I agree it would be very sensible to do brake fluid and cabin filter as well to establish a new baseline. If you want to save money, the cabin filter is a breeze to do yourself. If you're a meticulous sort of person, you'll take a lot more care to vacuum & wipe out all the debris before installing the new filter than a workshop might.

Interesting that my reading shows air filter change is recommended every 60,000 km. That struck me as a long interval for something so critical, so I like the recommendation of 45,000 km/3 years. Of course that interval is highly dependent on whether your driving is city or dusty country. Dusty country driving would need more frequent replacement. Interestingly, I have a VW of America document showing the recommended interval for a 3.2L V6 is 60,000 miles / 96,000 km / 6 years!

[snerlo]

Interested to hear how it goes jimmy jonkers and also where are you getting done?

[jimmy jonkers]

its getting done at prestige and performance on thursday. i will let you know snerlo

[snerlo]

Thanks mate

[jimmy jonkers]

Hey mate the service was excellent! Definitely worth it!

[snerlo]

Thanks for letting me know.

[Bauhaus]

Quick update - service went well...DSG now changing more quickly and smoothly - a nice benefit. I might actually like this transmission at some point (prefer a manual).

One issue - apparently VW didn't have any Haldex oil, so that hasn't been done. They also couldn't tell my dealer whether this model required a filter or not ("take off the cover and look for yourself"). So, I have to ask at a dealer (who might have oil in stock) or else take it back in 5 weeks when the oil is back in stock.

[Umai Naa!!]

No replaceable filter on these.