How many miles before oil changes?

[bockegg]

Hello. I know this question has been beat down a bit in other areas, but once and for all here's the answer I got at the dealer during my 20,000 mile service.
I told my service advisor at the dealership, that my manual states oil changes for my 2.0 every 10,000 miles. He said that is correct. He told me that some Audi's have scheduled oil changes every 15,000 miles.

However, the mechanic wrote down on the service order that the next oil change service should be at 25,000 miles.

Are there any VW mechanics out there who may know for sure?

Thanks.

[digitalputty]

Follow your manual. If it says 10k ... do 10k ... 5k ... 5k. I get my oil done every 5,000miles or 3 months - which ever comes first!

[kcfoxie]

with Synthetic oil, 10,000 miles or one year

[laylow]

it might say 5k,10k,20k,or even 25k but they still dont have an oil filter that last that long, i change my K&N every 3000 miles with amsoil xl 10w-30 i will never go over 3000 til they get an oil filter that last that long jus tmy .02 cents

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by laylow

it might say 5k,10k,20k,or even 25k but they still dont have an oil filter that last that long, i change my K&N every 3000 miles with amsoil xl 10w-30 i will never go over 3000 til they get an oil filter that last that long jus tmy .02 cents

Wow. I had no idea that filters don't last for 5K miles.

[angelusnhc]

what is the affects of driving 5k miles on your oil filter. i normally change every 5k miles.

[GLUVBUG]

I'm currently at 287,000 miles on my 2.0 AEG motor. I was changing the oil/filter with Mobile 1 (15/50, 05/40, or 0/40) at 5k intervals, but for the last 100k miles it has been 10k mile interval with a couple at 15k. FYI - the head has never been off and the car runs fine.

Jeff

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

With those kinds of miles per year, it makes sense to go longer between changes. We put only about 10K miles a year on ours. I doubt an AEG would last 28 years only changing the oil once a year.

The average for most people is usually about 15K per year. So waiting 10K miles would mean you'd be using the same oil for 8 months. Even with synthetic I wouldn't want the same oil in there for 8 months.

Good point prokchop but now I'm hungry!

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by GLUVBUG

I'm currently at 287,000 miles on my 2.0 AEG motor. I was changing the oil/filter with Mobile 1 (15/50, 05/40, or 0/40) at 5k intervals, but for the last 100k miles it has been 10k mile interval with a couple at 15k. FYI - the head has never been off and the car runs fine.

Jeff

Recently a mechanic of over 30 years experience told me that if I only drove my car 5K miles per year then I would be fine just changing the oil and filter every 2 years.

A lot of people on the org don't think so. Does the oil go bad just by sitting? If so how do we know how old it is when we put it in our cars from the bottles?

[rcy]

Originally Posted by laylow

it might say 5k,10k,20k,or even 25k but they still dont have an oil filter that last that long, i change my K&N every 3000 miles with amsoil xl 10w-30 i will never go over 3000 til they get an oil filter that last that long jus tmy .02 cents

The Mann filters that I'm using on my Beetle are stamped with
30 000km or 2years. I've been leaving mine on for 10 000km, though I'm sure they'd go the 16 000km (10 000 miles) the manual recommends for oil changes.

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

With those kinds of miles per year, it makes sense to go longer between changes. We put only about 10K miles a year on ours. I doubt an AEG would last 28 years only changing the oil once a year.

The average for most people is usually about 15K per year. So waiting 10K miles would mean you'd be using the same oil for 8 months. Even with synthetic I wouldn't want the same oil in there for 8 months.

Does the oil go bad just by sitting? If so how do we know how old it is when we put it in our cars from the bottles?

[Lmhansen]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

If you're going to run a crappy fram or purolator, I'd stick with 3000 miles.

Funny you should say that, because I've heard so many good things about the Purolator oil filters... Many over @ genvibe.com swears by them...

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by lmhansen

Funny you should say that, because I've heard so many good things about the Purolator oil filters... Many over @ genvibe.com swears by them...

My oil changes seem to be fine at every 10K interval and sometimes it takes me 1 - 1.5 years to get 10K miles.

Am I going wrong here?
Mike

[kcfoxie]

Yes-no. It depends on your driving style and how confident you are in your oil brand. Mercedes claims 10,000 or 1 year whatever comes first, VW just says 10,000 miles with no time-frame for oil life. Sitting unused, it won't break down. It only breaks down from heat/use, so if you drive sparingly I'd say that a 2 year "shelf life" of oil in the car would be OK, easpecially since that is on-par with the 2 year brake fluid change that VW recommends (ironically, for automatic transmissions, they say to never worry about the fluid... silly germans).

[kcfoxie]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

Hrm.. which is a Toyota Matrix.. which has been around for how many years?

If someone gets 250K-300K miles running Purolator filters with 5K mile change intervals, I'll retract my statement. Until then, I stand by the fact that Purolator and Fram filters are subpar.

Cut one of each open and then compare the materials to a Bosch or Mahle filter and you'll see the difference.

I used FRAM filters from 10,000 to 80,000, then I found someone who carried MANN filters and I switched to those. After the oil pan cracked, and I compared my underside to a 2002 1.8T that had used Pennzoil and FRAM filters as well, I can't say the FRAM did anything highly noticable to my car. The Pennzoil 1.8T, however, looked like crap. My 2.0 running Mobil-1, looked like new. But I'd only go back to a FRAM if I absolutely had no alternative, the MANN filters are just over $3 each where I'm getting them, the FRAM was closer to $5.

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by kcfoxie

Yes-no. It depends on your driving style and how confident you are in your oil brand. Mercedes claims 10,000 or 1 year whatever comes first, VW just says 10,000 miles with no time-frame for oil life. Sitting unused, it won't break down. It only breaks down from heat/use, so if you drive sparingly I'd say that a 2 year "shelf life" of oil in the car would be OK, easpecially since that is on-par with the 2 year brake fluid change that VW recommends (ironically, for automatic transmissions, they say to never worry about the fluid... silly germans).

Thanks, That's exactly what I thought. Oil shelf life should be measured in years and not months. Otherwise they would put expiration dates on the oil like food products. Especially if they knew that it could harm your engine.
Mike

[Lmhansen]

Well, I can't find any local sources for Mann or Mahle oil filters, but http://www.ecstuning.com offers "OEM Oil filters" (either Mann or Mahle brand), which looks like a good deal ...

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by lmhansen

Well, I can't find any local sources for Mann or Mahle oil filters, but http://www.ecstuning.com offers "OEM Oil filters" (either Mann or Mahle brand), which looks like a good deal ...

Thanks for the help in finding quality filters.

[crissycut2]

I have a 2.0 Beetle and I could hardly keep up with the Oil consumption. I put at least a quart per month cuz it eats oil. No leaks, new belts, everything clean, maintained and still loses oil. I also heard that this is normal for new beetles to eat oil which I'm disgusted to hear. So for all of you, do you mean that you keep the oil for 10k and not adding anything at all? In my case, I probably could do that cuz I'm adding fresh oil every month.

[bockegg]

Originally Posted by crissycut2

I have a 2.0 Beetle and I could hardly keep up with the Oil consumption. I put at least a quart per month cuz it eats oil. No leaks, new belts, everything clean, maintained and still loses oil. I also heard that this is normal for new beetles to eat oil which I'm disgusted to hear. So for all of you, do you mean that you keep the oil for 10k and not adding anything at all? In my case, I probably could do that cuz I'm adding fresh oil every month.

What year, make, and mileage do you have on your VW?
Also, is it driven mostly in the city or highway?
Maybe we can help you?