Considering doing an oil change?

[kryten2001]

Don't - consider it.. Just do it.

I just changed the oil on the pirelli... 860kms since new, so thought it was about time.

Although you can't see them, you can certainly feel a stack of iron filings in the dumped oil. Not only that, but even after only 800 odd k's, the dumped oil was absolutely pitch black and looked like it came out the back end of a hotmix machine.

So no doubt in my mind it's a good idea to do one at 1000 - even though VW recommend you wait until 15,000 (!!!)..

Now it's got a gutful of Mobil 1 0w40 and life is good.....

[NickZ]

Excellent choice in oil! That's what I use for all my oil changes.

Good feedback regarding the quality of oil too - it's scary to think what damage running that oil for too long, especially 15000km, can do. I did not change mine till 7500km but will learn for next time.

[gerhard]

It'll be interesting to see if you burn lots of the Mobil 1.

In my experience the oil lubricates fine, no problems with that, but allows engines to be noisy and burn a lot of oil in some cases.

Mine burned about 1 litre of initial fill oil in the first 7000ks, have now changed it for Penrite HPR5. Engine rattles on startup are noticeably less now and exhaust not as black.

[NickZ]

It'll be interesting to see if you burn lots of the Mobil 1.

In my experience the oil lubricates fine, no problems with that, but allows engines to be noisy and burn a lot of oil in some cases.

Mine burned about 1 litre of initial fill oil in the first 7000ks, have now changed it for Penrite HPR5. Engine rattles on startup are noticeably less now and exhaust not as black.

Mine doesn't burn any, although my exhaust can get a bit black when not cleaned for a while which I thought was normal for the Polos. Not sure if this is related to my oil or other factors though.

[Transporter]

Don't - consider it.. Just do it.

I just changed the oil on the pirelli... 860kms since new, so thought it was about time.

Although you can't see them, you can certainly feel a stack of iron filings in the dumped oil. Not only that, but even after only 800 odd k's, the dumped oil was absolutely pitch black and looked like it came out the back end of a hotmix machine.

So no doubt in my mind it's a good idea to do one at 1000 - even though VW recommend you wait until 15,000 (!!!)..

Now it's got a gutful of Mobil 1 0w40 and life is good.....

Yeah, you should use the white plastic container and you would see the metalic particles there - the oil looks like the metalic paint even after only 1000km.
I agree with you the first oil change at 1,000km.

[Transporter]

Excellent choice in oil! That's what I use for all my oil changes.

Good feedback regarding the quality of oil too - it's scary to think what damage running that oil for too long, especially 15000km, can do. I did not change mine till 7500km but will learn for next time.

A bit of advice to
every one who changed engine oil at 7,500km or later on a new engine should watch out for the oil leaks from the engine oil seals, since the metallic particles in the oil can wear out the oil seals. The small oil leaks will get absorbed onto the sound insulation at the plastic engine cover under the car and they will be discovered 3 years later and fixed at the owners cost.

The transmission and the diff oils should be changed after the first 10,000km too to remove particles after run in.

[methylnick]

man, I am gutted that I didn't come across this earlier.

I came in for an oil top up when the oil warning lamp come up and was told there was no oil registering on the dipstick!!

Has anything major happened to people who followed what the dealer said which was to replace the oil at 15,000kms?

cheers

N

[TDIESEL]

Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong but I was of the opinion that oil for the MK5 is very specific. As in you can only use a specific grade and it's only manufactured by castrol? Or is that only for the TDI?

[NickZ]

Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong but I was of the opinion that oil for the MK5 is very specific. As in you can only use a specific grade and it's only manufactured by castrol? Or is that only for the TDI?

Correct - it needs to comply with the relevant VW standard for your engine. It is not necessarily Castrol though, and for me Mobil 1 0w-40 complies with the standard for my car.

[gerhard]

Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong but I was of the opinion that oil for the MK5 is very specific. As in you can only use a specific grade and it's only manufactured by castrol? Or is that only for the TDI?

There is quite a long list of oils that meet the GTI's requirements. You are fine as long as you use VW 502 or better in the GTI. Castrol is not the only manufacturer that has oils that meet this spec. There are oils from BP, Shell, Penrite. Mobil, Fuchs, to name just a few.