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wid77
22-02-2007, 01:03 PM
I have just bought a 2001 Audi A4 Avant 115 TDi. I took it to my local garage recently for a 10000 mile fixed service. They basically changed the oil and filter together with 2 wiper blades! I wasn't that happy as they left dirty finger marks on the dashboard, steering wheel, gearstick etc. They also didn't specify the type of oil on the invoice so i just phoned them to ask. They said they had used 10W 40 semi-synthetic which was the specified oil for this engine. I have a feeling that it should be 5W 30 but i am not sure. Can anyone let me know who is right? If it should be different then do you think i have a right to ask it to be changed? I can tell that i am starting to get on their nerves! They like the 'non complaining' customer who doesn't know much about cars.

wid77
22-02-2007, 03:16 PM
Just to update you. I have since spoken to the Audi main dealer in Leicester. The mechanic has advised that 10W 40 semi-synthetic is fine for 10k service intervals.

wid77
22-02-2007, 03:17 PM
Just to update you. I have since spoken to the Audi main dealer in Leicester. The mechanic has advised that 10W 40 semi-synthetic is fine for 10k service intervals.

Col
22-02-2007, 06:27 PM
I think they are wrong.

The PD engine has it's own specific oil(s) either normal or long life versions and it is a 5-40 grade.

The oil must conform to VW spec 505.01/505.00

If it doesn't you are likely to suffer accelerated wear on the cam lobes that drive the unit injectors.

Personally I'd do some further online research and armed with that research to the dealer and demand that they sort it!

wid77
22-02-2007, 07:45 PM
I think they are wrong.

The PD engine has it's own specific oil(s) either normal or long life versions and it is a 5-40 grade.

The oil must conform to VW spec 505.01/505.00

If it doesn't you are likely to suffer accelerated wear on the cam lobes that drive the unit injectors.

Personally I'd do some further online research and armed with that research to the dealer and demand that they sort it!

Thanks for the reply. This is what i was worried about. I don't think the garage where i got the car serviced know what they are talking about. I did ask when i booked the car in and he said they use 5W 30 or 10W 40. I said 'Are you sure that it doesn't need special VW oil' and they said that normal semi-synthetic is fine. I didn't know enough to argue.

Is there anyone else out there who can confirm that i need to use the VW spec oil? Where would i find this written officially so that i can confront the garage with it? Any help would be very much appreciated.

audy
22-02-2007, 08:42 PM
hi wid77
what is the engine code? if your engine is a pd type [pumpe duese] the so called 'mechanic' who advised the 10w-40 is fine is wrong! you must only use oil conforming to vw 505 01.

quote from owners manual;
'for technical reasons, the "longlife service" is not available for your vehicle. the vehicle must be serviced according to the "fixed maintenance intervals"-please refer to "inspection service" in the service schedule booklet.
Use only oil conforming with VW standard 505 01.
this applies to the 96 KW turbo-diesel engine [unit injector type] in the Audi A3 and the 85 KW turbo-diesel engine [unit-injector type] in the Audi A4 and A4 Avant.
hope this helps confirm your suspicions. my personal opinion is, if it's out of warranty, service it yourself! that way your sure. just a thought. daz.

wid77
22-02-2007, 10:27 PM
hi wid77
what is the engine code? if your engine is a pd type [pumpe duese] the so called 'mechanic' who advised the 10w-40 is fine is wrong! you must only use oil conforming to vw 505 01.

quote from owners manual;
'for technical reasons, the "longlife service" is not available for your vehicle. the vehicle must be serviced according to the "fixed maintenance intervals"-please refer to "inspection service" in the service schedule booklet.
Use only oil conforming with VW standard 505 01.
this applies to the 96 KW turbo-diesel engine [unit injector type] in the Audi A3 and the 85 KW turbo-diesel engine [unit-injector type] in the Audi A4 and A4 Avant.
hope this helps confirm your suspicions. my personal opinion is, if it's out of warranty, service it yourself! that way your sure. just a thought. daz.

Thanks for the information. Very helpful. It is a PD engine. I will be visiting the garage tomorrow to have a chat. I will ask to see the oil that they have put in although i am pretty sure it won't confirm to VW 505 01. If it doesn't i will ask them to change it and i will buy the new oil for them to put in then. It may cost me a bit more but at least i will know that it has the right stuff in it.

In future i will do the oil changes myself. I am not confident enough to do the major services though so i will use an independent Audi garage i have spoken to every 20k. They seem to know what they are talking about, more than the local Audi dealer do as the Audi dealer said 10W 40 semi is fine. It has confirmed my suspicions that so called experts aren't always expert or don't care that much either way.

Cheers.
Wid77

devonutopia
22-02-2007, 11:20 PM
Get the garage to ring up VW/Audi customer helpline, and get the oil type confirmed. 10w 40 IS THE WRONG OIL for a PD engine. It should only be 5w 40 and meet 505.01 VW requirements on standard. I only put Millers XFE-PD oil in mine - an oil developed by Millers, for the PD engine alone, and has VW's stamp of approval.

There's no telling what damage 10w oil could be doing, so get this checked out and rectified a.s.a.p. :)

wid77
22-02-2007, 11:44 PM
Get the garage to ring up VW/Audi customer helpline, and get the oil type confirmed. 10w 40 IS THE WRONG OIL for a PD engine. It should only be 5w 40 and meet 505.01 VW requirements on standard. I only put Millers XFE-PD oil in mine - an oil developed by Millers, for the PD engine alone, and has VW's stamp of approval.

There's no telling what damage 10w oil could be doing, so get this checked out and rectified a.s.a.p. :)

Hi. I teleponed the Audi helpline this evening. They said '502 00 Castrol SLX' but the chap explained that they weren't technically trained. He advised me to telephone my local Audi Centre. I did this earlier in the day and the mechanic said 10W 40 would be fine. Talk about going around in circles!

I will be visiting the offending garage tomorrow and i will make sure that 505 01 is used. If i can get hold of some of that millers oil then i will. Do you think i will be able to get it from Euro Car Parts as there is one of them near to me? Thanks.

devonutopia
23-02-2007, 08:54 AM
I will be visiting the offending garage tomorrow and i will make sure that 505 01 is used. If i can get hold of some of that millers oil then i will. Do you think i will be able to get it from Euro Car Parts as there is one of them near to me? Thanks.

Visit www.milleroils.co.uk (http://www.millersoils.co.uk) and find your nearest stockist by postcode. Ring them first to ensure they have that oil in stock too. :)

EDIT: Quite a few around Leicester

AVP (ALL VEHICLE PARTS)*
FARNDON ROAD
MARKET HARBOROUGH
LEICESTERSHIRE
LE16 9NP

01858 431 096
email
WEBSITE

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A B BUTT LTD
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0116 251 3344 B
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GHW MOTOR FACTORS COALVILLE
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wid77
23-02-2007, 01:15 PM
Thanks for the help. I have now decided to change the oil myself and I will be using the Millers oil recommended. Is it this one, shown below?

http://www.millersoils.net/index2.html

Does anyone know if special tools are needed to cchange the oil on a 2001 A4 TDi or will the usual sockets and spanners do.

Thanks.

wid77
23-02-2007, 01:49 PM
Right, i have now found the correct one:-

http://www.millersoils.net/index2.html

After phoning 6 'stockists' i have now found one who has it for sale. Yippee! Just got to work out how to drain the old oil out and empty out the oil filter now. I'm not used to working on engines where there are covers over the top and bottom.

skymaster
23-02-2007, 05:37 PM
I find it worrying that so many service garages and even main dealers seem unable to get the correct oil sorted out when servicing these PD TDIs. It begs the question just how many are driving round with the wrong oil in them?

I was also very confused about it.

I guess some garages must buy really cheap oil in massive quantities and using that in each service makes for good business for them.

Dave Avant
23-02-2007, 05:51 PM
Don't let Teutonic Tamer see this thread!! :outtahere :D

The PD is specific on oil, so be carefull. A 10W 40 semi synthetic, could be anything from a cheapy oil to decent stuff, but still not approved by VAG. A 10W 40 oil is the viscosity and not what additives etc it has, so you can get a cheap semi 10W 40 and a fully synthetic 10W 40, same numbers but very different oil.

If you tend to let the car run until the service indicator tells you to get it serviced then you want the right oil. I change my engine oils every 5-6000K miles.

VAG state an approved oil like Castrol 5W 30 for longlife services.
Other oils need to be upto spec but are stuck to fixed service intervals.

Lex Luthor
23-02-2007, 06:40 PM
I only put Millers XFE-PD oil in mine - an oil developed by Millers, for the PD engine alone, and has VW's stamp of approval.

Being mega picky......

Millers oils are not certified by VW as meeting their standard.
They use the words "Exceeds the requirements of.." a phrase used by other companies, like Comma and Opie who's oil is not certified either.
That is not to say that they will not do the job, I run Miller's 0W30 myself.

This is the latest list I have access to:

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/529/Aud..._Oil_Chart.pdf (http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/529/Audi_Approved_Oil_Chart.pdf)

Col
23-02-2007, 07:05 PM
I use genuine VW / Quantum PD oil.

It is about 24.99(ish) +vat from GSF so a no brainer really, why use anything else unless it is significantly cheaper? I've never seen the Millers stuff but would be interested to know how much it costs i.e. how much over the top I may be paying.

wid77
23-02-2007, 07:12 PM
Hi, I now have 5 litres of Millers XFE-PD 5W 40 oil in front of me (after much nail biting and searching). Only one place had it and that was Graham Goode, Leicester. Even they had to search for it as it wasn't on the shelf. Cost £32.99.

It says on the front 'Approved by VW to 505 01, 505 00 and 500 00'. It states it is an 'Advanced Hi-Synthetic formulation specially developed for the latest VW diesel engines, exceeding API CH4 ACEA B3 & B4 specifications'. That will do for me as it must be better than a 10W 40 semi-synthetic of unknown origin. The car has only done 200 miles on this oil. I will now try and work out how to get that plastic cover off the bottom of the engine bay and swap it over tomorrow.

I decided against confronting the garage as, quite honestly, i couldn't be bothered having the argument. I will now complete every other 10k service myself and at least then i know what has been done. I will take it to a local independent Audi garage every 20k for a major service as they did seem to know what they were talking about.

Thanks for all your help on this.
Wid77

Col
23-02-2007, 07:24 PM
Hi, I now have 5 litres of Millers XFE-PD 5W 40 oil in front of me (after much nail biting and searching). Only one place had it and that was Graham Goode, Leicester. Even they had to search for it as it wasn't on the shelf. Cost £32.99.


Wid77

There is my answer...

The proper / genuine VW Quantum PD oil is less than that from GSF.

Is the Millers long life oil though, the GSF Quantum stuff isn't, it is standard / 10,000 mile stuff?

wid77
23-02-2007, 07:29 PM
There is my answer...

The proper / genuine VW Quantum PD oil is less than that from GSF.

Is the Millers long life oil though, the GSF Quantum stuff isn't, it is standard / 10,000 mile stuff?

No, this is not the long-life oil. I am just happy that i found some with the VW 505 01 reference on it. Next time i will try GSF as it does seem a bit cheaper and i will save a few quid. I did try Euro Car Parts and they tried to fob me off with their own branded oil saying, 'it is fine for this engines' - yeah, i'll believe you, thousands wouldn't.

Lex Luthor
23-02-2007, 07:35 PM
Cost £32.99.
Was that inclusive ?

wid77
23-02-2007, 07:49 PM
Was that inclusive ?

Yes. That price included VAT.

devonutopia
23-02-2007, 08:55 PM
You've got a good oil now mate. It's what my pd130 has run on for 25,000 miles and my pd100 engine before that ran on it for a good part of it's life. I have to admit I only pay about £25 for a bottle from my local motor factors in Exeter. £33 is a fair old whack and not far off the price for oil from a dealership...

wid77
23-02-2007, 11:15 PM
You've got a good oil now mate. It's what my pd130 has run on for 25,000 miles and my pd100 engine before that ran on it for a good part of it's life. I have to admit I only pay about £25 for a bottle from my local motor factors in Exeter. £33 is a fair old whack and not far off the price for oil from a dealership...

I tell you what mate, it's worth the extra to know that i have an oil that is right for the car. i'd never have thought that there was this much confusion over what oil to put in a car! I used to buy any old oil for my last car but it was a 1992 Citroen ZX 1.4 and would run on any old 20W 50. Thanks for your help. At least i'll know that the engine has the right oil in it and i have now learned that it is best to change the oil yourself if you want it done properly. Cheers.

devonutopia
23-02-2007, 11:39 PM
Have you got a 32mm socket for the oil filter? That's assuming its the same as on my engine. That accesses the oil filter which you can probably re-use (drain it off a bit perhaps).

Sump plug is on the back of the sump usually, facing toward the exhaust end of the car. I don't run with an engine tray so have no access issues. You may find yourself wielding a torx 20 socket to undo some of the trim underneath the car.