Oil warning light - what oil should I use?

[markiwill83]

My 2007 2.0TDCI A6 had the oil warning light come on today on my way home from work.

This is a new car to me so I haven't had to top up the oil before. In the likes of Halfords there are loads of oils so can anyone suggest what oil is best to use?

Thanks!

[dan2485]

First thing to do is check the level.

if it's ok then you may have a pump issue.

Lots of post for the balancer shaft failure on 2.0 TDI engines pre 2008.

With a bit of luck it's just a top up required.

You need VW 506.00/506.01 spec oil (0w/30 longlife oil) or 5w/40.

What does your handbook say and also whats the engine code on the sticker in the service book.

Could be BNA/BLB/BRE or BRF.

[markiwill83]

Thanks for your reply Dan. I've just looked in the service book and the car had a service and oil change when I bought it in July (5,000 miles ago).
The sticker in the service book says BRE

The sticker says it's 103KW so according to the handbook I need VW 501 01, VW 507 00. It says for cars with diesel particulate filter (?) to only use 507 00. Not sure what one is or if my car has one.

I guess the thing to do is contact the garage I bought it from, but given that my work is a 60 mile round trip, is it safe to drive still?

I can do a oil level check in the morning

[Brycie]

Was it a red 'oil pressure low' warning, or a yellow 'oil level low' warning? If it was the former, then you could be in for oil pump failure & I wouldn't even attempt to turn the engine over - I would strongly advise that. It could damage the engine by running it with oil pump failure & will probably be a four figure repair bill or new engine. If you've only just bought the car, the first thing I would do in the morning is call them & tell them to come collect it to put it right. I hope you bought it from a garage rather than privately? If it was a trade purchase, any faults which appear within the first 6 months (I think it is) are assumed to have been present before purchase in the eyes of the law (Sales Of Goods Act) and is therefore the selling garage's responsibility to put it right.

Lots on the forum about oil pump/hex shaft failure if you do a search.

If it's just the yellow oil level low warning, these engines drink a lot of oil - plenty of us on here average about quarter of a litre per 1000 miles. It's 5w30 507.00 you need. The oil level warning comes on REALLY early though, as soon as it gets a few millimetres below the maximum Mark. There is a site where you can enter the codes from the label in your spare wheel well into & it will tell you if you have a dpf or not. I'll try to find more details on that for you & post it up for you.

[markiwill83]

It is the yellow oil symbol of that appears and when I press the check button it says please check oil level

[Brycie]

Massive sigh of relief then!!! I've edited my previous post to say that these engines are thirsty beasts for oil. Plenty of us use about a third to a quarter of a litre every 1,000 miles. The warning light comes on extremely early though, when it's only just under the maximum Mark on the dipstick, so you have plenty of warning & time to get around to topping it up. I would only put a quarter litre in to start & see how that takes the level up. It should keep the warning away for a good few hundred miles.

[markiwill83]

Phew! So it's OK to drive? I guess the garage (a used Audi vw garage are best too get oil from as opposed to halfords?

[Brycie]

Oh yeah, fine to drive. You've plenty of time before topping up becomes urgent. I've done hundreds of miles after the warning comes on & the dipstick's still been up to three quarters full.

Look at the codes on the label in your spare wheel well & enter the codes into this site

http://igorweb.org/equidec/

It will tell you what optional extras (such as dpf) are on your car.

I used to buy Castrol 5w30 507.00 from Asda as it was the cheapest place. However I bought 20 litres of Fuchs oil (same specification) from a little place near me for about £75. That should do 3 services & lots of top ups in between. Better than £17 per litre or £35 for four litres from Asda. They do deliver if you're interested in that, just look up Oils U Need in Clayton Le Moors, Accrington. Another member of the forum from down South actually put me onto them & they delivered to him for a good price. Apparently Fuchs is what all Audi's leave the factory with in the engine (or at least used to), so it's good stuff.

Only one other pointer, as the oil level low warning comes on quite regularly, I bought a little half-litre Tupperware jar to carry a bit around for when I need it on a long journey.

[markiwill83]

Thanks so much. My mind is more at ease now.

[Brycie]

Cool. Glad it's helped. Just remember if you ever do see the red oil pressure low warning, stop immediately & get it recovered to a garage.

If you find out you do have a dpf when you put your codes into the above site, then you need to make sure you do a good half hour drive at high revs every week or two. This gets the dpf hot enough to burn off the soot & stop the dpf from clogging up. If your commute is 60miles, then that should ensure the dpf is given the chance to do it's regeneration cycle, where the sooty deposits are burned. Just try to make one of your journeys quite a hard drive with high revs. If you do have a dpf, then it would be wise to do a search on how to avoid dpf problems, as a dpf which develops problems can be hundreds to fix/repair.

I'm not trying to be a harbinger of doom, just don't like to see people end up with problems because they weren't aware of preventative care.