How often do you change your oil?

[bnfonquey]

I just bought my 05 A4 1.8T with 25,000 miles last week. The service guy said that I should only change my oil at each scheduled maintenance, which comes to every 10,000 miles.

I know that the synthetic oils will last longer now, but 10,000 miles on an engine known to have issues with sludge??? It seems too long for me.

I'd like to keep this car running for a long time but don't want to throw money away. I heard that some of you change it every 5000 miles, but I could find a thread specifically for this purpose using search.

So, what say you, AZ? Should I do it every 5k or 10k?

[LadyHawk]

5k. After what I've been through this week...5k. Do a search on oil sludge. It' supposed to only be model years from 99-04 but I wouldn't trust Audi as far as I can throw them with the oil sludge issues on the 1.8t. Interesting to hear you were told 10,000... was that from the Audi dealer or did you buy it somewhere else?

[A4TUNE]

10k ? yeah right.. every 3-5k or 2-3 months for me with synthetic euro formula mobil 1 0w40.

[Mike02A4]

I'm with A4Tune. Every 3 months or so and around 3,000 miles using 0W40 mobil 1 and m-301 filter. Overkill, yes but an extra 40 bucks every 3 months isn't going to hurt the wallet at all.

I just did an oil change yesterday after only 1,100 miles with mobil 1 but I also threw seafoam in it for a day then changed it. Only reason I did that was b/c I do not know the full maintenence history of the car so I wanted to give it a flush.

[Amze]

3-5k, everytime.

[Amze]

5k. After what I've been through this week...5k. Do a search on oil sludge. It' supposed to only be model years from 99-04 but I wouldn't trust Audi as far as I can throw them with the oil sludge issues on the 1.8t. Interesting to hear you were told 10,000... was that from the Audi dealer or did you buy it somewhere else?

Audi requires you to have your cars oil changed by every 10k miles, if its synthetic. Thats what the dealer told me when I had my oil sludge issue, and i had the receipts from every 3-5k, so i was gravy

[Dirty]

I use to have Audi do it every 10K, but after having oil sludge 4 time and then havening to rebuild my engine and turbo, I now change every 3-5K depending on my driving.

[diztek]

5k

[LadyHawk]

There's a class action law suit in US District Court against Audi because when they sent out the letters regarding sludge they changed the recommendation to 5k with fully synthetic oil. The law suit is on behalf of the owners that had to replace/repair their engines themselves because Audi stated that even though they changed the oil every 10,000 miles like Audi had originally recommended, they extended sludge warranty didn't cover them. A very helpful person at an Audi dealer on Friday also verbally told me 5k. Either way, I'll be doing it more frequently than that even.

Here's a link to the warrantly extension letter:
http://www.autosafety.org/uploads/ph...iOilSludge.pdf
(I couldn't come up with the owner's manual insert they talk about)

Here's a link to the lawsuit information:
http://www.chimicles.com/audi/
http://www.chimicles.com/audi/Chimic...dComplaint.pdf

[ironduke]

5k mi. get one of those oil extractors to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube, flip the coolant reservoir up so you can change the oil filter from topside, and you can do a whole oil change in maybe 10 minutes.

no ramps, no jacks, no messing with the belly pan, no messing with fixing the belly pan after an oil guy can't put it back right, no dealer prices. heck, you can even get the large filters bulk online for less than $10 each.

[diztek]

i found it amusing that when i was under the audi free maintenance program, they would only do free oil changes every 10k, but i would get service reminders every 5k.

[ironduke]

I'm with A4Tune. Every 3 months or so and around 3,000 miles using 0W40 mobil 1 and m-301 filter. Overkill, yes but an extra 40 bucks every 3 months isn't going to hurt the wallet at all.

I just did an oil change yesterday after only 1,100 miles with mobil 1 but I also threw seafoam in it for a day then changed it. Only reason I did that was b/c I do not know the full maintenence history of the car so I wanted to give it a flush.

yeah. seafoam is good. people also like the auto-rx solution. search for auto-rx over at audiword. audi junkie has talked about it (and engine / oil for 1.8t in general) at length.

[tdn]

5k mi. get one of those oil extractors to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube, flip the coolant reservoir up so you can change the oil filter from topside, and you can do a whole oil change in maybe 10 minutes.

no ramps, no jacks, no messing with the belly pan, no messing with fixing the belly pan after an oil guy can't put it back right, no dealer prices. heck, you can even get the large filters bulk online for less than $10 each.

I like the convenience of using an extractor but I don't think I'd ever use one. Reason being, lifting and going underneath the car isn't all that hard.. especially doing it every 3-5k miles. It's just making something already easy, even easier. Also, when I do oil changes, I give the car a good look over every time; checking for anything strange underneath, leaks, cracks, things that may lead to problems, suspension, tires etc.. and lastly, if theres any small flakes of metal in the oil, most of that will get left behind because the extractor doesn't create enough suctions to pick it up.

[ironduke]

I like the convenience of using an extractor but I don't think I'd ever use one. Reason being, lifting and going underneath the car isn't all that hard.. especially doing it every 3-5k miles. It's just making something already easy, even easier. Also, when I do oil changes, I give the car a good look over every time; checking for anything strange underneath, leaks, cracks, things that may lead to problems, suspension, tires etc.. and lastly, if theres any small flakes of metal in the oil, most of that will get left behind because the extractor doesn't create enough suctions to pick it up.

sure, there are probably valid reasons not to use one, but i was running up 5k mi every 7-9 weeks when i got mine. plus, i didn't have ramps, jacks etc., and that belly pan was a huge pain. the extractor saved me hundreds of dollars / yr (vs oil shop), hours of belly pan aggravation, and i could change the oil in the street in the snow if i needed too. i heard mb, bmw and audi techs all use them. who knows if thats true, but it made sense for me to.

[Capt. Obvious]

You're supposed to change the oil?

[aaaudiprotein]

I try to do that every 3k miles... But my last OIL change was with a new oil from me called ELF, and i'e been told 5k-7k is OK.

[A4_Mike]

3000 to 5000 mile intervals.

[Mike02A4]

5k mi. get one of those oil extractors to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube, flip the coolant reservoir up so you can change the oil filter from topside, and you can do a whole oil change in maybe 10 minutes.

no ramps, no jacks, no messing with the belly pan, no messing with fixing the belly pan after an oil guy can't put it back right, no dealer prices. heck, you can even get the large filters bulk online for less than $10 each.

Do you leave your belly pan off permanantly?

[quat]

The reason for the sludging is because of the heat of the converter and turbo being right next to the oil pan. Audi does recommend every 10k with the oil changes provided you are using synthetic even to this day, however 5k is what I practice. Being as I am out of warranty I don't need to be replacing a motor any time soon.

[agentaudi007]

they would only do free oil changes every 10k, but i would get service reminders every 5k.

I noticed that in my 07 A4. The service was explained to me by the dealer to be every 10K after the first 5K (I got a deal on the service package and took it so I wouldn't have to bother with service and maintenance). The driver information system (DIS) on the instrument panel provides a notice to get the car serviced at the first 5K miles. It showed up again at 10K NOT 15K which scared me. I called the dealer and they said to ignore the message but it shows up every time I turn the car on. I know in my head the car is fine but it bugs me that I see this message on a car purchased new. Has anyone had this problem or noticed this on the DIS? If so, what did you do about it? Do I have to keep seeing this message after every 5K?

After the 15K mile service I may start changing the oil at every 5K but I plan to upgrade to an S4 or RS4 when the B8s are available (gotta have more power). I don't think I will surpass the 50K warranty mark by then so I'm not sure its worth the time and money. Any serious thoughts or recommendations on this would be helpful.

But I will say this: 10K is FOREVER! Its sooooooo looooonnnnggg! I can't honestly believe that the car can sustain itself for that long without maintenance. 10K miles really does feel even longer than it sounds (or reads) on paper.

[EBG 18T]

every 5k would be the best case situation for this little engine. Using a quality oil like Elf, Pentosyn, Motul will help keep things clean and prevent oil breakdown.

When Mobil 1 changed their formula back in 2002-2003 to the new supersyn i stopped using Mobil oils.

[HeymyAudi]

I do mine every 2500 to 3000K with Castro Full Synthetic

[MikTip]

3000-5000 miles

[K1200GT]

5k mi. get one of those oil extractors to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube, flip the coolant reservoir up so you can change the oil filter from topside, and you can do a whole oil change in maybe 10 minutes.

no ramps, no jacks, no messing with the belly pan, no messing with fixing the belly pan after an oil guy can't put it back right, no dealer prices. heck, you can even get the large filters bulk online for less than $10 each.

That's how I do it, every 3K miles or so, I don't even bother to move the coolant tank. Tested removing the drain plug after using the suction tool and not even 1 drop came out!
Had the valve cover off around 79K to fix some leaks and she llooked like new inside, 86K now and counting. Use Audi filters online and cheap autozone Mobil1 oil, costs like $30 for an oil change.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

whatever the computer says, and i did mine today at EZ Lube, and used a Mobil 1 M-301 filter!

[ironduke]

Do you leave your belly pan off permanantly?

nope. extractor sucks oil out through the dipstick tube. filter changed from above. bellypan stays secured.

[O2VW1.8T]

3k here 5w40 castrol syntec with OEM big filter.

[bnfonquey]

So they supposedly "fixed" the issue that caused the sludge for the 05 model year?? If so, what did they do?

[GTR]

5k mi. get one of those oil extractors to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube, flip the coolant reservoir up so you can change the oil filter from topside, and you can do a whole oil change in maybe 10 minutes.

no ramps, no jacks, no messing with the belly pan, no messing with fixing the belly pan after an oil guy can't put it back right, no dealer prices. heck, you can even get the large filters bulk online for less than $10 each.

Is the filter change clean using this method? I always make a bit of a mess when changing filters. Any tips for a clean filter change?

[n7plus1]

3k-5k amsoil euro formula 10w-40

[Papachristou]

So they supposedly "fixed" the issue that caused the sludge for the 05 model year?? If so, what did they do?

yeah they made a new engine... 2.0T

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^hahaha!

[3ohAvant]

5K, esp for you turbo guys, I know how you all drive ; )

5K for the elf too.

[Siggiepop]

i do it every 6-7k with Motul. Motul is the best.

[quattro2003]

I change mine every 3k if not sooner. After reading about sludge issues i rarely go over 3k between oil changes. I plan on doing a flush soon.

[dougyfresh]

I change my oil every 5k. Rotate my tires every 10k.


My friend changes his oil every 10k and I cringe every time he tells me. At least he uses synthetic oil but doesn't use OEM filters. So far his '01 is doing well with 125,000+ on it. He even went to 100k when he did his TB. I keep telling him he's asking for trouble.

[junkie1.8TQ]

I changed mine every 10k when I had my warranty and free maintenance. Now that I've hit 50K and when I finish my Auto-RX... I'm doing it every 3k-5k.

[jokas]

for you guys that do it yourself. what's the best way to document your oil change for future sludge issues to be covered by warranty?

[CyberPMG]

For my 2002 A4 3.0, I only followed the recommended intervals in the service guide - every 10k miles. My car lasted 83k miles before the motor died (search "Death of a 3.0"). With my 2004 A4 1.8T USP, the oil is changed every 5k miles with the larger oil filter and nothing but Audi approved synthetic oil (like Mobil 1 5w-40). This one is now over 120k and still running strong!

[ironduke]

Is the filter change clean using this method? I always make a bit of a mess when changing filters. Any tips for a clean filter change?

ugh, i know what you mean. i've screwed it up more than once. this past weekend i did ok though. basically, there is that cube shaped thing where the filter screws on, right? what i do is double bag around the whole filter and cube base thing with plastic grocery bags, and just let the bags sit there as i unscrew the filter directly. you'll still get oil on your hands as you unscrew (you could wear gloves), but the bags should catch the oil that will come out as you unscrew.

the key is to get the bag around the cube shaped base to pretty much ensure any oil that comes out will go in th bag. it helps if the engine (and oil) isn't at max operating temp. there's a lot of space in which to operate, especially if you flip up the reservoir.