Dear Tom and Ray:
I have a 2009 VW Passat with about 6,500 miles. I called to set up an appointment to get the oil changed, and the dealership said it only changes the oil at 10,000 miles. My late husband took excellent care of all of our cars, and never would let a car go 10,000 miles before an oil change. Maybe I'm cheap, but if I wait until 10,000 miles, the oil change is free, since I have free scheduled maintenance. If I do it before then, it will cost $80 (!) and I'll have waived my free oil change. To complicate matters, I'm driving to the mountains soon. I'll still be under 10,000 miles when I get back, but I don't want to mess up my engine. What do you think I should do? Thanks, Ray and Tom. I appreciate the advice and the laughter.
-- Bonnie
Ray: Your car uses synthetic oil, Bonnie, which works better and lasts longer than the stuff you suck out of the ground and spill all over the Gulf of Mexico. And in many cases, 10,000 miles between synthetic oil changes is fine.
Tom: But in your case, we're going to make an exception. Lucky you, Bonnie!
Ray: VWs of recent vintage (at least the ones that have come into our shop during the past decade) have had a tendency to burn oil. Their engines burn through more oil between oil changes than we're comfortable with. And for that reason, we're going to suggest that you change the synthetic oil every 5,000 miles in this particular car.
Tom: It might not ultimately prevent your engine from burning oil, since we don't know exactly what's causing the oil burning. But it might help. It certainly can't hurt.
Ray: And it doesn't have to screw up your "free scheduled maintenance" agreement. You simply tell the dealer that you're willing to pay for an extra oil change in between the scheduled oil changes. You pay for an extra, unscheduled one now, at 6,500 miles, and then they'll change it again for you for free at 10,000 miles.
Tom:: It's true that if you do this, it'll cost you 80 bucks once a year or so. But it's cheap insurance for your engine. You can think of it as honoring your late husband's wishes. And helping your poor VW dealer make his boat payments. Have a good trip, Bonnie.
(Car Talk is a nationally syndicated column by automotive experts (and brothers) Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Write to them at the Car Talk website.)
6 Comments
By Sofa Spud on January 25, 2011 1:12 PM
Or, you could take your car to an oil-change specialty shop like Jiffy Lube, and just insist that they use the correct type of synthetic oil -- it might cost you less than your dealer's oil change price, especially if you get a coupon for it; and then you don't even have to tell the dealership about it.
By Jeremy on January 26, 2011 2:49 PM
An oil change with synthetic oil at Jiffy Lube will also cost right around $80...or very close. Their cheap oil changes only apply if dino oil is used.
By Jeremy on January 26, 2011 2:51 PM
Why doesn't she just buy a quart or two of the same oil her dealer uses and check it every 5K miles...adding if necessary. That solves the oil burning issue by keeping the level where it should be.
By car dude on February 23, 2011 5:02 PM
You should never, ever take a newer car to Jiffylube. They have a real knack for doing some serious damage to some cars, mostly because of poor workmanship and inexperienced grease monkeys.
And adding a quart or two of oil STILL doesn't change the fact that the car is burning oil in the first place.
Tom & Ray are right: you should change your synthetic oil at 5000 miles. Having worked with VW/Audis for a few years i can not even tell you how many cars i saw come in for oil sludge problems, but I will say that 95% of them were the 1.8L turbo engine which they stopped using a couple of years ago.
$80 for a synthetic oil change is not that bad of a price, but you should shop around if you have other VW dealers nearby as sometimes they will run specials.
By Richard on May 16, 2012 5:24 AM
I have a 2011 Audi A3 and was also told to change oil at 5,000 and then at 15,000, an interval of 10,000 miles. Is that ok or should I change it sooner. Do remarks about the VW and older Audi's apply to mine?
By car dude on July 3, 2012 3:20 PM
Richard--
The newer A3's do not have the same oil sludging issues as the older 1.8L turbo engine.
As Tom & Ray said, "it's cheap insurance". If you are planning on keeping the car for any considerable amount of time, I would change the oil every 5000 miles.