Rotella T6 Dealer said not to use it?

DjEclipse

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2011 Jetta TDI (Comfort Line), 2001 Jetta TDI Gone to TDi Heaven
Hi all,

I just bought a 01 TDI and am wanting to do an oil change this weekend.

I checked the oil a few days ago and saw it was low, I read here that the Rotella T6 5W40 was a good synthetic oil to use so I bought some and topped up the oil. I have no clue what was in there before.

While I was at the dealer buying the oil filer, air and cabin filters I asked about the rotella oil T6. He said that I can't use the Rotella T6 oil as it does not meet the VW 505.00 specification for oil. and that I should use the Castrol 5w30 that they sell.

I don;t mind spending a little more for oil but I don't believe that the castrol 5W30 the dealer is selling is a god choice.

So is the Rotella t6 ok to use, and/ or is there a better oil I should be using.

Thanks.
 

tdi90hp

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Canuckland
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i suggest you do some reading....hundreds of threads on this...
 

eb2143

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Location
Rhode Island
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What Oil Should I Use Thread said:
PART ONE: For engines that are NOT "pumpe-duse" or "common-rail". This is for the older-design mechanical rotary distributor pump engines.

You must use a synthetic engine oil, recommended viscosity 5w40 although 0w40 is also permissible (and in the case that the oil meets specifically one of the VW 505.xx standards then the viscosity does not matter, it could be different), AND in the fine print on the bottle that lists what standards that the oil conforms to, it must list either VW 505.00, ACEA B3, ACEA B4, API CJ-4, CI-4, API CH-4, or API CG-4. (Note: "Either" means ANY ONE OF, not necessarily all of them. For example, if it's VW 505.00 but doesn't list the others, that's fine, because VW 505.00 is "one" of the standards listed and you only need "one".) But do NOT assume that any synthetic oil will meet these standards. READ THE BOTTLE. For example, most versions of Mobil 1 do NOT meet these standards (they are meant for gasoline engines). Also, any oil that is suitable for a P-D is fine for a distributor-pump engine.
Your dealer is wrong. See above, or just look at your car's manual.

Your engine does not exclusively require 505.00. Used oil analysis show T6 5W-40 to be superior to Castrol 5W-30. Stay with T6.
 

DjEclipse

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2011 Jetta TDI (Comfort Line), 2001 Jetta TDI Gone to TDi Heaven
Your dealer is wrong. See above, or just look at your car's manual.

Your engine does not exclusively require 505.00. Used oil analysis show T6 5W-40 to be superior to Castrol 5W-30. Stay with T6.
Thanks for the reply. I have done a lot of reading on oil (among other things), but after talking to the dealer I figured I would ask here.

So basically the dealer is now recommending sub par oil for these cars? Why would they change the oil recommendation? Do they have a deal with Castrol or something?
 

davebugs

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2001 Golf TDI Automatic, MKIV rear axle bushing install tools
Imagine a clueless dealer?

I've used it for over 200k in my 01 Golf with OEM filters - you'll be fine.

I do change it every 5k since it's so cheap and good insurance.

Let the OCI bashing begin, but it works for me.
 

eb2143

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Location
Rhode Island
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Thanks for the reply. I have done a lot of reading on oil (among other things), but after talking to the dealer I figured I would ask here.

So basically the dealer is now recommending sub par oil for these cars? Why would they change the oil recommendation? Do they have a deal with Castrol or something?
They are recommending the oil that most dealer's sell AFAIK. It's a fine oil (my car used it for 80,000 during dealer service), just not as robust as T6. For them to say that you can't use T6 is what irks me, as it's untrue, as stated in your owner's manual. 0W/5W-40 is all I would run in a TDI anyway. Save money, run T6 10,000 mi OCI. Now that's what I call cheap insurance :)
 
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boertje

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Coeur d'Alene, ID
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'01, '01, '03, ‘06 NB - TDIs all.
My 01 bug always used some oil when I was running the dealer castrol 5w-40. Then I switched to Mobil one TDT and it started to use even more oil (quart per 8000). Then I tried the T6 and my oil consumption completely stopped.
My oil of choice is Shell T6 5w-40 in my entire fleet.
 

davebugs

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My 01 bug always used some oil when I was running the dealer castrol 5w-40. Then I switched to Mobil one TDT and it started to use even more oil (quart per 8000). Then I tried the T6 and my oil consumption completely stopped.
My oil of choice is Shell T6 5w-40 in my entire fleet.
Perhaps I shouldn't say this, because you know how it goes now it might cause me problems.

But in 215k miles (first 20k maintenance done by dealer though) I've never consumed any oil (except one time when oil pressure sender went bad). Still don't. Other than what dealer used it's had nothing but Rotella T fully synthetic. What I've been able to observe of my engine (like turbo replacement at 180k for a VNT17 where the intake wasn't even dirty enough to clean) it all looks great inside as well.
 

DjEclipse

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Thanks again for the replies. I will use the T6 and disregard what the dealer said.

I will probably be changing the oil every 8000km's give or take a few, I am used to the 5000km changes for gas cars and 10,000miles between changes seems so long.

Cheers :)
 
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dieseldorf

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MA
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ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
Nah, DJ, the API truck oils are good to go 10k miles intervals without breaking a sweat, assuming a stock engine that's in good shape. At an 8k kms interval, the oil is just starting to show degradation on the ULSD fuel.
 

DjEclipse

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Nah, DJ, the API truck oils are good to go 10k miles intervals without breaking a sweat, assuming a stock engine that's in good shape. At an 8k kms interval, the oil is just starting to show degradation on the ULSD fuel.
Really? That's 16,000km's At those intervals the difference in price between the oil is negligible really...
 

belome

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Actually, to determine what OCI you should be using we need to know what kind of driving are you doing? Mostly highway, mostly city, lots of starting and stopping? etc.

I do all highway, all the time... I do 15k OCI's with TDT.
 

dieseldorf

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ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
That's correct.

Really? That's 16,000km's At those intervals the difference in price between the oil is negligible really...

And now you are beginning to see what you've been missing all these years. :cool:

The 16k kms interval has been in place for years. Nothing new there.
 

DjEclipse

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Actually, to determine what OCI you should be using we need to know what kind of driving are you doing? Mostly highway, mostly city, lots of starting and stopping? etc.

I do all highway, all the time... I do 15k OCI's with TDT.
I would say my driving is 65% city, 35% highway, I m not in a major city so I don't do bumper to bumper traffic often. But I do not baby my vehicles, I tend to get the worst mileage out of every car I drive because I have a lead foot.
 

DjEclipse

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That's correct.




And now you are beginning to see what you've been missing all these years. :cool:

The 16k kms interval has been in place for years. Nothing new there.

So having said that, and eliminating price of the oil from the equation (because really, what is $10-$20.00 over 16,000km?), what is the best oil for the TDI? Is the Rotella T6 still up there in the top 5?

Or do a lot of people use it because it is decent and priced fairly well?
 
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DjEclipse

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And I guess another question is if the oil is good for 10,000miles, what is the oil filter good for? Since it is easily accessed, do you change it more frequently than the oil?
 

jettawreck

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So having said that, and eliminating price of the oil from the equation (because really, what is $10-$20.00 over 16,000km?), what is the best oil for the TDI? Is the Rotella T6 still up there in the top 5?

Or do a lot of people use it because it is decent and priced fairly well?
I used to use T6 for years then switched to M1 TDT because it had stellar UOA for most and Exxon/Mobil ran a buy 5 qt get $12 back rebate every once in a while so it made it cheaper than T6. I'm going back to Rotella T6 now that M1 went up in price a fair bit and I haven't gotten any recent rebate offers. I was very happy w/T6 and have no problem using it again.

And not to start a oil/filter war, but since many go 15-20K (more in Europe) on a single oil and filter change, my filter change interval is every other oil change (20K). The filters are up to the interval and inspection has shown no signs of clogging. Has worked fine for me, but of course, use your own judgement. There is no good reason to change the filter half way thru an oil change interval. The service interval is very safe.
 

turbocharged798

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And I guess another question is if the oil is good for 10,000miles, what is the oil filter good for? Since it is easily accessed, do you change it more frequently than the oil?
I have heard that the oil filters are rated for around 30-40K MILES.
 

pipes p

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edmonton
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ive read a bizzilion of these oil threads and rarely have i seen anything negative about T6. also i live in edmonton and changed my oil every 10000km which many say was overly conservative but was what I was comfortable with. my daughter now has car just passed 200000 km with mods and still as strong as ever:)
 

dieseldorf

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what is the oil filter good for?
DJ, no need to overdo this; the same cars on variable service interval can run up to 30,000 miles on the same oil and same oil filter.

DJ: Drive more, worry less :)
 

DjEclipse

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30,000 miles is insane, lol.

Anyone heard of Liqui Molly? I am at a shop right now and the guy swears by it. It's German synthetic.
 

dieseldorf

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Anyone heard of Liqui Molly? I am at a shop right now and the guy swears by it. It's German synthetic.
I think Lubri Moly and Liqui Moly are one in the same. Just make certain you see "505.00" or "505.01" printed on the back of the bottle. Then you'll be good to go. Excellent product, too :)
 

DjEclipse

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I think Lubri Moly and Liqui Moly are one in the same. Just make certain you see "505.00" or "505.01" printed on the back of the bottle. Then you'll be good to go. Excellent product, too :)
Too many choices.....
 

dieseldorf

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Too many choices.....
The beauty of following the mfrs spec is that it pretty much ensures you are purchasing a high quality bottle of oil.

Buy what is easy to obtain, and at a reasonable price and meets the published spec for your motor.

Again, i'll suggest you drive more, worry less. And don't fret yourself. It quite a revelation when many learn about TDIs. Everything is different from what you expect, but many have gone there before. You are NOT charting new territory on this stuff, DJ ;)
 

OlyTDI

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Thanks for the reply. I have done a lot of reading on oil (among other things), but after talking to the dealer I figured I would ask here.

So basically the dealer is now recommending sub par oil for these cars? Why would they change the oil recommendation? Do they have a deal with Castrol or something?
They've been recommending sub-par oil for a long time.
 

DonL

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Kingman, Arizona
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So basically the dealer is now recommending sub par oil for these cars? Why would they change the oil recommendation? Do they have a deal with Castrol or something?[/QUOTE]

Yes, they do, Volkswagen gets all their oil from Castrol and I think it is mostly inferior stuff. The 505.01 they first came out with wasn't even a synthetic like they claimed verbally, it was a blend of synthetic and dino oils. It had a lower flash point that synthetic oils. This is important if you care about your turbo. That is why I switched to a Motul 505.01 right away when I bought my PD.

I use Mobil 1 TDT now but would use Shell Rotella T6 too.
 

RandyP63

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Location
South Carolina
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2006 Jetta (Sold)
I just changed my oil with T6, but without looking until after I was done, I noticed it was 15w40. Has any one used a higher viscosity oil for an extended time? With a mpg penalty due to the thicker oil, are there any other issues to be concerned with? I've never had any other car that I was this paranoid about oil.
 
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