Oil Change Interval - Changed by Mechanic?

I know from the maintenance schedule that the oil on my 2010 Jetta needs to be changed every 15,000 kms.

Usually if I go to the dealership or my local VW mechanic they always put a sticker on the windshield noting a shorter interval and I just ignore it.

This time the counter on my Jetta is also showing a shorter interval somehow. Do you think the local VW mechanic was able to change that through VCDS?

The first day I picked up the car it did not show days or kms remaining and I thought it just needs to be driven a bit to populate. I checked a couple weeks later and its showing something like 7134 kms lefts and 195 days(I'm not sure on the days but it was significant less than the usual 365)

So it seems its somehow been changed to a 8,000 km interval.

Is this possible? Now I'm thinking maybe he didn't use the correct oil either.

I believe the service interval can be adjusted. 15,000 km is a good interval. The earlier interval of 8,000km can do more harm than good. Do you have a receipt for the oil change with the oil listed?

In the future, I'd recommend changing the oil yourself and use an oil extractor so yo never have to get under the car(if you're not a fan of wrenching). The engine in your car is about the easiest one I've had to change the oil on, easier than a GM LS engine or a Honda 4 cylinder.

He may have reset the interval, more likely he failed to reset the thing after the last change.
I understand there are folks who want this service done for them, but you must be sure they're capable and they're using proper oil and filter. It's also a good time to make sure the various hinges get lubricated.
Stay with the 15 000 km.

I agree, I'm probably going to start doing my own oil changes again from now on. There's been multiple instances with this VW specialist that have lead me to lose trust in him.

I usually do my own repairs and maintenance on my cars. I started going to the mechanic for oil changes as the additional cost was not much and I figured I can get the car fully looked over for any other issues at the same time.

Question now is how can I reset the oil change interval back to 15,000 kms?

I'm guessing I'll have to find someone with VCDS or a different VW specialist.

phantom1260 said:

I agree, I'm probably going to start doing my own oil changes again from now on. There's been multiple instances with this VW specialist that have lead me to lose trust in him.

I usually do my own repairs and maintenance on my cars. I started going to the mechanic for oil changes as the additional cost was not much and I figured I can get the car fully looked over for any other issues at the same time.

Question now is how can I reset the oil change interval back to 15,000 kms?

I'm guessing I'll have to find someone with VCDS or a different VW specialist.

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I would go back and have him put it back the way it was, even though I have VCDS. It's the principle of it as far as I'm concerned. VW programmed it that way and he wants to change it without authorization, I think not.

I agree, I'd be pretty PO'd to if he reset it without asking.

The oil change reminder is pretty ridiculous. I change oil by mileage and when the reminder comes on, I just reset it. If there was a way to turn it off with VCDS, I would. I certainly wouldn't loose any sleep over it. I would be way more worried about the oil jockey stripping out the pan bolt, over filling or making a mess.

You have to remember that the oil change jockey probably is the lowest paid person in the shop and is the least experienced................

FYI

I can say that in my experience that VW 507 oil did not last 10,000 miles before the TBN was depleted based on oil analysis. This was in an '09 CR using California Fuel which is the best D2 in the nation.

In my typical 70/30 Freeway/City driving cycle oil TBN was < 1.0 after 10,000 K miles.

2nd Analysis showed TBN @ 2.5 at 8,000 miles. It's on the lower end but acceptable and should be changed. I did all further oil changes at 7500-8000 miles from then on.

I would not run any 507 oil for 10K miles unless it was 100% freeway driving.

I'd ask the mechanic to change the interval to 10K KM or you can use oil analysis to determine OCI duration based on your usage.

crazyrunner33 said:

I believe the service interval can be adjusted. 15,000 km is a good interval. The earlier interval of 8,000km can do more harm than good.

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Can you elaborate on this? How can more frequent oil changes hurt anything?

RV9Factory said:

Can you elaborate on this? How can more frequent oil changes hurt anything?

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Wear metals always spike after an oil change. Some additives are not activated yet and tribofilms need to be re-established with fresh oil. It's even worse if you regularly switch between different brands and formulas.

So changing the oil too frequently can actually cause more wear than changing when it actually needs to be done.

Yes, could be different for this 2010, but on the VEs and PDs oil analysis has shown they actually maintain their properties well beyond 15 000 km.

BobnOH said:

Yes, could be different for this 2010, but on the VEs and PDs oil analysis has shown they actually maintain their properties well beyond 15 000 km.

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The CRs are totally different than the VEs. They use more EGR and the VW 507 oil has about 1/2 the level of additives as the CJ-4 and CI-4+ oils used on the VE and PDs. The 507 oils are not suitable for 10k miles except under ideal conditions.

So with the car approaching 7500km since the last oil change I decided to call up the mechanic and see what his rational was for changing the interval from 15000km to 8000km.

His first question was what's the mileage. I told him the car is at 372,000 kms. His was response was at that mileage they start to recommend shorter intervals because of the age of the engine. He also mentioned how these super long intervals are just sales pitches and lots of engines blow because the intervals are ridiculously long. I think he even said something about the timing chain components needing to be lubricated

He said I can come by and have to set back to 15,000 km if I wish.
I might go back to him to have it set back but that will probably be my last visit to him after that speech.

CleverUserName said:

In my typical 70/30 Freeway/City driving

unless it was 100% freeway driving.

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you cali people, here on the east coast we have highways,

RV9Factory said:

Can you elaborate on this? How can more frequent oil changes hurt anything?

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i cannt say the exact reason, but its well known, changing oils, lubes, & filters too much is detrimental and causes more problems, including you think your doing more good, your not. stay with a normal interval.

Back in the day when most of us had a MKIV in around 2004 or so an Ontario member decided to see how long the synthetic oil would last.
He had the oil analyzed in a lab at 8,000 km, 16,000 km, 24,000 km and again at 32,000 km. ( 5k, 10 k, 15 K and 20 k miles)
Even at the last check the report was that the oil was still doing, the chemicals had not broken down and was still serviceable!

That's because VW AG dumbed it down for us North Americans. Across the pond, they put in sensors that would TELL you when to change the oil - depending on the circumstances, 30,000 miles could be possible. They dumbed it down to 10,000 mile changes here (so much cultural conditioning to change "every 3000 miles" ) . And you still find people saying that "is 5000 miles a good oil change intreval" ? I once did 15,000 miles with Rotella T6 in. I usually do 10,000 miles now.

scooperhsd said:

(so much cultural conditioning to change "every 3000 miles" ) .

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the ole 3000miles is a '90s and pre-'90s conv thing. pre-synthetic, or for conv users. for syn users w/gas motors depending on oil brand and filter combo it can be recommended 5k miles?? it may be more by now. for store bought oil, filters.
for us diesel i was under the impression oil changes were in the 7k, min to about 8k miles, with filter. such as mann, oem filter. if you guys say 10k, if it works.
then again i have oil filters that are rated to run for 20k-24k miles. and oil to go with it. normally i change oil every year, before it gets cold. i have real good air filters too, i think they may have stopped making these filters, i may have the last i can get..

iluvmydiesels said:

the ole 3000miles is a '90s and pre-'90s conv thing. pre-synthetic, or for conv users. for syn users w/gas motors depending on oil brand and filter combo it can be recommended 5k miles?? it may be more by now. for store bought oil, filters

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Still depends somewhat on the vehicle and how the miles are accumulated, even with conventional oil.

Some years back I was daily driving my Jeep that used (and still uses) conventional oil. At the time I was driving it 500-600 miles per week and was going 6000-7000 miles between oil changes, and the oil was barely starting to darken by that point.

In general, the more often you can get the engine to temp and keep it there for a while (at least 30 minutes), the more you "cook off" contaminants and moisture from the oil, prolonging its useful life. Shorter trips obviously, have the opposite effect.

If the book for your car says 15,000KM, stick to that - judging by the oil analyses mentioned below, even that's likely a bit on the conservative side.