10K service

I just went in today for my 10K service at LowCountry VW of Mt Pleasant SC. it is my first oil change, i opted to skip the recomendations for an oil change at 5K. While there I asked about 09' and 10' TDI fuel pump failures or any fuel system related problems. The service manager as well as the diesel tech both told me none had been brought to them and the only fuel related problems they had seen were on two cars where the owner admitted to putting gas in the tank. They told me that the number of HPFP failures occuring out there are due to inconsistencies in fuel quality and that is why some locations are experiencing more failures than others. (Their belief, but not necessarily mine). The tech told me not to worry and that I had purchased a great car, not that I did not already know that. This consolation will not be given too much weight, however, and I will continue to put in 5oz of opti-lube at every fill up.

So who recommended a first change at 5K miles? The dealer? Per the maintenance schedule, the first change is at 10K miles.

Thanks for taking the time to post that. It is good feedback and an interesting data point.

I would think that we'd see more "clusters" of HPFP failures if the fuel quality ends up being the main issue. Similarly, you'd see a lower concentration of failures in owners who add good lubricity additives or B5 or lower bio.

Lack of failures in states with B5 mandates does seem to support that hypothesis.

Ol'Rattler said:

So who recommended a first change at 5K miles? The dealer? Per the maintenance schedule, the first change is at 10K miles.

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As I recall, some people on this site (dont remember where I saw this info, sorry) recommend a first change at 5K because of silicone in the oil. The silicone is used in the engine assembly if I remember correctly. If I am way off someone please let me know.

My car called for it at 6k. the light went off and it called it out on its own. The dealer said well we can give you two options, pay for it normally or use your complimentary 10k service now. Wasn't a choice not to change it. Fine by me though, silicone or not, i didn't know the previous use/abuse history for this car with only 3k when i bought it, so i was more than delighted to change the oil.

kweisel said:

My car called for it at 6k. the light went off and it called it out on its own. The dealer said well we can give you two options, pay for it normally or use your complimentary 10k service now. Wasn't a choice not to change it. Fine by me though, silicone or not, i didn't know the previous use/abuse history for this car with only 3k when i bought it, so i was more than delighted to change the oil.

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If your car called for routine service at 6K - this means that your dealer changed the recommended service interval in an attempt to make (extort) more money from of you. There is no good reason for service this soon. Find someone with VCDS and change the recommended service interval back to what is should be, and find a more reputable dealer (or better yet a local "trusted mechanic"). Service is only needed every 10kmiles (15k km).


Have Fun!

Don

I trust the service tech there, he's a VW guy by trade before working there. This car has had a few hiccups anyhow, exhaust flap changed twice, VWoA ended up sending a tech twice, so they just threw in the towel and replaced the ECU and wiring recently. Cruise just went out, so at the 10k i'll see what else they'll be doing for free. Without a warranty i'd be on VW's doorstep night and day over this stuff. This way atleast they're honoring all the maintenance. If i paid for an oil change out of turn, thats the least of my worries. but i'll mind what you said.

I can sort of vouch for kweisel's opinion.. I stopped by Cable VW in OKC once to check it out while getting an estimate at the body shop and asked a question about the fuel system on my 09 (basically do they prime the system when changing a filter on an 09 TDI; answer is "not with the dealer computer, but cycle the key 20 times" followed by my confirming that he meant 09 not 06.. and he said 06s take far less key cycles). The lady at the parts counter was VERY helpful and their prices were as good as most online vendors I've seen (DSG kit was around $150 for Pentosin - which they carry).

VW Tulsa/Green Country Imports/Brad Noe Volkswagen/whatever they'll be called next month, on the other hand, sucks really hard. The only competent people that work there are in the parts department, and they seem unhappy to tell me the prices of stuff because we both know they are overcharging.

Think it's possible that your car has an oil dirty sensor? Since you replaced the ECU, if it wasn't properly recoded, that may be why your service light came on too soon. It may also be why cruise doesn't work. Remember that dealer computers are not like VCDS - they don't get check boxes to turn stuff on and off. They get a long hexadecimal or binary value and have to know what to change (e.g. increment byte 4 by 3). If the ECU was a newer revision, your coding might not have worked in the new ECU.

Also, it's good to meet another Okie

ZiggyTheHamster said:

I stopped by Cable VW in OKC once to check it out while getting an estimate at the body shop and asked a question about the fuel system on my 09 (basically do they prime the system when changing a filter on an 09 TDI; answer is "not with the dealer computer, but cycle the key 20 times" followed by my confirming that he meant 09 not 06.. and he said 06s take far less key cycles).

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Fail! 09-10, no fuel flow by cycling the kay.

tdiatlast said:

Fail! 09-10, no fuel flow by cycling the kay.

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I'm aware of this.. but I wonder if there are some situations where the key might do something. Like if there are missing adaptation values or something. Or if the ECU has an older/newer/specific software version.

Either way, let's assume the guy didn't know the difference between an 06 and an 09, he still stopped what he was doing, came in, and talked to me... and I was not a paying customer.

ZiggyTheHamster said:

Either way, let's assume the guy didn't know the difference between an 06 and an 09, he still stopped what he was doing, came in, and talked to me... and I was not a paying customer.

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Ziggy, you're killing me. Why would you trust someone that might not know the difference between an 06 and an 09? I sure wouldn't, even if he stopped what he was doing and came over to talk to me.

I'm not sure I'd trust a surgeon to stop what he's doing and come over to talk to me, either

tdiatlast said:

Ziggy, you're killing me. Why would you trust someone that might not know the difference between an 06 and an 09? I sure wouldn't, even if he stopped what he was doing and came over to talk to me.

I'm not sure I'd trust a surgeon to stop what he's doing and come over to talk to me, either

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Touché.

So don't trust them because they turned the OCI down to 5k . I'm just saying that the OKC dealer gave me the impression of being less shady than the Tulsa dealer. Maybe I'll have a HPFP failure now that I didn't prime my fuel system when changing the filter. (Which I would have done but I don't have a VCDS and didn't know to ask Ray_G about it at the time.)

In any event - and this goes for anyone really - be sure to read the owner's manual one day when you're bored / waiting on the wife / etc. ... The maintenance is 10k unless you have an oil dirty sensor, which we don't have in the US as far as I know.

Also back to the VCDS thing... If Ross-Tech made a "personal" cable that was locked to your VIN and charged $99, I'd be first in line to buy one.

ZiggyTheHamster said:

Think it's possible that your car has an oil dirty sensor? Since you replaced the ECU, if it wasn't properly recoded, that may be why your service light came on too soon.

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No way. IF you have the variable oil drain sensor, your OCI can't be shorter than a programmed minimum (10k miles usually) even at worst conditions. The OCI can be only prolonged.

1. Cruise doesn't work after replacing the ECU I'm 99% sure its because cruise control wasn't reactivated. Look at the part number via scan tool and it probably ends in a G. (Meaning cruise is deactivated.) Its simple in the scan tool to reactivate cruise.

2. ECU replacement replaces most information. Certain adaption values are changed like service intervals. Time wise it will be correct (1 year) but mileage changes (Back to 5k) just reset it to "100" which will equate to 10k miles.