Dealer put 5w40 in my 13 Passat TDI

K

Kossuthreb

New member
Joined
Apr 13, 2019
Location
MS
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and a first time TDI owner. I've owned several gas burners and currently own a 2011 Jetta (2.5) and a 2011 Tiguan that my daughters drive. I service them myself. A couple of days ago I purchased a 2013 Passat TDI. Since I was not as familiar with the diesel, I took it to the dealership to be serviced. They changed the oil and replaced the fuel filter. When I checked out, I noticed they used "5w40 bulk synthetic" according to the invoice. This concerned me a bit because I had researched and i knew the b7 tdi's require a VW 507.00 oil. Is it possible the 5w40 meets this spec? Will it hurt anything? Is this common? Thanks!!
 
0

03GolfTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 4, 2003
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
'12 JSW DSG and '11 JSW DSG
Sounds like they used the 502/505 old spec - I don't believe there is any 504/507 low-SAPS 5W40 oils.

The main issue with the mid-high SAPS oils is they have higher levels of anti-wear additives that will over time build up in exhaust emissions components and potentially cause earlier failure vs using 504/507 oils.

I think there are some members running the higher SAPS oils in the CR, from a lubrication standpoint there is no problem. The unknown is how much they actually shorten the exhaust emission component life.
 
K

Kossuthreb

New member
Joined
Apr 13, 2019
Location
MS
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
Thanks for the reply. I didn't think there was a 5w40 VW507 spec oil. I guess my main concern is whether or not I should take it back to the dealership or would it be ok to check with them about it at the next oil change.
 
H

HPsenicka

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2013
Location
Orangeville, Ontario
TDI
2 x 2004 Jetta Sport BEW (Malone Stage 1.5), 2014 GSW TDI - Wolfsburg Edition, 2015 Passat TDI -Sport Trim
i would return to the dealer and have them ensure the correct oil is used.
 
M

MichaelB

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2009
Location
SE Wisconsin
TDI
2014 Passat SE DSG
If your engine burns a minimal amount of oil in 10k I would not fuss much about it as it is not poisoning your dpf and destroying it in that short of an interval. Yes you could make a fuss with the dealer and have them drain and change but they are not going to pay for your time to return to them and have them do it. Your engine will not be in any way compromised from one fill 502/504 oil.
 
S

soot1

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Nov 6, 2009
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
Currently none. Formerly: 2010 VW Jetta TDI 6M, 1993 Dodge Ram W250 Cummins 5M 4WD, 1990 VW Jetta Diesel 5M, 1986 VW Jetta Diesel 5M, 1980 VW Uabbit Diesel 4M. Currently driving 2018 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD.
The owner's manual is very strict about what grade of oil to use, and it warns you not to use anything else than the low sulfated ash oil, otherwise you'll lose your warranty. That warning was put there for a reason. So, if the dealer put the wrong grade of oil in your engine, take it back and have them change it. The dealer may have done so knowingly to save a few dollars by using bulk oil rather than the more expensive 507.00 grade, or it may have been oversight on their part, which indicates idiots were working on your car. Either way, the end result to you is the same - you are clogging your DPF with crap that cannot be removed, and you are doing so at a much higher rate than would have been the case with the right grade of oil. Tell the VW service manager they can't have their cake and eat it at the same time. Either the use of the 507.00 oil IS a mandatory condition to maintain engine warranty as the manual stipulates, or it ISN'T. If the dealer claims the latter, have them put it in writing.

Many years ago, I read one piece of advice on this forum, which I remember and follow religiously to this day: "When taking delivery of a new car at the dealer, drive away as fast and as far as you can and NEVER come back." The moral of this advice is that whenever you allow the dealer to touch your vehicle, the dealer will f-up something, and after years of reading complaints on this forum about dealers, I am convinced they do this on purpose to generate service traffic. Service your vehicle yourself, which is the only way to know the service was done correctly with the correct parts. My 2 cents.
 
M

MichaelB

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2009
Location
SE Wisconsin
TDI
2014 Passat SE DSG
soot1 said:
The owner's manual is very strict about what grade of oil to use, and it warns you not to use anything else than the low sulfated ash oil, otherwise you'll lose your warranty. That warning was put there for a reason. So, if the dealer put the wrong grade of oil in your engine, take it back and have them change it. The dealer may have done so knowingly to save a few dollars by using bulk oil rather than the more expensive 507.00 grade, or it may have been oversight on their part, which indicates idiots were working on your car. Either way, the end result to you is the same - you are clogging your DPF with crap that cannot be removed, and you are doing so at a much higher rate than would have been the case with the right grade of oil. Tell the VW service manager they can't have their cake and eat it at the same time. Either the use of the 507.00 oil IS a mandatory condition to maintain engine warranty as the manual stipulates, or it ISN'T. If the dealer claims the latter, have them put it in writing.

Many years ago, I read one piece of advice on this forum, which I remember and follow religiously to this day: "When taking delivery of a new car at the dealer, drive away as fast and as far as you can and NEVER come back." The moral of this advice is that whenever you allow the dealer to touch your vehicle, the dealer will f-up something, and after years of reading complaints on this forum about dealers, I am convinced they do this on purpose to generate service traffic. Service your vehicle yourself, which is the only way to know the service was done correctly with the correct parts. My 2 cents.
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My aren't you a negative smarty pants. Have you had any real world experience with all those words you just posted? Were you denied warranty because of said owners manual infraction? Yes, I agree with service the car your self but, the rest of your post is just dealership hate and scare tactics. If the dpf pukes because of the one oil change he has the receipt to prove it was done by a VW dealership.
 
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1854sailor

1854sailor

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Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
So, Michael, why don't you put 5W40 502/504 oil in your car next oil change if you say that it won't cause any problems? If it was my car, I'd be waiting at the dealership first thing tomorrow morning demanding an oil and filter change.

MichaelB said:
If your engine burns a minimal amount of oil in 10k I would not fuss much about it as it is not poisoning your dpf and destroying it in that short of an interval. Yes you could make a fuss with the dealer and have them drain and change but they are not going to pay for your time to return to them and have them do it. Your engine will not be in any way compromised from one fill 502/504 oil.
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Who's being the "smarty pants" here? soot1 is 100% correct. Well, maybe 75% correct as the dealership where we got our GSW has been great.

MichaelB said:
My aren't you a negative smarty pants. Have you had any real world experience with all those words you just posted? Were you denied warranty because of said owners manual infraction? Yes, I agree with service the car your self but, the rest of your post is just dealership hate and scare tactics. If the dpf pukes because of the one oil change he has the receipt to prove it was done by a VW dealership.
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S

soot1

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Nov 6, 2009
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
Currently none. Formerly: 2010 VW Jetta TDI 6M, 1993 Dodge Ram W250 Cummins 5M 4WD, 1990 VW Jetta Diesel 5M, 1986 VW Jetta Diesel 5M, 1980 VW Uabbit Diesel 4M. Currently driving 2018 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD.
I am not trying to scare anyone from doing anything. As you can certainly appreciate, I have absolutely nothing to gain by doing so. I am merely sharing my own personal experiences with car dealerships, and I cannot think of a single one over the past 32 years that was positive. The OP's own experience with this dealer is another proof that dealers cannot be trusted even with such simple tasks as oil changes.

When you say "If your engine burns a minimal amount of oil in 10k I would not fuss much about it as it is not poisoning your dpf and destroying it in that short of an interval.", do you have any hard data to support that statement, or is it merely your personal guess, smarty pants? How do you know that leaving non-507.00 oil in the engine for 10,000 miles will not shorten the life of the DPF by 20, 30, or 50,000 miles? The short answer is: you don't. You have no clue how much damage to the DPF will be done in that time frame, as you have absolutely no idea what the ash content of the oil the dealer put in is. In fact, even the OP himself has no idea what brand of oil is in the engine right now and what its parameters are besides viscosity.

The engineers who designed the vehicle, however, were so concerned about the DPF's health and reliability that they stipulated in the owner's manual that nothing else than 507.00 oil can be used for any length of time. Furthermore, the OP paid for an oil change with the correct, expensive grade of oil, but received instead some cheap bulk stuff of unknown origin, of the wrong viscosity (5W40 instead of 5W30) and that does not meet the 507.00 specification. If that is acceptable service quality to you, then we are both using different rulers.
 
1854sailor

1854sailor

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Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
soot1 said:
The engineers who designed the vehicle, however, were so concerned about the DPF's health and reliability that they stipulated in the owner's manual that nothing else than 507.00 oil can be used for any length of time. Furthermore, the OP paid for an oil change with the correct, expensive grade of oil, but received instead some cheap bulk stuff of unknown origin, of the wrong viscosity (5W40 instead of 5W30) and that does not meet the 507.00 specification. If that is acceptable service quality to you, then we are both using different rulers.
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turbobrick240

turbobrick240

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Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
It's not a life and death situation either way. Have them change it out if that makes you feel better.
 
M

MichaelB

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2009
Location
SE Wisconsin
TDI
2014 Passat SE DSG
1854sailor said:
So, Michael, why don't you put 5W40 502/504 oil in your car next oil change if you say that it won't cause any problems? If it was my car, I'd be waiting at the dealership first thing tomorrow morning demanding an oil and filter change.



Who's being the "smarty pants" here? soot1 is 100% correct.
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I might just do that just to say to you guys that one oil change with 5w40 won't make any difference. But you know what, it really doesn't matter to me one way or the other. No,I would not do that with every change over the lifetime of the car. Enough said but, you guys at times are totally brainwashed by what has been said or interpreted on this forum.
 
T

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
Kossuthreb, why you take the risk and not the dealership?

Yes you have to 'waste' some of your time and take the Passat TDI again to the dealership so they put the required oil by VW for your Passat TDI with a DPF.

There are some acceptable to good VW dealerships in terms of TDI competency. Based on my reading of these forums since around 2001 time frame the percentage of said competent dealerships seems low to very low (unscientific observation).
 
R

reince

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Location
GA
TDI
2006 Beetle
I would return to the dealer for peace of mind. Too bad the services of some of those dealers are getting worse.
 
M

MichaelB

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2009
Location
SE Wisconsin
TDI
2014 Passat SE DSG
Kossuthreb said:
Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and a first time TDI owner. I've owned several gas burners and currently own a 2011 Jetta (2.5) and a 2011 Tiguan that my daughters drive. I service them myself. A couple of days ago I purchased a 2013 Passat TDI. Since I was not as familiar with the diesel, I took it to the dealership to be serviced. They changed the oil and replaced the fuel filter. When I checked out, I noticed they used "5w40 bulk synthetic" according to the invoice. This concerned me a bit because I had researched and i knew the b7 tdi's require a VW 507.00 oil. Is it possible the 5w40 meets this spec? Will it hurt anything? Is this common? Thanks!!
Click to expand...
You do know that if your recent purchase has had the "fix" anything that the dealer 5/40 synthetic could possibly harm is covered in the extended warranty. Others here seem to go berserk over stuff like this. Puff their chests up and tell you to "demand" a refill. You can of course do that and maybe you might get a free oil change coupon for the next one. I for one do not believe that one non 507 spec oil change will cause your extended warranty to expire and then the dpf will fail shortly afterward.
 
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