Car Talk advise about oil change frequency

[jmaziarz]

Hey all,

I was listening to an episode of Car Talk on NPR the other day where one caller said her husband drove a VW TDI and changed the engine oil every 10K miles. They guys told her that her husband was crazy and said that he was in for an engine rebuild if he didn't increase the frequency.

I generally trust advise from Car Talk but wonder now, are they right?

Thanks,
~Jer

[dieseldorf]

No, not for this particular application.

What was their specific recommendation? Why? Based upon what?

[Lex4TDI4Life]

Those two likely know more about 17th century french literature than they do about TDIs. Never heard them say anything positive about diesels.

[whitedog]

Originally Posted by jmaziarz

Hey all,

I was listening to an episode of Car Talk on NPR the other day where one caller said her husband drove a VW TDI and changed the engine oil every 10K miles. They guys told her that her husband was crazy and said that he was in for an engine rebuild if he didn't increase the frequency.

I generally trust advise from Car Talk but wonder now, are they right?

Thanks,
~Jer

"Tom and Ray, you ignorant sluts"

I quite listening to them when told a gal that the reason her brakes only lasted 12,000 miles is because she drives too fast in town. That was the only reason they would come up with.

As mentioned don't listen to them for TDI information because they just don't know.

[wjdell]

read as many UOA's as you can - you will see many do ok and some good with 10k OCI. You will also see, that many do not. Its in the UOA, just data.

[blkjackdealer]

using nothing but mobile 1 syn i change every 13k with a fresh filter,most miles are highway and i now have 356,000 on my 99 tdi jetta

[Bob_Fout]

"Mobil 1 syn" doesn't tell us what oil it is though. What grade/weight of oil? What specs did/does it meet?

[jmaziarz]

Thanks everyone for the reassurance. Over the past two years they have mentioned diesel cars a few times and as was mentioned, they have always talked about them in a bad light. It is to bad really, they can be funny sometimes.

~Jer

[myke_w]

Tom and Ray are funny alright, it's hilrious how many bs theories they come up with.. and they generally think alll vw's are pieces of ****. It's not really a great place to find advice in my opinion.

[oilhammer]

Those two are boneheads. Every time I have ever listened to them or read anything they are just complete idiots and give people really bad advice.

[Medic92]

One of those two also slams people that drive Jettas. He groups every VW driver in with the aggressive driving 1.8t group.

[scurvy]

Let's not forget that their precious Cambridge MA is in one of the pro-CARB TDI no-fly zones. They probably see precious few VWs, let alone TDIs, in their shop. I often listen to their show for a chuckle - sometimes at them, sometimes with them - similar to why I watch Top Gear.

They're amusing on the radio, as general knuckleheads. I don't know if I'd want them working on my car, tho. Good thing their shop's number is unlisted (yet it's not hard to find).

[TornadoRed]

Tom and Ray have, in the past, criticized diesels for a number of reasons, including the need for more-frequent oil changes. This would be true, I suppose, if folks were using gas-engine-only motor oils.

But with the proper diesel-rated synthetic oil, meeting the API CI-4+ rating for 2003-and-earlier TDIs -- or the VW505.01 rating or better for PD engines -- then 10k miles is a normal oil drain interval.

CarTalk is an amusing and entertaining show, but they only get it right about 50% of the time.

[Bliddy Bladdy]

It says right in my owner's manual to change the oil at 10,000 miles. I back this up with UOA at times. Tom and Ray are good general practitioners of auto mechanics, but not very good with the peculiarities of things like a TDI engine. Actually they are now more of being entertainers rather than mechanics