Oil Change Needed?

abaron

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2015 Jetta Trendline+
Hi folks;


My 2015 Jetta just clicked over 65,000km. When that happened it triggered the oil change needed reminder.


Now, I had the oil changed at 57,000km (last fall) so while I need an oil change shortly it's not urgent. I figure that when the shop did the 60,000km service they didn't reset the oil change interval.



I've tried the reset steps in the manual but it doesn't seem to reset it. (after I release the double square button it just bongs and says oil change needed)



We're currently on a road trip and the car won't be back home for another couple of weeks (and at least 1500km).



Is the car reading the state of the oil and determining it's in need of a change, or am I just not competent enough to reset the indicator?


I don't have my VAG-COM cable with me but I could have it brought to me Friday to reset the indicator.



Or should I just try to find a local shop to do the oil change? (We're in the area for a week, but it is our only car, of course)
 

dhuddleson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Location
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2012 Jetta Highline TDI sedan
It is likely a Time or Mileage triggered event, so not critical to do the oil change now, especially since you know when it was last done! Yes, maybe they did not reset the computer, and maybe the reset steps you are using are not quite right either...
 

Adam90

Active member
Joined
Dec 3, 2019
Location
Montréal, Québec
TDI
2015 Jetta
were you able to figure it out? i have the same issue on my 2015 tdi. i do the procedure and the yellow light won't go off. I've tried with a scanner and still nothing. Is it a dealer only reset?
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
My wife's car has been reminding us of the oil change due to 12 months since the last. With the Covid shutdown, I think she's under 7000 miles since the last change.
 

abaron

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2015 Jetta Trendline+
were you able to figure it out? i have the same issue on my 2015 tdi. i do the procedure and the yellow light won't go off. I've tried with a scanner and still nothing. Is it a dealer only reset?

I have not been able to reset the light, I've tried everything I could find.


When the car gets back home in a week I'll try using my VCDS cable to see if that'll do it.


I wonder if the push button start causes issues with the reset procedure.
 

tdiman

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Location
bridgeport wv
TDI
jetta 2015 sel grey / black interior
Look on you tube

I have not been able to reset the light, I've tried everything I could find.


When the car gets back home in a week I'll try using my VCDS cable to see if that'll do it.


I wonder if the push button start causes issues with the reset procedure.
Look on YouTube reset oil service on Vw Jetta tdi
 

adamizza

New member
Joined
Aug 7, 2020
Location
Staten Island/ New York
TDI
2015 VW Passat TDI SE
SOLID YELLOW OIL LIGHT means you have either too little or too much oil.
I have the same problem with my 2015 VW Passat TDI SE the next day I change the oil at the local VW shop.
I went back to the mechanic, he said: I need a hood clutch release ($85/part+2 hours labor).
I said No I don’t wanna go down that road.
I believe strongly what you said make sens, because last year I did not have any issue.
But the previous oil change I did experience the same problem.
Why? When I check the dipstick, it’s full up to the top top mark.
My question:
Do you guys recommend sucking a little bit oil to bring it to proper level?
Some TDI club members mentioned before that the amount of oil on the factory manual is incorrect.
Thanks to everyone.
 
Last edited:

Copedawg

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Location
Maryland
TDI
2015 Jetta SE TDI 13.6K RIP:04 Jetta TDI 285K
. I change my oil and filter every 10K and change the filter in between at 3K. I have changed ALL my diesels this way...I spose I am doing OK b/c everything else breaks down around it (doors, interior, glove box, window motors, leaks etc etc...)
 

tdiman

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Location
bridgeport wv
TDI
jetta 2015 sel grey / black interior
I copy pasted this I find it very interesting I personally due 20,000 miles or one year.on my tdi and BMW X5 35d I have did a few oil analysis oil was just fine


The ORIGINAL factory APPROVED oil change interval is 30,000 miles! YES 30,000 MILES!!




Did you comprehend that?



THE ORGINAL OIL CHANGE INTERVAL APPROVAL IS 30,000 MILES!!!



Now that I have that off my chest,



VW reduced the interval from 30,000 miles to 10,000 miles in the US market...any guesses why?



Because people like you either:

1) Can't read the owners manual

2) Don't trust the car makers

3) Can't follow directions

4) Fail to adhere to the service indicator in the car



VW does NOT want oil change intervals of less than 10,000 miles due to how the oils function in the engine, shorter intervals INCREASE WEAR, Don't argue with me about it, if you take the time to track wear rates during an oil change at 250 mile intervals you can plot the reduction and stabilization of the wear rates out beyond 25,000 miles!



Think of oil as having 2 types of wear reducing additives, the first provides protection by/thru detergancy (cleansing of internal surfaces), dispersing soot, neutralizing acids (not an issue now with ULSD), and several other types as well. These additives are generally very specific to diesel engines and must pass specific tests in VW Diesel engines.



The next type of additive is a wear additive. These protect the engine where the thickness of oil may be too thin to prevent metal to metal contact. Other additves in this type range also provide protection to the cam and lifters, engine bearings, piston wrist pins etc.



Now pay attention, the 2nd group of additives account for less than 3% of the total volume of the oil. These additives also account for 90% of the engines oil protection! These additives require heat and pressure to bond with the critical wear surfaces, but due to the low percentage of additive in the oil they require time to fully place on those surfaces by the pressures of the component they are protecting. Example, an engine at operating temperature at the point where the cam presses on the lifter generates in excess of 90,000 psi, that pressure and the heat of the engine causes the 3% portion of the 1 micron thick oil film to form a crust or sacrifical layer at the point of contact. Since only 3% of the oil contains the wear additives, it requires hundreds of thousands of passes to generate a sufficient film to stop the wear at this specific point in the engine.



Everybody is quick to make the arguement that the old oil had these additives so they are already in place, right? not quite!



Remember the first type of additive? In that 1st group you had "detergents" that cleanse the inside of the motor. These cleansers are used up very rapidly after an oil change since they attack the remaining oil that was left after the oil change. These cleansers if you will also reduce the effectiveness of the high pressure wear additives...See where this is going?



Before explaining further, after that initial period the dispersants in the oil work to prevent the adhering of the particles in the oil to any of the internal surfaces. These additives are often unique to diesel engines are also the reason why the oil looks so black so quickly, they are doing their job by preventing the soot from building up in any one place instead they are dispersed in the oil evenly throughout the oil sump which prevents sludging and other contamination related issues.



Back to the detergents and the high pressure additives, the layers of high pressure additives leftover are not being replenished after the oil change due to the cleaning process that is going on with the new oil to neutralize the remaining acids, and other contaminants in the engine. As the cleaners in the oil are used up in the first 500-1000 miles, the wear additives are able to re-generate a protective layer in the engine that stops the wear at that location.



You break down the oils life cycle like this:



Phase 1: Detergants attack the internals removing accumlated contaminants, neutralize acids and force those into suspenstion in the oil. This period of time lasts between 500-1000 miles



Phase 2: During the first 1000 miles the oils viscosity provides the majority of the wear protection by virtue of the film it creates on the surfaces. This phase generates relatively high wear rates but due to the short duration this is accepted due to the removal of contaminants that could result in long term damage to the motor. Wear rates in the period of time are generally speaking 5-10ppm per 1000 miles.



Phase 3: Detergents are now used up and the oil additives are forming their protective layers in the "extreme pressure" regions of the motor. Now the oil additives are working in conjunction with the oil film and the wear rates drop from 10ppm per 1000 miles to around 1-2ppm per 1000 miles.



Phase 4: Longterm peace! The oil is operating in a period of equilibrium, the wear additives are placed, Oil viscosity is in perfect range for the engine, Dispersants are continually working to prevent soot and other contaminants from accumulating on the surfaces and wear rates remain between 1-3ppm per 1000 miles.



Phase 5: Oil run out, the oil during this phase begins to increase in viscosity (or thin in some cases), Extreme pressure additives begin to lose effectiveness due to increased concentrations of wear particles (VW tests out to 8%, most oil changes never see in excess of 2% after 30,000 miles). This is when you begin to see a rise in the wear metal formation in the engine. Often wear metals during this phase rise to the 3-8ppm per 1000 mile range. Notice that the wear metals being generated are still LOWER than they were in the first 1000 miles?



--------------------------------------------------------------



When somebody says they are going to change the oil every 5000 miles or twice as often they are DOUBLING the number of detergent cycles and DOUBLING the number of cycles where the engine is running at it's highest wear rates!



PPM/Fe (generation of Fe in 1000 mile increments)

Short drain intervals

1K oil change

10ppm = 10ppm in 1000 miles = 10ppm/1000 miles



3K oil change

10+2+2 = 14ppm in 3000 miles = 4.6ppm/1000 miles



5K oil change

10+2+2+2+2: Change oil = 18ppm in 5000 miles = 3.6ppm/1000 miles



Long drain intervals

10K oil change

10+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+3 = 29 ppm in 10,000 miles = 2.9ppm/1000 miles



15K oil change

10+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+3+3+3+3+3+3 = 44ppm in 15,000 miles = 2.9 ppm/1000 miles



20K oil change

10+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+4+4 = 61ppm in 20,000 miles = 3.3ppm/1000 miles



When ppm of Fe per 1000 miles reaches 5-7ppm per 1000 miles you can consider the oil ready for a change...



The above is based on real world TDI oil samples.



I have personally used up to 25,000 mile oil drain intervals on my TDI and still never reached the 5-7ppm range! I changed it at that time due to soot and TBN depletion (high sulfur fuel at the time).



Anybody that tells you that short oil drain intervals are good for your motor don't know what they are talking about!



DB

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DBW LLC

Specializing in Injectors for CRI, CR, PD, VE, IDI VW, Audi, MB, SEAT and Skoda Diesel engines.

Offical Importer, Distributor and Installer for Fratelli Bosio, S.R.L. North America

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Last edited by Drivbiwire; 11-10-08 at 06:54 PM.
 
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