Bought the wrong oil..doh!

Fri 26 Apr 2002 17:09

Bought the wrong oil..doh! - Chi Kwong Chiu

Can someone out there tell me if if I would seriously damage my engine (in the long run?) if I use the wrong engine oil?

I went and bought some engine oil Castrol GTD Magnatec 10W40 to use in my VW 130BHP PD engine. It says on the back that it meets VW 505 00 and VW 500 00 standards so I bought 5.5 litres of the stuff thinking that it would be ok in my engine (remembering that the manaual stated VW 505 something).

I used .5 ltrs of it to top it up a few weeks back and didn't think anyhting of it until now. I've checked my manual and it seems that while this oil is fine for a 110BHP engine, the 130BHP requires 5W/40 oil to standard VW 505 01 - note the '01' and not '00'!

Is this standard of oil significantly different? Can I just keep on using the stuff I've got and hope that it is just lubricating enough until the next oil change 6 months later?

Any Oil boggins out there?

Chi

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 17:13

Re: Bought the wrong oil..doh! - bob

is the car new and under warranty? If so, the dealer would use the "wrong oil" as an excuse for not honouring any warranty claim. Other than that, I can't see half a litre of top up causing a problem. I would stick to the right grade for the full oil change though.

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 17:20

Re: Bought the wrong oil..doh! - Jonathan

Is any dealer likely to analyse the oil to determine a failure?

Some don't even bother changing the oil at all!

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 17:59

Re: Bought the wrong oil..doh! - Honest John

This came up recently where, despite VAG's insistance on Castrol 505.01 oil in PD engines a reader found himself invoiced for GTX Magnatec by the VW franchise. Don't worry, said the dealer (in writing) it's merely a mistake on the invoice. Your car was really filled with 505.01. So I persuaded VW to get their Castrol guys to analyse the oil, which they did, and it turned out to be plain old GTX Magnatec. Then VW said that the car would not have come to any harm in the 2000 miles driven on Magnatec. Obviously my reply to VW was that they can't have it both ways. They can't insist on £9.50 oil if £5.95 oil won't do any harm. But what really infuriated me was that everyone thought they could simply brush the dealer's lies under the carpet. Happily the matter has now been resolved by extended warranties paid for by the dealer. But Chi Kwong Chiu should probably get his oil changed to the proper (expensive) stuff as a precaution.

The four approved Castol oils for VAG engines are:-

SLX Longlife II 506.01 for 2000+WIV enabled diesels @ £12.00 a litre
SLX Synth for 2000+WIV enabled petrol engines @ £9.50 a litre
505.01 for non 2000+ WIV PD diesels @ £9.50 a litre
GTX Magnatec @ £5.95 a litre for everything else

No wonder mistakes get made.

HJ

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 18:43

WIV? - John S

HJ

What's 2000+WIV?

Regards

John

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Mon 29 Apr 2002 09:47

Re: Bought the wrong oil..doh! - j.cronin

I've said before;the dealer will fill with the minimum spec he can get away with-repeat-MINIMUM!!-he buys it in 500 gallon lots.If you want a particular oil used,have it put on your service order.I get a hefty discount on oil at my local dealer but to get this I must effectively buy a can of oil;I would not get it on the bulk supply.

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 18:00

PD engines...are the dealers using the right oil? - Chi Kwong Chiu

Just went to Freds TDI forum in the US (forums.tdiclub.com) and did a search for VW 505 01. Apparently this standard of oil is quite new and you can't pop down to your local Halfords and pick up some oil that meets this standard - much of the fancy oil that is sold only meets VW 505 00 which is most definitely not suitable for PD engines...doh!

Interestingly there were some posts from people who had their PD cars serviced at dealers and incorrectly specificied oil was put in the engine. In one case, a person had Shell Helix Ultra put in by their dealer which does not meet the 505 01 standard. Does that mean something close to 505 01 is acceptable or did the dealer drop the ball there?

Anyone had a PD engine car serviced recently - what type of oil did you get put in it?

Chi

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 18:11

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Mark

This is a tricky one,

I have followed the correct oil debate for TDI PDs with some interest as I have one.

It is the case that it is difficult to find an off the shelf oil that meets 505 01.
although a thread yesterday calim to have found one.

I have now had two oil changes done at the dealers at the £12.50 per litre c
charged on the invoice breaks my heart especially when I can get 5l of Millers Fully synth for half the price.

However each time the invoice was presented it just says engine oil at £12.50 pl, being suspicious I have asked which oil I have been given, the first time I was told "it is special oil" I therefore asked if it met 505.01 and got a blank face follwed by an offer to find out, the second time I re-phrased the question "does the oil supplied meet 505.01 spec" and was told yes.

However apart from the verbal assurance I have nothing in writing to say it does and neither do I know if that was actually put in.

roll on the day I can take my own properly spec'd oil and know its gone in when I get the nearly empty container back.

as ever

Mark

The VW dealer I use services 90+ vehicles per day and I would think some human error is likley.

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 19:42

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Chi Kwong Chiu

I may have found a partial answer - again on Freds TDi forum.

Apparently you can go to your local Ford dealer and get 5 litres of Ford Formula SD for around £30.00. According to the person who posted the info, this oil meets the 505.01 spec and Ford specify it for use in the 115PD Galaxy MPV's. Can anyone verify this?

Cheers

Chi

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 19:49

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Pat

Not sure about the Ford bit, but it certainly makes sense given that they use VAG TDi engines.

When I have the oil change service at my Audi dealer for the 1.9 115PD I find the oil very thin and it goes black very quickly! In fact, after the 14 mile drive back from the garage to my house the oil is already quite black. Has anyone else noticed this? The car has only done 22k and I have the oil changed every 5k despite the recommended 10k interval.

I know diesels turn the oil black quicker than petrol engines, but this does seem excessive. It just doesn't seem like expensive oil!

Any views?

Pat

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Sat 27 Apr 2002 12:00

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - JohnL

Or find out what Seat and Skoda dealers are using in PD engines

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Sat 27 Apr 2002 17:34

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - David Derbyshire

I have a new (10000ml) 1.9 115 hp TDI. The service indicator came up with oil change at 9500 miles - (no its not a WIV engine) and the dealer put in Part no G052167A2 - 5W-50 oil - but it only cost GBP 26.80 plus VAT - GOK if it is to 505.01 ????

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 19:46

Re: Bought the wrong oil..doh! - Ian Cook

Chi

Have a look at

www.honestjohn.co.uk/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=53567&t...7

Ian

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 20:46

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Honest John

Message to John S: 2000+WIV is VAG technogobble for it's service indicator system which is supposed to allow up to two years between oil changes.

HJ

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 21:49

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - John S

Thanks HJ - obviously a German acronym!

Regards

john

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Fri 26 Apr 2002 23:50

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Cymroarall

Is the 2000+WIV the service indicator which I seem to have on my TT?

I do very low mileage in it - 5Kpa - but am most wary of not changing the oil at least once a year.

Does HJ have any info yet on the long-term wisdom of relying on such computer service indicators, or does he advocate human intervention on an annual, if not 6-monthly basis? The temptation for low-mileage types is to rely on the computer (could be up to 2 years), especially as I assume Audi use the correct and most appropriate oil.

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Sat 27 Apr 2002 15:47

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Union Jack

CKC et al - Please also note the very helpful input in the thread "Oil for Pump Doodle Vee Wee Diesels" started by Ian Cook - seems to provide a pretty good answer to the original question.

Jack

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Sat 27 Apr 2002 16:12

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Union Jack

Previous post is directed at those who did not follow through on IC's post above - me included! Might have guessed Ian would close the loop ...

Jack

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Sat 27 Apr 2002 19:33

Re: PD engines...are the dealers using the right o - Mark

However it seems to me the direction being taken by this thread suggests;

a) Owners are not sure what to use or what they are getting when serviced;

b) VW dealers may not know either;

c) VW have created a load of confusion with their not very available other than at VW dealers at an arm and a leg prices 505.01 spec oil

As ever

Mark

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