Kevinkar, your car was probably sitting at the port for 7 months. So according to VW, you can wait 12K/12 months from the date of first service, when you bought the car. Did the oil suffer from oxidation sitting in your oil pan? Who knows. I think I would change it when the car's a year old, and start from there, unless you get to 12,000 miles from the build date before then.
7
1,800 mile oil change
- Thread starter kevinkar
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Mother
Go Kart Newbie
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^^
This. The dealer is supposed to reset the service reminder interval as part of the PDI, but it's been forgotten on several of our cars. Google VW PDI check list and you'll see that it's on there.
I'm still going to change mine when I reach 5k miles (stage 2, daily driver, short trips, stop and go, etc), but you're not doing your car any harm in waiting until the 12 month/12k mile mark from your purchase date.
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Do you still have the oil? I can think of a good reason to get it analyzed by Blackstone
For the sake of science. The oil is black, the car has just been broken in, so the community can actually learn something: Whether the first oil change needs to be early or if you can actually go 10,000 miles like VW and many owners say.
I have an Alltrack and got the first change done at 1,200 but the oil wasn't black, just darkish brown, and the analysis showed high metals. It also showed that the oil was 5W-30
For the sake of science. The oil is black, the car has just been broken in, so the community can actually learn something: Whether the first oil change needs to be early or if you can actually go 10,000 miles like VW and many owners say.
I have an Alltrack and got the first change done at 1,200 but the oil wasn't black, just darkish brown, and the analysis showed high metals. It also showed that the oil was 5W-30
Strange Mud
Autocross Champion
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forgot to mention since I'm old I prefer doing a change at 1500 miles or so (lets NOT get into it) I'm not sure but think it was dark but nothing that made me say OMG. I wonder if lighter weight oils are more apt to turn dark?
Happy to take your R for you if you're worried.
Mud
Happy to take your R for you if you're worried.
Mud
Strange Mud
Autocross Champion
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so re-read some of this thread....chocolate syrup? was the oil warm when draining? good description of syrup/iced tea.
kevinkar
Drag Racing Champion
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Well, that was the point of my OP of course! Hoping those who have changed at 1 year or 2000 miles might provide some insight. I'll see if I can find some specific posts on who has done early oil changes. I saw them in passing and did not really take note of them. If I find some I'll let you know.
That's definitely the common school of thought but I'd counter I had 73,000 on the Mustang, 107,000 on the Camaro and 30,000 on the Volvo and none of them died - especially the 19 year old Camaro. But that's the point - equally harsh on those cars but they all had "clear" oil at 5,000 mile intervals. Of course a V8 is not equal to the VW's engine. 6 months might be too frequent.
That's what I planned but saw some guys here saying they were going to change it sooner rather than at 1 year of service so thought I'd give it a go. If anything I've provided a data point for others to use in the near future.
I regret that I already recycled it. Don't like to keep old oil sitting in the garage.
Yeah, I ran errands before doing the change. I like the oil to be warm so it drains better. I let the car sit for about an hour but it was still quite toasty.
Chocolate syrup, like Hershey's syrup. That's what it looked like to me. Seriously looked like 15,000 mile oil would look and I know as I've changed oil that late before.
Golfs everyday
Autocross Newbie
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Low miles does not equal harsh conditions. When I take my Golf-R for a spin, I take her out for a 70-100 mile drive. Usually non stop unless for gas. I just don’t drive the car very often. If my car was a daily driver for 5 mile trips, then that is harsh.
gregozedobe
Battle scarred veteran
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southpawboston
Drag Racing Champion
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Yeah, I would agree with this entirely. MY GSW sees mostly trips of less than 3 miles, along with tons of idling at stop lights-- probably as many minutes per trip spent idling as driving. We only end up doing long freeway trips with the car about once a month. It is because of this type of usage that I'll be changing my oil every ~6700 miles or 1/3 more frequently than the recommended interval. If I were doing more highway trips, or commuting daily with the car for >20 miles with some highway time in there, I'd follow the 10k interval.
Golfs everyday
Autocross Newbie
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That is harsh. 3 miles will not get the oil anywhere near the normal operating temps 180F+ range. I would change the oil every 3k - 5k miles and run a battery manager when not in use. The battery will go next.
kevinkar
Drag Racing Champion
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I usually change it yearly or roughly between 3k-5k so there's no problem with doing that.
Never have had a problem with battery drain though. Modern alternators seem to be able to handle this low-mileage trip just fine. I usually change batteries every 5-6 years or when they eventually go dead which usually seems to correspond to their stated life. Maybe a bit longer. In 19 years I changed the battery in the Camaro 3 times or about every 5 years or basically the 60 months the batteries were guaranteed for.