crt88

I never encountered a recommended oil change of 10k miles until I bought any Audi with free maintenance. Prior to that, I seem to recall oil changes recommended at 5,000 or even 3,500 miles.

Is it really okay not to change oil for 10k miles as Audi seems to recommend? Is that because Audi is paying for the maintenance? Do insufficiently frequent oil changes cause problems only when a car is older (and out of warranty)?

Singletrack

According to Audi it's fine, I haven't heard to the contrary. It's actually 8k on the 2000/2001

Kenny

If you're leasing or trading in once the warranty expires, then it really doesn't matter.. If you plan on driving your car until you reach 200k miles without a major engine rebuild, change the oil at least 3k-4k miles, and never rev the engine hard until the oil is fully warmed up..

Muhammad

I don't think I'd go beyond 10k without synthetic, though... in fact, since I <b>own</b> my cars and want to maintain them properly, I change the oil every 3000-3200 miles, but don't use synthetic. Have warranties to maintain, so changing synthetic every 3k or even 5k, gets expensive.

Chuck A6 4.2

My 98 328i went over 9-10K miles before the change oil light came on.

FlyBry2.7T

3000 miles, but I only drive it between 4K - 6K a year. The old standby rule of thumb, 1000 miles of service for every 1 quart of oil capacity really depends on how you drive IMHO. My 2.7T is new, approx. 800 miles, so I will change it at 1K, then at 2K, then at 5K, then my first free dealer change at 10K. From there on, I will change every 5K. I am comfortable with this.

Jon C

this may be reflected somewhere in the FAQ, I've posted it so many times I don't bother to give all the details anymore, but oil analysis data I have on 4 different cars (including Audi, Porsche, Saab, & MB), suggest that good synthetic oil with an OEM filter can go 10k with no problem. Bottom line, analysis after 7,500 showed NO measurably significant oil deterioration (Mobil 1, Amsoil), nor did analysis after 14 months/2,000 miles with Amsoil in the sump of the '73 911. All cars get a mix of urban/suburban/highway driving that would qualify as 'severe' use by many definitions.

IMO if you want to be safe, change oil every 5k with synth, but 7,500 or 10k should be fine, it's really a matter of whatever makes you comfortable. I'll probably change oil only at 15k, but won't lose sleep if I don't get to it.

audiconvert

What about 10-30 grade Mobile One in California/Sierras mt driving? $21/6pack at Costco

Singletrack

The rule of thumb does not apply anymore. Just like you don't need to let turbos cool down for 5 minutes after driving 15 minutes anymore either.

-st

Jon C

Read up, you'll find that you're courting ring seating problems with so many early changes on a modern Audi engine. Best advice, let it go 5k on the initial fill.

And see my post above, years of oil analysis show that 3k changes not nec. with good synth., you can go 12 mo./5k miles on a low mileage car (with Mobil 1, more with Amsoil) easily with a synthetic. But do what makes you happy.