Quxdraw

I am nervous about the intervals between oil changes. My dealer did not explain this to my satification, can anyone help me feel better about this? Since I am a sceptic, I think Audi with the 50,000 mile free service thinks that the less service they perform the less they have to pay for oil changes.

MCrist

Perform a search on this topic. You'll spend a week reading opinions...

Wowdi

I've read most of the posts about this and will attempt to summarize.

1) New Audi's ship with special "break-in" oil that is not sold here in the states.

2) Various engine seals, rings, etc. take about 7500 miles to seat properly and need this special oil. Premature oil changes can cause the components not to seat fully resulting in consequences like excessive oil use, etc.

3) Even when you do change the oil at 7500 miles, the change interval is still 7500 miles after that because a) Modern oils are loaded with detergents and other healthy stuff, and b) Audis have much more oil the other cars on the order of 6-8 quarts for an A6 versus 4-5 quarts for other manufacturers.

When I bought my A6, I specifically spoke to my service manager about this and he emphatically stated that more frequent oil changes on the A6 were not necessary. A long time Audi-owning friend confirmed this position as well. I have always been a fan of 3000 mile oil changes but have decided to follow my service manager's advice for this car. However, as you will find from perusing the posts, oil change philosophies verge on a religious debate.

Hope this helps!

Quxdraw

Thanks, This makes a lot more sense than the sales manager.

OpusK551

So this means that the first oil service s/b at 7500 miles "period", i.e., not necessarily 6 months if the 6 months comes "earlier"??? Further, what would be a reasonable/acceptable time beyond 6 months, minimum mileage etc???

H

What weight is this oil and what characteristic makes it so critical for break-in? I've seen many posts making similar claims about special factory break-in oil and others stating that Audi no longer uses it. I'm beginning to wonder if the use of "special break-in" oil isn't similar to an old wive's tale.

Two things make me skeptical:
1. Similar claims have been posted about Mercedes, yet others claim that AMG tuned cars like the E55 come from the factory with synthetic oil already in them.
2. There doesn't seem to be any written confirmation of this special oil in the A6 owner's manual or anywhere else that I can find. If it were so critical to the break-in process, you'd think it would be mentioned in the manual with a warning about premature oil changes.

Wowdi

Check out The FAQ section of this site. The "time" versus "miles" interval is not an issue for me since I put about 20,000 miles per year in my car. 7,500 miles comes about every 4 months.

Wowdi

You could very well be correct about the "wive's tale" nature of break-in oil. I was refering to the FAQ post which talks about a 95 A4. In any event, my dealer's service manager insists that the 7,500 mile interval is adequate for my driving style (20,000 miles per year).

With modern oils, I wonder if the 3000 mile oil change interval isn't the real wive's tale perpetuated by the Oil industry. I've talked to people who say the synthetics are the way to go with 7,500 mile change intervals (including some on this forum). I'm still leary about synthetics being superior to standard oil given the cost.

I've never had first hand experience with any car that failed due to oil issues other than with people who completely ignore their oil. My wife, before we were married, had an engine seize on her due to low oil. Yikes! Glad I attend to our car service now!

timcar

How about Randy Hubbard's post in the FAQ? He mentioned '96 & '97. His credentials sound rock solid. I haven't seen anything on the topic that's more authoritative. Anyone have information to rebut his assertions?

Stu B

They also say that the factory interval is just fine. Oils and filtration are much improved these days.

They also told me that the factory fill weight is 5W40. The Portland, OR dealer fills with 10W30 and the Bend, OR dealer fills with 15W40 unless you specify otherwise. Here in Oregon, our weather is not as cold as Minnesota and 5Wanything is too thin for us.

This debate verges on religion for many. The most important thing is to keep good oil in it and change it at the recommended intervals. The rest of our cars will fall apart before the engines most likely.