Hi, As my TT gets little use, oil change is 3k miles max. Probably a waste but keeps me & hopefully the engine happy.
Hoggy.

 

Had the car 2 year and done 2 oil changes, at about 8k each. I dropped the sump at the last one and it was very clean inside, cars on 106k now.

 

I may be the odd one out here. I do mostly long commutes 100 mile round trips and end up doing 8,000 a year. Use Castrol Edge LL oil every 2 years so 16,000 miles between changes. No ill effects and it's an Audi recommendation, saves £50 a year which is spent on the things that go wrong, which are aplenty!

 

Ours gets done annually with the MOT, although the TT is my main daily driver it shares duties with a couple of other cars so the mileage accrued each year is certainly sub 5K.

Nick

 

Annually or about every 3000+ miles, whichever comes first. Figure it's a cheap way to keep the internals clean and happy, even if the modern oils are rated for longer life.

 

Oil change before mot for our fleet that do five thousand miles per year max.

 

I've always subscribed to the view that the price of an engine is equivalent to a lot of oil changes and you can't really change the oil often enough.
On low mileage "sunny day" cars I agree that an annual oil change or equivalent is all that's needed; on my A3 I change the oil & filter every 9K miles even though I use Quantum 5w/30 III Longlife oil which is supposed to be good for 20K miles (heaven forbid such an interval though) .
I did the same with my old A4 ( used Quantum Platinum 5w/40 in that one though) and that was sold with 288K miles on the clock when sold (180K in my ownership) and it was still as good as the day I bought it.

 

I did the same with my old A4 ( used Quantum Platinum 5w/40 in that one though) and that was sold with 288K miles on the clock when sold (180K in my ownership) and it was still as good as the day I bought it.

Wow, that is amazing mileage....that's proper bragging rights!!

 

Just thinking of oils, changes and longevity, I have an '86 Mercedes 300E my father bough in '87 with 20,000 on the clock. We've used Shell Rotella T ever since, and the engine is still going strong at 257,000.

 

Not sure if I can handle these ideas of service intervals being stretched to around 18,000 miles on modern cars. I often see premium brands with 'FSH' then detailing a 10 year old car with just six services!
Maybe it's my old school thinking, but on my cars I always change at 6,000 miles or maximum 12 months, as in the case of the TT (which only does around 3,000 miles a year).
On my recent oil change on the TT, my VAG indie said annual oil changes is then right thing to do, as he said a sludge forms in the V6 known as black death...irrespective of low miles, so best to keep up with annual oil changes as a minimum.
What are your oil change habits in your car(s)?

I cover no more the 6k PA, and always carry out a oil and filter change annually.

 

I did the same with my old A4 ( used Quantum Platinum 5w/40 in that one though) and that was sold with 288K miles on the clock when sold (180K in my ownership) and it was still as good as the day I bought it.

Wow, that is amazing mileage....that's proper bragging rights!!

It was an AFN code 110bhp 1.9 TDI, which I gather now has become legendary for their durability , head etc had never been off.
Only work was regular oil and filter changes etc , oil approx every 10k, fuel and air filter every 20k.
A good oil and filter change regime and your car will repay you in the long run.....

 

Mine only gets used for long trips, but annual mileage is still low.
I aim to change it every 12 months, but occasionally it creeps up to 18 months if I can't get use of my friends workshop for a while.

Always using the VW504.00 spec oil though, despite the low miles covered.

 

I average less than 1500m/yr and change it every year as per Audi recommandation, but I'm wondering if it's overkill!

 

My TT was previously on `extended service intervals` and owned by a lady who did few miles. I knew this and wasn`t overhappy but decided its within manufacturer spec etc. And it was a good condition low mileage car for a decent price. Since then, and over 3 long years, its obvious that the lack of regular fresh oil completely screwed it. She must have run it off the dipstick before putting any in. Cost me Turbo BREAKAGE, Cam chain and adjuster.Cam chain ate it`s way thro rocker cover and prooduced massive oil leak. But only leaked when revving. And oil filter pickup was basically blocked. I had gone against my own advice from owning 2 Turbo Celicas. I`d always changed oil and filters at about 4k. 6k MAX. Both cars did over 150k before I sold them on. Both on original turbos and both still running strong on slightly raised boost. (Hence my love of Toyotas). But after 40 years of buying sensible, this time I bought stupid. LISTEN AND LEARN. No wonder I named my car Bismark. It sank in oil. Keep it fresh!!!!!!!!!!

 

My TT was previously on `extended service intervals` and owned by a lady who did few miles. I knew this and wasn`t overhappy but decided its within manufacturer spec etc. And it was a good condition low mileage car for a decent price. Since then, and over 3 long years, its obvious that the lack of regular fresh oil completely screwed it. She must have run it off the dipstick before putting any in. Cost me Turbo BREAKAGE, Cam chain and adjuster.Cam chain ate it`s way thro rocker cover and prooduced massive oil leak. But only leaked when revving. And oil filter pickup was basically blocked. I had gone against my own advice from owning 2 Turbo Celicas. I`d always changed oil and filters at about 4k. 6k MAX. Both cars did over 150k before I sold them on. Both on original turbos and both still running strong on slightly raised boost. (Hence my love of Toyotas). But after 40 years of buying sensible, this time I bought stupid. LISTEN AND LEARN. No wonder I named my car Bismark. It sank in oil. Keep it fresh!!!!!!!!!!

Well there's the real anecdotal evidence of the benefits of regular oil changes!!

Couple of years back I test drove a 'newish' BMW diesel, at the main BMW dealership. Cheesy salesman said no need to touch the engine, it will tell you when to service, probably between 18,000 and 20,000 miles! Scary. I walked. Bought and Outlander, now a Merc ML250 diesel, and yep, change the oil every 6,000.....

 

With Hoggy on this one, don't use mine a lot so change oil and filter every 3k, gets stood for sometimes weeks at a time, so good to know when I turn key not running on sludge

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Ive always said, you cannot over service a car.....
Do it as often as your wallet will allow!

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I'm on 186k and just do it every 5k
Every other 5k with filter.
Tend not to worry about age just stick the mileage period rather than annually.

Still going strong.

 

My TT was previously on `extended service intervals` and owned by a lady who did few miles. I knew this and wasn`t overhappy but decided its within manufacturer spec etc. .......!!!!!!!!!!

Well there's the real anecdotal evidence of the benefits of regular oil changes!!

Couple of years back I test drove a 'newish' BMW diesel, at the main BMW dealership. Cheesy salesman said no need to touch the engine, it will tell you when to service, probably between 18,000 and 20,000 miles! Scary. I walked. Bought and Outlander, now a Merc ML250 diesel, and yep, change the oil every 6,000.....

This is more an example of someone you shouldn't have been on the 'extended service routine'. Audi say the extended service is for cars that do mainly fast highways for longer than average journyies, not drivers that do short distances

 

I did the same with my old A4 ( used Quantum Platinum 5w/40 in that one though) and that was sold with 288K miles on the clock when sold (180K in my ownership) and it was still as good as the day I bought it.

Wow, that is amazing mileage....that's proper bragging rights!!

My 320d '08 is on 200k; every MOT, they get it on the ramp to make sure it still has the Cat/DPF as it's almost zero on the emissions, they're always suspicious. That's what happens when you properly maintain an engine/car, I look after it the same way I look after my TT (and Z4, and 123d, etc., etc.) and the net result is that longevity increases exponentially.

Oil/filters are so cheap, every year regardless of miles or 10k, whichever is sooner.

 

Hi all

Only had my TT since Sept 2019, and this thread has got me thinking about what its service history might tell me, and how I should set about servicing it over the coming years.

It's an '03 225 coupe. Inspected on purchase and appears to be in VGC (as much as it's possible to tell). Had three owners, and some periods (most notably 2012 to 2014 and then 2017 to 2018) when it has done very few miles. 51,000 overall now.
Services up to and including 2010 were main dealer, indie thereafter.

Brief overview of history is below (sorry to bore you all!).

Year Miles Service(notable work)
2003 0
2004 6,000
2005 12,406 Longlife
2006 18,375
2007 23,791 Longlife
2008 27,000
2009 31,500 Oil change/ inspection (timing belt replaced. 'Add. service work 20k', and 'add. work 60k')
2010 34,937 Longlife (timing belt replaced)
2011 40,081 Oil change/ inspection
2012 42,272
2013 42,754
2014 42,972 Oil change
2015 46,037 Oil change
2016 47,253
2017 48,718
2018 48,741
2019 51,571 Oil change/ inspection (timing belt kit and water pump. 'Add. service work 40k, and add. work 20k miles')

Bit odd that timing belt would be replaced two years in a row, but that's what the stamps in the book suggest.

Should I be concerned about, or try to remedy (if that's possible) anything based on this history?

Do you think annual servicing (including oil change) would be a sensible approach, based on me doing no more than 5,000 miles a year (dry days only, and so mostly in the summer months)?

Any help/insight gratefully received.
Best

 

Hi, Adam, Oil changes mileage wise appears to be good.

My 225 gets little use & I replace oil on the mileage not time & at 3k max.
Correct Audi spec is 504/507, common oils of correct spec are Castrol Edge Titanium 5w-30 & Mobil 1 ESP 5w-30. & always use this spec however frequently you replace the oil.
Cheaper oils of the correct spec are avail.
Hoggy.