Not looking for a starter motor but I do have a few questions about my superb ...

I've tried to avoid asking questions that have been asked 100's times before but I'm sure I won't have suceeded

1. I'll start with an easy one. There are 2 little red lights on the interior roof, just beside the front interior lights. What are these for?

2. I just picked the car up last weekend so I'm planning to get it serviced asap. My mechanic (small local garage) reckons that he always uses 5W30 in all VAG engines for fixed interval servicing however this site tells me that the VW spec equates to 5W40. Would using a 5W30 oil be bad for the engine?

3. I have a classic model. Where will the "time for a service" notification show up? in the display under the rev counter?

4. The EGR value has some gunk on the outside. Is it worth taking it off and giving it a good clean? Or is it a case of "if it's not broke ..."

5. Is the Haldex oil change necessary every service? Is it something that you can do yourself or is it awkward?

That's all I can think of for now. I've already cleaned the plenum chamber drains and established that my pinch bolts are not going to shift easily :(

Cheers,

Steve

1 - Ambient Lighting

2 - Yes use it, No it won't harm it as long as it's good quality

3 - Yes

4 - Yes, but they all do this

5 - Not sure what you mean, but an oil change is simple enough to do.

9 minutes to get all the answers. Now that's pretty impressive Thanks mate.

My service book refers to a "Haldex Clutch" and states that the oil should be changed in it at every service? Does my classic model have a Halex clutch and is it absolutely necessary to change the oil every 10k?

no superbs have a haldex, the haldex is part of the rear diff on 4WD golf platformed cars.

no superbs have a haldex, the haldex is part of the rear diff on 4WD golf platformed cars.

OK, thanks. It's weird that it is mentioned in the service schedule but I'm not going to complain about having one less thing to worry about.

on the cars that are based on the same platform as the superb so the A4 etc they use the torsen differential.

just thought of something, is this a mk1 or mk2 superb?

It's a mk1 (2005)

on the cars that are based on the same platform as the superb so the A4 etc they use the torsen differential.

Sorry to be anal... but the mk1 Superb's based on the B5.5 Passat/A6 platform...

:orb_geek:

Not looking for a starter motor but I do have a few questions about my superb ...

I've tried to avoid asking questions that have been asked 100's times before but I'm sure I won't have suceeded

Here's my opinions...

1. I'll start with an easy one. There are 2 little red lights on the interior roof, just beside the front interior lights. What are these for?

Catvision. For most of us, it lets us "see in the dark" at night. For Rotodiesel, it's annoying.

2. I just picked the car up last weekend so I'm planning to get it serviced asap. My mechanic (small local garage) reckons that he always uses 5W30 in all VAG engines for fixed interval servicing however this site tells me that the VW spec equates to 5W40. Would using a 5W30 oil be bad for the engine?

5w/30 is a variable servicing specification. Assuming it's a TDI, 5w/40 is the correct specification.

3. I have a classic model. Where will the "time for a service" notification show up? in the display under the rev counter?

So do I. Yes - but it's on the one in the speedo.

4. The EGR value has some gunk on the outside. Is it worth taking it off and giving it a good clean? Or is it a case of "if it's not broke ..."

Take it off completely (Serious note - I'd leave it unless you're going to clean the whole intake tract)

5. Is the Haldex oil change necessary every service? Is it something that you can do yourself or is it awkward?

As previously mentioned the Haldex is part of 4wd platforms.

Is this like one of those interview things you do on Facebook?

Sorry to be anal... but the mk1 Superb's based on the B5.5 Passat/A6 platform...

:orb_geek:

be as anal as you like, but your still wrong

Volkswagen Group B platform - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's my opinions...

2. I just picked the car up last weekend so I'm planning to get it serviced asap. My mechanic (small local garage) reckons that he always uses 5W30 in all VAG engines for fixed interval servicing however this site tells me that the VW spec equates to 5W40. Would using a 5W30 oil be bad for the engine?

5w/30 is a variable servicing specification. Assuming it's a TDI, 5w/40 is the correct specification.

Yeah it's a TDi all right (just updated my sig). If 5W30 is for variable servicing then having 5W30 in it and changing it every 10k can only be a good thing right??

Is this like one of those interview things you do on Facebook?

LOL. Yeah, next time I'll be asking for your favourite colour and whether you are a dog or cat person!!

Yeah it's a TDi all right (just updated my sig). If 5W30 is for variable servicing then having 5W30 in it and changing it every 10k can only be a good thing right??

It depends on where you get it from, me I use VX 5/30 oil because I have trade access to it and it's £22 for 5 litres, it's fully synthetic and is used in the 280BHP VXR range and also the 6.0 V8 Monaro and V8 VXR engines, I generally run it for about 12k, the counter is useless, it works things out on stop/starts etc so you never really know if your oil is ok or not, an example is one guy does 200 miles @ 70mph everyday and his light doesn't flash up for say 22k, where a cabby doing town work most of the day might see it as early as 8k, but the reality is the 22k oil could've been worn out @ 12k but the light doesn't say so because he hasn't started the engine enough times to throw it on.

be as anal as you like, but your still wrong

Volkswagen Group B platform - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Catching me out on the .5!

Anyway, my point was more that the Superb's based on the Passat (B5 then! dammit) not on the Golf platform which a post earlier on seemed to suggest.

SO THERE :P

Yeah it's a TDi all right (just updated my sig). If 5W30 is for variable servicing then having 5W30 in it and changing it every 10k can only be a good thing right??

Hmm... I guess. I'd just change it to fixed, use the 5w/40 (which is substantially cheaper) and change every 10k.

You can change to fixed easily by resetting the service indicator via the dashboard buttons.

LOL. Yeah, next time I'll be asking for your favourite colour and whether you are a dog or cat person!!

I'm not a huge animal person although SWMBO loves cats... and it's blue, oddly enough

a/s/l?

Variable servicing countdown is mainly done on an oil quality sensor. Basically the thermal properties of oil change as it becomes contaminated, and this is what is measured. So it DOES know how good your oil is.

If you are on fixed, don't waste your money on variable spec oil. As a side note, if your car service indicator is being reset by the instrument cluster knob (which most non-VAG specialists will be doing) then your car will have reverted itself to fixed servicing.

Not ALL PD130 EGR valves leak, my PD130 Passat one didn't at just 140k miles . They tend to leak at the spindle, and whilst this isn't really a problem I'd be fitting a replacement new valve. Other common places for sludgy leaks are the cross tube that runs the width of the car, and the boost pipe above the nearside chassis leg and at the intercooler. New seals are pence and well worth the effort.

As everyone has said above, Haldex only applies to cars with 4wd - which the UK Superb never had.

The B5/B5.5 chassis is the same platform essentially. And both the A4 and A6 are based on it too IIRC.