Does your dealer supply the correct oil?

[G.K.]

Just had the first service done to my Superb 170cr Elegance .

The car is on fixed servicing due to the many short journeys and during the year i covered 8,400 miles.

For numerous reasons I decided to have the service done at a dealer 40 miles from home on the way to visiting friends in the area.

When I looked at the bill I noticed that they had supplied 5w40pd oil which came to £21.50 plus vat for the 4.3 lites required which leads me to believe they supplied 505 00..

I was of the opinion that whether on fixed or variable servicing the 170cr needed long life (507 00).

When i asked them they insisted they used the correct oil and when pressed further they could only describe it as "Castrol".

All this confusion about correct lubricant is becoming ridiculous. Dealers seem to make their own rules either out of ignorance or profitability.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[Gizmo]

According to Opie oils the only 5w40 Castrol oil is either VW505.00 or VW505.01, pretty irrelevant really as with a DPF the oil needs to meet VW507.00 (which is only available as 5w30).

Take it back and get them to change the oil and filter again (at their cost) with the correct spec oil, I would also be making sure you have it in writing that they used the wrong spec oil in case you have DPF issues in the near future - and fire a letter off to SUK, this really is not good enough service from a main dealer!

[Supurbia]

According to Opie oils the only 5w40 Castrol oil is either VW505.00 or VW505.01, pretty irrelevant really as with a DPF the oil needs to meet VW507.00 (which is only available as 5w30).

Take it back and get them to change the oil and filter again (at their cost) with the correct spec oil, I would also be making sure you have it in writing that they used the wrong spec oil in case you have DPF issues in the near future - and fire a letter off to SUK, this really is not good enough service from a main dealer!

Oh dear, not the old oil one, if it's cost £22 for it, it isn't 507 spec, if it's a VAG dealer it just proves the oil thing is a con, cos they simply wouldn't put the wrong oil in full stop.

[Sprightlybob]

Just had the first service done to my Superb 170cr Elegance .

The car is on fixed servicing due to the many short journeys and during the year i covered 8,400 miles.

For numerous reasons I decided to have the service done at a dealer 40 miles from home on the way to visiting friends in the area.

When I looked at the bill I noticed that they had supplied 5w40pd oil which came to £21.50 plus vat for the 4.3 lites required which leads me to believe they supplied 505 00..

I was of the opinion that whether on fixed or variable servicing the 170cr needed long life (507 00).

When i asked them they insisted they used the correct oil and when pressed further they could only describe it as "Castrol".

All this confusion about correct lubricant is becoming ridiculous. Dealers seem to make their own rules either out of ignorance or profitability.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I had the same issue with my dealer in Coffs Harbour (Australia). I stressed when I booked it in that I wanted 507.00 oil and was assured that it would happen. When I collected the car it was a different story....lots of B.S. about buying bulk oil that was good as 507.00 etc and eventually was told me that they used Valvoline. This is a cheaper oil (not with my dealer though) and I would never choose it willingly. Seems car dealers are the same world wide - similar to journalists and lawyers - "trust me - I'm here to help"!!

[Richf]

Mine is on free servicing from VW (They pay Skoda to do it ) so it gets a service every 10k however VW wont pay for the longlife oil so at 40,000miles ie after 3 services it will then be refilled with the long life stuff and resume the longer intervals

The oil you have got sounds like the stuff i use which is reccomended for 12,000 miles or annual changes

[Skoda-Man]

Mine is on free servicing from VW (They pay Skoda to do it ) so it gets a service every 10k however VW wont pay for the longlife oil so at 40,000miles ie after 3 services it will then be refilled with the long life stuff and resume the longer intervals

The oil you have got sounds like the stuff i use which is reccomended for 12,000 miles or annual changes

You wanna know what I think ? I think that all this nonsense about highly expensive "longlife" oils is just that, nonsense. Whether the oil meets the requirements -505 or -507 or whatever, I don`t believe for a minute that it makes any difference on anything. I really would like to see some long-term tests where they would use less expensive oils instead of expensive ones....and then we would see whether we, consumers, are paying for nothing. :p

[Supurbia]

You wanna know what I think ? I think that all this nonsense about highly expensive "longlife" oils is just that, nonsense. Whether the oil meets the requirements -505 or -507 or whatever, I don`t believe for a minute that it makes any difference on anything. I really would like to see some long-term tests where they would use less expensive oils instead of expensive ones....and then we would see whether we, consumers, are paying for nothing. :p

All I can say on the matter is I ran my Superb on VX 5/30 FS oil for 50k of the 100k it now has on it, at the time the oil said it was B4 spec and nothing to say anything about VW 500 spec's, it's since changed to being 505.01 approved but I'm sure it's the same oil, anyway, engine conditions, lots of stop start being as it was a cab, lump sounded as good as the day I got it, no turbo issue's and minimal consumption.

So I guess it's a buyer's choice really, I can't advocate any oil, the one I used I knew to be good quality anyway, and it did mine no harm, but it's at your own risk, one of the reason's I used it is I get a deal from VX where I pay £15 for 5 litres of it if I buy 20 litres at a time, on the shelf this oil is nearly £50 for 5 litre's, best compromise I've heard of is at Asda where you can get a suitable Mobil one iirc for £32.

Edited 20 October, 2010 by Supurbia

[Gizmo]

best compromise I've heard of is at Asda where you can get a suitable Mobil one iirc for £32.

ASDA seem to of stopped stocking Mobil1 oil and are now selling Castrol, this is probably why they shifted the last stock of VW507.00 at just £15 for 5 litres!!

[G.K.]

According to Opie oils the only 5w40 Castrol oil is either VW505.00 or VW505.01, pretty irrelevant really as with a DPF the oil needs to meet VW507.00 (which is only available as 5w30).

Take it back and get them to change the oil and filter again (at their cost) with the correct spec oil, I would also be making sure you have it in writing that they used the wrong spec oil in case you have DPF issues in the near future - and fire a letter off to SUK, this really is not good enough service from a main dealer!

I did as you advised and I phoned Skoda customer services.

THEY ADVISED THAT THE ONLY OIL THAT IS SUITABLE FOR THE COMMON RAIL ENGINE WITH A DPF IS 507 00 (LONG LIFE) REGARDLESS OF SERVICE INTERVALS.

Skoda UK contacted the dealer and insisted that the car was returned TODAY for the correct oil to be supplied.

Ordinary PD oil is not suitable!!!

Perhaps all the DPF nightmares have been caused by folk who trust that the dealers know best... AND IT SEEMS THAT SOME OF THEM DONT!!!.........

Many, Many thanks to Jemma at Skoda customer services who was fast and efficient at sorting this out for me.

P.S. the dealer who did the service claimed that this is the first time that they have seen a CR engine that was on fixed servicing!!! AS IF..................

All those with Common Rail engines please please check your service invoice asap and if you see pd oil on it get back to them!!

[Gizmo]

Result .

Make sure you keep as much paperwork as possible with the oil spec on, just to cover your arse for any future DPF issues.

[mannyo]

507 oil is essential on the DPF equipped diesels because it contains DPF friendly minerals. Using 505 oil in a DPF car will result in the DPF becoming clogged with deposits it cannot clear, and eventually the DPF will fail.

[Darragh]

This discussion about oil put me thinking about the oil I just got in my 170cr for the first service. Is it a common problem that main dealers would put the wrong oil in? I checked the invoice and it says the following: Part No. SU05 semi-synthetic oil(D) at €40 ex vat. It doesn't mention that it is VW507. Should I be concerned or try to find out from the dealer 4000kms later?

[G.K.]

This discussion about oil put me thinking about the oil I just got in my 170cr for the first service. Is it a common problem that main dealers would put the wrong oil in? I checked the invoice and it says the following: Part No. SU05 semi-synthetic oil(D) at €40 ex vat. It doesn't mention that it is VW507. Should I be concerned or try to find out from the dealer 4000kms later?

507 00 is fully synthetic so you definitly have the wrong oil. Get back to your dealer and put him straight, Skoda will back you up. Waste no time or it may be R.I.P. DPF !!

[Darragh]

507 00 is fully synthetic so you definitly have the wrong oil. Get back to your dealer and put him straight, Skoda will back you up. Waste no time or it may be R.I.P. DPF !!

Thanks for that. I will do so immediately. It's a public holiday in ROI on Monday so I will call Skoda customer service on Tuesday and then head off to the dealer. You would hope that you could just trust them. Will let you know how I get on. Anyone else found this a problem?