Urgent Advice Needed re: Oil top-up

[amii21]

I have an Octavia vRS 60 plate with 3k miles (petrol, manual). This morning, the low oil light came on, and I drove to the petrol station and called the main dealer to ask what sort of oil I should top up with. He said normally they use 0w30 but all the petrol station had was 5W30 (Fully Synthetic), so I bought a 1 litre bottle and topped up - the dipstick showed normal levels, and I continued with my journey. The Skoda deler said I should visit them, so they can top up further if necessary. I will also get some skoda approved engine oil whilst I am there, for future top ups.

My questions are:

1) have I done the engine much damage by using the wrong oil (5w30 instead of 0w30 that Skoda use)? The man at Skoda said it would be ok to use...

2) should Skoda just top up (if necessary) leaving the old oil in, or should I insist that they drain the oil completely and replace with Skoda approved oil? (I want to keep the car for many years and am paranoid about engine damage if the wrong oil is used)

3) Should any other filters (e.g. oil filter) be changed at the same time?

4) Is it normal for a 3k mile car to have low oil levels?

Thanks very much for any advice, I am visiting the dealer in a couple of hours and need to know what to say to them

Edited 6 January, 2011 by amii21

[GoneToBeemer]

I have an Octavia vRS 60 plate with 3k miles (petrol, manual). This morning, the low oil light came on, and I drove to the petrol station and called the main dealer to ask what sort of oil I should top up with. He said normally they use 0w30 but all the petrol station had was 5W30 (Fully Synthetic), so I bought a 1 litre bottle and topped up - the dipstick showed normal levels, and I continued with my journey. The Skoda deler said I should visit them, so they can top up further if necessary. I will also get some skoda approved engine oil whilst I am there, for future top ups.

My questions are:

1) have I done the engine much damage by using the wrong oil (5w30 instead of 0w30 that Skoda use)? The man at Skoda said it would be ok to use...

2) should Skoda just top up (if necessary) leaving the old oil in, or should I insist that they drain the oil completely and replace with Skoda approved oil? (I want to keep the car for many years and am paranoid about engine damage if the wrong oil is used)

3) Should any other filters (e.g. oil filter) be changed at the same time?

4) Is it normal for a 3k mile car to have low oil levels?

Thanks very much for any advice, I am visiting the dealer in a couple of hours and need to know what to say to them

1) No - primarily because the correct VW spec oil is 5W 30 (504.00-507.00) for long life servicing.

2) Top up is fine - no need to change oil/filter until your service is due (think this covers point 3 too )

3) Yes new engines do tend to chew oil a bit due to running in process - i frequently topped mine up within the first 5000 miles or so!

Hope this answers your concerns

[Guest]

Do not wait till the oil light comes on, their is a dip stck provided so you can check the oil properly, this should be done once a week.

[cheezemonkhai]

Look at the bottle of oil you purchased and if on the back it says VW504 then you will be fine as this is the correct oil.

If you know the brand of oil, it should be easy to check.

Ta

[amii21]

Look at the bottle of oil you purchased and if on the back it says VW504 then you will be fine as this is the correct oil.

If you know the brand of oil, it should be easy to check.

Ta

Hi, thanks a lot for that - yes, it does say VW504 00 on the bottle, so I am guessing the 1 litre I put in can stay in. I wonder why the Skoda man said they use 0w30 though...

I will be checking my oil once a week using the disptick from now.

Thanks for all the advice offered.

[ap0gee1978]

Check your manual, but it should say somewhere that ACEA B3/B4 can be used if nothing else is available, and up to 0.5l of pretty much anything can be used to top up...

[cheezemonkhai]

Hi, thanks a lot for that - yes, it does say VW504 00 on the bottle, so I am guessing the 1 litre I put in can stay in. I wonder why the Skoda man said they use 0w30 though...

I will be checking my oil once a week using the disptick from now.

Thanks for all the advice offered.

Some of the older oils such as Longlife II (VW506.1 for dervs) used to be 0w-30, however most modern VW's use VW504(Petrol) or VW 507(Derv) and usually an oil meets both specs anyway.

If you look in your manual, you will probably find that you should use VW504 (Take the manual and bottle with you to the dealer and point this out if they say anything other than this).

Again the manual states that you can use a certain amount of none spec oil in an emergency, but this may shorten service periods.

If the car should use VW504 and you put it in, then I can't see why it would have to come out.

Obviously do check your manual to confirm you should be using VW504.

Edited 6 January, 2011 by cheezemonkhai

[mikey vrs]

I have just bought some 5w30 top up oil & that meets the vw 504.00 & 507.00 req to use in my 2008 octy tfsi vrs. You wont need to change the oil. As others have said you should really be checking your oil ideally weekly or at least once a month as waiting for the oil light to come on is bad practice! Mine has used approx half a litre in 5k. I check mine every 2 weeks.

[amii21]

Thanks for the info - the manual says to use VW504.00 for flexible service intervals, and VW502.00 for fixed interval. Mine's on a fixed interval (I'm supposed to take the car for a service every 10K miles), so I guess I'll just leave the oil in and top up if needed...

[Stuart_J]

On our last Skoda Diesel which was the daily hack I never checked the oil, just relied on the light, carried a bottle of the correct oil in the boot & popped 1/2 litre in imediately it came on & then topped up to full the next day when cold. The car was still fine at 165000 when I sold it so I dont think it can do too much harm although I would agree its not good practice. On the other cars I tend to be a good boy & check it every 2-3 weeks or before a long run

Its worth carying a bottle, especially with diesels when new as some will use a bit whilst running in.

[brad1.8T]

I have an Octavia vRS 60 plate with 3k miles (petrol, manual). This morning, the low oil light came on, and I drove to the petrol station and called the main dealer to ask what sort of oil I should top up with. He said normally they use 0w30 but all the petrol station had was 5W30 (Fully Synthetic), so I bought a 1 litre bottle and topped up - the dipstick showed normal levels, and I continued with my journey. The Skoda deler said I should visit them, so they can top up further if necessary. I will also get some skoda approved engine oil whilst I am there, for future top ups.

My questions are:

1) have I done the engine much damage by using the wrong oil (5w30 instead of 0w30 that Skoda use)? The man at Skoda said it would be ok to use...

2) should Skoda just top up (if necessary) leaving the old oil in, or should I insist that they drain the oil completely and replace with Skoda approved oil? (I want to keep the car for many years and am paranoid about engine damage if the wrong oil is used)

3) Should any other filters (e.g. oil filter) be changed at the same time?

4) Is it normal for a 3k mile car to have low oil levels?

Thanks very much for any advice, I am visiting the dealer in a couple of hours and need to know what to say to them

1) Dealer should be using 5w-30 in either 502.00 or 504.00 spec. You will have done no damage at all.

2) Just top it up.

3) No

4) yes. When running in, they drink like a sailor on shore leave. You should be checking the oil level every 2nd fill up & possibly drive the car a bit more briskly to get some pressure behind the rings & help bed them in. The oil usage should decrease over time & be negligable by 25,000km

[Hauptmann]

Please, please never wait for the light to come on before topping up the oil!

If you get away with that repeatedly then you've been really lucky! Its a bit like playing Russian Roulette with your engine......

[cheezemonkhai]

Please, please never wait for the light to come on before topping up the oil!

If you get away with that repeatedly then you've been really lucky! Its a bit like playing Russian Roulette with your engine......

Don't forget the skoda have orange (low level) and red (low pressure).

I agree that the second is a daft thign to do, but while the first isn't the best of ideas, I would hope VAG put the level low warning before it actually go too low.