My VRS CR is 1 year old and supposedly on variable servicing. I have done 6225 miles and the service indicator is on. This seems strange to me as the old Superb on variable used to do 2 years. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

Unless 95% of those journeys were less than a couple of miles long I would say the dealer reset the service interval to fixed servicing during the PDI (not an uncommon thing for some dealers to do)

as with above I recon its on fixed mine was set to fixed on PDI and they told me it HAD to be I said get to F@#...... they plugged into it in front of me told me thats it changed then found it not to be and I had to get it changed over in Holland where I work at a dealers there !!! Which dealers PDIed maybe we could make generate a list so people can be aware before collection Motorline Dartford are my nemesis STILL waiting for them to get back to me about it when I called to kick off at it being on fixed ......

Regardless of if its on fixed or variable, change the oil and filter every 10,000 miles, it does the engine and turbo good to get fresh oil

Never had a problem with variable, did 100K miles in previous octavia PD140 and it had just 4 oil changes in my ownership and it never used any oil or had any problems with any of the mechanicals including the turbo. Now done 33K in the superb and it has had one so far, and next is not due for another 6K miles looking at the computer. Let the engine sensors which monitor the oil quality and viscosity do their job.

The fixed vs. variable debate has been done to death.

Both have pro's and con's which can be read in depth with a quick forum search.

It very much sounds to me as though your car is set to fixed which will prompt you for a service at the one year or 10,000 mile mark. Your low mileage suggests infrequent use or short journeys which may mean fixed is in fact more suitable.

However if you prefer the variable option which can reduce running costs by extending the service intervals then it will require a trip to the dealer for them to make the changes.

Regardless of if its on fixed or variable, change the oil and filter every 10,000 miles, it does the engine and turbo good to get fresh oil

I understand the feeling behind this but putting aside whether it's necessary or not for a moment, it can't be a good idea on VAG cars which are on variable servicing.

In my BMW for instance it works out the intervals purely on how much fuel it has used, so if you change the oil but just don't bother resetting the service counter it will still tell you that you need a service at the same time as it would have if you hadn't changed the oil. Hunky-dory.

But VAG cars are a bit more sophisiticated and use sensors which monitor the quality of the oil. So if you put fresh oil in halfway through the service interval the service counter will extend the interval out as the oil is now nice and fresh.

It is then a longer time between getting all of the other parts of your car looked at.

I'd say if you want to service your car every year/10k, get it switched to fixed, leaving it on variable and doing an intermediate oil change will probably be doing more harm than good.

The arguments for and against fixed vs variable get a regular chewing and it is often useful to think again... using the correct oil is of course important but the question here seems to once again focus on the real ongoing annoying problem that so many people are left not knowing to which regime their car is set. If you thought you were on variable and go back to a dealer and query the surprisingly early service warning the likelihood is that they will tell you that they set it to fixed "by mistake" and you will probably ending up having a service anyway just in case. VW have had this type of servicing regime for at least 10 years now and are we really supposed to believe that they keep on accidentally setting it wrong by mistake. I suppose many drivers just go by the service indicator and don't question it, I drive about 8,000 miles a year and decided to go for old fashioned fixed having had the "mistake setting the service regime" carp on 2 of my 3 Skodas. With your lowish annual mileage I would suggest you do the same then at least you know when the darned service is due regardless of the seeming inability of mechanics through the entire VW group to actually set the *!##+? service interval the way you want it....

So I would query this with the dealer, get them to check the car and see what they say... oh dear sorry sir, the service indicator was set to fixed my mistake ? Do you think your driving style has changed so dramatically for the worse since your Superb... I think not :S

Edited 26 May, 201115 yr by hugothebear

But VAG cars are a bit more sophisiticated and use sensors which monitor the quality of the oil. So if you put fresh oil in halfway through the service interval the service counter will extend the interval out as the oil is now nice and fresh.

It is then a longer time between getting all of the other parts of your car looked at.

Is there not a maximum time limit on the service intervals when on variable though?

So even if the sensor that reads the quality of the oil is saying all is good, if the timer reaches two years without being reset it flags up the need for a service anyway?

Don't quote me on this but I think I have read somewhere that the maximum time is set to two years.

Using the correct oil is of course important.

Agreed.

Using the correct type / grade of oil is far more important to modern engines than the intervals at which it is changed.

For me I prefer the safe approach, correct oil and regular changes, but as I've said before, each to their own

My first variable service was after 13 months and 7k miles (in a petrol vRS), so fairly similar

Is there not a maximum time limit on the service intervals when on variable though?

So even if the sensor that reads the quality of the oil is saying all is good, if the timer reaches two years without being reset it flags up the need for a service anyway?

Don't quote me on this but I think I have read somewhere that the maximum time is set to two years.

There is, you are right it's two years, but without the fresh oil it might have told you to service (e.g.) after 18 months and because it has fresh oil in it, it will now be two years between getting all the other compnents on your car checked.

Just something to think about.

If it were me I'd stick to one or the other, depending on your personal preference, but not a mixture of both.

as with above I recon its on fixed mine was set to fixed on PDI and they told me it HAD to be I said get to F@#...... they plugged into it in front of me told me thats it changed then found it not to be and I had to get it changed over in Holland where I work at a dealers there !!! Which dealers PDIed maybe we could make generate a list so people can be aware before collection Motorline Dartford are my nemesis STILL waiting for them to get back to me about it when I called to kick off at it being on fixed ......

I am on my second car from Motorline, and have never had a problem with them. Very efficieint and always the cheapest Skoda dealer for servicing, but perhaps it goes to show their service is not consistent.