Sorry for yet another oil question. I have read many other threads on this subject, but cannot find the answer.

I have an 02 fabia SDI estate which is now ready for an oil/filter change. The previous owner had it serviced last year at which time it was filled with some form of Castrol SLX. I phoned the garage that did the service to ask what the viscosity of the oil was, but they seemed uncertain - said it was fully synth, probably 5/40.

I have phoned 5 Skoda dealers to ask what oil I should use, and I got 3 different answers including 5/40, 10/40 and 15/40.

The owner's manual seems to suggest that I have two options: Either a 'Multigrade High Lubricity Oil' that meets spec VW 505 00 AND either500 00 or 505 01, or, a 'Multigrade Oil' to spec 505 00. It does not however mention viscosity.

The engine has done 145k, yet despite this, It appears to use no oil whatsoever and will not give out any black smoke ever, even when tryting hard to make it do so. With this in mind, I am assuming that the oils used up until this point have done their job well, and I do not want to skimp on the next oil change. I had initially worried that it may eat the lower viscosity, fully synth oils, but having spoken to the garage that serviced it previously, I am fairly confident that this is not the case (it does not appear to have used any oil since it was last serviced 8000 miles ago and filled with Castrol SLX fully synth). I think that they probably went a little overkill and treated it as though it had a PD engine, which it obviously has not.

Please can someone offer me some sound advice. I was considering a Millers semi-synth 5/40, meeting both 500 00 and 505 01, but wonder now whether a more expensive fully synth may be better.

Edited 14 June, 201114 yr by Tin-Tin

I use 5w40 in the wifes SDI Fabia think its quantom or something similar

The viscosity is a bit of a red herring; you just need to worry about the VAG 500 series specs you need.

My personal preference would be for the 5W40 because it pumps up faster on a cold engine.

The viscosity ratings of 5/40, 10/40, 15/40.....the lower the value of the first number the better the car will be at starting in cold weather....so 5/40...is the best....or.....go for this one by Mobil 1 for diesels!!

http://www.mobil.co.uk/UK-English-LCW/carengineoils_products_mobil-1-turbo-diesel-0w40.aspx#

I use Mobil 1 (for petrol) and it is great!!! The engine sounds better as this is a very good oil (one of the best)...also I was thinking of swapping to the Millers version..but a bit more expensive as sometimes halfords has Mobil 1 on offer!!!!

EDIT

Look see!!!

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_241573_langId_-1_categoryId_165581

Edited 10 June, 201115 yr by fabdavrav

Thanks for the all the replies guys!

The mobil 1 is a great oil, but I think that 0w40 may be overkill for my engine and I am concerned that it may be so thin that it causes leaks on the old lump. It' really is a good price at Halfords though!

So, I think I will look for a 5w40. The only choice now is whether to go for semi-synth or fully synth. I have looked at Millers XFE-PD which is semi synth, and at the moment, I think this is probably the one I will go for unless anyone can convince me that I ought to go for a fully synth 5w40 such as the more expensive Castrol Edge which is approximately twice the price.

Sorry for further rrelated question, but I have just noted that the Millers XFE-PD oil says 'Not suitable for vehicles fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter'. Does anyone know if the SDI engine has one of these devices?

Sorry for further rrelated question, but I have just noted that the Millers XFE-PD oil says 'Not suitable for vehicles fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter'. Does anyone know if the SDI engine has one of these devices?

No DPF on your car

No DPF on your car

Thanks MoggyTech

OK. Having spent some considerable time researching my available options, I thought I would post my findings/conclusions here in the hope that it may be of use to someone in the future:

I decided (rightly or wrongly) that I was not entirely happy about the backwards compatibility of the newer VW 507 petrol/diesel oils that have superceded the VW 505 01 diesel standard of oils listed within my 02 SDI owner's manual (fixed servicing regime). I understand that these were developed in order to maintain adhereance with newer EU polution regulations and designed to be kind to the Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs)fitted to more modern diesel engines. While they may be suitable for the SDI, I did note that they are not backwards compatible with some of the PD engines on variable servicing that require VW 506 01 spec oil.

With this in mind, in addition to the Quantum oil mentioned above, I found the following oils that still state that they meet the older VW 505 01 standard (there are probably several others):

Millers XLF-PD Diesel 5w40 semi-synthetic retailing locally to me at £37.20 for 5l.

Castrol Edge Turbo-Diesel 5w40 fully synthetic (Current Halfords price £40.99 for 4l and £16.50 for an additional 1l bottle).

Halfords own brand fully synthetic Diesel oil (dark grey container), currently retailing at approx £38 for a 5l container. - Note, that although it does not state on Halfords web site that it meets the VW 505 01 standard, you will find that it does when you look on the container.

In the end, I found 5l of Castrol Edge on eBay for £47 delivered, so I opted for it on this occasion.