Assuming that on variable servicing a service is done every 20k miles and few people have suggested that it's better to had the fixed interval i.e every 10k miles.......

.......I was wondering, has anyone got variable intervals but did an oil changes themselves every 10k? You get the best of both Worlds then; FMSH (warranty intact) and an oil change every 10k. :thumb:

Not sure of the cost implications though. How much for an oil filter and a gallon (I assume this is all you need) of the correct grade oil (for variable servicing)? What's the cost of a 20k service?

Cheers.

Adrian.

Castrol Longlife SLX 2 0W-30 synthetic oil for the 1.8T engine is

They plug in their 1552 and reset the maximum mileage (well its in km actually) before servicing so the car doesn't get too confused by interim servicing. Well, they should anyway.

Whilst on the subject of oil... did I translate my Skoda manual correctly about it having an oil level warning light?

Reason for asking is that afer 16k+ miles I've still yet to put some oil in (I have also checked the level manually! - it's still above the minimum - just...)

BTW - Mobil to VW spec cost me

The manual is confusing. Under Warning Lights - Oil - it says 'Warning light shows red (engine oil level too low)' - but then has a warning 'The oil pressure warning light is not an oil level gauge'. Later, in the same section, it says 'Yellow warning light comes on (engine oil level too low)* - If the yellow warning light comes on, the engine oil level is probably too low.'

So, if the yellow light comes on, stop the car and top up. If the oil is at the correct level and the light comes on then do not continue driving or run the engine at idle speed. And if the red light comes on, stop the car and switch off the engine. Check the oil level and top up if necessary. Do not continue driving if the light comes on again. I'm getting a headache trying to work out the difference between those 2 pieces of advice. :?

I haven't found any oil generally on sale which meets spec VW 503 00, although one did have a form of words which could lead VW/Skoda owners to believe that it was suitable for use in 'variable service interval' engines. Which Mobil and does it specifically quote spec VW 503 00?

Oil level and/or oil pressure? - your guess is as good as mine.

Thanks Denis, glad to hear I'm not the only one who finds the manual confusing! I'm assuming that as it has variable servicing it must also have a yellow light.

The oil I bought is Mobil 1 0W-40. It doesn't specifically state VW 503 00, but instead 503 01. The guy in the shop said that this was a higher spec than 00, and who am I to argue! This was the closest match I could find.

Cheers,

Ian

IanB

I'm almost certain the shop was wrong!

Spec VW 503 01- a fully synthetic 0W-40 oil - is for the turbo engined Audi TT (165KW), S3 and RS4 with LongLife Service. Spec VW 503 00 - a fully synthetic 0W-30 oil - is for the petrol engined Golf/Bora, New Beetle, Passat and Sharan, and of course the Octavia, all with LongLife Service.

503 01 is not a later version of 503 00 - it is a different oil. Moreover, it is a significantly different oil to its own predecessor (503 01 (1/97)) which was a non-longlife 0W-30 oil.

Examples of German BP oils meeting the 3 specs are as follows:

503 00 BP Visco 7000 Longlife II SAE 0W-30

503 01 BP Visco 7000 SAE 0W-40

503 01 (1/97) BP Visco 7000 Special SAE 0W-30

The above information came from German web sites; I couldn't find it on UK ones.

I use Castrol LongLife SLX2 0W-30 which cost

I think I need to pop into my local Skoda dealer for a litre of the Castrol (and dig out my receipt...)

Thanks for the info,

Ian

Check out this: http://www.bp.com/company_overview/technology/frontiers/fr03apr02/fr03lubricants.asp for info on the development of SLX Longlife II (and a pic of a rather warm engine).

TY. That info should give one confidence in the new oil. Incidentally, you will see from that site that BP own Castrol. I wonder if BP Visco 7000 Longlife II SAE 0W-30 is the same oil (or lubricant) as Castrol Longlife SLX2 0W-30. It would hardly make sense developing 2 separate oils to meet the same spec.

We need a FAQ idc about what oil to use in LongLife Service Skodas, and what particular brands meet the various specs. When I was looking at oils in my local motor shop, I found a major brand that claimed to be especially suitable (or a similar form of words) for cars needing the new VW spec oils - [b:93e1c31240]but[/b:93e1c31240] the oil in the bottle did [b:93e1c31240]not[/b:93e1c31240] meet those

specs!

Update as at 29/12/02 - We now have that FAQ.

For VAG-COM owners, and other members who are interested in the finer details of variable versus fixed service parameters, here is a Ross-Tech VAG-COM thread showing the settings for the different types of service interval:

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/vw_sri.html