2 hours ago, gav_is_con said:

What’s the best mobile scanner and dongle for these cars as my VCDS seems to be not compatible with anything maybe later than 2019 me thinks as the person I bought it off told me. When I scanned the car at the dealership it did read some stuff but kept saying something about software or interface not compatible ?

I use carscanner on my 2016 (tdi not 280 - apologies if I’m not welcome is this corner of the forum….) With this dongle https://amzn.eu/d/011CjT7Z

So far not found anything that I can’t do with it.

Supports long coding, and full list of more preset coding options here:

https://www.carscanner.info/coding-mqb/

4 hours ago, gav_is_con said:

What’s the best mobile scanner and dongle for these cars as my VCDS seems to be not compatible with anything maybe later than 2019 me thinks as the person I bought it off told me. When I scanned the car at the dealership it did read some stuff but kept saying something about software or interface not compatible ?

You’ve checked for updates? Can you check on the Ross-tech website and things like that?

What oil are you using in your 280 engines I have heard 5w/30’ Quantum LL3 mentioned by TPS but 0/20 Castol by Skoda Dealer ?

17 minutes ago, gav_is_con said:

What oil are you using in your 280 engines I have heard 5w/30’ Quantum LL3 mentioned by TPS but 0/20 Castol by Skoda Dealer ?

Can of worms.

So they tend to refer to VW 504 (which is paired with 507 as the diesel equivalent).

It’s 5w30 Longlife but it wasn’t always. Google AI mentions low SAPS formula protecting emissions for the benefit of GPFs/DPFs so it may have been that since DNUA engine codes (EA888 Gen 3 with the GPF) onwards.

Fairly sure if you search you can find people quoting VW504 as previously having at least a different viscosity. Either that or early (ie pre-GPF) 280s had a different oil requirement.

This is my engine bay - this is the gen4 engine so with a GPF.

8 hours ago, travs said:

This is my engine bay - this is the gen4 engine so with a GPF.

Okay so the 507 00 is the old Longlife 3 that’s been out for years, I already use this stuff it’s 5w30. No idea where the dealer gets 0/20or 30 grade in Castrol as the equivalent LL3 they do is also 5w30. I have seen grade differences between brands on another VAG car but this time points to a 5w30 in both Quantum and Castrol. I have Quantum on my garage shelf so all good for any top ups. Cheers

I had to edit this post as quantum also do a LL3 in 0w/30 which I found after a search why have two different grades with different viscosities for sale, confusing. 🫤

Edited 3 April3 Apr by gav_is_con
Additional info

Do these 280 TSIs still use some oil between services as our 1.2 does and a friend with a 1.4/1.5 also has to top up the oil every so often?

Since I moved to an excellent Indy, it’s had Mobil 1 FS 0W-40 which meets VW 502 00.

1 hour ago, numskull said:

Since I moved to an excellent Indy, it’s had Mobil 1 FS 0W-40 which meets VW 502 00.

Yours is pre-GPF right? Might be a different requirement. Or it just covers the 5w30 requirement etc

1 hour ago, gav_is_con said:

Do these 280 TSIs still use some oil between services as our 1.2 does and a friend with a 1.4/1.5 also has to top up the oil every so often?

I don’t think so but it would be understandable for any engine to use a tad.

47 minutes ago, travs said:

I don’t think so but it would be understandable for any engine to use a tad.

Cool thanks

49 minutes ago, travs said:

Yours is pre-GPF right? Might be a different requirement. Or it just covers the 5w30 requirement etc

Mine It’s a 2023 April motor this has GPF I presume ?

Edited 3 April3 Apr by gav_is_con
Add text

1 minute ago, gav_is_con said:

Cool thanks

Mine It’s a 2023 April motor this has GPF I presume ?

5 hours ago, travs said:

Yours is pre-GPF right? Might be a different requirement. Or it just covers the 5w30 requirement etc

Yep, you know this to be true, Lee!

7 hours ago, gav_is_con said:

Do these 280 TSIs still use some oil between services as our 1.2 does and a friend with a 1.4/1.5 also has to top up the oil every so often?

Mine does, but I do a LOT of very short journeys. Mind you, only around a 1/4 ltr. in 2/3k.

4 hours ago, gav_is_con said:

Cool thanks

Mine It’s a 2023 April motor this has GPF I presume ?

It does.

6 hours ago, gav_is_con said:

Cool thanks

Mine It’s a 2023 April motor this has GPF I presume ?

Yeah you’ve got DNFE engine like mine. THE best as it shares all the same hardware with the everything VW R/S3 so remaps are very beneficial.

On 03/04/2026 at 08:42, numskull said:

Since I moved to an excellent Indy, it’s had Mobil 1 FS 0W-40 which meets VW 502 00.

Just a word of warning with this. I've done a fair bit of research regarding oils for these engines - my vRS (EA888.3 DKTB) called for 0W-20, and I was debating a move to 0W-30. Aside from every single tuning place I spoke to telling me to stick with 0W-20, I also found that the variable speed oil pump (along with the vanes, etc) is optimised to run on the thinner oil. Yes, the move to a 20 weight was for emissions, but they did make some changes to the engine(s) to accommodate this. I would just make sure that the thicker 40 weight is reaching everywhere it needs to be.

Frankly, I've seen cars on 100,000+ miles, fault free, that have been on 0W-20, 5W-30, 0W-40 and everything inbetween. Unless the car is heavily tuned, just stick to what VW suggest.

Edited 4 April4 Apr by OccyVRS

8 hours ago, OccyVRS said:

Just a word of warning with this. I've done a fair bit of research regarding oils for these engines - my vRS (EA888.3 DKTB) called for 0W-20, and I was debating a move to 0W-30. Aside from every single tuning place I spoke to telling me to stick with 0W-20, I also found that the variable speed oil pump (along with the vanes, etc) is optimised to run on the thinner oil. Yes, the move to a 20 weight was for emissions, but they did make some changes to the engine(s) to accommodate this. I would just make sure that the thicker 40 weight is reaching everywhere it needs to be.

Frankly, I've seen cars on 100,000+ miles, fault free, that have been on 0W-20, 5W-30, 0W-40 and everything inbetween. Unless the car is heavily tuned, just stick to what VW suggest.

I finally managed to get the spec out of the salesman what they use on this car, it’s Castrol Long Life 3 5w30. Quantum which I use for another car is LL3 again and 5w30 but I note they also do a LL3 in a different spec Ow20, something I have not come across before as never needed it. So confusing the same name but different grades/viscosity

Edited 5 April5 Apr by gav_is_con
Punctuation

For your DNF engine you should stick to low SAPS, as indicated. There are oils falling in the same category, but not VW "approved", which is a matter of commercial convinience between the two manufacturers - car and lubricant - not a guarantee of anything better than the rest.....

I do short intervals so I moved away from LL or FE lubricants. I tried also to research extensively on the subject mentioned by Occy about the "different" or "optimized" oil pumps, but I cannot find true and proven information yet ... say part number between a CJXA and a DNUA engine has a different suffix ok, so it implies a variation, but VAG is known for using different suffixes wether there is a technical change ... or not.

Currently I am using Fuchs Titan on 5W-40, but I know found a shortcut to the local importer of Pakelo and I am would like to try it next. I expect this summer a quiet season, just a couple hwy long trips 1.5k/2k and that's it, so maybe I will hold until the winter and switch back to a 0W option, although it is not recommended.

All mechanics and tuners I know are adamant in staying away from 0W oils and long-time intervals, in between oil being cooked as being too little viscous, thinner and lighter piston and oil scrapers which tend to stick or worse "glue" to the pistons themselves, pistons that have become excessively thin and light ... variable speed/pressure oil pumps ... too much "optimization", with sometimes catastrophic results.

5 minutes ago, leolito said:

For your DNF engine you should stick to low SAPS, as indicated. There are oils falling in the same category, but not VW "approved", which is a matter of commercial convinience between the two manufacturers - car and lubricant - not a guarantee of anything better than the rest.....

I do short intervals so I moved away from LL or FE lubricants. I tried also to research extensively on the subject mentioned by Occy about the "different" or "optimized" oil pumps, but I cannot find true and proven information yet ... say part number between a CJXA and a DNUA engine has a different suffix ok, so it implies a variation, but VAG is known for using different suffixes wether there is a technical change ... or not.

Currently I am using Fuchs Titan on 5W-40, but I know found a shortcut to the local importer of Pakelo and I am would like to try it next. I expect this summer a quiet season, just a couple hwy long trips 1.5k/2k and that's it, so maybe I will hold until the winter and switch back to a 0W option, although it is not recommended.

All mechanics and tuners I know are adamant in staying away from 0W oils and long-time intervals, in between oil being cooked as being too little viscous, thinner and lighter piston and oil scrapers which tend to stick or worse "glue" to the pistons themselves, pistons that have become excessively thin and light ... variable speed/pressure oil pumps ... too much "optimization", with sometimes catastrophic results.

I am switching the car from long life intervals at 47k to annual and I only intend to do approx 5k a year in it. Is the Quantum LL3 5w30 fine for me like this, in a 2023 280?

Long Life oil is VW504 00 / 507 00, 0w 30 FS III or 5w 30 FS III, then VW went for most other than some engines in time for the WLTP Certification to VW508 00 / 509 00. 0w 20 FS IV.. Not backward compatible. Non long life for TSI,s was and is VW502 00. Usually 5w 40 FS. @gav_is_con For decades since Skoda / VW recommended Castrol and put a litre in cars boots. Unopened. Dealerships in the UK used Quantum, now TPS supply Quantum in the UK, from Fuchs Oils.

Edited 5 April5 Apr by Evolution13

@leolito Please remember this is a Global Forum. Bulgari might be similar to the UK but not the Middle or Far East or Australia / Newzealand etc. So location location location as far as 0W oils. Climate / Temperatures.

Let me see if I can find the information on the oil pumps. This was last year as @Evolution13 will remember, so I'll have to do some digging.

From everyone that I spoke to (Ecotune, Unicorn, etc) the advice was to stick with 0W-20. For those pushing their EA888s past 600bhp+ the recommendation was to jump up to 5W-30. The general idea is that the newer EA888.3/4 has tighter tolerances than previous iterations, so while running a heavier oil won't cause anything as drastic as starvation, there was concern that it might not reach everywhere it needed to.

Will I jump to 0W-30? Probably not. Could it be better for the engine? Maybe, but I can't see me having the car much past 100k miles, and any impact of such a change won't be visible until past then. Don't forget, 90% of engine wear happens during a cold start - and that is where an 0W oil will perform better than a 5W.

I quickly found a few bits here, here and here. Not sure how good they are.

Almost every VW engine went to 0w 20 FS IV other than the ones that stay recommended as 0w 30 FS III. There are repeated posts since 2018 on the matter. Good oil, maybe better than Castrol / Quantum, not run as much as 1/4 lower than oil capacity, and Super Unleaded E5, sorted. EDIT. Sorry could not link thread. But easy to find.

Edited 5 April5 Apr by Evolution13

On 05/04/2026 at 11:51, gav_is_con said:

Is the Quantum LL3 5w30 fine for me like this, in a 2023 280?

Might be overkill a LL oil for short-intervals, but if it suits you, why now. I cannot comment on the brand, as is not in use here (dealer uses OE or Castrol).

On 05/04/2026 at 12:19, Evolution13 said:

Long Life oil is VW504 00 / 507 00

Very good observation I forgot to mention ... this spec recommends only LL oils, and only in up to the '30' hot viscosity grade, for example for mine 2021 is a 0W-30.

I have seen earlier norm (502 for petrol) available also in non-LL and above '30' grade.