My husband services our 2002 1.9TDI 130 BHP Superb every year after a garage put the wrong oil in it many years ago. You can imagine how popular we were on an August bank holiday on the A1 towing a caravan with no turbo as it was blocked!! Since this incident we have always used Halfords own 5W/30 VW Audi oil and have had no problems. Reading through the forums on here, and correct me if I'm wrong, I understand that the 5W/30 is for variable servicing and the 5W/40 is for fixed. Even though our car is on a variable service, it is always serviced once a year after about 10K miles. Do we stick with what we know or change oil? I notice that Tesco now sell oil that meets with the same spec as Halfords and is slightly cheaper. Has anyone used this? We've always used oil that meets with VW 504.00/507.00. Tesco meets this as well as ACEA C3.  Some websites have recommended Castrol Magnatec C3 5W/30 which meets VW 502.00/ 505.00. To be honest I've not a clue what the difference is between these VW numbers! Obviously we can do without the problem we had before. I was just wondering what other members would recommend? Perhaps it's just a case of sticking with what we know! Thanks in advance  

For the 1.9 TDI PD engine the oil must be  505.01 or 507.00.  Either of those two grades is ok.  I've got the same kind of engine in my fabia and have always used either Triple QX PD from Eurocarparts or the Quantum PD oil from TPS.  Both are cheaper than the Halfords stuff.

 

There's loads of threads on here about oil, including this old one:

 

 

Edited 3 July, 20178 yr by Chorlton

The problem with the TDi PD engines is that they have very high loadings on the camshaft lobes and so "PD" oils with extra additives were developed to cope with the situation.

 

For fixed servicing at about 12,000 miles or every year, the specifications you should be looking for are 505.01 for a 5W40.  Castrol Edge Titanium 5W40 (4 litres) can rarely be found at less than about £30-£35.

 

The other spec, 507.00 is for extended service intervals and is a 5W30 oil.  It's generally regarded as the "best" of the oil choices and again Castrol Edge Titanium 5W30 (4 litres) can often be found at £30-£35.

 

For either Castrol oil try www.eurocarparts.com or www.carparts4less.co.uk.  Never buy at their normal prices, wait for a weekend or midweek or whatever they choose to call it sale.

 

Probably just as good and probably your best bet is Quantum Longlife III oil which is about £25 to £30 for 5 litres, such as....http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222442530345  Change it every 12,000 miles or every year, whichever comes first. This gives you the combination of the better spec oil changed regularly...best of both worlds!  The engine needs 3.6 litres so 5 litres should leave enough for top-ups during the year.

 

I suspect the extra cost for the Castrol goes mainly to all the advertising they do.

 

 

 

 

The last bottle of LL3 from TPS cost me £17 for 5L - any cheaper and I may start washing in it.  The Quantum oil was being made by Castrol previously but is now made by Fuchs in the UK for VW.