Ok, so i'm having a whale of a time with the vRS, but now reality strikes home and its time to open the bonnet.

My dealer has entered the "next service" as being due at 12 months / 10,000 miles, so i'm obviously on fixed servicing, which isnt a problem as i'm not sure i like the variable service idea.

The question is, can anyone recommend a suitable oil for top-up's that i can run down to the local Halford's and grab "off the shelf" as paying dealer prices for oil isnt my idea of fun. ??

Thanks for any replies

Geoff.

I use castrol Slx longlife 2 oil to top mine up , there is also a version of Shell Helix that is suitable for the variable servicing , but as you are on fixed servicing you may not need to go to the expense of using these oils (12 quid a litre , even from Halfords) , is there anyone on here on fixed servicing that can reccomend a suitable oil? (Im still on variable , car is 21 months old soon and still only 12k on the clock , so it will be a 2 year interval for me!)

Well, after a careful look at the manual, and half an hour in Halfords, it seems that Castrol Magnatec meets the VW 500 00 spec for fixed servicing. Its exactly the same oil i always used in the old Astra, so it should be a good bet

But....are you sure your car is on fixed servicing? After following various threads since we were all on Vortex (does anyone check for strays once in a while?) the impression I get is that most dealers don't know their arse from their elbow when it comes to variable servicing. If your car is brand new it would come from the factory set at variable, your dealer would have to physically change it to fixed. Personally I'd get them to check and then you decide what you want. I think it's a bit easy for whoever writes in when the next service is due to just put the same as the majority of the cars they service ie 12 months/10,000 miles.

How did I get so cynical?

Its exactly the same oil i always used in the old Astra, so it should be a good bet.

The above was written in jest, I know, but your RS has a relatively high performance engine with a turbo, both of which will benefit from the tlc of a decent engine oil, ie an oil to spec VW 503 00. If your car is in fact set for variable servicing, or if it isn't and you wish to have it set for variable servicing in the future, you must use oil to that spec oil when topping up - and it will have come factory filled with that oil from new. See our FAQs for a list of suitable oils.

The dog is still waiting for a walk.......

Originally posted by DGW in this post

an oil to spec VW 503 00. If your car is in fact set for variable servicing, or if it isn't and you wish to have it set for variable servicing in the future, you must use oil to that spec oil when topping up - and it will have come factory filled with that oil from new.

Now, THAT makes sense

Makes me wonder why the manual doesnt just tell you to use the Long Life stuff until the first service (as its factory filled with it anyway) and then let you decide what to do from there.

I'm assuming the Long Life oil is better than the stuff they recommend for fixed servicing anyway.

Looks like i'll have to pay Halfords another visit after i check the FAQ's, i think i saw Castrol Slx on the shelf while i was looking earlier.

Thanks to all

My 1.8T is on fixed servicing. The last invoice included a refill of Casrtol Magnatec, so I guess that's OK.

I'll double check when it goes for its 2year/20,000 mile service next week.

Today is Prickle-Prickle, the 16th day of Discord in the YOLD 3169

i think i saw Castrol Slx on the shelf while i was looking earlier.

There are a number of different versions of Castrol SLX. The one you want is listed in the FAQs. The one in Halfords could well be the wrong one, as indeed it is in my local car accessory shop. You need to check that it specifically states on the container that it meets spec VW 503 00 with a date not earlier than 01/97 indicated after that Standard. If all else fails, try your local Skoda dealer. At

I agree with Denis with regards to frequency of top up. In over 32k miles including around 700 miles on the nurburgring, I have used just over 1 litre of oil. Most of that was during the first 5k miles, since then it hardly uses any. Have not needed to put any in since its last service (July 2002 and 20k miles).

Mine is on variable servicing by the way. From what I can tell you have 2 ways of checking the service interval.

1) Someone with the necessary vag diag tool. or

2) See what happens as you get towards 10k miles, you get a warning from about 800 miles before the service is due.

Looks like a visit to the dealer is in order then, if only to clarify the fixed / variable servicing question.

Why do they have to make it so damn hard anyway. If the car is built for extended service intervals, why not just leave it at that ?.

Stupid question maybe, i think we know the answer....

All sorted by a quick visit to the dealer's today.

I picked up a bottle of Castrol SLX Longlife 2, with the relevant VW / Audi approval number in nice large letters on the front

Forgot to ask about the fixed / variable servicing though, i'll cross that bridge when i come to it.

Originally posted by rich1068 in this post

But....are you sure your car is on fixed servicing? After following various threads since we were all on Vortex (does anyone check for strays once in a while?) the impression I get is that most dealers don't know their arse from their elbow when it comes to variable servicing. If your car is brand new it would come from the factory set at variable, your dealer would have to physically change it to fixed. Personally I'd get them to check and then you decide what you want. I think it's a bit easy for whoever writes in when the next service is due to just put the same as the majority of the cars they service ie 12 months/10,000 miles.

Spot on Rich My thoughts exactly - I would have written the same response, my handbook was written as fixed car on variable - garage hinted fixed was best and I should sevice at 10k- Skoda customer services stated it was up to me if I wanted to get it changed to fixed or stay on variable but sort of vered on the side of fixed. Decided to leave on variable, less oportunities of getting oily marks on trim, scuff marks on wheels and door sill and mechanics racing your car about - Im not cynical either;)

John

the problem with variable servicing is it is hard for garage to decide which service to do if car has coverd 30k in 19 mnths which service do you do has missed 10k service has missed 20k service has missed 1yr annual service which service do you do at least with fixed you know car is serviced every 10,000 miles/ 12 mnths would you like your to have travelled 20/30k without being looked at ?

big k

My local Skoda dealer used the same argments and won't carry out variable service interval servicing hence I will have to take my Octavia elsewhere. But the fixed annual service you are talking about isn't quite that straightforward.

The Standard Service (QG0) involves:

An engine oil change every 10000 miles. (This includes a check of brake pad thickness).

An Annual Inspection every 12 months. The Annual Inspection includes an Oil Change Service.

An Oil Change Service if the vehicle is driven 10000 miles in less than a year.

If the vehicle is driven more than 20000 miles in a year, the Annual Inspection should be carried out every 20000 miles and not once a year. (If the Oil Change Service is due just a few months prior to the Annual Inspection, it may be to the owner's advantage to have the Annual Inspection carried out instead).

Straightforward? Not entirely!

So if the annual mileage is 20000 miles, the car has an oil change at 10000 miles and another oil change plus annual inspection at 20000 miles, ie it is possible for it to be driven for 20000 miles without an inspection. And importantly, how the car is driven is not taken into account. The other side of the coin is that if it is only driven 5000 miles in a year, it gets an oil change and an annual inspection after 12 months. Again, how it is driven is irrelevant. Which car is better looked after under that servicing schedule - the one that arguably least needs it!

Vehicles with LongLife Service fall into 2 categories: A - Variable Service Intervals (QG1); and B - Fixed Service Intervals (QG2). I will only address the QG1 servicing requirements since they allow the longest interval between oil changes.

A - Variable Service Intervals (QG1) involves:

An Inspection Service based on on the variable Service Interval display. The service interval can be up to 20000 miles for petrol engines and 30000 miles for certain diesel engines, subject to not later than every 24 months.

A brake fluid change every 2 years.

Easy to understand? Yes!!

NB The Inspection Service for variable service cars is not the same as that for Standard Service (QG0) cars. It is combined with an Oil Change Service and also includes those items requiring attention every 20000 miles. The LongLife oil required for that service interval is considerably superior to that used for QG0 cars and the service interval is based to an extent on how the car is driven, including brake pad wear.

I think the main objection dealers have to variable service intervals is that they see the cars less often and presumably make less profit from servicing. As I have said many times before, I am a convert to variable servicing. My 4X4 has just 5000 miles on the clock after one year and hopefully will not see a dealer before 2 years. Apart from not having an oil change at 10000 miles/12 months, it will be getting exactly the same servicing as a car on standard service which does 20000 miles in a year. But my car is using a superior LongLife oil, has an engine designed to benefit from that oil, and the need for the car to be serviced is being monitored by the service interval display. My case rests...

Time to walk the dog........

hi dennis nice to talk to you. your case is good variable/fixed servicing suits different people with different ideas (most people) like to have there car checked over by a garage every year. Alot of people "dont do car maintance" and leave it up to garage to check car over for them. For the "diy'er or competent owner maybee variable servicing would be the way to go. I think maybee the problem with us dealers would be is that the oil is so expensive to keep hanging around in stock. And maybee "some" dealers might take the view of less services less money. But i take the view of customers "pay our wages" and are willing to help them any which way i can.

Ill stick with variable too , if its good enough for an Audi TT , its good enough for me , even if my car wasnt designed under the influence of Jimi Hendrix !!

Originally posted by Dmac1969vRS in this post

Ill stick with variable too , if its good enough for an Audi TT , its good enough for me , even if my car wasnt designed under the influence of Jimi Hendrix !!

Yeah, but the TT used to be prone to randomly spinning out of control before the recall to have a spoiler fitted

Designed under the Influence of Hendrix?..... Probably lol

I am staying on variable, I have 33k miles on the clock and the last service was 13k miles ago. Over the ownership of the RS I think the savings made in by not having the 10k service etc are beneficial. One other thing, me and Duncan are lucky enough to have a 3 year unlimited mile warranty. I am sure that skoda would not have offered such a good warranty if they had any doughts over variable servicing. Of course I think later cars have the same 3 yr warranty but with a mileage limit.

big k

A slightly overdue welcome to you. It is good to see that at long last we have someone with inside knowledge who might be able to help us with answers! And it is also useful to have a dealer's perspective on things.

PS: Do not fall into the trap of entering into the vRS versus the rest of the Skoda world debate.....

Denis - do you have the information for QG2?

Would a QG1 capable car (eg 4x4 or RS) which goes on to fixed interval servicing then become QG0 or QG2? :confused:

Ta,

Zooty

Originally posted by ZootyRS in this post

Would a QG1 capable car (eg 4x4 or RS) which goes on to fixed interval servicing then become QG0 or QG2? :confused:

No. The QG1 car engine is designed to take advantage of LongLife oil and, assuming that oil is used exclusively, the service interval is then determined on the basis of how the car is driven (put very simply). If you want to have your car put onto the fixed service intervals of the QG2 (oil change every 10000 miles/inspection every 2 years), or the QG0 (oil change verey 10000 miles and annual inspection), then the service display can be adjusted for that. The car remains a QG1 car because it has been designed for variable servicing. Conversely, a QG0 car cannot be turned into a QG1 car by using LongLife oil - even assuming the service display could be set for variable servicing. I have read that using LongLife oil - eg Castrol LongLife SLX2 0W-30 - in a QG0 car would be positively harmful to the engine since it is not designed to use oil of that type and viscosity characteristics.

Perversely, if I were to chip my 4X4 Estate I wouldn't have a vRS Estate - I would have a superior car!

thanx dennis nice to be on board i will do my best to answer any tech questions you guys may have as for the vrs verus the rest of skoda i would much prefer a skoda estelle/rapid with a wacking great v8 in it ( a proper racers car) i have seen a few along the dragstrips with engine in front but i want to put one in back (i will get round to it one day)

Another point to add to the discussion

I had my A4 V6 TDI Quattro on variable (long life oil) servicing from new and covered 45000 in 18 months with no problems. Just be very sure that if topping up a car that has long life oil in it, you only use long life oil.

Obvious really, but if you top up with something else even fully synthetic, the oil quality sensor(s) will believe that the oil is degrading and bring you in for a service earlier than needed.

I've bought my 4x4 used, which has been fixed interval serviced (even though the ECU was set on variable) and I'll probably stay on fixed unless I start doing higher miles (ie 20k+) again.

I haven't investigated Skoda servicing prices but all Audi ended up doing was charge more for the variable services and ramp up their annual labour rates (last time I looked it was