dlinoc

Have a 2011 s5 v8. Have audicare and the next oil change is at 15k. Just did the freebie 5k service. Plan to keep the car a while so is it recommended to change the oil earlier than every 10k miles. Debating if every 5k is better in the long term. Thoughts?

ayap

I have not yet done the 5,000 oil change, but have the same question in my mind if it's wise to follow the 10,000 interval with Audicare paid for .. or do 5,000 changes.

What boggles my mind is that my previous BMW 3 series had a 15,000 oil change interval (not 10,000 like Audi). To many BMW owner in BMW forums, the 15,000 interval for synthetic oil change is acceptable to them and what they follow.

I've read once guy have his synthetic oil tested at 17,600 miles via Blackstone Lab. The result came back and said said he could put another 5,000 miles as the oil viscosity was still good for another 5,000. Well ... maybe the Manufacturer has a point about 10,000 miles as being ok.

MonzaA5

Every 5K would be prudent if you're planning to keep the car past the warranty period.

Daytona A5

Audi has been designing and building engines for many years and employ a lot of very smart engineers. They know what the correct oil change interval should be. Changing oil too frequently is a waste of both money and a waste of oil.

Huey52

Whereas I don't necessarily disagree, the other side of this coin is that oil is the lifeblood of any vehicle and a 5k change is good insurance. Of course the best methodolgy is to have your oil periodically checked at a lab, as everyone's driving patterns are different (but then, how many take the time to do that?).

ChipB

Given the advances in synthetic oil over the past 15 years and the large capacity of the oil sump in the 4.2L S5 I see no reason to change oil more frequently than every 10K miles or once/year, whichever comes first. Even though I put less than 10K miles/year on my car, Audi Care takes care of the annual oil change no poblem. Interestingly though - BMW's service plan only includes oil changes as specified by the service display in the car; on my wife's E93 it's saying she doesn't need her very first oil change until the car will be 2 years old. I thought that a bit extreme, so I did her first change myself at the 1 year mark. Score one for Audi care over BMW's "free" service plan.

iconoclast

7500 miles on synthetic or around nine months... audicare picked up the oil change on my Q7 and i was 4k away from their recommended service interval.

neunelf

We have 2 BMW's a 200 E46 with 176000 and a 2007 E91 with 88000, have only done recommended changes and have never used a drop of oil. Oil and cars are far different today than the old 3000 mile oil change days of yore!

blufo

I ran into an Audi mechanic who worked at an independent service outfit and he said don't wait for the 15K (10K mile interval) service, especially if you do a lot of city driving. I have an S5I bought in Nov of 2011 and only now have 10K miles on it. I decided to buy a Pela 14 qt oil extractor pump and did the oil change quickly and easily, getting 9 quarts out of the engine. The Pela comes with two hoses. I tried the smaller one to make sure I could get it all the way down the dipstick tube and then used the larger one for the actual change, making sure it penetrated as far as the smaller diameter one. Worked like a champ and never had to get under the car. My wife's got a new A7 and I plan to do the same thing on her car. Oil changes are cheap compared to engine repairs!

KarlFEvans

I disagree with you. My 2003 A4 1.8T had intervals of 10,000 miles with dino as suggested oil. I changed the oil myself every 5000 miles using Mobil1 synthetic. I now have 146k on the engine (that has an APR chip that increases heat) and the engine uses no more oil between changes now than it did new.

Same argument with my wife's 2001 BMW X5. I change it myself at 7500 instead of 15,000. The car has 155k and runs well.