4Rings4Ever

Bought my allroad used from a non Audi dealer, purchased with an extended warranty. Salesman said the last owner did a 65k service. My question I now have a service message at 77k, what should be performed at this point and can a Indy do the work. I have only had the oil changed every 3k Mobil 1 5-30. Also since the NY winter is soon upon us should I change to a different oil grade frowm 5-30.

paulroad

the last service person did not reset the service indicator. We generally change our oil at 5000-7500 intervals. We also use only what the oils -synthetics- accodring to the Audi approved oil chart on www.alroadfaq.com.

If you have ready anything on the board, its our common belief that the allroad will run better when you stay away from the dealer.
You can also go to an audi dealer or call AoA and they will give you the service history by the VIN.

4Rings4Ever

Thank you for the info, what about the oil viscosity for the winter, and is this service a major ? By the way orderd 2 sets of Falken ze 512 for my allroad and wifes cabbi.

paulroad

75K is not major, 80K is usually plugs, filters, etc. Brakes are as needed.
I'd keep the same oil in 0W-40 full time.

2002ar

I use Castrol 0w30 (ACEA A3, VW 503.00, BMW LL-01, etc.) year-round. It's available at most AutoZone stores in the USA. My second choice would be Mobil1 0w40. Mobil1 5w30 is a bit on the thin side for anything but winter use and isn't approved for the 2.7 & 4.2 Audi engines. I change my oil every 10K miles, as specified by Audi. Only the VW 1.8t engine needs a short (5K mi.) oil change interval, IMHO, not allroad engines.

kingfishgrapejam

The W in 5W 30 means it's good for winter.

Trango

The W is a designator for a multiviscosity oil, and is part of the coding of the "weights (a relative term when talking about oil)". For instance, a 15w-30 oil has a viscosity rating of 15 when cold, and 30 at op temp (pick your thermostat rating), meaning that it thickens as it warms.

Although multiviscosity oils are great over a large temperature range (such as in a multiseason motoring application), your oil could be 75W-90 (gear oil), and cause your engine to become a galled mess of annealed parts, W or no W.

Seriously, I just don't your description of a case of "30 Weight" to trip you up like 10 pounds of ball bearings, with apologies to Fletch.

From howstuffworks (I googled for a good explanation):

"
At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.
"

6'6" and 6'10" with the afro,
Bob

2002ar

The previous poster is correct in that the value preceeding the W indicates its cold-temperature viscosity. A 5w30 acts like a 5w oil at (very) cold (winter) temperatures and like a 30w at hot temperatures.

BonanzaMan

Not sure if automotive oils use the same configuration.

kingfishgrapejam

Maybe it was tires I was thinking of-- good explanation. At least I didn't bring up airplanes.