s4_sp

Recently I had oil change service at a dealorship and they said they'd used Valvoline 5W-40 although the maintenance document said it was 5W-30(they said it's a typo).
I had a couple of bad previous experiences on that dealorship (i.e overfilled the oil), so I can hardly trust 100% what they're saying to me.

Usually, I carry a bottle of same type of oil in the trunk and keep adding the oil whenever the oil level goes down.

Anyway, the problem is, I could not find Valvoline 5W-40 in any Autozones in my town. Even Autozone said probably Valvoline doesn't have 5W40.
1)is it OK to mix other venders' 5W40 (i.e. Castrol) with Valvoline(5W40, assuming that the dealor actually had used that oil)???
How about mixing different class of oils (5W30 with 5w40)?

2) I could notice that my S4 consumes a lot of oil, and I'd heard that it's quite normal for S4. But I'm seriously wondering where all oil sludges go after buring inside of engine??? Doesn't it damage the engine just like Audi's notorious 1.8 Turbo engine?

5timeaudiowner

I wonder why you do not choose to use synthetic oil? Also, you can mix synthetic and standard oil if necessary. Oil consumption is an extremely well discussed topic for S4s. You can find countless posts if you search this topic. Break in technique seems to be the most pertinent to consumption rates, although some will disagree.
I chose the "Motoman" method for my new S4 and it is the first of my 5 Audis that I have tried with this method.
I am happy to say that it is also the first of my 5 Audis that has demonstrated ZERO oil consumption in 8,700 miles.

DrGP

With all the satisfied users of the Motoman technique and the many others with oil consumption issues that have followed the Audi method, sooner or later you just have to admit that the Motoman technique works. And the Audi thechnique, many times, doesn't. But Audi doesn't car if you use oil so long as the oil consumption is not more than 1 qt/1000 miles.

NJRickD

any reason why you're not using synthetic? FWIW, my S4 didn't consume any oil over 3 yrs.

CharlieG

Valvoline does indeed produce a 5w40 oil but only in their full synthetic line (SynPower):

<a href="http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=19&section=405">Valvoli ne SynPower</a>

This is one of the "approved" oils for the S4. It's not easy to find though but here's a place that has it online:

<a href="http://oilstore.stores.yahoo.net/valsynmotoil.html">Oil-Store.com</a>

S4 in Margaritaville

I'm a huge, huge fan of doing my own oil changes (among other things). Changing the oil is extremely easy, and allows you to know exactly how much and what type of oil is used.

Additionally, It allows you to check your car's condition regularly, as you can start noticing that torn hose, or wetness appearing on the pan or valve covers.

Just as everyone who owns a car should know how to change a tire, they should be able to change their own oil!

bhvrdr

<ul><li><a href="http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2703769">http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2703769</a</li></ul>