markcincinnati

My SM said he would put me in a loaner before he would let me drive the car with the wrong oil in it. That is why he immediately had a tech suck out the new -- wrong -- 5W40 and replace it and the filter with the VW 508 spec oil.

Usually this guy is laid back -- water off a duck's back kind of guy. He was, I think, actually angry this happened and behaved as if it was "very important" that I not drive off into the sunset with the wrong oil in the car.

Were I you, I would request a free, proper oil and filter change IMMEDIATELY if not before.

uberwgn

Yeah, the HT/HS spec on this new oil is MUCH thinner than the 502.00 5W40 oils we're accustomed to over the past decades. I would not consider them interchangeable at all. In fact, I'd run one of Mobil 1's 0W20 oils (at Walmart) before I put in an oil that meets the old spec. They have gone to this lo-vis oil for a reason and you can be sure the engine has been designed around it.

James Cole

Well that does it... I will keep the car in the garage till I get the new oil next week.

ajpuciat

Wow. I'm going to have to watch this first change like a hawk

markcincinnati

Just make sure you see this:

GE5-257-71L- - DSP 0W20 B-CYC - oil

gk1

Interesting thread. It is a bit disconcerting to see Audi move to a 20w as this almost always sacrifices protection for increased fuel economy. I get a bad feeling some pencil pusher decide a 4% improvement in fuel economy was worth the trade off in increased wear. I'm not arguing that this new spec is not the correct oil for the motor, just worrying that all they are focusing on is reduced fuel consumption over the warranty period. But none of us keep these cars past warranty anyway.
That being said I had an '05 Mazda that used 0w-20 and ran fine until I traded it at 80k+ miles. But it was just a 160hp 2.3L, not a 354hp turbocharged motor.
I will be curious to see what the RS5 will require with +1 turbo and +100hp.

markcincinnati

The issue that is being addressed with this new oil formulation IS wear and CONSUMPTION (of oil, NOT gas) and somewhat fuel. This new formulation contains an additive package that (supposedly) is specially designed to achieve these goals. Someone here described the new(er) formulation the 508 specification brings (in addition to titanium).

I have noticed the engine temp -- post change -- has been about 4-8F higher. Of course, this is a bit confusing, since I assumed the oil that was in the car from birth was VW 508 spec -- unless there is something about the first oil that is slightly different.

Before you suggest "summer" heat -- our daytime HIGH yesterday was 61F. The day after I picked up the car the high did reach 80F, but we've had days where the temp readout (ambient) reached 101F and the engine temp virtually never got above 216-220F; I saw an indicated 224F (which did cool down rapidly to 220F).

I am not claiming my "data points" are necessarily able to be predictive of other's experience once they get their first oil change.

In any case, this roll out of the 2018's has been -- uh -- clumsy, disorganized and lacking consistent information. The underhood sticker does say "use ONLY VW 508 oil, as does Audi of America's own website. But you have to be willing to dig for this information (especially on the website) and Audi's inability to get the corporate website updated is disappointing.

This too shall pass -- of that I'm certain, but how many folks will have the wrong oil put in their cars before the information dearth catches up with deliveries of the cars?

Prediction: Changes, like these, will become increasingly commonplace as rapid advances in technology, engineering, chemistry and manufacturing are juxtaposed; moreover, these changes will -- if not addressed in a timely manner -- cause even more confusion and could be a recipe for "issues" both in service and warranty claims.

James Cole

Mark two things...

Did you ask your dealer if the oil that came out was green (ish)? Mine at 1,200 miles came completely brown...

Also do you notice more power? Thinner oils generally should generally run cooler

markcincinnati

After having 33 Audis, one thing every one of them has done is increase power at least twice -- 5,000 and 10,000 miles. Of course, having never had any car to 94,000+ miles, we also noticed a decided up-tick in the power at about 55,000 miles (in my wife's 2014 SQ5).

So, right on cue, my '18 S4 does seem more powerful now that it has passed 5K miles. My wife, too, noticed another change -- increase MPG's. We literally drive to and from Columbus (about a 200 mile round trip) every week -- sometimes twice per week. We drive (regardless of who is behind the wheel and which "S" car we take) about 80MPH, I use cruise control, my wife doesn't -- the point is that she made the round trip on Friday and per usual set tne trip computer to all zeroes as it were, and her MPG's rose about 2-3+ (I don't know if this was round trip or one way).

Gas used has been exclusively Top-tier and the tires are inflated "as if" there are a couple of passengers in the vehicle (per the owner's manual).

Again, she claims the butt dyno feels more "torque" and the gas mileage says "more MPGs."

This is typical Audi. I really have no idea if the first oil was green or not -- the current oil VW 508, however, is decidedly green.

And, the temp (on my car, since my wife didn't know to look for it) was "about" 4+ degrees F higher since the oil change.

In any case, I'm going to keep an eye out for the temp thing to see if that was perhaps a one off or if the car runs a bit warmer than it used to.

Talbot

Here's the response from AofA.....

Hello Mr. Menear,

Thank you for your patience.

I have reviewed the information that you have sent about our website and I wanted to inform you that I will be sending this information over to our internal web team so that they may review what you have told me and move forward with correcting the website.

In addition, your feedback will be formally documented here and shared with other appropriate parties within Audi of America including those would work directly with our dealership partners.

I want to thank you for bringing this to our attention, Mr. Menear. If you should have any questions in the future, do not hesitate to contact us again. You may contact us at AudiCustomerExperienceCenter@audi.com or +1 800 822 2834. We are here for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Have a great rest of your day!

Warm regards,

Kaitlyn C.