mega_stream

Hoping someone can provide assistance here.

We had our 2006 A3 2.0T serviced yesterday, a long life even though it's only done 9k miles - fair enough it only does short trips.

Problem I have is the oil change in the service book has been ticked 'no' but longlife ticked 'yes'

I have checked the oil on the dipstick and it's not the nice colour golden I would expect on a car that's done 5 miles back from the serving dealer.
I rang them and they assured me the oil and filter have been changed, I checked dipstick again and to me it does not look like new oil.

The service guy now tells me long life oil is a darker colour and the oil has been changed, if it hadn't the ECU would warn on the dash the service hadn't been completed.

I'm struggling to believe this to be honest - I've had a look for a new oil filter but can't even see it! - anyone know where I can see the filter from to check it's new?

Is longlife oil really darker than normal?

Have I been stiched up on a £320 1st service??!!

TIA.

fpan

iTrader: (11)

My collegue's mini also had the first oil change at 15k km (as per service book)!
The colour of the oil on the dipstick after a couple of thousand km wasn't the usual honey coloured one you would expect.

fattb

iTrader: (1)

At a guess i would say its normal I had 2 TT's and a MK5 Golf GTI in recent years (all on AVS/Longlife) and have used 3 different Main dealers all in Kent and each time i have checked the oil, it has been a lot darker than i would expect

Which oil does the 2.0T A3 use 504.00 i guess ? I may have some in the garage will have alook tonight

Just out of interest which Audi Stealer did you use ?

RichWalk

Long/short life service cycles are based on your usage of the car, the oils and fluids used by Audi are different for each process, the Long Life ones are designed as expected to break down over a longer period- as far as I been told with my S3, the EM system is set to whichever interval they see fit for the car. Ring Audi customer service if you are unsure.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

there is a top article in this months What Car about a dodgey Audi statement in a guys service record, he ended up with a large bill because of this issue. Long story but the gearbox went **** up after 50k but the service book said oil change at 40k, still warranty and FASH. Not done due to "Long Service" but Audi got ****ty and very stroppy, refused to pay up. Have a look. Interesting

john banks

I have some VAG Castrol SLX long life stuff in the garage and it looks like normal oil. I get similar stuff put in the Evo - Castrol SLX II IIRC and it looks honey coloured when fresh.

Oil does go dark quickly - that is it doing its job absorbing stuff, but within days of it going in it looks nice.

Have a look at the original fresh oil from the container and compare.

When the wife's Octavia vRS and Golf GTI were new they also had honey coloured long life oil initially.

Based on the oil sensors the 2.0T might not need a change for 2 years on low mileage - the 1.8T went 19000 before it asked for a service. Lots of short journeys reduce that. If your dash says your 2006 car was due an oil change then it should be done.

mega_stream

The oil in the top-up bottle in the boot is normal golden colour.

The car had literally done 5 miles back from the dealer to my home when it was checked - sure it was at the top of the stick rather than mid-way as it was when it went in, but the colour looks as I say - dark brown.

I've found some pictures on a USA forum showing a DIY service, looks like the 2.0T FSI engine has a canister type oil filter rather than a normal one, so not as simple as looking for a nice shiney new filter then.

Guess I'll just have to forget about this and assume they have done it correctly.

DanUK

Would I be right in saying older oil smells different, kinda petrol like rather than the new oil smell?

robertdon777

Audi dealers! - check everything that was supposed to be done twice!.

Friends S4 went in for a long life service, phoned to collect - ermmm its not quite ready its at our "other" garage. So farmed out i take that as.

Cut a long story short car was overfilled with oil by approx 1.5l which isn't what you need to find after paying circa £90 per hour to a 'pro' mechanic and delearship.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Its not been done, it should be black after 5 miles, take a sample, get it analyzed to be sure and then take it to trading standards.

Typical main dealer trick, I am sure some of them are a reception with a desk and a coffe machine, few magazines and a bloke in the back resetting the indicator.

I think half the time you arent paying for anything to be done to the car, just paying for a stamp in a book so you can still sell the car on, they get away with tricks like that cos your average business person in a new Audi is just fulfilling obligations to the lease company and the car will be gone before it becomes a problem.

Dracoro

Not sure about the oil thing, however I think this statement is boll0cks. The service indicators get reset by audi, as far as I know there is no 'ECU sensor' that knows what sort of oil it has in it lol.

NWMark

In my S3 i had all the services done by an independent and each time after the oil was 'new' just like any other oil.

I guess due to the low mileage, that they havent changed the oil, but im guessing siince you have had it serviced then the time period for the service has come around rather than the mileage requirement so the oil should have been changed anyway.

Take it to another garage and ask them if they think the oil has been changed.

Another sure give away would the the sump plug, should be looking brand new if they have replaced it, although im not sure whether it would be a new plug or just a new washer for your specific car.

matchmaker

Tip 1: Go to fixed servicing. Might (possibly) cost more, but would you want your car going 15-20k miles without being checked?
Tip 2: Go to an independent specialist. My Octy vRS just had a 28000 miles service at Star Performance. Cost £90 including vat, and nearly £50 of that was for the Millers fully synthetic oil.

///\oo/\\\

Quite.

Service indicators reset by dealer. ECU calculates intervals based on many parameters, but they dont have a dvice for analysing the oil quality.

Mega, get back to the dealer, ask for the service manager and get him to dip the oil and see what he thinks.

If they had changed the oil, the service book would have been ticked "yes". its not rocket science, and I suspect the dealer is lying to you (although perhaps not knowingly)

The fact is says "no" and "long life" in the service book suggests that the oil hasn't been changed - although bear in mind it may not have to be after 1 year.

If the dealer had said "no" because it doesn't have to be (which is what my understanding of what the service book says) then would you be asking the question?

Read the service book again and see what it says about an oil change.

Check your invoice and see if their is oil and a filter on it.

If the book says its not necessary, kick the dealers **** for fraudulently extorting money out of you unnecessarily (whether they changed the oil or not)

And if they agree that they didn't, kick the dealer's **** again for lying to you and bull****ting you about the whole matter.

Audi dealers are probably the worst out there, second only to VW dealers.

ps - the long life oil for my 120D was slighly darker (more like heavy/bitter rather than lager) but not that it looked like old oil.

RichCTR

I am a service advisor for a Audi centre..

The service book ticked 'longlife service' is correct.. the longlife service includes the engine oil and filter change aswell as pollen filter and sump seal ring washer these are the only parts that should be booked to your service invoice with a approx 4.8 litres of Castrol SLX3 longlife engine oil 5w-30.

If the vehicle has been set to fixed service they may have used Castrol GTX magnatec 10w-40 which is a semi synthetic engine oil which is much darker in colour than the goldy fully synthetic SLX3.

Which dealer did you use for your 1st AVS service? £320 is very very expensive? I'll look at a service sheet for you tommorow I am sure the service time required is 1.3 hours, oil should be approx £14 a litre, service parts no more than £40 did you have any extras like the injector treatments and flushes at 9k they were never needed??

I think you have been done. I would have presented you a invoice for £255 exactly.

mattbeef

1) Just get some oil that meets the oil spec its required to.
2) Book the car in and ask them to change the interval to fixed.
3) Bring in your own oil and get them to use that job done