i bought an Audi A4 and per the dealership i should change my oil every 10k. That seems way too long to wait. Thoughts?
Sounds about right for newer cars like yours, especially when using synthetic oil. What advice is in the owners manual / maintenance manual for your car?
I like this post because it helps balance the many we get that say 'My dealer says I need to change (whatever) more often than the manual says…"
If’ you’ve ever heard of oil sludging and/or oil consumption issues, then mostly likely the 10k miles oil change intervals is responsible for that problem.
There are more than miles involves in oil change intervals. There’s time, fuel quality, environmental conditions such as dust and humidity, and the type of driving involved.
Kepe in mind that when you talk to someone at the dealership you’re dealing with a service writer or service manager; the vast majority of them having little or no mechanical skills.
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The statement may have been 10000 miles or once a year . But if you sleep better doing it every 6 months then do so.
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Changing the oil isn’t too expensive, so do it every 5k miles instead.
New car manufacturer’s oil change interval recommendations may not be in the car owner’s best interest. For more info on this topic, click below.
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Excellent article. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you! I have always changed oil at least 2x/year. its troublesome that dealerships are giving bad advice to consumers.
I do mine at 5000 miles which is about 50% on the oil meter. I disagree that dealers always try to push oil changes. I have argued with the dealer who told me they did so much research that I could just trust the meter. I don’t know what that would come out to be but at least 8-10,000 miles. Another reason I guess to be careful of used cars. Customers are being told to extend the oil changes, and unless they are stubborn or old school, do what they say.
I have been performing 10,000 mile oil changes for customers for 15 years and so far have not witnessed a failure when using synthetic oil, I do see failed engines that have gone beyond 5,000 mile using conventional oil.
I have never advised a customer to extend their oil change interval, the recommended service interval for the vehicles that I service is 10,000 miles, that is a bit early for some but covers all. About 1/3 of the customers bring their vehicle in late, at 12,000 to 15,000 miles but so far the only engines being replaced are on older vehicles that were driven without coolant until the engine failed.
@Nevada_545 I’ll defer to your professional opinion with me just being a novice consumer. But how many of your customers have cars with 500,000 miles and the engine was never apart and not using oil?
strong text DONT DO IT EVERY TEN THOUSAND!! THEY WANT YOUR CAR TO BREAK DWN SO THEY CAN make money of of you. Buy shell oil full synthetic. For summer go with heavy oil then winter go with lighter oil. Ik what I’m talking about. I had a 2001 Audi a8l that I reach 310.000 on before I sold it running n issue was timing need to be done in about 2200 more miles. Do what i say if u wNt ur German car to last.
I’d feel really uncomfortable with a 10,000 mile oil change interval. That may be more related to a lifetime of being preached 3,000 mile change intervals on conventional oil than the reality of today’s requirements. At a minimum, cross check the advice with the owners’ manual, including all the footnotes and exclusions and clarifications.
If you’re uncomfortable, then shorten the interval. It gives you comfort and doesn’t really cost that much extra.
How would having an engine expire prematurely benefit the auto manufacturer? If someone has an engine fail early do you think that consumer would willingly go back to the same manufacturer for their next car?
What’s special about Shell full synthetic as opposed to something like a “true” synthetic that uses PAO or Group V base stock?
It’s not the 50’s anymore, multi-viscosity oils have you covered in just about all climates.
The timing belt replacement interval for the 2001 A8 is a new timing belt every 75k miles. If you sold the car at 310k miles, then it should’ve had the 4th timing belt changed at the 300k mile mark and would wouldn’t be due for another until 375k miles… Just saying.
You haven’t convinced me that you’re an authority figure on the matter.
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10k miles is what alot of manufacturers call for these days when synthetic oil is specified. With today’s oils, a 10k OCI isn’t outrageous or anything, and shouldn’t be a problem. If you heed the OLM’s recommendation (whilst not exceeding the 10k OCI limit), and check your oil regularly , you’re probably not not going to have an oil-related problem. With that said, changing your oil earlier than recommended isn’t going to hurt anything.
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The potential problem with using 10k as a benchmark for oil changes is that a huge percentage of the population seems to be unable to wrap their heads around the elapsed time value for oil changes. How often do we get questions like… I only put 2k miles on my car per year. Is it okay for me to change the oil every 3 years?
It seems that every mfr states both an odometer mileage limit and an elapsed time limit for oil changes, along with a “whichever comes first” proviso, but it is clear that this type of wording doesn’t seem to compute with a lot of people.
If somebody uses the correct European-specification synthetic oil, does mostly highway driving, and makes sure that the oil level is maintained consistently, then a 10k interval may work-out okay for him/her. But, once you introduce a lot of local driving–especially in low-temperature conditions–if a car owner goes beyond the elapsed time value for oil changes by simply focusing on odometer mileage, then I foresee major engine problems in the future for that person. Of course, those problems will take place after the warranty has expired…
Even if the spec is 10k miles, what is the severe driving spec? It’s probably something like 3 months or 3k miles.
And most of us qualify for severe driving. The spec varies with manufacturer, but for Subaru, if you ever drive in a city or along the coast or in the winter, you qualify.
Having JUST bought a 2014 A4 witht he 2.0 turbo, the owners manual does actually say oil changes every 10,000 miles. The first change is at 5k and then every 10k thereafter. The car also has an oil minder in Audi’s Multi Media Info system to remind you how many miles to the next oil change. The manual does not say 10k OR one year. That, however will be my change interval.
The required oil is 5W40 meeting VW standard 502 00. I have only found synthetics that meet that grade of oil or that spec. Fine, I only use synthetics anyway.
The car is equipped with an oil LEVEL sensor AND a dipstick tube but NO dipstick! Huh?? I ordered a dipstick from an aftermarket supplier.
Many posters here made a very good point - if you are uncomfortable with 10K, change it sooner - it sure can’t hurt!
Presumably, the dipstick tube is capped with something that is removeable.
Is it?