Oil Service required after only 9000 miles

[Loz]

Can I ask again where this label is located?

Inside the cover of the Service book and stuck under the steering column above the pedals.

 

[Gazellio]

My sticker in service manual has no Q numbers

 

[Jabberwocky]

My sticker in service manual has no Q numbers

Can you post photo?

 

[Gazellio]

Apologies it is there:

QI8 - Oil change service (flexible): max. 40,000 km or 2 years - YES

 

[Pure Worktop Protection]

Despite opting for the long life service schedule the dash is reminding me I nead an oil service. Called nearest dealer and they said I needed to return to where I bought it. Hastily contacted supplying dealer who said the service schedule is set at the factory and several owners have had a similar issue. Checked my service book where it confirmed the van should be on a long life service. Any one else had a similar experience? I don't want to be driving it around if infact it does need an oil change. Since contacted my local dealer and they have confirmed they will reset it for me.

Hi Hantshog
I had exactly same happen on my 204DSG last month - just 12 months old with 8500 miles prompting for oil service. Initially contacted local dealer who didn’t supply the vehicle originally and told same as you. Supplying dealer set wrong service schedule and local dealer refused point blank to reset even though they have me as an existing client on their books!
Usual pattern of irate emails and phone calls and Heritage in Bristol changed their mind and reset for me. They seem to take pleasure in making life as difficult as possible - never get these issues with other dealerships. You gotta love VW at least they are consistently hard work!

 

[X4 VWC]

I had the same situation - set to long-life but required an oil service recently at 11,000 miles.

Within a few weeks of the service, the oil service indicator is suggesting a similar distance again.

I have the service package (two minor, two major) and I'm not quite sure where I stand with this. I had thought this meant I could get about 80,000 miles of motoring without service charges but that doesn't appear to be the case. The dealer (SMG) said they could deduct this from my service plan, or I could pay about £135. For another £15 or so, they would perform the checks for a full service and reset that as well (those numbers may not be exact, they're from memory). I chose to deduct from the service plan.

My driving is a mix of long journeys (for trips) and short daily journeys (for school runs), so maybe it's about right. But I'm just not clear about whether I should be 'saving' my service plan allotments for the big ones.

 

[parrot2]

I would save it for the big service they cost a lot more than an oil change.

 

[B J G]

Oil goes Black, within a very short time/mileage. Normal.

Fully aware of that having had diesel cars since late 1980's and operating HGV's for 17 years pre retirement.
It's the degree of 'blackness' that I'd feel happier to replace than leave for another year.

 

[Roger Smith]

Despite opting for the long life service schedule the dash is reminding me I nead an oil service. Called nearest dealer and they said I needed to return to where I bought it. Hastily contacted supplying dealer who said the service schedule is set at the factory and several owners have had a similar issue. Checked my service book where it confirmed the van should be on a long life service. Any one else had a similar experience? I don't want to be driving it around if infact it does need an oil change. Since contacted my local dealer and they have confirmed they will reset it for me.

My Ocean oil service due dash warning has indicated an oil change at 11000. Contacted my dealer who stated that the service was not due and to continue driving until the long its first service date which is in July. They made no issue of it at all and stated they will re-set it when it goes for service..

 

[El Greco]

I had the same situation - set to long-life but required an oil service recently at 11,000 miles.

Within a few weeks of the service, the oil service indicator is suggesting a similar distance again.

I have the service package (two minor, two major) and I'm not quite sure where I stand with this. I had thought this meant I could get about 80,000 miles of motoring without service charges but that doesn't appear to be the case. The dealer (SMG) said they could deduct this from my service plan, or I could pay about £135. For another £15 or so, they would perform the checks for a full service and reset that as well (those numbers may not be exact, they're from memory). I chose to deduct from the service plan.

My driving is a mix of long journeys (for trips) and short daily journeys (for school runs), so maybe it's about right. But I'm just not clear about whether I should be 'saving' my service plan allotments for the big ones.

I am hoping to get 8 years of servicing out of the deal rather than 80,000 miles

 

[AlanC]

When I had a new engine installed in our van by Heritage, I requested that the service period be changed to 10k miles. I am convinced that oil staying in the engine for 20K miles is not doing it any good by then.

The message actually came on at 8k and I changed it soon after that. Am happy to change the oil more often if the engine lasts longer.

Alan

 

[Bellcrew]

When I had a new engine installed in our van by Heritage, I requested that the service period be changed to 10k miles. I am convinced that oil staying in the engine for 20K miles is not doing it any good by then.

The message actually came on at 8k and I changed it soon after that. Am happy to change the oil more often if the engine lasts longer.

Alan

A friend just had his new BMW X5 hybrid serviced, the mechanic forgot to replace the engine oil. No lights on the dash until it was too late. Over £25,000 for the replacement engine and an extremely complex rebuild by the garage who cannot be trusted to carry out a simple oil change, whoops.

 

[Hantshog]

Hi Hantshog
I had exactly same happen on my 204DSG last month - just 12 months old with 8500 miles prompting for oil service. Initially contacted local dealer who didn’t supply the vehicle originally and told same as you. Supplying dealer set wrong service schedule and local dealer refused point blank to reset even though they have me as an existing client on their books!
Usual pattern of irate emails and phone calls and Heritage in Bristol changed their mind and reset for me. They seem to take pleasure in making life as difficult as possible - never get these issues with other dealerships. You gotta love VW at least they are consistently hard work!

I have finally spoken to someone at my local dealer who knows what he is talking about. Apparently the 204 DSG 4 Motion is heavier than other Californias and as such requires a more frequent oil change. Once every 10,000. You'll probably notice that all the members on this post with the early oil change alert are 204 DSG 4M owners. I called the dealer (Breeze Southampton) to say I had taken advice and that I'd like to proceed with an oil change. However I nearly fell off my chair when the service guy said it was £174. £174 to change the oil once a year. What a rip off. On top of the £450 road tax its proving to be an expensive hobby.
I took out the service plan when I purchased the van but I didn't think at the time I'd be using one of my 4 services on an oil change but if an oil change is £174, how much is an inspection or a full service? It wouldn't have stopped me buying the van but I thought I'd covered any unexpected costs with the service plan and extended warranty. How naive I was. So do I save my service plan services and pay for the oil change ad hoc or do I use one of my 4 included services? Can someone tell me if they've had a cheaper oil change elsewhere please?

 

[Loz]

You could have it done by an independent but, do you have a service book?
VW have a new (synical) plan in play by not supplying a service book and recording the service information on their systems and you need this evidence that its been serviced to keep the warranty valid on those parts....

You could use one of your plan credits but also remember that prices only go up so there is good chance that 174 now will be 194 after your plan is used up...

 

[AlanC]

I have finally spoken to someone at my local dealer who knows what he is talking about. Apparently the 204 DSG 4 Motion is heavier than other Californias and as such requires a more frequent oil change. Once every 10,000. You'll probably notice that all the members on this post with the early oil change alert are 204 DSG 4M owners. I called the dealer (Breeze Southampton) to say I had taken advice and that I'd like to proceed with an oil change. However I nearly fell off my chair when the service guy said it was £174. £174 to change the oil once a year. What a rip off. On top of the £450 road tax its proving to be an expensive hobby.
I took out the service plan when I purchased the van but I didn't think at the time I'd be using one of my 4 services on an oil change but if an oil change is £174, how much is an inspection or a full service? It wouldn't have stopped me buying the van but I thought I'd covered any unexpected costs with the service plan and extended warranty. How naive I was. So do I save my service plan services and pay for the oil change ad hoc or do I use one of my 4 included services? Can someone tell me if they've had a cheaper oil change elsewhere please?

My advise would be to not go anywhere else at this stage.
Your van in under a 3 year warranty and VWUK will use any excuse to get out of honouring that. An oil change at another company other than a VWUK CV dealer will invalidate the warranty.

My recent oil change at Heritage Bristol included 7 litres of fresh Castrol oil (£10 p/ltr), a new oil filter (£13.48), sump drain plug and washer (£2.65) plus 1 hrs labour charge of £78 p/hr. Total £164.13 plus VAT.
So £174 if it includes VAT is is about par.

Alan

 

[WelshGas]

I have finally spoken to someone at my local dealer who knows what he is talking about. Apparently the 204 DSG 4 Motion is heavier than other Californias and as such requires a more frequent oil change. Once every 10,000. You'll probably notice that all the members on this post with the early oil change alert are 204 DSG 4M owners. I called the dealer (Breeze Southampton) to say I had taken advice and that I'd like to proceed with an oil change. However I nearly fell off my chair when the service guy said it was £174. £174 to change the oil once a year. What a rip off. On top of the £450 road tax its proving to be an expensive hobby.
I took out the service plan when I purchased the van but I didn't think at the time I'd be using one of my 4 services on an oil change but if an oil change is £174, how much is an inspection or a full service? It wouldn't have stopped me buying the van but I thought I'd covered any unexpected costs with the service plan and extended warranty. How naive I was. So do I save my service plan services and pay for the oil change ad hoc or do I use one of my 4 included services? Can someone tell me if they've had a cheaper oil change elsewhere please?

Funny how the T5.1 180 4Motion doesn't have this problem. My last oil change was at 19,980 miles, all done in 12 months, and the Service indicator still showed 7500 miles. Mind you I rarely do trips of less than 50 miles.
It cannot be anything to do with weight, otherwise why isn't the 180 affected, more likely the DPF regeneration and the Emissions software changes. The T6 certainly seems to undertake Regens more frequently than its predecessor.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Good point

 

[GrannyJen]

Funny how the T5.1 180 4Motion doesn't have this problem. My last oil change was at 19,980 miles, all done in 12 months, and the Service indicator still showed 7500 miles. Mind you I rarely do trips of less than 50 miles.
It cannot be anything to do with weight, otherwise why isn't the 180 affected, more likely the DPF regeneration and the Emissions software changes. The T6 certainly seems to undertake Regens more frequently than its predecessor.

I can't ever remember a regen in my T5 and oil changes went to the maximum miles.

The T6 is constantly snorting from the front and I'm currently looking at an oil change at around 9,000 miles.

 

[WelshGas]

I can't ever remember a regen in my T5 and oil changes went to the maximum miles.

The T6 is constantly snorting from the front and I'm currently looking at an oil change at around 9,000 miles.

I agree. So I cannot see how the weight of the engine on the 204 Motion can be the cause as there is very little difference in weight from the 180 4Motion. Typical VW Fairy Tales.

 

[GrannyJen]

I agree. So I cannot see how the weight of the engine on the 204 Motion can be the cause as there is very little difference in weight from the 180 4Motion. Typical VW Fairy Tales.

Yes, exactly. I'm off up to the NEC on Saturday, a nice 350 mile round trip with no caravan on the back, see what that does to the snorting from the front

 

[T6 CFO]

Mines a T6 204 4Motion. Yet to be sure but I’m currently up at 8000 and it’s saying about 5000 to the service or in 11 months.
A few more shorter journeys of late due to elderly parent duties but still mainly longer ones.

Mike


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Hantshog]

Well I am even more confused now. I called another dealer to see if I could get an oil change for less than £174. Martins of Basingstoke told me to ignore the oil setvice warning as this vehicle is definitely on a long life service and should not need an oil change. They said they would happily reset it for me. But the lady there said the Buy 4 service plan expires after 4 years in any case so I may as well use one of the four pre paid services at this time.
So I thought I'd call SMG Tonbridge, where I bought it. The guy in the service dept said the. an may need an oil service as the oil sensor may have detected that the oil is contaminated gor whatever reason. He said he would use one of the pre paid services if it were his van.
But where does that leave me? Will the van need another service (inspection) in 400 days (two years old) or is it reset to a further two years, is it out of sync. I just don't know. Why don't things go to plan?
But annoyed the Buy 4 service plan, won't cover what I thought it would cover, ie 8 years servicing.

 

[BerndRos]

Well I am even more confused now. I called another dealer to see if I could get an oil change for less than £174. Martins of Basingstoke told me to ignore the oil setvice warning as this vehicle is definitely on a long life service and should not need an oil change. They said they would happily reset it for me. But the lady there said the Buy 4 service plan expires after 4 years in any case so I may as well use one of the four pre paid services at this time.
So I thought I'd call SMG Tonbridge, where I bought it. The guy in the service dept said the. an may need an oil service as the oil sensor may have detected that the oil is contaminated gor whatever reason. He said he would use one of the pre paid services if it were his van.
But where does that leave me? Will the van need another service (inspection) in 400 days (two years old) or is it reset to a further two years, is it out of sync. I just don't know. Why don't things go to plan?
But annoyed the Buy 4 service plan, won't cover what I thought it would cover, ie 8 years servicing.

UK, 2018, no bugger knows what they are talking about, but speak as if they do.

Bring back 1970.

 

[WelshGas]

Well I am even more confused now. I called another dealer to see if I could get an oil change for less than £174. Martins of Basingstoke told me to ignore the oil setvice warning as this vehicle is definitely on a long life service and should not need an oil change. They said they would happily reset it for me. But the lady there said the Buy 4 service plan expires after 4 years in any case so I may as well use one of the four pre paid services at this time.
So I thought I'd call SMG Tonbridge, where I bought it. The guy in the service dept said the. an may need an oil service as the oil sensor may have detected that the oil is contaminated gor whatever reason. He said he would use one of the pre paid services if it were his van.
But where does that leave me? Will the van need another service (inspection) in 400 days (two years old) or is it reset to a further two years, is it out of sync. I just don't know. Why don't things go to plan?
But annoyed the Buy 4 service plan, won't cover what I thought it would cover, ie 8 years servicing.

Don’t forget at 2 years and thereafter every 2 years, never mind the mileage, AirCon regas which contains the compressor lubricant, Haldex oil change and DSG oil and filter as I’ve been told 40,000 miles or 2 years and thereafter every 2 years, and at 4 yrs or 80,000 miles Cambelt and Water pump, which won’t be covered by your service plan.

 

[Amarillo]

Well I am even more confused now. I called another dealer to see if I could get an oil change for less than £174. Martins of Basingstoke told me to ignore the oil setvice warning as this vehicle is definitely on a long life service and should not need an oil change. They said they would happily reset it for me. But the lady there said the Buy 4 service plan expires after 4 years in any case so I may as well use one of the four pre paid services at this time.
So I thought I'd call SMG Tonbridge, where I bought it. The guy in the service dept said the. an may need an oil service as the oil sensor may have detected that the oil is contaminated gor whatever reason. He said he would use one of the pre paid services if it were his van.
But where does that leave me? Will the van need another service (inspection) in 400 days (two years old) or is it reset to a further two years, is it out of sync. I just don't know. Why don't things go to plan?
But annoyed the Buy 4 service plan, won't cover what I thought it would cover, ie 8 years servicing.

I phoned SMG Tonbridge when I couldn't use one of my four services in Spain. I was told it was four services, not the first four, and they could be used anytime.

For comparison, my oil service in Spain was €191.49 inc VAT at 21%, so similar to the UK.


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