I believe that tyres are supposed to be changed after about 5 years as they go hard and crack. Cambelts are made of similar material although they don't get the UV that tyres get.

Depends on where you look though. When doing some research for another thread, more than once I came upon the fact that a tyre can be sold as new up to 5 years from the production date.

But very easy to determine if the tyre is becoming overly dry through a visual inspection, so that is the best thing to do. Also, if where your car is parked means it often gets sun on one side only, don't always park facing the same way!.

I think all Skoda DSGs below 2 litre are 'dry' so don't need an oil service.

"Dry" only refers to the clutch type, the gearbox still has oil in it. Do they need an oil change? many different opinions on that.

But with regards to changing oil in a traditional gearbox its long been said that its not necessary. The Ford Type 9 in my Caterham was last fitted in February 2009 and filled (newly rebuilt) with the correct spec oil, Comma GL4 semi Synthetic, critical for the brass syncros. In the past the engine/gearbox has never been in the car longer than 4 years (out at least once a year when it was used on the track) and always had fresh oil after it had been refitted (no option, the old oil always runs out of the box because of the angle you have to lift it out). So by 2021 it had been in 12 years and the gearchange, especially from 1st to 2nd, had become stiff with the syncro on occasions graunching. There is a drain plug on this casing (drilled and tapped it myself to avoid mess when removing) but had never used used it so went and bought a couple of litres of Comma and did a quick change. The improvement was incredible, like a new box. Still a bit noisy due to the semi helical gears but nothing you can do about that.

I would say that it very much depends on how the car has been used throughout its life - easier to determine if the OP is the only owner, almost impossible if they aren't.

If they (or any previous owners) use it for mainly urban driving or work that includes mainly lots of stops/starts in heavy traffic, regular towing (unlikely in this case) or lots of hill starts (especially things like reversing up a steep driveway), then the clutch pack and oil would likely be in far less good condition than someone who predominantly uses the car on free-flowing roads. Essentially the same as someone with a standard manual gearbox transmission.

As I recall, like with manual gearboxes, dual clutch ones normally give signs that they are beginning to wear (and/or the oil degrade), such as less slick gearchanges and pullaways from a standing start.

Whether the OP feels their circumstances warrant their dry clutch to have its oil changed out is down to them - they alone know their car. It also depends upon how long they expect to keep the car - 3 more years may be ok, then it may not be if those usage circumstances aren't in their favour.

Do they feel lucky?

Edited by Engineer Andy on 09/01/2023 at 13:55

"unless something it drives seizes...."

That's the key point. I have no doubt that a decent quality OE belt will last a very long time but what about the device that tensions it? On my Focus the waterpump is the tensioner, there is no way you can be completely confident about the condition of the pump without stripping down and taking the tension off the pump to 'feel' the bearing. If one is going to all that effort which involves disturbing the belt then may as well just put a new belt on IMO.

It has a cambelt and the recommended interval is 50,000 miles.or 5 years, whichever is sooner.

Is that the recommendation from a UK garage man or from the VW engineers? I do not think that any modern cambelt driven engine would need such precautionary maintenance.

That's the recommendation from Skoda UK. Weirdly, it's not the same recommendation as on the continent.

A cynic might suggest that it is a money-making scheme. Not least as cambelt changes on the ACT engines can only be carried out by VAG garages for the best part of £1,000.