For a recent trip I rented a VW Passat TDI from a large multi-national rental company. During the rental period it ran low on oil (as TDI's do) so I received permission to buy oil to top it up. The rental company was a bit shocked at the price when I showed them the receipt (I brought the proper 507.00 stuff) . Apparently they shove any old SAE multigrade in their cars as "the proper stuff is far too expensive".
Remind me never to buy an ex rental VW TDI if they can't be bothered to service them correctly! I know they are on long life so they probably never need to service them, but all TDI's use more than a sump full of oil in their first year.
Joe
Edited by Pugugly on 23/03/2009 at 22:21
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"... Apparently they shove any old SAE multigrade in their cars as "the proper stuff is far too expensive" .... ". >>
So based on this one piece of anecdotal evidence, the conclusion is "never to buy an ex rental VW TDI".
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And:
"but all TDI's use more than a sump full of oil in their first year."
Really - evidence for this?
Mine's used about 1.5 litres in 18 months and 25,000 miles. Since it's 18,000 service it's not used any.
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Maybe I should have taken out the apparently. I was talking to the guy who maintains the cars at the depot.
And yes, I would not risk it considering the thrashing hire cars get.
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There is always a risk of abuse when buying sophisticated machinery and the motor trade is certainly not immune from this.
I think the original poster has a fair point though - the documentation standards and lack of proper labelling on the engine showing the need for special lubricant is an inexcusable failure on the part of VAG. The basic machinery is excellent though and the PD has shown itself to be one of the few modern diesels which will generally run without expensive failures to high mileages.
I bought mine from a dealer with a warranty. Caveat emptor.
659.
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I think the original poster has a fair point though - the documentation standards and lack of proper labelling on the engine showing the need for special lubricant is an inexcusable failure on the part of VAG.
I was astonished at this when having a nose under the Golf's bonnet, 659. Warning labels for all sorts of things, but not even a generic warning "USE OIL TO APPROVED STANDARD ONLY" or similar. Absolutely crazy!
The last owner of ours was an Audi master tech. I would like to think he got it right. ;-)
Cheers
DP
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Agree with 659 and DP - it is amazing that there are stickers for which aircon refrigerant to use but not which oil.
My Passat used about half a litre between 10K services, it was run in using the 'mid-range acceleration' method within 10 miles of driving it out of the dealer showroom.
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But if you use the wrong oil without referring to the manual - goodbye warranty. So they are not stupid are they ;-)
My Mazda6 has a sticker on the engine cover with the oil spec. And details of the oil being liable to rise.
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I agree about the lack of warning about the need to use special oil. As for reliability I wish I could say this but mine left me stranded this weekend and it has been meticulously maintained. Back on message though does this cavalier attitude to servicing go right through the hire industry?
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Is it an urban myth, or is there a chemical trace in the "proper VW oil" to check for correct oil in case of an engine related warranty claim.
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My old mk2 Cavalier had the API grade required for its oil embossed in the filler cap. Simple, logical, easy.
Mind you, this was a car where a clutch change took 45 minutes and didn't involve removing the gearbox. Ah, progress.
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Its not just the oil spec and levels that would concern me with diesel ex renters of any make, though that a big enough worry.
The biggest problem is misfuelling.
Those of us that have collected renters from larger sites have often seen cars signed up 'do not move' and various messages underneath about fuel needs draining etc.
I'm not talking about general debowsing of a rental fleet car to recover the fuel at end of life time (most large sites eg airports have debowsing facilities), thats a normal thing these days, the cars i refer to are set aside waiting for recovery/special draining, more often than you'd think, unfortunately most of them will have been run after filling nearby by the last customer.
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Ironic really then that the ones which have been debowsed are the most likely to be a dog..........
Think I'll go and read my book now.........
;-)
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Tdis use oil?
My latest one has used 1/2 litre of oil in 28k miles from
new
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My TDI does not use much oil at all, maybe 1l in 15k, and it gets hard use. But, mine, and possibly most people on this site "run in" their cars. A hire car will have been thrashed from new, and there are enough posts on here about high oil usage in VAG TDI's.
I was just suprised that the hire car people did not know about the fact that certain cars need special oil, TDI's can't be the only car needing specific oil. Agreed VAG could label the engines better (they do in the US), but would that stop them using the cheapest oil possible?
I guess its just buyer beware.
Joe
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Buy an ex-rental and the thrashing will have run the engine in beautifully.
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Don't agtree that diesels use oil. I've had a Saab 93, a 95, an Avensis and a Xantia - none ever used a drop of oil between services.
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VAG don't use special oil go round the back of any agents and his oil tanks are pretty minumul.I ran a 98 LT van for 200k km and didn't use any oil between services it was then sold buy the lease company to an employee who still has it with probably 1million km on it looks a bit tatty but still runs OK and it never had a drop of liquid gold in its life..
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Be careful. VAG 4 cyl diesels before '99 were conventionally engineered with a rotary fuel pump. Consequently, any "ordinary" engine oil of reasonable quality would do.
From '99 onwards, VAG produced the PD diesels which have very highly stressed cam lobes and followers. It is for these engines that special oil is required.
It's probably fair to say that in the early days of the PD even the dealers put the wrong oil in - documentation again.
659.
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... It's probably fair to say that in the early days of the PD even the dealers put the wrong oil in .. >>
I think there have threads on this forum saying that this was happening in rencent times too.
Similarly, there have been claims on this forum that the worng grade/spec of oil is used routinely by offical dealers for other manufacturer's [ whose engine designs may not be so fussy as VAG PD engines about oil specs].
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The VAG PD oil situation is starting to happening again with widespread use of DPFs in diesels.
These demand the use of special low-ash engine oils otherwise the DPF can become blocked very quickly.
My Ford manual is very firm on which spec. oils should be used, and there are several posts on here about issues with Mazda diesels and oil-related DPF problems.
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