VAG 1.8 oil sludge issues

[Dan DiBiase]

In the warranty letter I received, the only Mobil1 weight recommended was 0w-40, which can be a little difficult to find (that said, I found a source about 5 miles from my house). However, ALL of the other oils recommended are either 5w-40 or 5w-30, which I find interesting. Perhaps only M1 comes in 0w-40...?
 
If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to post the recommended oil list for North America.
 
And Phil, I agree and always mark my old oil filters...........................
 
Dan D
'04 A4 1.8T q MT-6
Central NJ USA

Phil Payne <quattro at isham-research.com> wrote:

I don't this is anything new. I've seen this problem on all kinds of engines - sometimes it's
carelessness and sometimes it's downright dishonesty.

I really believe a major cause is garages claiming to have carried out work (such as oil
changes) when they haven't touched the car. I inspect cars for potential buyers on a regular
basis - around one a week - and I very rarely find a car where everything pans out. You get
documentation listing new this or that, or major work on this or that, and you can tell
instantly that whatever it is hasn't been touched for years.

Oil changes are a case in point. How many customers actually check that there's a new filter
on, and pull the dipstick to see the nice clean oil? Damn few. So a garage that'e either
fundamentally dishonest or occasionally dishonest (customer wants the car back by five but we
haven't had time to do the oil change - he won't notice) can skip the work with no obvious
immediate comeback.

As regards Mobil1 - it is NOT a universal panacea. The value of the brand name does not
override the weight recommendation in the driver's handbook. Most Mobil1 sold in retail
outlets is the thin watery stuff intended to get high mileage in fleet cars - it is TOO THIN
for older Audis. See the handbook.