2008 Passat with TSI Oil Change Interval

[Sprinter15]

Soooo....

Bought a late 2008 with the TSI engine. Have always changed oil @ 5,000 miles, which is when I get the service reminders off the MFD.

The owner's manual says initial oil change at 5,000 miles and then 10,000 mile intervals after that.

I asked the dealer why the discrepancy between the MFD and owner's manual. "Change at 5,000 miles for 2008's. Probably a type in the manual - it's happened before. Doesn't matter if it's the FSI or TSI" Seems to me that VW wouldn't leave themselves open to warranty issues by publishing intervals twice as long as required.

Called the VW Care line. They looked up my VIN: 5k, then 10k intervals after that. Same as 2009's. Their explanation on the MFD is that the dealer forgot to reset the service reminder the first time, which doesn't seem to explain that I get it every 5,000 miles.

Does everybody else with a 2008 TSI get the service reminders every 5,000 miles?

[najel]

What they told you at the hotline is correct.
The Service reminder is set from the factory to 5000 miles. That means after each oil change and service reset, it will go off after 5000 miles again.
After your initial oil change (which is earlier than the upcoming ones due to engine break-in), the person who does your oil change is supposed to CHANGE the service reminder interval from 5000 miles to 10000 miles, which is the interval for the oil change after that first one. I guess that was never done in yours. But a lot of people still run shorter than 10000 mile intervals, just because that seems awefully long.

There is a thread on that in the FAQ in the engine forum. I believe.

[gtaylor0]

I have an '08 too; bought used and the reminder wasn't reset either, which is okay since I'll probably get it changed earlier.

Anyway, you can reset it yourself. Someone posted this on one of the forums. I haven't tried it but people who have seem to have gotten results:

RESET SERVICE REMINDER

1. Keys out of ignition - press and hold in the button with the symbol of a wrench on right hand side of display

2. Still holding this button down, insert key into ignition and put to the on position without starting the car.

3. Display will read "service now"

4. Let go of the button with the symbol of a wrench and depress the "m" (MINUTE) button on the left hand side of the display. This will re-set the service reminder. There is no confirmation on the display other than the words "service now" will disappear.

Or...

With the key sitting in the ignition but NOT on (not even accessories...the key is in in there but literally just about to fall out) push and hold the wrench button. Count 5 seconds, start the car while still pushing the wrench button and then push the min button on your clock. You must be holding the wrench button and the min button at the same time to reset the service message.

To test if you've reset properly, turn the car off and start it again. If you've reset properly the 'SERVICE NOW' will not appear and is automatically reset for 5k miles.

[alpinweiss]

5000 mile oil changes (instead of 10,000) will probably extend your engine life.

[GoGoTSI]

I did 20K oil changes on my '94 Jetta without any issues. Sold it at 150k and the oil was still golden after 10K since last oil change. I did 10K oil changes on my '01 Golf TDI and it was running perfectly when I sold it a year ago with 173K on the clock. I will follow the manual for my Passat and change the oil every 10K or one year, whichever occurs first.

[low_passat]

I did 20K oil changes on my '94 Jetta without any issues. Sold it at 150k and the oil was still golden after 10K since last oil change. I did 10K oil changes on my '01 Golf TDI and it was running perfectly when I sold it a year ago with 173K on the clock. I will follow the manual for my Passat and change the oil every 10K or one year, whichever occurs first.

Good luck with thatif it's an FSI....make sure you check it OFTEN! If you wait until 10K with all the additional oil you will have to add, it will be like an oil change just without the filter change.

This engine burns oil, no ifs ands or buts about it. Sure you'll find a few here and there that tell you they don't, but they are not the norm. Most will tell you it starts eating oils between 3000/3500 miles at a rate of around 1qt per 1000 miles.

[MidnightG60]

Good luck with thatif it's an FSI....make sure you check it OFTEN! If you wait until 10K with all the additional oil you will have to add, it will be like an oil change just without the filter change.

This engine burns oil, no ifs ands or buts about it. Sure you'll find a few here and there that tell you they don't, but they are not the norm. Most will tell you it starts eating oils between 3000/3500 miles at a rate of around 1qt per 1000 miles.

My TSI burns about a quart or so every 5000 miles. He stated that he has a late model 2008 and that it is a TSI. Does the FSI typically burn more? I also found a bit of oil on my oil feed line. It must be an extremely slow leak though. I will be getting it checked out at my 20K service next week

[Quickfry]

The FSI does seem to burn oil.

I did an oil change last week, and checked the level today (1000 km later), and was down about 200ml. I think I'll keep changing it every 8000k when it asks, for sure.

From what I've read, the TSI doesn't usually have this issue.

[SDbirdman]

Good luck with thatif it's an FSI....make sure you check it OFTEN! If you wait until 10K with all the additional oil you will have to add, it will be like an oil change just without the filter change.

This engine burns oil, no ifs ands or buts about it. Sure you'll find a few here and there that tell you they don't, but they are not the norm. Most will tell you it starts eating oils between 3000/3500 miles at a rate of around 1qt per 1000 miles.

you said it perfectly. i hate how some people dance around this issue.

[defector]

Sorry for the sidebar/highjack. But my '08 FSI uses <1 qt oil each 5000 miles. I change my oil every 5000 miles. I have 80,000 miles on my Passat so it isn't reasonable to indicate that oil is used at a faster rate for all FSI's. I do use Mobil 1 0w-40.