VW Passat - which engine oil?

who_ru

Hi.

driving dublin to cork today the oil light came on the dash of the car. of course no service stations along the motorway. got to cork and pulled into a petrol station, the oil seems low alright but i'm unsure what oil to put into it.

synthetic or non synthetic? can someone recommend a particular oil as i have a fair bit of driving to do over the next few days.

thanks.

-Corkie-

Petrol/diesel car???

Drummerboy08

Check the recommended grade of oil as suggested by VW. You'll find this info in the car's handbook. It's different for different engines, so make sure you're looking at the right one, as its vital the car gets the correct oil.

GTE

If its a 1.9 diesel and you dont have the hand book you should get fully synthetic and oil that meets VW505.01, VW506.01 or VW507 just to be safe. 5w40.

jimmyw

who_ru wrote: »

Hi.

driving dublin to cork today the oil light came on the dash of the car. of course no service stations along the motorway. got to cork and pulled into a petrol station, the oil seems low alright but i'm unsure what oil to put into it.

synthetic or non synthetic? can someone recommend a particular oil as i have a fair bit of driving to do over the next few days.

thanks.

You shouldn't keep driving if the oil light comes on, service station or not.:p

GTE

jimmyw wrote: »

You shouldn't keep driving if the oil light comes on, service station or not.:p

Oh god, I hadn't read that properly. Really, you shouldnt have driven at all once the light came on. When did it come on out of interest?

nogoodnamesleft

bbk wrote: »

If its a 1.9 diesel and you dont have the hand book you should get fully synthetic and oil that meets VW505.01, VW506.01 or VW507 just to be safe. 5w40.

VW 505.01 is 5w40 (fixed interval -10k between services)
VW 507.00 is 5w30 (long life - 20k miles between services)

Any oil in the sump is better than no oil!

GTE

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

VW 505.01 is 5w40 (fixed interval -10k between services)
VW 507.00 is 5w30 (long life - 20k miles between services)

Any oil in the sump is better than no oil!

Indeed, I think the manual says that a litre of the opposite stuff then you have is fine for topups.

Do any of the VW505.01's have somethingW30's? Im sure they do now but some possibly older things i have read seem to point that w40 is preferable.

-Corkie-

I know a fella that put 80w/90 (gear oil) in a diesel mondeo because it was low...:D

who_ru

Hi

it's a 2002 1.6 petrol - do not have handbook for the car so can't reference it.

the light came on about 90km from cork. when i stopped at a petrol station i took out the dipstick and had a look - as mentioned earlier it seemed low. but after putting the dipstick back in the light didn't come back on.

so just wondering what the correct oil might be - thanks for all the contributions.

Mech1

The VW has 2 lights yellow for level low, red for low pressure.
The bonnet catch has a microswitch built into it that resets the yellow light when you open and close the bonnet. It assumes that you topped up the oil.
My guess is that the level is just low enough to trigger the sensor / yellow light when cornering or possibly at higher revs where the oil is pulled away from the sensor. Top it up asap.

who_ru

Mech1 wrote: »

The VW has 2 lights yellow for level low, red for low pressure.
The bonnet catch has a microswitch built into it that resets the yellow light when you open and close the bonnet. It assumes that you topped up the oil.
My guess is that the level is just low enough to trigger the sensor / yellow light when cornering or possibly at higher revs where the oil is pulled away from the sensor. Top it up asap.

excellent stuff Mech1 - didn't know that about the microswitch in the bonnet open/close mechanism, topped up there today and all is well again. thanks.

GTE

-Corkie- wrote: »

I know a fella that put 80w/90 (gear oil) in a diesel mondeo because it was low...:D

How long did he run the car on that?:eek:

keithclancy

bbk wrote: »

How long did he run the car on that?:eek:

Holy crap ...

...

Just bought a kit myself there today, axle stands etc .. along with 5W30 Fully synthetic.. 6 litres came to 68 euros !!

Calling over to a mates house in a while, he's Finnish, I think they take apart Volvos in school