Now I'm confused...502/503/504 in a gas engine

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"We recommend you use the oil specified in your owners manual." We can all agree that while under warranty, this probably the best advice. Soooo....

I opened my owners manual and for a gasoline engine VW says I can use 502, 503 and 504 oils. Well, if I find an oil that is 504/507, I can use this....right? I have yet to find an oil that is 502/503/504 approved. Is VAG just confused? Yes, I'm looking for a VAG approved low saps oil. However, this 502/503/504 thing in my owners manual has me confused.

Now, going to the VAG website, the current oil list is also confusing. They list low and mid saps oils as 502...such as Pennzoil Platinum Low Saps and Valvoline MST. Nothing 504 approved, only 504/507. They also list approved 505.01 oils but my manual makes no mention of these.

http://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/audiusa/Documents/Audi-1997-2014-Technical-Service-Bulletin.pdf
 
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Yes. 504/507 would work. As long as it meets either 502, 503 or 504 in some form or another, you can use it.

It doesn't have to meet all 3
 
That's what I thought. However, when I talked to a VW tech, VW would not put their 504/507 Castrol LL03 oil in my car. I have 2 free oil changes upcoming. I should be able to show them this and get that through I would hope.

Yes, I plan on 5k oci's if I run a 504/507.
 
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I think you want a 502 oil in a gaso car in Florida (U.S.) since the fuel here is higher sulfur. Something about our fuel here vs. Europe. I'd go for 502 for longer oil change intervals. Its a great spec, and Mobil1-Castrol 0w-40's found in Walmart meet it.
 
If you are planning to run vw recommended 10k oci, i would not use low saps oils.

Nevermind, i see you clarified.
 
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Originally Posted By: FowVay
VW/Audi does NOT specify the use of the 504.00 in the USA for a reason. The 504.00 norm is a low-SAPS specification which isn't optimum for the fuels in our country.

So, Audi specifies for use in the USA their former 502.00 norm which is formulated with much higher SAPS to deal with our 'less than perfect' fuels.

Note that BMW has also taken this stance with their LL-04 norm. They recommend it in some countries but not in the USA. Again, LL-04 is a low-SAPS product that isn't optimum for dealing with our fuel.

Personally, I would only use the 504/507 product in vehicles that specify it. The only exception would be the diesel engines where I personally feel it safe to interchange the 505.01 with the 507.00 and vice versa. If in doubt it may be best to simply follow the manufacturers recommendations.



So for gasoline engines in Florida, use 502.
 
Have you purchased and used any oil since your many threads/posts on this subject?

Originally Posted By: VR6OOM
"We recommend you use the oil specified in your owners manual." We can all agree that while under warranty, this probably the best advice. Soooo....

I opened my owners manual and for a gasoline engine VW says I can use 502, 503 and 504 oils. Well, if I find an oil that is 504/507, I can use this....right? I have yet to find an oil that is 502/503/504 approved. Is VAG just confused? Yes, I'm looking for a VAG approved low saps oil. However, this 502/503/504 thing in my owners manual has me confused.

Now, going to the VAG website, the current oil list is also confusing. They list low and mid saps oils as 502...such as Pennzoil Platinum Low Saps and Valvoline MST. Nothing 504 approved, only 504/507. They also list approved 505.01 oils but my manual makes no mention of these.

http://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/audiusa/Documents/Audi-1997-2014-Technical-Service-Bulletin.pdf
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Have you purchased and used any oil since your many threads/posts on this subject?


Yea I'm running PU Euro L. At 2k miles on it but plan on switching to something else after the dealer free fill at my 10k service because I don't like the "high" noack and "low" flash point of this oil versus others. I swapped FF at 5k.
 
Is the 503 00 spec still current or has it been superseded? Our q5 owner manual doesnt even mention it.
 
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Oh hey and now to make things even more confusing, there is a sticker on the radiator support saying to use 502 oil only.
 
Spoke with VW, they "recommend" 502. I could not get a definitive "it will void your warranty" out of them. My thought is since they "recommend" 10k oci's in this car, they'd prefer you didn't run a 504/507 due to the low tbn. But since VW approves 504, they can't deny a warranty claim, especially if you have receipts and UOA's to show you've been doing your due diligence. I could be wrong and I'm awaiting a follow up email because the girl I was "chatting" with didn't have all the answers to my questions.

I did get the latest VW approved oil list:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-lg1CpsTTRTcWY2NTlaajlyQTl2Qi1ILTBYT3hOaFJUZlJ3/view?usp=sharing
 
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If you find usa sites confusing about specs...why than you dont google on sites from country of origin of that car...

Like castroleurope.com...valvoline europe....find oil search tool on "our" sites if your dealers are .......!
smile.gif
 
Where did you get that? I don't think "VW" publishes the list anymore, it is now the Audi list:

http://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/audiusa/Documents/Audi-1997-2014-Technical-Service-Bulletin.pdf

Either way, IMO the list is worthless. Like any list it is outdated the moment it is published, you are better off just taking (whatever) spec you decide on and buying an oil that lists that on the label. Other than convenience I don't know why they bother publishing such a list.

Originally Posted By: VR6OOM
I did get the latest VW approved oil list:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-lg1CpsTTRTcWY2NTlaajlyQTl2Qi1ILTBYT3hOaFJUZlJ3/view?usp=sharing
 
VW emailed it to me directly and then I hosted it on my google drive. In my first post I linked Audi's list. It is newer (2013 vs '12) but I haven't compared the two. When I googled VW approved oil, like 2009 was the newest I found for VW specifically.

When I requested her to email it to me, I was 99% sure it was going to be that Audi list you linked but it wasn't.
 
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Why manufactures, especially European and American, require specific oil specs for their engines ? Of all Japanese manufactures only Honda requires HT-06 for turbo charged engine. Korean manufactures don't require any special oil other than API.

If you look at the back of an oil bottle, there are so many oil specs such that the print is so fine it is hard to read. If someone needs to buy oils for 3-4 different makes/models he/she needs to write down specific oil specs for his/her cars.

Most European and American normally aspirated engines don't generate very high power, more or less around 75-85 HP per liter. If the power is more than 120-130 HP per liter and redline at more than 8000-9000 RPM then I understand.
 
Well that's interesting. (As far as I can tell) you can't get that on the VW site even if you register. I help out two single ladies nearby with their VWs, and that's why I was interested. Thanks for the post.

Like I said though, I really think the list is mostly meaningless here in the US at least. I just go to Walmart and pick up a jug of M1 0W-40 and be done with it.

Originally Posted By: VR6OOM
VW emailed it to me directly and then I hosted it on my google drive. In my first post I linked Audi's list. It is newer (2013 vs '12) but I haven't compared the two. When I googled VW approved oil, like 2009 was the newest I found for VW specifically.

When I requested her to email it to me, I was 99% sure it was going to be that Audi list you linked but it wasn't.
 
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