2018 VW Atlas 3.6L Castrol OE 5W40 ~6.5K OCI

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TiGeo

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So just crested 20K and had the third oil change done - first at ~8K (no UOA), second at ~14K, now at ~20K. Doing them a bit early b/c we've had enough service campaigns/recalls to warranty more frequent dealer visits and it's a convenience thing for me. I'm probably going to stick with 7.5K OCIs which is about 1 or 2 changes a year and will DIY (unless it needs to go back in) the next one with Liquimoly Leichtlauf High Tech 5W40 (and add Ceratec) to keep it consistent with my Golf. All have been done with dealer Castrol 5W40 and factory filters (note they list Mobil 1 0W40 on this one - that was a mistake on my part). I haven't had much oil consumption but did add ~1/3 qt of oil this go around (that was where the M1 0W40 came from). Funny - when I got it home from the service visit I checked it (always!) and it was almost 2/3 qt low (I like it at the top of the range)...slackers! I run only Top Tier 87 gas (mainly Costco...so cheap). My total annual mileage is about dead-on 10K so not a high-mileage vehicle - I'd say I have an 75/25 city/hwy split. I also have run a K&N filter since nearly new. Seems to be doing fine.

18 ATLAS-191114 UOA_20K_clean-page-001.jpg
 
I have the same engine and have been letting the dealer put the same oil in for warranty protection as well as convenience. I am doing the 10k changes on mine.

TBN looks fantastic but not impressed with the viscosity for a 40 grade. Engine looks healthy.

I thought VW spec'd VW504 for the Atlas V6's for some mysterious reason known only to VW. Mine has a sticker "VW 502 VW 504" under the hood I heard Atlas' only have "VW 504". Dealers are gonna put VW502 in it anyway. Mine had some VW504 in stock, only enough for a single change, and they wanted 10 bucks a quart for it.

VW manual says oil additives can or will void your warranty. But then again the DEALER tried to sell me an oil additive last time I was in. I asked the counter jockey why, he claimed it was to boost the oil because of the 10k oil changes. I told him VW oil should easily meet VW oil change intervals. He didn't argue. It was BG MOA they were trying to shill. I looked it up, basically a high calcium high ZDDP additive. Exactly the opposite direction oil formulations have taken the last number of years. Might have been good in it's day.

How do you like the Atlas? On my short list although I am hearing of issues. But according to the internet basically all vehicles suck.
 
I should add I am surprised you are running 87 in it and are satisfied. German engines will usually do better on premium, the 87 is bean counter "cost of ownership" manipulation I think. I run nothing but top tier premium in mine, usually Shell Nitro +.

I took a sample at my last change interval, 9,500 miles, and am about to send it in. Will be interesting to compare to yours since we are running the same oil. My interval will be longer but my vehicle is lighter and I am doing more highway commute miles than you from the sound of it.
 
Originally Posted by KGMtech

K&N air filter on a new car? I'd not do that....ever.


Why? I know it's against BITOG group think but it's really fine. Posted a lot of info in the air filter forum regarding it. Run them in all my cars with no drama and my cars are all 10 year+ vehicles.
 
Originally Posted by KCJeep
I should add I am surprised you are running 87 in it and are satisfied. German engines will usually do better on premium, the 87 is bean counter "cost of ownership" manipulation I think. I run nothing but top tier premium in mine, usually Shell Nitro +.

I took a sample at my last change interval, 9,500 miles, and am about to send it in. Will be interesting to compare to yours since we are running the same oil. My interval will be longer but my vehicle is lighter and I am doing more highway commute miles than you from the sound of it.


It runs just fine on 87 so no reason to drop an extra $6 a fill up. I've run 93...zero difference as would be expected (to me) in an engine tuned to run 87. I run 93 only on my Golf but it has a larger turbo and performance software tuned for 93. What vehicle do you have?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by KCJeep
I have the same engine and have been letting the dealer put the same oil in for warranty protection as well as convenience. I am doing the 10k changes on mine.

TBN looks fantastic but not impressed with the viscosity for a 40 grade. Engine looks healthy.

I thought VW spec'd VW504 for the Atlas V6's for some mysterious reason known only to VW. Mine has a sticker "VW 502 VW 504" under the hood I heard Atlas' only have "VW 504". Dealers are gonna put VW502 in it anyway. Mine had some VW504 in stock, only enough for a single change, and they wanted 10 bucks a quart for it.

VW manual says oil additives can or will void your warranty. But then again the DEALER tried to sell me an oil additive last time I was in. I asked the counter jockey why, he claimed it was to boost the oil because of the 10k oil changes. I told him VW oil should easily meet VW oil change intervals. He didn't argue. It was BG MOA they were trying to shill. I looked it up, basically a high calcium high ZDDP additive. Exactly the opposite direction oil formulations have taken the last number of years. Might have been good in it's day.

How do you like the Atlas? On my short list although I am hearing of issues. But according to the internet basically all vehicles suck.


Not worried about warranty bits w/r to DIY oil changes or additives...just not on my radar as the likelyhood is about zero of ever having an issue with it or ever having them even know. Mine is a 502 or 504 sticker. Can you help me understand the viscosity statement you made...not sure what the data mean? Finally, we really like our Atlas...the internet is full of angry owners of all makes looking for a place to complain and they often are completely clueless about the issues they are complaining about.
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Congrats. I've only met a handful of Atlas owners and they all like them.

We love ours!

I have been running M1 FS 0W-40 in mine since 1500 miles with no complaints and will continue to do so as long as I have the vehicle. It is a quality lubricant available everywhere at a great price. I changed the oil and filter at 1,500 then again at 5,000. I will change again at 10,000 miles and then stick to 10,000 mile intervals, separating the inspections due by mileage from those due by time.

My dealership insists on 504/507 0W-30; they now carry Castrol Edge Professional 0W-30 Long Life III and use it exclusively in all 504/507 applications.
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Congrats. I've only met a handful of Atlas owners and they all like them.


I think of it as a big Golf...it's on the same MQB platform. It's got it's drawbacks like any vehicle but overall, really like it.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Congrats. I've only met a handful of Atlas owners and they all like them.

We love ours!

I have been running M1 FS 0W-40 in mine since 1500 miles with no complaints and will continue to do so as long as I have the vehicle. It is a quality lubricant available everywhere at a great price. I changed the oil and filter at 1,500 then again at 5,000. I will change again at 10,000 miles and then stick to 10,000 mile intervals, separating the inspections due by mileage from those due by time.

My dealership insists on 504/507 0W-30; they now carry Castrol Edge Professional 0W-30 Long Life III and use it exclusively in all 504/507 applications.


The 504 oils are all about the fuel and now that we have lower-sulfur fuels in the U.S. like Euro, you can use the 504 oils and should get the full 10K out of them and *maybe* squeak out a little better mpgs with the lighter weight.
 
I have a 2018 Passat GT with the same engine. Glad your sticker allows VW502, much more convenient, although I agree oil choice or even additives are not likely to mess up your warranty I found it interesting or perhaps amusing the dealer was trying to profit pack them in.

The original viscosity on the 5w40 was likely around 14 cst @ 100. Your UOA is showing 11.36 at only 6,300 miles well down into 30 grade range. That's a pretty good amount of shear, but the Castrol OE 5w40 is entirely Grp III so should not be too surprised. The TBN is very strong however.

One of the darlings of BITOG Euro oils is Castrol 0w40 which has some PAO in it, betting it would not have sheared as much. I don't know that the shear is a problem, but not sure what it's going to look like in my engine at nearly 10k either. Most shear is thought to occur early in an OCI though.
 
Shear resistance is not directly related to the group designation. No one is shearing the oil molecules, it is always the VII that can potentially shear. So a Group III base stock with a naturally high viscosity index (and less VII) will be more shear resistant than another Group III base stock with a lower VI (at least in multi-viscosity oils). PAO-based multi-viscosity oils are more shear resistant because they generally require less VII, not because the PAO molecules are more resistant to shear.

But Blackstone is utterly incapable of distinguishing mechanical shear from fuel dilution so in this instance one cannot determine the reason for the viscosity deviation, assuming there is even one in the first place. Blackstone can't measure that either.
 
Originally Posted by KCJeep
I have a 2018 Passat GT with the same engine. Glad your sticker allows VW502, much more convenient, although I agree oil choice or even additives are not likely to mess up your warranty I found it interesting or perhaps amusing the dealer was trying to profit pack them in.

The original viscosity on the 5w40 was likely around 14 cst @ 100. Your UOA is showing 11.36 at only 6,300 miles well down into 30 grade range. That's a pretty good amount of shear, but the Castrol OE 5w40 is entirely Grp III so should not be too surprised. The TBN is very strong however.

One of the darlings of BITOG Euro oils is Castrol 0w40 which has some PAO in it, betting it would not have sheared as much. I don't know that the shear is a problem, but not sure what it's going to look like in my engine at nearly 10k either. Most shear is thought to occur early in an OCI though.


Hey, cool and thanks for that sheering/viscocity info! Now I get it. Yeah, the OCI I am using on that oil is probably about right then. I'll go with LM5W40 next time and I bet it looks better. Your Passat sounds cool with the 3.6...not much aftermarket support for that motor beyond some intakes and "wookie pipe" mods for the exhaust. There is no reason you can't use 502 oils in your 3.6 and with the confusion of the sticker/manual info, nobody is going to flinch at a blown motor and blame it on "you used 502 vs. 504".
 
I guess what I was looking for is a viscosity table i.e. 5W30 is XYZcst @100 and 5W40 is this...etc.
 
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