longlife service mileage

jamin

jamin

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hello,
my s3 8L needs servicing soon.
its on a service plan with audi on there loglife service schedule.
when i first got the car it had 14000 miles to next service on the display but i only got about 5000 miles before its service was due.
i know it calculates the milage according to how yoy drive it so i did not really expect to get 14000 miles before the service was due.
any way,since then it has been serviced by audi last year and when i got it back it said 5000 miles to next service and was told it could go up to 20000 miles before next service but mine never went up it went down and now its due to be serviced again after only 4500 miles.
what i would like to know is was the service indicator reset properly.
can you let me know what mileage yours say after they have been serviced and how many miles are other poeple getting between services?
thanks everyone.
 
Longlife servicing was just a marketing "scam" to appeal to company car fleet managers. It rarely reduces the amount of visits to the garage especially on an S3 where you have Haldex oil changes to consider (which is probably why yours has come up again so soon). Get the car back on fixed intervals. Why on earth are you taking an 8 year old vehicle to Audi? Find a good VAG specialist and save £60 per hour in labour costs. Audi stamp means very little on resale value on older cars.
 
may of been set incorrectly?
i allways recommend 1yr 10000 mile service intervals
oil is the life blood of the engine
also the car can be checked over for wear/safety more frequently
 
Agree with Andy - longlife servicing was just designed to skip 1 or 2 services out of a typical 3 year /60k fleet contract, thereby reducing the lease cost to make VAG group cars more competitive with their Ford/Vauxhall etc. equivalent. Get it on fixed servicing and ignore the computer. An extra con is you have to use the longlife oil which from Audi is something like £15 a litre whereas stick it on fixed servicing you can use a 5w/40 fully synthetic which should cost you around £20 to fill up.
 
ello andy,
when i got the car it was from audi and i had a good freind who wirked there so i got a good price on the car so thought i may as well have the service plan included as it was also at a good price.
i did want to keep up with the FSH with audi,i know its not really adding any value to the car.
i know audi serviceing is expensive so i only get it serviced by them and get all my other jobs done elsewhere.have to say that audi did replace my cam chain tensioner and some other bits under warranty so their not all bad,just expensive.
i take it your s3 is on fixed service.
what does your computer say after its been reset?
 
yeh im not convinced it was set properly despite getting audi to check it twice.
as it goes i am getting roughly 1 year between services anyway so at least it is serviced regularly.
 
audi upgrades
ello,
yeh i think you are right,should get it on fixed serviceing.
as for the oil the longlife oil is expensive but thought that was better for my engine than the standard stuff,or do you think that if im only using it for 1 year that its not worth the extra cash?
 
jamin said:
ello,
yeh i think you are right,should get it on fixed serviceing.
as for the oil the longlife oil is expensive but thought that was better for my engine than the standard stuff,or do you think that if im only using it for 1 year that its not worth the extra cash?
Click to expand...

Fully synthetic 5W40 is all you need... Quantum Platinum or Fuchs SuperSyn Titan is what I normally use in my own car and change it every 5-6k miles... every 9k/12months would be a useful oil change frequency on fixed servicing...

<tuffty/>
 
U must be mad to run same oil in your car for 14000 miles.
 
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yeh i am getting it changed every year so should be ok.averageing about 5000 miles between oil changes.
i would never leave it in there for 14000 miles.
you are using 5w40,i have been using 5w30 for my car.is the thicker oil really a benefit when hot?
just for the record audi charges me about £52 for the oil in my car 11 litres apparantly.thats about half the price that it costs in halfords,i think the mobil1 esp fully sythetic costs £18 there.
 
jamin said:
yeh i am getting it changed every year so should be ok.averageing about 5000 miles between oil changes.
i would never leave it in there for 14000 miles.
you are using 5w40,i have been using 5w30 for my car.is the thicker oil really a benefit when hot?
just for the record audi charges me about £52 for the oil in my car 11 litres apparantly.thats about half the price that it costs in halfords,i think the mobil1 esp fully sythetic costs £18 there.
Click to expand...

11ltrs???!!!??? 4ltrs is normally enough for a oil/filter change...

5w30 is longlife spec, its thinner as its designed to produce less friction making the engine 'more economical' but considering the age/mileage of these cars/engines then 5w40 is the way forward... gets far too thin imo when hot...

<tuffty/>
 
eh you are right it is only about 4 litres for a oil change,in that case i am being charged £52 for the oil.
i got 11 from the invioce from audi.it has oil,quantity 11 at £4.75 each,wonder what the quantity of 11 is,any ideas?

so if i change to fixed service would audi then put 5w40 in it?
 
jamin said:
eh you are right it is only about 4 litres for a oil change,in that case i am being charged £52 for the oil.
i got 11 from the invioce from audi.it has oil,quantity 11 at £4.75 each,wonder what the quantity of 11 is,any ideas?

so if i change to fixed service would audi then put 5w40 in it?
Click to expand...

tbh mate you would be better off either taking it to a specialist now rather than a dealership as there is no real added value in getting a dealer stamp at the age they are... or have go yourself... less than a fiver for the filter and you can get 4/5ltrs of oil from TPS/ECP/GSF for 20 to 30 quid...

if you take it to a specialist they should use 5w40 I would imagine or your can at least ask..

<tuffty/>
 
The dealer probably sells the oil in half litre units, so 2 on the invoice would equate to 1 litre.
 
aha,sounds right to me.half litre x 11 is 5.5 litres.sorted.


its my last service on my service plan so i think after that it will be going to a specialist garage.got a good one in brackley which is only about 10 miles from me so will get it done there.
i wil ask them to put 5w40 oil in it.

thanks for all your replies,
very usefull help.
 
Yeah, they will bill you as if you'd bought half litre plastic pots even though they get it out of a 45 gallon drum! Another dealer rip-off. 11 halves is 5.5 which is also more than the sump takes???

I guess you are referring to APS who are in Brackley?
 
ello,
i will be visiting audi soon to query this,when i have an answer from them i will post it on here.what on earth are they doing with that extra litre of oil i wonder.

yeh aps in brackley,i hear they are really good with s3's so i will be going there soon.
cheers.
 
I am sure with discount I get 5 litres from TPS for under 20 quid!! Anyway a independent vw/Audi specialist can stamp ur service book and it's as good as dealer history, as long as u keep invoice showing genuine parts are used.
 
According to the Valvoline site it takes 4.5 litres in the sump and approx 0.5 litre in the oil filter.
Have to agree with Timbo, you're mainly paying for a pretty stamp when you go to the dealers
 
TPS mate
£33 for oil filter and ngk spark plugs and that was yesterday.
the oil filter can be a pain to change, i reckon they have a special tool to tighten the thing up.
any way 50 odd quid for oil is taking the ****.
 
TPS mate<br>£33 for oil filter and ngk spark plugs and that was yesterday.<br>the oil filter can be a pain to change, i reckon they have a special tool to tighten the thing up.<br>any way 50 odd quid for oil is taking the ****.
 
sorry thats oil platiunum oil filter and ngk spark plugs for 33
 
blimey mate,you are getting a great price on those bits.is that the longlife oil or the standard stuff?
have not heard of tps,where are they?do they specialise in audi s3.i want someone who really knows a lot about the car to do it.just puts my mind at ease you know.
any way as i said the car is on a service plan at the mo.soon as it runs out i will be going to an independant specialist.
also my car is on vairiable serviceing so it does have to have the expensive longlife oil,i know the standard oil is about half the price of the longlife oil.
i will be changing it to fixed serviceing when it serviced next.so i should be able to save a lot of money on serviceing.
mot is due in the next 3 weeks so got that to do first.
 
TPS are a spares place for VW group cars - Trade Parts Specialists
Other places to try for bits and pieces include GSF - GSF | Cheap Discount Car Parts | Euro German Japanese | VW BMW Audi Ford Peugeot and Euro Car Parts - Euro Car Parts | The UK's Number 1 Provider of Car Parts Online and In Store

The deal with variable servicing is that so the oil can stand being in the engine for so long, you have to buy the longlife oil which doesn't degrade over 2 years / 20k miles. The downside is the oil is very expensive, especially when sold by the 1/2 litre! As per the discussion, you can probably buy double the volume of standard oil plus 2 filters and sump washers for less than the price of the longlife oil alone. Main thing is the oil is fully synthetic and is of 5w/40 grade.
 
cool,thanks.have just checked them out on the net.good places to get parts from thanks.
deffinetly going to go the fixed service route and save some money.as i said have never got more than 5ooo miles between services any way,coincidently about 1 year apart so its not worth the extra cash for the longlife oil.iwould be ok with it if i was getting more than a year out of it but as i am not it is not worth having.
i did speak to someone at audi today who agrees that the service indicator may not have been reset properly.i am going to have a very long talk with them about it next time it gets serviced.
thanks for the advice buddy.
 
the oil is the fully synthetic Quantum Platinum 5w-40 from tps and its 19.00 for 5 litres mate.
i believe this is the one audi recommends although i could be wrong.
regards

 
elo mate,
i thinlk that both the oils are fully synthetic.the standard oil is 5w40 and is good for up to 12 months.the more expensive longlife oil you can use for up to 24 months and it is 5w30.like i said previously the longlife oil is not worht having unless you are getting over 12 months before changing the oil.as far as i can tell that is correct.the 2 oils are a different spec.
also i think the 5w40 is a little better for your engine but you cant get it in the longlife spec.
i know the longlife oil is expensive but if you can use it for 24 months it only costs a bit more than it would cost you to use the standard oil and do 2 oil changes in 24 months.
but only worth it if you get 24 months use.
 
jamin said:
elo mate,
i thinlk that both the oils are fully synthetic.the standard oil is 5w40 and is good for up to 12 months.the more expensive longlife oil you can use for up to 24 months and it is 5w30.like i said previously the longlife oil is not worht having unless you are getting over 12 months before changing the oil.as far as i can tell that is correct.the 2 oils are a different spec.
also i think the 5w40 is a little better for your engine but you cant get it in the longlife spec.
i know the longlife oil is expensive but if you can use it for 24 months it only costs a bit more than it would cost you to use the standard oil and do 2 oil changes in 24 months.
but only worth it if you get 24 months use.
Click to expand...

Sorry... thats no the best advice... Longlife oil and the concept of variable servicing is flawed... potentially fatally for your engine... 12 months or 9k miles is the best for these cars... 5w30 is an oil designed to 'improve' MPG and emissions due to it being thin... turbo engines run hot and this stuff just bakes itself to any surface it touches...

Having worked on 20v engines across the VAG range that have used AVS and normal servicing I can tell you 'all' the engines that use std servicing were cleaner inside than AVS engines with less miles on the clock...

At this time in their life, 5w40 fully synth such as Quantum Platinum changed every 12 months/9k is advised...

<tuffty/>
 
<tuffty/> said:
Sorry... thats no the best advice... Longlife oil and the concept of variable servicing is flawed... potentially fatally for your engine... 12 months or 9k miles is the best for these cars... 5w30 is an oil designed to 'improve' MPG and emissions due to it being thin... turbo engines run hot and this stuff just bakes itself to any surface it touches...

Having worked on 20v engines across the VAG range that have used AVS and normal servicing I can tell you 'all' the engines that use std servicing were cleaner inside than AVS engines with less miles on the clock...

At this time in their life, 5w40 fully synth such as Quantum Platinum changed every 12 months/9k is advised...

<tuffty/>
Click to expand...

hi tuffty,
sorry mate was just trying to justify the cost of the longlife oil,which is obviously not worth having even if you do get more than a year out of it.
i will certainly be going the fixed service route and it will be changed every year,roughly at 5000 miles.

good to know from your experience that the fixed service engines are cleaner with the standard oil.

again very usefull advice,thanks guys.

one more thing.
what should the service indicator read after its been reset for fixed sevice and avs service,should be different i think.just want to know so when its done by audi i can check it has been reset properly.

its my last service with audi on my service plan so after that i will be going to aps in brackley for servicing.
 
No justification required bud... longlife and AVS blows goats... its as simple as that tbh... :)

Not sure on the service indicator... I did switch mine over using VCDS ages ago but generally ignore the service indicator anyway as I am fairly on the ball dropping the oil every 5k...

Some info here for those that have VCDS..
Ross-Tech: VCDS Tour: SRI Reset

<tuffty/>
 
agreed,avs is crap.

i dont have any diagnostic equipment so i will try to reset the service indicator manually,sure i remember reading about how to do that somewhere.
like you say though so long as you change the oil regularly you can ignore the service indicator.
thanks for your help mate,very nice.
 
jamin said:
agreed,avs is crap.

i dont have any diagnostic equipment so i will try to reset the service indicator manually,sure i remember reading about how to do that somewhere.
like you say though so long as you change the oil regularly you can ignore the service indicator.
thanks for your help mate,very nice.
Click to expand...

The indicator is an indicator... its there to remind you... I haev only recently reset mine and its been on for about 2k miles prior but I know when I last changed my oil and I knew I was changing it again as part of the work I have done recently so its a non issue for me... I am particularly concious of oil changes so tend to keep an eye on my mileage and helping Bill out at the weekends means I am in a place where its easy enough for me to sort out...

I would never advise ignoring the service indicator, I am not sure what they reset it too tbh... there is a way to recode the dash to change the service intervals once on fixed servicing but there are loads of stuff on the web to help you out there...

<tuffty/>
 
It tells you in the owners handbook how to reset it using the clock or trip switch, can't remeber which one.
 
<tuffty/> said:
The indicator is an indicator... its there to remind you... I haev only recently reset mine and its been on for about 2k miles prior but I know when I last changed my oil and I knew I was changing it again as part of the work I have done recently so its a non issue for me... I am particularly concious of oil changes so tend to keep an eye on my mileage and helping Bill out at the weekends means I am in a place where its easy enough for me to sort out...

I would never advise ignoring the service indicator, I am not sure what they reset it too tbh... there is a way to recode the dash to change the service intervals once on fixed servicing but there are loads of stuff on the web to help you out there...

<tuffty/>
Click to expand...

sorry mate i did not mean ignore the it when it says its due,what i really meant was keep an eye on the mileage and ensure it gets done at least once a year or 9k even if the indicator says its not due.
 
i was just loking at that,seems a bit tricky but shpould be able to do it.only thing is you cant change it from variable to fixed service so will need to do that on diagnostics.
but you can reset it manually if you do the oil change yourself.
 
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