Curious about this for several reasons
1. Countries & build codes & models as mentioned by cake2u
I understand from other web pages that it's a global recall, so I'm assuming it's not just Chinese models. I haven't seen a list though. I believe it does affect at least some A1s and A3s as well.
2. DQ200 was branded as "sealed for life & no oil changes" so either that is marketing rubbish or begs the question how they change the oil.
I think "sealed for life" in that context means that the service schedule doesn't require changing the oil or checking its level for the life of the car. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's not possible to drain or suck out the old oil and refill it, which is what they're doing here, just that you don't have to as a part of the normal life of the car.
3. Mixing synthetic & mineral oil (at least in engines) means sludge so how are they going to get all the synthetic oil out as I assume same issue applies to gearboxes, even if time for it to develop is different. Double oil change?
I'd never heard that before. You can buy semi-synthetic oils, so it must be possible to mix them. And I've never heard of people having to flush engines through when changing from one oil to another. I know mixing some coolants causes sludge, but hadn't heard it for oils.
Being in the UK am not particularly worried about the "hot & humid conditions"
From another site, the issue seems to be corrosion within the gearbox causing metal particles, which can then short out electrical components. I guess hot and damp makes corrosion happen a lot faster, hence the problem in "hot & humid conditions". I think they're actually replacing the mechatronic units under recall in some hot and humid countries.
I guess the same corrosion will happen in cooler and/or dryer countries, but just a lot more slowly. I'm assuming they're worried that problems might develop in years to come even though they haven't yet, and so are changing the type of oil as a precaution to prevent lots of failures as the cars get older.
