S-Tronic Oil Changes....Age vs Mileage

Mario · Jul 19, 2017

Hey, just looking for peoples opinions on this. We have a 2013 B8.5 A4 Quattro with the S-Tronic box. Car has only done about 19,500 miles from new (purchased 1 year old with 6,000 miles on the clock). I know Audi say to do the S-Tronic fluid change at 38,000 miles, so by that logic we are not even half way there, and won't be for some time.....about another 4 years at this rate if I'm not wrong.

However, I was wondering if people would recommend getting it changed based on age vs purely getting it changed on mileage. As with engine oil they say 10,000 miles OR 1 year, whatever comes first. Same for coolant and nearly every other fluid, so what about the S-Tronic fluid?

Should it be changed every xxx number of years if you haven't reached the specific mileage? Or should it be left well alone until it gets nearer 38,000 miles and done then only? As by the time the car gets to that sort of mileage it will be nearly 8 years old.

8 years between fluid changes just doesn't really sit will with me. Especially for such a highly sensitive piece of equipment.

Thoughts people....

Cerbera9 · Jul 19, 2017

I bouught my car at the beginning of this year on 27k and changed the S-tronic oil and filter when it reached 30k. I now plan to change it again in another 20k and then 20k intervals after that, so at 50k and 70k etc . I would rather change it twice as often for what it costs rather than leave it for the full recommended schedule of 38k and possibly have it as a contributing to a very expensive gearbox failure.

Dippy · Jul 19, 2017

@Benten69 - if you search the web for information about 7 speed s-tronic failures you'll see that there are unfortunately too many of them. Unless I'm wrong you have the DL501 (0B5) 'box. Most failure reports come from 2009 and 2010 cars, followed by 2011 and 2012 cars. Reports of failures on 2013 and later cars are rare but not non-existent. However in addition to this there are reports of people having problems (not failures) with their gearboxes, which were alleviated following a gearbox service. In some cases Audi is helpful by putting both a mileage and age target for scheduled servicing. I don't think they did this for the gearbox but should have. I don't know what they assume as average yearly mileage but likely it is between 10K and 15K. On that basis I recommend that you take the 38K target for gearbox service to be no more than 4 years but preferably 3 years.

FYI I do less than 5K a year. I shall have my first gearbox service done at the 3 year service and it will have done less than 15K. However my car is tuned so the stresses are higher.

Mario · Jul 19, 2017

@Dippy thanks for the informed post. I was thinking along the same lines, well I was thinking maybe 5 years. My reasoning was that 60,000 km is just over 37,000 miles, so I suspect Audi UK have taken the KM service schedule, converted to miles and rounded up to 38,000 instead of saying 37,272 miles or whatever it is.

So if Audi Germany have suggested a 60,000 km service interval I would hazard a guess that they expect people to drive approx 12,000 km a year. At 12,000 km a year it would take 5 years to reach 60,000 km.

However there is obviously no harm in doing it a year or so early.

Might look into getting it done with the oil change which is due around October / November time when the car turns 4 years old.

jdp1962 · Jul 19, 2017

I am averaging 8,500 miles a year since getting mine. I certainly won't be waiting until it's nearly five years old before changing the S-Tronic oil. Probably at the three-year mark (which should be about 26,000 miles) when the PCP finishes, the warranty finishes, and the car is all mine.

arad85 · Jul 19, 2017

I'm on 14k miles and thinking of getting mine done (as well as oil). Will see what sort of cost is involved first, but my thinking is that any wear is likely to be done earlier in life, so a fluid change earlier will probably be better - at least the first time.

On another note, anyone used the nano oils? Had those recommended to me by my tuner...

Mario · Jul 19, 2017

arad85 said:
I'm on 14k miles and thinking of getting mine done (as well as oil). Will see what sort of cost is involved first, but my thinking is that any wear is likely to be done earlier in life, so a fluid change earlier will probably be better - at least the first time.

On another note, anyone used the nano oils? Had those recommended to me by my tuner...

Cost at Audi is £225 for the S-Tronic servicing, it's fixed price. I think I might do it myself as I have VCDS and all the tools needed, just need to buy the parts & oil / oil filter from Audi. I also have a copy of ElsaWin (official Audi workshop program) which will provide me with a full guide of what to do, torques for bolts, etc.

As for the nano oils, I used them in my Evo once, really expensive and made the already slightly noisy tappets 100x worse!! Was advised by a few tuners to go for Shell's own brand oil. Did that and the tappets went silent and the car was perfect again.

These days I stick to the oil majors own brands (Shell, Castrol (BP brand), etc). End of the day, there are only so many oil companies and refineries in the world, so it's all coming from one of the big oil majors anyway. The only difference is the additives they put in for each brand make their own custom blends and sell on.

arad85 · Jul 19, 2017

Will go to my local indy. Don't trust Audi now I have it modded...

scotty76 · Jul 19, 2017

Interesting reading everyone's thoughts. I'm aiming for 4 years which should be approx 30k miles for me. I have warranty until end of year 4 so will have it done before that expires. Then indies here we come.

Mario · Jul 20, 2017

Right, just been thinking. Got another question for you guys about servicing the S-Tronic box.....what about the actual gear oil?

We all know the unit has Audi's special ATF fluid for the mech unit & gear oil for the actual mechanical gears. I only ever hear about people replacing the ATF fluid when talking about S-Tronic servicing.

Audi says their manual gearboxes are "Sealed For Life" which is rubbish IMO. No doubt they will say the same for the gear oil side of the S-Tronic boxes.
So when do people recommend changing the actual gear oil??

I was thinking do the ATF every 19,000 miles or 4 years and then an ATF + Gear Oil + Rear Diff Oil change every 38,000 miles or 8 years.

Thoughts??

Dippy · Jul 20, 2017

Indeed, Audi only recommend the ATF fluid be changed. I would suggest that very few cars have ever had the gear oil changed. But yes its the same as the diff oil and I know that the RS cars have diff oil change in their schedules. I'd say you are right that at some point the gear and diff oils ought to be changed, but less frequently than the ATF fluid.

skiptowncat · Jul 20, 2017

Gear oil should be good for 50k or so, I have also had the sport differential oil changed and will look to do that with the gearbox service every 20k or so going forward.

Booboo · Jul 21, 2017

I had mine done recently at my local VW dealer & they used 2 different types of oil and a filter £195.

Mario · Jul 22, 2017

Booboo said:
I had mine done recently at my local VW dealer & they used 2 different types of oil and a filter £195.

Are you able to provide more info? Does the receipt show part numbers for the oils used? If so, what are they?

Thanks

V6_Man · Jul 22, 2017

So, I had my brake fluid changed @3 years as well as end-of-warranty checks carried out. The car had an interim service done back in Jan/Feb this year. I am currently on 21.6k miles and after reading the above posts, should I go for S-Tronic oil change now or wait another 18 months? What would you guys suggest?

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jdp1962 · Jul 22, 2017

Tashfeen said:
So, I had my brake fluid changed @3 years as well as end-of-warranty checks carried out. The car had an interim service done back in Jan/Feb this year. I am currently on 21.6k miles and after reading the above posts, should I go for S-Tronic oil change now or wait another 18 months? What would you guys suggest?

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Give yourself a couple of months (six at most) to absorb the big bill you've just paid, and then get it changed.

V6_Man · Jul 22, 2017

jdp1962 said:
Give yourself a couple of months (six at most) to absorb the big bill you've just paid, and then get it changed.

Luckily and like @Bristle Hound I managed to get two free services when I bought my car last year. So the interim service was free and so will be the next one :hubbahubba:

. The brake fluid and MoT only cost me a little over £100. However, you are right I definitely need to slow down and take a deep breath and not visit any more indys or dealership. My bank account is crying out loud

RyanJonS4 · Jul 23, 2017

I had my stronic box serviced, gear oil changed and sports diff serviced in may at just shy of 50k.
Part numbers off my invoice are;

Dsg service:

Dsg oil- G052529A2 - 7 litres
Strainer- 0B5325429E
Gasket- 0B5321371E
Seal ring- N0138275
Gearbox oil filter- 0B5325330A
O-ring- WHT005499A

Transmission oil service:

Transmission oil- G055532A2 - 5 litres
Seal bolt- N90281802 - 2 of

Sports diff service:

Rear differential oil- G052145S2 - 1 litre

V6_Man · Jul 23, 2017

RyanJonS4 said:
I had my stronic box serviced, gear oil changed and sports diff serviced in may at just shy of 50k.
Part numbers off my invoice are;

Dsg service:

Dsg oil- G052529A2 - 7 litres
Strainer- 0B5325429E
Gasket- 0B5321371E
Seal ring- N0138275
Gearbox oil filter- 0B5325330A
O-ring- WHT005499A

Transmission oil service:

Transmission oil- G055532A2 - 5 litres
Seal bolt- N90281802 - 2 of

Sports diff service:

Rear differential oil- G052145S2 - 1 litre

Thanks bud!!

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audinho · Aug 7, 2018

RyanJonS4 said:
I had my stronic box serviced, gear oil changed and sports diff serviced in may at just shy of 50k.
Part numbers off my invoice are;

Dsg service:

Dsg oil- G052529A2 - 7 litres
Strainer- 0B5325429E
Gasket- 0B5321371E
Seal ring- N0138275
Gearbox oil filter- 0B5325330A
O-ring- WHT005499A

Transmission oil service:

Transmission oil- G055532A2 - 5 litres
Seal bolt- N90281802 - 2 of

Sports diff service:

Rear differential oil- G052145S2 - 1 litre

My wife's A3 PFL TDI Quattro is due for an inspection and oil service soon; it's done 35k miles – do you think we can get away without an S-tronic service when the car has done 45k and we hand it back to Audi next year.

Dippy · Aug 7, 2018

@audinho - this thread is relevant to the OB5 DL501 longitudinal gearbox fitted in the B8 range. The early version(s) of this gearbox had problems and servicing is especially important. The A3 has a transverse gearbox so may not have the same risk. However all s-tronic gearboxes are complicated and the oil is an important component, so servicing to schedule is essential.

What is the recommended s-tronic service schedule for your wife's A3? You'll need to comply with it else it might affect your T&Cs when it comes to handing it back.

S-Tronic Oil Changes....Age vs Mileage

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