Should I insist on an early oil change for my Volkswagen Golf GT?
I bought a Volkswagen Golf 1.4 GT (petrol engine with supercharger and turbocharger) 11 months ago. Mileage to date is 5770. I have just been phoned by the dealer who supplied it, suggesting I should take up an offer of a "free health check". I'm not sure what that is, but think it relates to the car rather than myself.
Believing that servicing and oil changes were necessary at least every 12 months or 10,000 miles, I queried this. I was told that my car is a "LongLife Service" model, which in effect means it will be due a service and oil change when decreed by the car's computer, which says not for another 12,900 miles or 406 days.
This means that before its first service/oil change the car will be over two years old or have done 18,670 miles. As this is decreed by the manufacturer I must assume it is correct, but I would much appreciate your thoughts? In particular, do you think I should insist on an oil change now (with written confirmation that it will not adversely affect any warranties on the car)?
Unless the engine uses oil at a prodigious rate (which some VAG and BMW engines do) a two year/18,000 mile oil change regime is not a good idea, especially for this engine. The health check might be to ascertain whether or not the engine has been overfuelling and prematurely wearing some of its bores and pistons, something the turbo-supercharged 1.4TSI can sometimes do because of its complex induction system. No such problem with the turbo-only 1.4TSI 122.
Answered by Honest John on
